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Do you love Serial but wish it had more supernatural elements, grand conspiracies, and mad science? Do you love Night Vale but wish there was a major narrative arc? Are you looking for something other than comedians and random dudebros complaining about stuff? Enter the world of serialized fictional/alternate reality podcasts. The common thread in this format is building a believable world and exploring a mystery within it using a cast of voice actors. These shows are performed and presented as true radio documentaries, with fictional radio personalities and production companies to create the illusion - Pacific Northwest Stories podcasts even exist as different shows in the same universe with some overlapping characters. Often times the writers will tie in real historical events, mysteries, or people. I think it's an awesome storytelling format and I'm eager to see how it evolves, new ones seem to be popping up every few months. Here are some of the most popular ones out there right now:  Limetown is a podcast following journalist Lia Haddock's investigation into the events that unfolded in Limetown, a research facility where over 300 people mysteriously disappeared. Of the shows in this format that I know of, this one is the best, with great voice acting, pacing, and IMO the most compelling narrative so far.  The Black Tapes Podcast follows Pacific Northwest Stories host Alex Regan as she explores the world of paranormal investigation. She meets the enigmatic Dr. Strand, a hardcore skeptic of the supernatural, and attempts to unravel the mysteries behind his collection of unexplainable black VHS tapes.  Tanis is a project of Pacific Northwest Stories producer Nic Silver. He stumbles upon a mysterious craigslist post and discovers hints of a dark and ancient secret - one that some people want desperately to stay hidden. Join Nic as he connects the dots surrounding Tanis, the last great mystery of the Internet age.  The Message is a podcast following the reports and interviews from Nicky Tomalin, who is covering the decoding of a message from outer space received 70 years ago. Over the course of 8 weeks, listeners follow a team of top cryptologists as they attempt to decipher, decode, and understand the alien message. Coming Soon: There's another Pacific Northwest Stories podcast in the works, a true crime style docu-drama. If there are other podcasts in this format and you want to contribute a blurb I'll be happy to add it.
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Dec 22, 2015 22:54
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I gave Tanis a listen off this recommendation, and its really good so far! I'm only three episodes in, and I only have one criticism of it, and that's the extremely distracting bleeping of the name of the lady found dead in an LA hotel water tower. Isn't that common knowledge? I've heard the story at least three times on other podcasts, and that edit doesn't make sense to me. It's really good otherwise.
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Dec 24, 2015 17:13
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Yeah, a lot of people thought it was in pretty poor taste to use a real tragedy in their story.
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Dec 24, 2015 20:05
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Is Tanis at 100+ episodes or is that season notation?
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Dec 24, 2015 21:47
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Ches Neckbeard posted:Is Tanis at 100+ episodes or is that season notation? That's just season notation. They're only at 7 episodes.
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Dec 25, 2015 08:09
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Despite being a comedy, I feel like Hello from the Magic Tavern ends up falling into this category. Even though it's improvised, it remains surprisingly consistent in its world-building from episode to episode and really fleshes out its lore and plotlines as it goes on (while still mostly aiming for good punchlines). It's one of my recent favorites.
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Dec 25, 2015 18:32
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I recently binged through all four of the shows mentioned in the op and I want to give my opinions and recommendations of them. The Black Tapes Podcast - Really enjoyed this one! It has a great atmosphere that balances both the mystery and horror elements well without sacrificing any humor or moments of levity. I appreciated the pacing of the plot. It gives out enough clues and answers to the mysteries it sets up without relying on huge, boring exposition dumps. By the end of the first season I had enough information to get a general picture of what's going on in the larger plot while still having enough questions about how everything ties together and some of the more specific motivations of certain characters that'll keep me invested going on into the second season. Alex is an enjoyable protagonist and I enjoyed her struggle to balance her logic and rationality with her open-mindedness in the face of the supernatural. I also enjoyed the character of Dr. Strand. He works great as a skeptical foil to Alex without veering off into the rear end in a top hat atheist cliche. His character is the one I'm most excited to see more of in season two. Definitely check this one out! Tanis - I also enjoyed this one, though maybe not quite as much as The Black Tapes Podcast (yet). I like that this series leans more towards the conspiracy theory side of things instead of just being The Black Tapes Podcast with another coat of paint slapped on it. I don't like Nic as much I like Alex as a protagonist. He can be a bit boring at times and I wish he was a bit more proactive overall. To be fair, these aspects of him does get joked about in the latest episode so maybe it's an intentional characterization, but more passive protagonists just aren't really my thing. Meerkatnip is wonderful and I kind of wish she was the main protagonist instead, though I really don't like the recent romance teasing between her and Nic. I think any genuine romantic relationship between them would just feel awkward and forced and I would prefer if they just stayed away from that kind of plot entirely. But who knows, maybe they're just setting it up only so they can subvert it later, which I would be satisfied with. Check this one out if you like The Black Tapes Podcast. Limetown - I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS ONE! Everything from the writing to the voice acting to the pacing of the plot and even the sound effects are great. Despite not being quite as heavily focused on the horror or supernatural aspects compared to The Black Tapes Podcast or Tanis, this is the series that gave me the most chills purely from its depiction of the human condition. Season two cannot come fast enough and I would absolutely recommend everyone listen to this series. The Message - In contrast to Limetown, this is easily my least favorite of the four. Everything about the series is merely okay. The writing is serviceable, the characters are bland, but not unlikable, and the pacing is too fast to really give any of the plot points time to settle in. However, any amount of enjoyment is completely destroyed by an incredibly dumb, last minute plot twist that closes out the series. Seriously, its awful. I would almost say not to bother at all with it because of that, but, thankfully, its mercifully short both in terms of episode count and episode length. Therefore, I would recommend you listen only if you are finished with any other series you are currently listening to and have nothing else better to do or are just especially curious since it won't take much time get through. drat, that ended up being a lot more words than I expected to write! 
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Dec 29, 2015 18:07
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rotinaj posted:I gave Tanis a listen off this recommendation, and its really good so far! I'm only three episodes in, and I only have one criticism of it, and that's the extremely distracting bleeping of the name of the lady found dead in an LA hotel water tower. Isn't that common knowledge? I've heard the story at least three times on other podcasts, and that edit doesn't make sense to me. Some of the writing is extremely poor as well, particularly around Meerkatnip (that loving name, for one). Also the fact that someone clearly tries to do something really nefarious by hacking the guys computer and sending emails, and he literally does nothing about it, barely bats an eye. It's puzzling to say the least. Using the water tower incident was in extremely poor taste as well. The black tapes, in contrast were extremely good.
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Dec 30, 2015 02:56
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Apparently they recently wrapped up recording a new We're Alive series. I enjoyed the first series well enough, but man, did it feel like they ran out of steam about a quarter of the way through season four. All in all, I thought it was pretty well done, even if some of the writing and acting could get kinda bad at times. I thought seasons 1 and 2 were entertaining, 3 was decent, though it meandered a bit, and 4 was a little bit of a chore. There was a "don't let me turn into one of those things" bit halfway into the fourth season that lasted no less than 8 minutes, and it helped encapsulate what could be so frustrating with the final season. tldr: Good, fun series that doesn't stick the landing very well. https://www.werealive.com
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Dec 30, 2015 03:21
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OmegaDimension posted:The Black Tapes Podcast - Really enjoyed this one! It has a great atmosphere that balances both the mystery and horror elements well without sacrificing any humor or moments of levity. I appreciated the pacing of the plot. It gives out enough clues and answers to the mysteries it sets up without relying on huge, boring exposition dumps. By the end of the first season I had enough information to get a general picture of what's going on in the larger plot while still having enough questions about how everything ties together and some of the more specific motivations of certain characters that'll keep me invested going on into the second season. Alex is an enjoyable protagonist and I enjoyed her struggle to balance her logic and rationality with her open-mindedness in the face of the supernatural. I also enjoyed the character of Dr. Strand. He works great as a skeptical foil to Alex without veering off into the rear end in a top hat atheist cliche. His character is the one I'm most excited to see more of in season two. Definitely check this one out! I like the grander narrative that's playing in the background of this one, but it almost lost me with all of the weird technobabble in the middle like the "pythagorean comma". Not that I expect my supernatural fiction podcasts to be 100% accurate, but they are just really bad at writing good science-y things and it's kind of jarring. It quickly got back on track thankfully. I'm really exited for the next season. OmegaDimension posted:Tanis - I also enjoyed this one, though maybe not quite as much as The Black Tapes Podcast (yet). I like that this series leans more towards the conspiracy theory side of things instead of just being The Black Tapes Podcast with another coat of paint slapped on it. I don't like Nic as much I like Alex as a protagonist. He can be a bit boring at times and I wish he was a bit more proactive overall. To be fair, these aspects of him does get joked about in the latest episode so maybe it's an intentional characterization, but more passive protagonists just aren't really my thing. Meerkatnip is wonderful and I kind of wish she was the main protagonist instead, though I really don't like the recent romance teasing between her and Nic. I think any genuine romantic relationship between them would just feel awkward and forced and I would prefer if they just stayed away from that kind of plot entirely. But who knows, maybe they're just setting it up only so they can subvert it later, which I would be satisfied with. Check this one out if you like The Black Tapes Podcast. Tanis is also great, and I agree with most of your assessment except for about MK. I really can't stand her, though maybe that means they did a really good job of writing a professional hacker character because I find most of them pretty insufferable. She seems to take all of the agency away from Nic in the story and for most of it he's just along for the ride. That might be good if the story was better paced around the idea. There are a lot of parallels between it and the book House of Leaves and I'm curious to see where it all goes. OmegaDimension posted:The Message - In contrast to Limetown, this is easily my least favorite of the four. Everything about the series is merely okay. The writing is serviceable, the characters are bland, but not unlikable, and the pacing is too fast to really give any of the plot points time to settle in. However, any amount of enjoyment is completely destroyed by an incredibly dumb, last minute plot twist that closes out the series. Seriously, its awful. I would almost say not to bother at all with it because of that, but, thankfully, its mercifully short both in terms of episode count and episode length. Therefore, I would recommend you listen only if you are finished with any other series you are currently listening to and have nothing else better to do or are just especially curious since it won't take much time get through. I really didn't like this one at all. It started strong, but went off the rails very quickly. It suffers very badly from poor characters, plot threads that go no where, terrible technobabble, and an eye roll inducing "twist". Blah. You're right: at least it was short. For those who are curious I would steer clear of this one.
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Dec 30, 2015 03:53
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ManMythLegend posted:I really didn't like this one at all. It started strong, but went off the rails very quickly. It suffers very badly from poor characters, plot threads that go no where, terrible technobabble, and an eye roll inducing "twist". Blah. You're right: at least it was short. You guys aren't kidding. It is one of the laziest, most unnecessary, idiotic deus ex machina I've ever seen in any sort of fiction. It's basically the podcast equivalent of a bad JRPG where some random person shows up and yells. "I WAS THE REAL VILLAIN ALL ALONG" and runs away before anything else happens.
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Dec 30, 2015 19:21
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rembrant posted:Despite being a comedy, I feel like Hello from the Magic Tavern ends up falling into this category. Even though it's improvised, it remains surprisingly consistent in its world-building from episode to episode and really fleshes out its lore and plotlines as it goes on (while still mostly aiming for good punchlines). It's one of my recent favorites. Yeah I just started listening to this as well. It's really funny and pretty addicting. I mean it's mostly child death and beastiality but it's pretty fun.
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Jan 1, 2016 20:19
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In retrospect, the biggest problem with Tanis is how apparently, the host is Solid Snake. Seriously, anytime anyone says a new phrase to him, he pauses for a second, then says the exact same thing back to them as a question. "So, I'm gonna go over to the auto parts store." "...The auto parts store?" "Yeah, need to get a new air filter for my car." "...Air filter?" That one grated on me. And Meerkatnip in general. And the fact that the dude isn't putting any pieces together. Come on, people are obviously not happy that you're looking into Tanis. I can already pretty clearly put together the endgame as a listener, you're supposed to be smart, dude. Limetown is way more enjoyable in that regard, the host actually understands the ramifications of the investigation.
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Jan 1, 2016 20:30
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TANIS has spectacular atmosphere w/r/t the actual mystery but the characters are weak as hell. Black Tapes does better in that regard - Alex and Strand are a great double-act. Limetown is clearly the "best" production overall, though.
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Jan 1, 2016 20:49
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rotinaj posted:In retrospect, the biggest problem with Tanis is how apparently, the host is Solid Snake. Also the "it's for a podcast" "what's a podcast?" "it's like radio on the internet" exchange gets really grating the fifteenth time. I think a lot of people complained about it in The Black Tapes so they toned it down a bit in Tanis.
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Jan 2, 2016 19:21
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internet celebrity posted:Also the "it's for a podcast" "what's a podcast?" "it's like radio on the internet" exchange gets really grating the fifteenth time. I think a lot of people complained about it in The Black Tapes so they toned it down a bit in Tanis. I believe they make fun of that at some point, with someone saying, "I know what a podcast is."
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Jan 2, 2016 20:20
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internet celebrity posted:Also the "it's for a podcast" "what's a podcast?" "it's like radio on the internet" exchange gets really grating the fifteenth time. I think a lot of people complained about it in The Black Tapes so they toned it down a bit in Tanis. Oh god, that's worse in Black Tapes? I was annoyed by that in Tanis. Limetown is far and away the better of the ones I've listened to, but... When do more come out? I need to know. I NEED TO KNOW.
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Jan 2, 2016 20:39
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Just finished The Message since I heard it advertised on Marc Maron. Yeah, it all kind of fell apart halfway through. It's like a bad Star Trek episode. They were clearly on a budget with all the actors so they had to dump this out quickly. It might have been more intriguing if they had time to flesh it out and create a proper ending, but with only an evening ventured I'm not that upset. Back to Marc Maron.
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Jan 5, 2016 08:00
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Tanis is clearly in the Murky Middle, a place where you know where the ending is, and you're heading there, and you're past the new-car smell of the beginning, but you're stuck in this weird in-between place. The most recent episode showed this, and the two things I hate the most, with the host being utterly dismissive of thinking any deeper into what's going on(Blowing off WEIRD PEOPLE FOLLOWING HIM AND WATCHING HIM AND BREAKING INTO HIS PLACE AND USING HIS COMPUTER TO TRY TO LURE HIS RESEARCH PARTNER TO AN UNKNOWN MEETING, JESUS gently caress) and repeating every statement with a question mark as a bad way to lead them to explain themselves. Also, the most recent ep had a supposedly creepy abandoned town in it and while I was listening, I was snickering because Limetown did it so much better. I hope they can get to things happening soon.
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Jan 8, 2016 02:59
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rotinaj posted:Tanis is clearly in the Murky Middle, a place where you know where the ending is, and you're heading there, and you're past the new-car smell of the beginning, but you're stuck in this weird in-between place. It bugged me so loving much when someone used his email to try to set up a fake meeting with MK and then they LITERALLY STOP TALKING ABOUT IT as if it were nothing. Like what is wrong with this guy? And the stupid Charles Manson stuff from this last episode really put a sour taste in my mouth. "Hey guys you like Charlie Manson right? Well do we have the story for you! Bet you can't wait to hear all about good ole' charlie!!! Guess you'll have to wait till next episode, sorry" Like just tell your story, come on.
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Jan 8, 2016 17:42
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When I first found Tanis and Limetown I remember looking around the forums to try to find a discussion thread and being surprised there wasn't one. Glad someone finally started it! I'm fully caught up on Limetown and Tanis, started Black Tapes yesterday and will probably be finished by the end of the weekend, and haven't started the Message yet but it was going to be the next one I listen to. Limetown, like everyone else has said, is incredible and easily the best of the bunch. I'm hoping that if/when there's a Season 2 though they focus on something new rather than a full season of Let's Save Lea from the spooky corporation! investigation. I actually like Meerkatnip a lot in Tanis, but find the host obnoxious as hell for most of the reasons people have already listed. Since I just started Black Tapes after Tanis, I find his whole "gee golly what's the internet" schtick especially annoying, because in Black Tapes where he's presumably playing the exact same character he's going on about IP addresses and the Deep Web on multiple occasions when he's playing detective for Alex. Overall, I'm still into it, but it seems like it's trying to artificially extend itself for the sake of having more episodes. I'm ready for the season to wrap up. Black Tapes is generally great and I find the whole thing more "believable" than Tanis. The characters so far (I'm only on 109) behave a lot more realistically and Alex comes across more like she's actually a radio journalist and not just playing one for the podcast. My only real minor criticism of Black Tapes so far is the intro is terrible and that song is garbage (and I'm pretty sure it's Nick Silver singing it). Message was what I was going to listen to next even before I saw this thread but based on the feedback in here it sounds not great. Any other recommendations that aren't on the list in the OP? If not I'll probably finally start Serial S2 and continue working my way through Undisclosed.
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Jan 9, 2016 00:39
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Looks like most of the shows listed in this thread are relatively new (last 1-2 years), but has anyone listened to older stalwarts of the genre? Specifically: We're Alive The Leviathan Chronicles Edict Zero The Mask of Inanna Wormwood
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Jan 17, 2016 17:38
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Malloreon posted:Looks like most of the shows listed in this thread are relatively new (last 1-2 years), but has anyone listened to older stalwarts of the genre? I mentioned it earlier in the thread, but I thought We're Alive was decent but not great. I have probably unrealistic high hopes for the Kickstarter funded new series that's due out pretty soon. They actually shelled out a few bucks for some bonafide voice actors this time around.
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Jan 18, 2016 02:42
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Malloreon posted:Looks like most of the shows listed in this thread are relatively new (last 1-2 years), but has anyone listened to older stalwarts of the genre? Edict Zero isn't bad. I find some of the voices to be grating, really just one. They released a few new episodes a few months ago, the downside is it had been awhile so I forgot what the hell was going on.
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Jan 19, 2016 17:32
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For those of you who were into it, season 2 of The Black Tapes started today, though I thought the episode was pretty bad, compared to the stuff season 1 was doing. Hopefully it gets better.
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Jan 19, 2016 18:18
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Does the host have to explain again that a podcast is radio for the internet, and is Dr. Strand again inexplicably chill with really personal stuff that makes him look bad airing on the show?
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Jan 19, 2016 19:59
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I really enjoyed Hayward Sanitarium, which is an unfinished radio drama from the 1990s. The first ten episodes got recorded and are available here, as well as on iTunes and Pocket Casts and (probably) all the other places podcasts can be found. The scripts for episodes 11-14 have been posted online, with the remaining one or two on the way... allegedly, it's been a few years since the creator said on Facebook that that was going to happen. Even though it's incomplete, though, it's a good story. I really enjoyed listening to it. There's a big list of serialized fiction podcasts on the Pacific Northwest Stories subreddit. I've added a bunch of them to my list of podcasts to check out, but haven't listened to any new ones from there yet. Is anyone else anxiously awaiting the concluding episode of the Progenix Labs story on Shadowvane Podcast?
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Jan 19, 2016 20:06
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effervescible posted:Does the host have to explain again that a podcast is radio for the internet, and is Dr. Strand again inexplicably chill with really personal stuff that makes him look bad airing on the show? No. The host explains that a podcast is radio for the internet and Dr. Strand is inexplicably not chill with really personal stuff that makes him look bad airing on the show. It's very different.
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Jan 19, 2016 21:09
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Well that's 50% of what made me roll my eyes for most of season one gone. I'll give it a try.
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Jan 19, 2016 21:25
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Big news in the Serialized Fictional Podcast world this morning -- Welcome to Night Vale is starting a new podcast platform, Night Vale Presents.The New York Times posted:The world of “Welcome to Night Vale,” the popular fiction podcast made up of dispatches from a surreal Southwestern town, is getting bigger.
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Jan 21, 2016 15:59
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Tanis is completely wrecking my ability to feel comfortable at home at night, but it's worth it. I don't think Nic is so bad- Meerkatnip's doing a lot of the work, but he and his fascination are what's driving that, and he gives the investigative characters somebody to explain their results to.
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Mar 2, 2016 05:56
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I like the concepts from both Tanis and Black tapes but drat if their dialogue isn't stilted. The Black Tapes had gotten a bit better but it still feels really awkward.
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Mar 2, 2016 12:58
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calandryll posted:I like the concepts from both Tanis and Black tapes but drat if their dialogue isn't stilted. The Black Tapes had gotten a bit better but it still feels really awkward. I feel like the Black Tapes have gotten way worse, the new season has been downright bad.
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Mar 2, 2016 16:22
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Paul Zuvella posted:I feel like the Black Tapes have gotten way worse, the new season has been downright bad. Exactly. TBT feels just like Tanis now. Questions for questions sake, no narrative flow.
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Mar 2, 2016 16:28
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Did anyone else find the music in this week's episode of Black Tapes extra irritating?
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Mar 2, 2016 23:50
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Is it just me or is S2 of Black Tapes a lot more dull and meandering than the previous season? Also the whole pattern of minor factual revelation followed by the deep thump noise is getting really old.
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Mar 3, 2016 02:17
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I had pretty high hopes after the suicide scene in the previous episode but yeah it's still kinda just.... i dunno. The voice acting seems to have gotten worse somehow, like they're just rushing it out because now they have an audience. TBH I really just want more Limetown.
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Mar 3, 2016 02:35
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The moment that killed Black Tapes for me is when they got the guy from the No Sleep podcast to do a guest voice. Despite doing at least one story a show, the guy has zero acting chops. Not to mention he threw a tantrum when people asked for trigger warnings on rapey stories.
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Mar 3, 2016 02:42
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internet celebrity posted:I had pretty high hopes after the suicide scene in the previous episode but yeah it's still kinda just.... i dunno. The voice acting seems to have gotten worse somehow, like they're just rushing it out because now they have an audience. TBH I really just want more Limetown. Tanis wildly oscillates between "suck" and "blow" because Nic is a terrible protagonist and is unwilling or unable to put basic logical conclusions together. The plot is dawdling and wandering because going places and having satisfying conclusions is really difficult. I suspect they don't want to kill their golden gooses and resolve Tanis or Black Tapes. I really want more Limetown too. It's the only one of these I don't feel got up its own rear end. Night Vale got too formulaic, Tanis has the aforementioned problems, The Signal ended and had a weird ending... I wish this medium wasn't being so adversely affected by novice creators coming strong out of the gate and then stumbling like this.
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Mar 3, 2016 12:46
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nerdpony posted:Did anyone else find the music in this week's episode of Black Tapes extra irritating? The 2 parts where we're supposed to listen for something on the sleep journal tapes were so heavy with music that I couldn't hear whatever I was supposed to hear.
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Mar 3, 2016 13:50
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