Author Topic: Least Favorite Escape Pod and WHY.  (Read 13573 times)

Jim Crow

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on: February 06, 2007, 10:41:41 PM
I did the Best Of Escape Pod 2006 thread, and the way those types of ideas usually work is that brings to mind both the best and worst of.  Some people mentioned Mountain Man and Single White Farmhouse, and I brought up Seventy-Five Years.  Slic disagreed saying that he loved Seventy-Five Years and was bored by Tk'tk'tk (one of my favorites). I wanted to expand upon my opinion without turning the Best Of thread into a Best Of/Worst Of at the same time, so I started this one.  So this can be a little bit of a sounding board for stories that you disliked on Escape Pod, but I ask that you also explain why so that it's not just random listings.

Why I disliked Seventy-Five Years by Jim Crow.

I'll preface this by saying that I listened to it again today, not wanting to rely solely on the memories of a story that I listened to over half a year ago. Upon the second, deeper listening I'm willing to concede a thing or two about my original impressions, but I'll get to those after my problems with the story.

First of all, my problems with 75 Years is that it feels like a trite soap opera to me. I know that condensing any story down to sarcastic basics can make the themes feel simple, but it boils down to this kind of story for me:

"Hello, my ex-husband turned political honcho."
"Hello, my ex-wife historian."
"You can't do this thing!"
"Why not?"
"Because I know your secret!"
"Oh yeah?"
"You're a clone!"
(gasp)
"You're right. It will ruin me!"
"No! Be proud of your clone-identity! Be the best clone you can be!"
"I just might! No, I will! But only with you by my side!"
"Oh, Jim...."
(swoon)
(curtains fall)

I realize that there are other aspects to the story that are likely more important to other listeners, such as equality for all, be happy with who you are, the bigotry of the simple-minded everyman, and the sincerely more interesting but barely touched upon at all idea that continually delaying a census erases history, but they all seem to take a backseat to the cental crux of the story - which feels to me like a simplistic and laughable impersonation of a Twilight Zone episode.

Which brings me to the second listening, and I will concede now that I was probably too harsh. This was actually the second episode I'd listened to, with Tk'tk'tk being the first. Tk'tk'tk impressed me beyond belief - I felt like I was immediately thrown into a scary, imaginative, original, and unpredictable world. And then I followed that up (the next day for me) with a world that felt almost exactly the opposite. It felt to me a little bit like going and seeing something like Blade Runner for the first time, and following it up with something like Spy Kids.

Upon the second listening, I can now say that 75 Years isn't that bad. I just don't think it's that good. And considering how much I thought of the other three Hugo nominees we got to hear (what happened to the fifth, I wonder?) it added an extra heaping layer of disappointment on top of it.



SFEley

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Reply #1 on: February 07, 2007, 03:05:14 AM
And considering how much I thought of the other three Hugo nominees we got to hear (what happened to the fifth, I wonder?)...

What happened to the fifth Hugo nominee:

Said Hugo nominee was "Singing My Sister Down" by Margo Lanagan.  It was in a collection of hers called Black Juice.  I e-mailed Ms. Lanagan and explained that I wanted to podcast her story, just as I'd e-mailed the other authors.  She loved the idea -- but said I'd have to get in touch with her publisher, Allen & Unwin, because she didn't have the audio rights. 

I e-mailed the contact she gave me at the publisher.  I never heard back.  E-mailed again.  Never heard back.  It looks to me like there was already an audio adaptation of the collection, done as far as I can tell by the Australian Broadcast Company or some subsidiary of theirs, so that might have been the impediment.  I'll never know because, well, I never heard back.

It was kind of a bummer to me, because I really wanted to have all five nominees.  For the sake of better service to the voters, and better marketing for EP, and just because it'd be cool.  But I can't buy the stories if people won't return my e-mail, so...  Better luck this year.

I will note, though, that "Singing My Sister Down" didn't win the Hugo.  "Tk'tk'tk" did.  So we still got a Hugo winning story regardless.  >8->

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Alasdair5000

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Reply #2 on: February 07, 2007, 10:19:19 AM
   Of all the episodes I've heard so far, the one I've thought least of was actually also a Hugo nominee, 'The Clockwork Atom Bomb' by Dominic Green.  I really didn't get on with it, which given my fondness for political SF, near future stories and snarky dialogue really surprised me. 
   But it just didn't grab me.  The main thing was the pacing, the first half seeming to be little more than a detailed breakdown of what the citizens of the country thought of the devices, followed by an equally long explanation by the UN Inspector which flirted dangerously with 'I am an educated person from overseas, you are ignorant and wrong and I will save you.'  The idea was sound and potentially fascinating but the story took so long to get anywhere that when the eventual payoff arrived, it had no impact for me.  The fact that the main character was a fairly stereotypical 'maverick scientist' didn't help much either.

   But that's just me.  What's sauce for the goose is...often cranberries.



Swamp

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Reply #3 on: February 08, 2007, 11:37:35 PM
My least favorite stories were:

1) Is You Is/Is You Ain't - It was just a tired premise.  The whole baby actor with an adult personality was done it the '80's with Roger Rabbit and the autobiography approach didn't help.  It just didn't engage me.

2) Her - the setting was unique to say the least, but the story relied on that novelty and it wore off quickly.  There was really nothing to the plot.

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fiveyearwinter

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Reply #4 on: March 02, 2007, 01:08:12 PM
I didn't like Is You Is/Is You Ain't. I also did not much care for Merry Christmas from the Heartbreakers - to this day, the only Escape Pod ep. I haven't finished (I should, I know, but it's not Christmas anymore!)



Jim

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Reply #5 on: March 04, 2007, 02:56:59 AM
That one where Adam and Eve are doing some kind of thing with the devil or something, I stopped listening to that one about six minutes into it.

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Anarkey

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Reply #6 on: March 04, 2007, 01:14:45 PM
That one where Adam and Eve are doing some kind of thing with the devil or something, I stopped listening to that one about six minutes into it.

You've gotten me curious.  That one doesn't sound familiar to me (though I find most any Adam and Eve story yawntastic).  Did I miss it?  Or did it just leave my mind quickly, leaving behind no impression of its passing?  Could you be more specific, Jim?  Which episode was this?

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Jim

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Reply #7 on: March 04, 2007, 02:51:25 PM
I did a quick search and found it:

http://www.escapepod.org/2006/09/14/ep071-the-capo-of-darkness/

Didn't like that one.

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Anarkey

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Reply #8 on: March 05, 2007, 04:04:04 PM
I did a quick search and found it:

http://www.escapepod.org/2006/09/14/ep071-the-capo-of-darkness/

Didn't like that one.

Ah, right.  I didn't miss it.  And yeah, heard it all the way through, but definitely didn't consider it a highpoint.  Funny how I can forget the ones I really didn't care for.

Thanks for clarifying.

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fiveyearwinter

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Reply #9 on: March 05, 2007, 04:24:52 PM
I loved the reading of the Capo of Darkness.

But meanwhile I finished Merry Christmas from the Heartbreakers.


I liked it more this time around.




Russell Nash

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Reply #10 on: March 05, 2007, 07:43:10 PM
I loved the reading of the Capo of Darkness.


Thank you for saying that. I was starting to think it was only me.




slic

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Reply #11 on: March 06, 2007, 02:32:50 PM
...Why I disliked Seventy-Five Years by Jim Crow....First of all, my problems with 75 Years is that it feels like a trite soap opera to me....
Based on what Joe said, I'm guessing that this is case of simply conflicting tastes.

Why I disliked Tk'Tk'Tk'

It was a travel abroad story in different clothes - the salesman could have been travelling to Japan in the 1800s and the story would have been about the same.  Any new culture presented to a "self-culture-centred" person would appear just as alien.  Getting bilked in a business deal because you don't understand the culture, but think you do? Talk to North American business men working in China today.  And the mystry behind what Tk'Tk'Tk meant annoyed me.

I prefer sci-fi to introduce something new or show something from "now" with a twist that puts it in a new light - that makes me consider the implications for now and the future.
 
The End


I really enjoyed Seventy-five Years (and a Clock-work Atom Bomb) because I learned about subjects I had little knowledge of or never considered (the aforementioned lost of history without census data, how "NATO" works in a practical sense).  I think Tk'Tk'Tk would have been more interesting if it was told from the "bug" point of view about these dumb humans and how easy it is to fleece them.
I also like hints/colour in a story that give it a history but leave it open as to what that means (the Mormon President, the unexplained destruction of the White House).
« Last Edit: March 06, 2007, 02:35:17 PM by slic »



Swamp

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Reply #12 on: March 06, 2007, 04:42:37 PM
I also like hints/colour in a story that give it a history but leave it open as to what that means (the Mormon President, the unexplained destruction of the White House).

You lost me on this last line.  Which story were you talking about?  Clockwork Atom Bomb?

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slic

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Reply #13 on: March 06, 2007, 05:18:49 PM
Nope - Seventy-Five Years.  The destruction of the bldg was mentioned in passing at the beginning of the story.



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Reply #14 on: March 10, 2007, 03:06:35 PM
fiveyearwinter - with your first comment, I wasn't going to respond. It's cool; everyone is entitled to their opinion. But then I read your second comment and was surprised and gratified you gave Heartbreakers a second chance. So I wanted to say thanks. :)



Jim

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Reply #15 on: March 10, 2007, 04:16:47 PM
I like the Heartbreakers one, myself. I thought it was a funny spin on the Santa Claus myth. I listened to the original version on Geek Fu Action Grip, which is the absolute best podcast ever made by anyone ever. Well, actually, it's tied with Pseudopod for best. I would listen to "I Should Be Writing," but for the fact that I don't write at all. I'm one of those people who doesn't wonder if he's a hack, but is rather quite sure of it, and I remain a consumer of the written word.

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Reply #16 on: March 12, 2007, 01:40:46 PM
Least favorite? Easily #73, "Barnaby in Exile."

Not because of plot holes.
Not because of a lack of character or world .
Not because it wasn't SF, Sci-Fi, SF&F, or Fantasy enough.
Not because it lacked zombies, aliens, robots, time travel, or explosions.
But because it didn't leave any impression on me one way or the other.
That's not to say it was a bad story; even bad stories have something I can get in to ,or some angle I can poke at or talk about. "Barnaby" just left me flat.

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Russell Nash

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Reply #17 on: March 12, 2007, 07:47:04 PM
Least favorite? Easily #73, "Barnaby in Exile."

Not because of plot holes.
Not because of a lack of character or world .
Not because it wasn't SF, Sci-Fi, SF&F, or Fantasy enough.
Not because it lacked zombies, aliens, robots, time travel, or explosions.
But because it didn't leave any impression on me one way or the other.
That's not to say it was a bad story; even bad stories have something I can get in to ,or some angle I can poke at or talk about. "Barnaby" just left me flat.

I second that. I can't figure out why it was mentioned so many times on the favorite escapepod thread.



Zathras

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Reply #18 on: May 14, 2007, 06:42:32 PM

Cinderella Suicide.  The reader's accent was too much of a challenge for my Midwestern ear and steampunk does nothing for me.   



BrandtPileggi

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Reply #19 on: May 15, 2007, 02:32:55 AM
The Dinner Game. I will say, albeit a bit unfairly. I'm sure there were some that I liked less. I remember one in particular I was STRUGGLING to get through. However, The Dinner Game sticks out in my head more because:
1. I've listened to it VERY recently
2. Steve wrote it.
3. I was SO knocked back by how great his other story, The Malcontent (http://escapepod.org/2006/04/20/ep050-the-malcontent/), was. It's still one of my favorites, and I've listened to all but about a dozen of the stories. So naturally, I was REALLY looking forward to his next story.

Why I didn't like it? Maybe it was more of a mood thing, but at work, the EP's that are heavy on the love stories, drag on for me (the ones heavy on sex don't however. It's the penis.) And this one was all dialogue ("then you said this, then I did this, then we went there. We always go there." I do keep in mind that he was writing within LOFTY constraints and anything that anyone produced along those lines would almost certainly HAVE to be out of the ordinary. I loved the parallels that developed between the story and the real life. That started to inch me back into it, but then I stopped caring. This one just didn't work for me. I still can't wait for his next one though!

-Brandt Pileggi
« Last Edit: May 15, 2007, 02:36:17 AM by BrandtPileggi »



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Reply #20 on: May 15, 2007, 03:55:22 PM
I've only been listening for a couple of months but my least favorite so far has been "The Angle of My Dreams".  Just didn't care for it.  Perhaps some of that comes from the fact that I have very strong opinions on the Challenger explosion and thinking about it makes me angry.

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