I've spent some time on this blog advocating for Audio Dramas and Radio Plays. And over the last year and a half I've been increasingly focused on Anime and to some extent other Otaku media. So perhaps it's about time I discus Drama CDs.
A lot of Manga seem to get a Drama CD as practice for the Anime. But some are made to milk an already successful Anime. So they are an interesting and important part of Japanese Otaku media.
Problem is, they are the least convenient form to enjoy if you don't actually know Japanese. Part of the appeal of Audio Dramas is that I can listen to it without needing to use my eyes at all. And you can't really "Dub" an Audio Drama because once you've replaced the voice acting you've basically replaced all of it.
Pretty much any notable Drama CD has on YouTube or somewhere else a video posted providing English Subs, so the ability does exist, but it's not the ideal form.
Still, the idea of doing remakes of these with the voice actors who do Anime Dubs I would fully support, I've love to hear that.
So basically it's a piece of Otakudom I wish I could delve into more.
First one I heard of was the Origin of Mewtwo Pokemon one, basically a much longer version of the 20 minutes the Anime gave us. It's something I'm going to have to check out eventually.
However at this time the only one I have actually listened to is the 3rd Puella Magi Madoka Magica Drama CD, Farewell Story.
Ahead will be lots of spoilers for the Madoka Magica story-line.
Showing posts with label Radio Plays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Radio Plays. Show all posts
Monday, July 17, 2017
Saturday, January 14, 2017
I've listened to more Audio Dramas
I've highly recommended this overlooked medium of story telling on this blog already. Talking about how scientifically it can help stimulate the Brain and make you smarter.
The prior two posts were all about DC Comics based products. And while I have also listened to some more of those (a Batman Death of the Family adaptation, and a Long Halloween one) I figured I should show here how I've checked out some beyond that.
I of course years ago listened to the Orson Wells War of The Worlds broadcast. It was entertaining, I don't have much to comment on about it.
I listened to much of the Radio Drama adaptation of Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, up to the Mule. I stopped there only because the story doesn't interest me as much once the Second Foundation stuff starts. It's a good adaptation and I highly recommend it.
I also listened to and really enjoyed The Domino Lady All's Fair in War, fans of old Pulp Style stories should enjoy that.
I also listened to a Radio Play version of Carmilla, and it was great, the best adaptation of Carmilla thus far.
For the remainder of this post I want to talk about Rob Skiba's Seed The Series. I just listened to the three Radio Drama episodes he has produced for it, which are supposed to equate to about half the eventual Live Action Pilot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDLCFTR-_nA
http://www.seedtheseries.com/audiodrama.html
Rob Skiba is a controversial figure, who teaches many things I disagree with. But still I like Rob Skiba and I would like his project to succeed. But I have a tendency to be disappointed by Christian Fiction, so I worry.
I try to keep my criticism independent of my Interpretations of The Bible being different, after all I enjoy endless fiction from people who don't revere The Bible at all. The entire lore Rob has constructed for this is built on assumptions I have come to reject, chiefly the vilification of Nimrod, but also the Hybrid theory itself. But still since I actually enjoy stories that are Gnostic Allegories (like Utena and to an extent SAO), all of that is stuff I can accept.
So Spoilers ahead.
The main character is bland, and I'm generally not into such military centric fiction, it's an incredibly cliche approach for a work of Western Fiction. And having so little from any Female Characters thus far does not endear me either.
This is nitpicky, but I can't help but notice that Rob seems to have forgotten when the U.S. entered Iraq. This is dated to late 2002, the invasion was in spring 2003. Maybe most people don't remember the build up to that war as vividly as I do, but for me that's a slight immersion breaker. Of course my right to criticize such Anachronisms is forfeited since I wrote The Piano Maidens.
I myself as an aspiring writer have a tendency to do things like have my characters make Ghostbusters references, one of my favorite Anime is Lucky Star, that's what I like. But the references made here were awfully generic and predictable.
Still, issues aside there is plenty of potential. When he eventually records more I'll listen to em. And I think these little Radio Plays could be very entertaining to someone who's tastes are different then mine.
Given the stated premise I'd heard from him about this before, about it being called Seed because he wants to start with small seeds and grow from there. I do feel like he's started a little too big. Meeting an actual Fallen Angel in the first episode is a pretty fully grown Tree I think. And if he thinks viewers outside The Church (he said he wants it to have broad appeal.) aren't gonna get the Biblical References right away, he's grossly underestimating them. Of course what he means by the references to Orion is fairly Esoteric, in fact I only know what he means cause I've listened to his "non fiction" ramblings.
I'm not saying it's a good idea to do a full bait and switch, make it seem not Christian at all only to suddenly go BAM here is a barrage of Bible Quotes.
I would use characters leading relatively normal lives. In fact I'd do a High School drama, Western audiences look down on those often but I don't care. I love, Buffy, Smallville, Spiderman, One Tree Hill, Pretty Little Liars and endless High School set Anime.
I'd have one main character who's a Christian interpreting what's going on to fit her Biblical World View, but hold off on showing anything to solidly verify her view is correct. Make her have to actually have Faith.
And before encountering actual Old Ones, I'd build the supernatural aspects up more slowly. I'd have Mages who practice Hermetic Magick. Why favor Hermetic Magick? Partly because I love Fate/Stay Night and Fate/Zero and like how it looks there. And also partly because of how much I have enjoyed listening to the claims of William Schnoebelen about things like Transyuggothian Magick. And I'd have at least one character claiming to be an immortal Alchemist in the tradition of Saint-Germain, Cagliostro and Althotas, but be ambiguous about if they're for real or not.
Basically, I'd start the show with the paranormal aspects being mild, and let it build up over time, a growing sense of escalation.
And of course my main characters would all be Lesbians.
The prior two posts were all about DC Comics based products. And while I have also listened to some more of those (a Batman Death of the Family adaptation, and a Long Halloween one) I figured I should show here how I've checked out some beyond that.
I of course years ago listened to the Orson Wells War of The Worlds broadcast. It was entertaining, I don't have much to comment on about it.
I listened to much of the Radio Drama adaptation of Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, up to the Mule. I stopped there only because the story doesn't interest me as much once the Second Foundation stuff starts. It's a good adaptation and I highly recommend it.
I also listened to and really enjoyed The Domino Lady All's Fair in War, fans of old Pulp Style stories should enjoy that.
I also listened to a Radio Play version of Carmilla, and it was great, the best adaptation of Carmilla thus far.
For the remainder of this post I want to talk about Rob Skiba's Seed The Series. I just listened to the three Radio Drama episodes he has produced for it, which are supposed to equate to about half the eventual Live Action Pilot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDLCFTR-_nA
http://www.seedtheseries.com/audiodrama.html
Rob Skiba is a controversial figure, who teaches many things I disagree with. But still I like Rob Skiba and I would like his project to succeed. But I have a tendency to be disappointed by Christian Fiction, so I worry.
I try to keep my criticism independent of my Interpretations of The Bible being different, after all I enjoy endless fiction from people who don't revere The Bible at all. The entire lore Rob has constructed for this is built on assumptions I have come to reject, chiefly the vilification of Nimrod, but also the Hybrid theory itself. But still since I actually enjoy stories that are Gnostic Allegories (like Utena and to an extent SAO), all of that is stuff I can accept.
So Spoilers ahead.
The main character is bland, and I'm generally not into such military centric fiction, it's an incredibly cliche approach for a work of Western Fiction. And having so little from any Female Characters thus far does not endear me either.
This is nitpicky, but I can't help but notice that Rob seems to have forgotten when the U.S. entered Iraq. This is dated to late 2002, the invasion was in spring 2003. Maybe most people don't remember the build up to that war as vividly as I do, but for me that's a slight immersion breaker. Of course my right to criticize such Anachronisms is forfeited since I wrote The Piano Maidens.
I myself as an aspiring writer have a tendency to do things like have my characters make Ghostbusters references, one of my favorite Anime is Lucky Star, that's what I like. But the references made here were awfully generic and predictable.
Still, issues aside there is plenty of potential. When he eventually records more I'll listen to em. And I think these little Radio Plays could be very entertaining to someone who's tastes are different then mine.
Given the stated premise I'd heard from him about this before, about it being called Seed because he wants to start with small seeds and grow from there. I do feel like he's started a little too big. Meeting an actual Fallen Angel in the first episode is a pretty fully grown Tree I think. And if he thinks viewers outside The Church (he said he wants it to have broad appeal.) aren't gonna get the Biblical References right away, he's grossly underestimating them. Of course what he means by the references to Orion is fairly Esoteric, in fact I only know what he means cause I've listened to his "non fiction" ramblings.
I'm not saying it's a good idea to do a full bait and switch, make it seem not Christian at all only to suddenly go BAM here is a barrage of Bible Quotes.
I would use characters leading relatively normal lives. In fact I'd do a High School drama, Western audiences look down on those often but I don't care. I love, Buffy, Smallville, Spiderman, One Tree Hill, Pretty Little Liars and endless High School set Anime.
I'd have one main character who's a Christian interpreting what's going on to fit her Biblical World View, but hold off on showing anything to solidly verify her view is correct. Make her have to actually have Faith.
And before encountering actual Old Ones, I'd build the supernatural aspects up more slowly. I'd have Mages who practice Hermetic Magick. Why favor Hermetic Magick? Partly because I love Fate/Stay Night and Fate/Zero and like how it looks there. And also partly because of how much I have enjoyed listening to the claims of William Schnoebelen about things like Transyuggothian Magick. And I'd have at least one character claiming to be an immortal Alchemist in the tradition of Saint-Germain, Cagliostro and Althotas, but be ambiguous about if they're for real or not.
Basically, I'd start the show with the paranormal aspects being mild, and let it build up over time, a growing sense of escalation.
And of course my main characters would all be Lesbians.
Monday, March 28, 2016
More on DC based Audio Dramas, The Superman we needed
I did a post on DC based Audio Dramas before, this is a follow up.
The other Batman project from the same people was The Lazarus Syndrome, which was good but nothing special.
For Superman, the first project was actually the Trial of Superman which I didn't like.
But The Adventures of Superman, was an adaptation of all but 1 issue of Byrne's Man of Steel miniseries (everything but the Batman/Magpie story) and the first two issues of Byrne's monthly Superman run.
It is awesome, it has all the same actors as the Death and Return adaptation for characters that are in both. I have my issues with Byrne's dystopic depiction of Krypton, but this adaptation was awesome.
It told Superman's origin well, and established a CEO Lex Luthor, and had Superman battle two super powered enemies. And clocked in at just about exactly a 2 hour run-time.
Basically, that is the Superman Reboot movie I wanted in 2006, if we'd gotten that a year after Begins then a modern Superman could have gone side by side with a modern Batman. And Maybe just maybe there could have been a counterbalance to Nolan's clout opposing doing a shared universe. The Dark Knight would have been the same but Rises may have gone differently. And after solo trilogies we could have gotten the World's Finest film I wanted.
Instead we got nothing, there was no Superman film to go alongside the Batman revival.
And the thing is this Audio Drama is a half hour shorter then a certain unnamed 2006 movie, and yet more happened in it.
By the time we did get a Superman reboot the comics had changed, his origin had been revamped a few more times, none for the better in my opinion. The time had passed for the Superman I love to get a film treatment. I like the Man of Steel movie, but it's not the ideal.
Instead of getting the Superman we needed, we got the Superman we deserved.
The other Batman project from the same people was The Lazarus Syndrome, which was good but nothing special.
For Superman, the first project was actually the Trial of Superman which I didn't like.
But The Adventures of Superman, was an adaptation of all but 1 issue of Byrne's Man of Steel miniseries (everything but the Batman/Magpie story) and the first two issues of Byrne's monthly Superman run.
It is awesome, it has all the same actors as the Death and Return adaptation for characters that are in both. I have my issues with Byrne's dystopic depiction of Krypton, but this adaptation was awesome.
It told Superman's origin well, and established a CEO Lex Luthor, and had Superman battle two super powered enemies. And clocked in at just about exactly a 2 hour run-time.
Basically, that is the Superman Reboot movie I wanted in 2006, if we'd gotten that a year after Begins then a modern Superman could have gone side by side with a modern Batman. And Maybe just maybe there could have been a counterbalance to Nolan's clout opposing doing a shared universe. The Dark Knight would have been the same but Rises may have gone differently. And after solo trilogies we could have gotten the World's Finest film I wanted.
Instead we got nothing, there was no Superman film to go alongside the Batman revival.
And the thing is this Audio Drama is a half hour shorter then a certain unnamed 2006 movie, and yet more happened in it.
By the time we did get a Superman reboot the comics had changed, his origin had been revamped a few more times, none for the better in my opinion. The time had passed for the Superman I love to get a film treatment. I like the Man of Steel movie, but it's not the ideal.
Instead of getting the Superman we needed, we got the Superman we deserved.
Friday, April 3, 2015
Comic Book based Audio Dramas
Most people know of the old Superman Radio show from the 40s. Back then Radio was the only way to get media performed by Actors into your homes.
What isn't so well known is that while they're not always on the Radio, audio dramas still exist, and some famous DC Comics story-lines have become Audio Dramas. I myself learned this in the last 24 hours pretty much.
One reason they are missed is that they are often labeled Audiobooks on Amazon, which they are technically. But they are not just a narrator reading a prose story to you, like the Silmarilion audio book (which I bet is the most frequently used Audio book for Youtube source material).
These are stories made like Radio plays, with voice actors playing roles. And also sound effects.
I'm unsure how many if any are actually licensed by DC Comics. Few have Wikipedia pages (none are on IMDB but neither is the classic Radio show). Only 3 that all had the same director are on a website called AudioDramaWiki. At least one on it's official website seems to define itself as not affiliated with DC Comics in anyway. Yet it seems that one (unless there is more then one of No Man's Land) is sold on Amazon, Amazon generally doesn't sell things not officially licensed.
I have listened to only one thus far, it's the Death and Return of Superman storlyine, but some of They Saved Luthor's Brain and other earlier storlyines are covered in the first half hour to set things up. That first half hour takes the most liberties, once the proper storlyine is in play, it cuts stuff out of course but what it covers is a word for word dramatization.
Of the stuff cut out some scenes I miss more then others, mainly a couple key Lex scenes.
The first half hour is the kind of material I have more patience for then most, (it's 2 hours and 37 minutes total) lots of exposition explaining how the (then) current Superman mythos work to non comic readers, including key Chekovs guns. There are also cool moments there however, introducing the form of Lex Luthor least well known to non Comic Readers, the Lex Luthor Jr version.
But once the actual Doomsday battle starts it becomes a very fast paced intense and emotional story, and very suspenseful. A story being told in sound only can stimulate the brain in unique ways, making you use your imagination like reading does, but still giving you the emotional investment that only a performance can make possible. It's something I think more people should try out.
The Sound effects are phenomenal.
The actors I think were great, they're in no way confusable with the kind of acting the DC animated projects go for, but I think just as rewarding to listen to. No one is Orson Wells, but they all I think could have carried a Mercury Radio play with him.
Lois Lane is the most perfect, so often Lois and other female leads get labaled the weakest link in various CB projects. I don't tend to join that bandwagon nearly as often as is popular, but sometimes I do feel male writers and casting directors don't know how to handle iconic female characters. This Lois voice was to me the perfect voice for who Lois was at this time, (this was made when the story-line was very recent history, in the early 90s). And I may even be willing to say the best Lois performance of all, but there are others I like.
Clark Kent/Superman's voice can't compete with Tim Dally or Geroge Newborne. And would probably ultimately lose to Bud Collyer also. And even though he's done Superman only once I'll say the same of the lead in Superman Unbound. But he works well, and follows the tradition of changing his voice between Clark and Superman. The same actor does the Visored Superman, with a very different tone, and is really good at that role.
Jimmy, Perry, Turpin, Sawyer, Westfield, XX, Guardian, Cat, Tana Moon and Hamilton and other small roles were all good.
The character this indisputably dramatizes better then anything else is Doomsday himself. It seems the beast infamous for being the one thing that could Kill Superman always disappoints when brought to life visually, animation or live action. But here, only hearing his roars and the damage he causes, it really sells that this is an unstoppable force of destruction.
The Supergirl voice is distinct from what you might be used to for Supergirl but well done. Thing is without the grander context of her character's arc (this is the Matrix not Kara), the problomaticness of her seemingly blind devotion to Lex is harder to handwave away.
Only voice I really dislike is Superboy's, I do not buy that as a real 15 year old at all. Cyborg Superman however was played by the same Actor and that voice was really really cool.
For Steel, at first I doubted that was an actual African American actor playing him, and my doubts remain, but in time I came to believe he was that character. I'm no expert at discerning ethnicity from voices however.
I shall finish on Lex, who was awesome. Since only one actor for Lex Luthor was in the credits, I shall assume both Lex Luthor voices heard are the same actor, and it certainly sounds plausible. But the accent isn't the only way his voice changes, as the original Lex he also sounds older.
I'm glad they indeed used an Australian Accent, at first I was unsure this was the kind of Australian accent I wanted, but it grew on me pretty quickly. The voice for the original Lex doesn't disappear entirely after transformation, unlike in the comics it returns whenever he fully drops his figurative mask.
The two Lex scenes missing that I really miss are when he snaps and starts beating up Doomsday's body, the onlookers think he's mourning Superman, but he's really angry he didn't get to Kill him. The other I can't begrudge them as much for since it's after where they closed their narrative, is when he is convinced the real Superman is real.
What remains is the scene of him Alone in Superman's Tomb after reclaiming the body from Cadmus. In the Comic he also plays this as his victory over Superman, but it's clearly really just a consolation prize, getting to bury him since he couldn't kill him. My only gripe with Lex in this Audio Drama is that it seems like Superman's Death by Doomsday was something Lex was totally okay with, the usage of the Only One Allowed to Defeat You trope is gone.
Some people have expressed concern that the Audio Drama doesn't address how Clark Kent's presumed death is resolved. I feel the answer to that dilemma was sufficiently set up in advance, in one scene at the Daily Planet.
The Credits at the end are spoken to the audience, I think by the same Actor who is Lois. What I like is how enthusiastic she was about it, she did not seem to view it as a chore.
Soon I intend to listen to the one for Knightfall which had the same director but a different story structure being 3 minute episodes. Unlike above, this is a storlyine for which, I may kill a lot of my Nerd Cred here, I haven't read the Comics. Only glimpse I've had into that Batman era is in Robin Flying Solo.
There are plenty that still have no Audio Dramas, but I would love to see made. Bruce Wayne Murder/Fugative, Robin Unmasked, Batman War Drums, War Games and War Crimes. And Robin and Batgirl's adventures in Bludhaven after War Games (for Under the Red Hood the animated movie is adequate, my only gripe is not mentioning any of that prior history, but that's because those storlyine are more interesting to me anyway). It'd be cool if they could do those Batman stroylines with Bruce Greenwood. And the Shipper in me really wants the StephCass moments not to be cut.
Outside of Batman, I want Identity Crisis, OMAC Project, and Villains United. The Wolfman Perez Teen Titans storlyines, and the Geof Johns era Teen Titans as well.
Update: I've listened to Knightfall
It has Michael Gough, as Alfred, the same Alfred as the Burton-Shumacker movies. That's really surreal, hearing the definitive Alfred of the 90s in something actually based on the comics. This was made before Forever so he interacted with Tim Drake before he did Dick Grayson, and most people have no idea.
Upon further research the Actor playing Steel was Black, but he wasn't African American, these were produced in England, I think his voice has that awkward vibe as first possibly because he had more trouble doing an American accent then the others.
I expected that an only 3 hours long Knightfall adaptation wouldn't include Robin Flaying Solo, but it did have one scene from it. That's a novel I got mainly for Stephanie Brown, who I observed early on wasn't in the cast for this.
About the character of Jean-Paul Valley, as a famous Billionaire Playboy once said, a guy who dresses up as a Bat clearly has issues. I loved that they named this French catholic Order after Alexandre Dumas.
I see they borrowed that whole psychologist condemning Batman and defending the Akrham inmates routine from DKR.
It was pretty awesome, the Bane Voice it not like any you've heard before and it's great. Both Batmans were done well. Renee Montoya and a number of female characters are the same actress as Lois Lane from the Death of Superman, and she did very well. However her Lady Shiva accent was kind of offensive.
I'm gonna make perhaps the most controversial claim in this post right now. For a voice only performance of The Joker, I like this guy better then Mark Hamil. Hamil is great, he got better over the years, but this guy was truly psychotic. He's not better then Ledger but miles ahead of Nicholson.
I commented on the Credits sequence for the Superman one. This one is done differently, and I don't want to spoil it.
What isn't so well known is that while they're not always on the Radio, audio dramas still exist, and some famous DC Comics story-lines have become Audio Dramas. I myself learned this in the last 24 hours pretty much.
One reason they are missed is that they are often labeled Audiobooks on Amazon, which they are technically. But they are not just a narrator reading a prose story to you, like the Silmarilion audio book (which I bet is the most frequently used Audio book for Youtube source material).
These are stories made like Radio plays, with voice actors playing roles. And also sound effects.
I'm unsure how many if any are actually licensed by DC Comics. Few have Wikipedia pages (none are on IMDB but neither is the classic Radio show). Only 3 that all had the same director are on a website called AudioDramaWiki. At least one on it's official website seems to define itself as not affiliated with DC Comics in anyway. Yet it seems that one (unless there is more then one of No Man's Land) is sold on Amazon, Amazon generally doesn't sell things not officially licensed.
I have listened to only one thus far, it's the Death and Return of Superman storlyine, but some of They Saved Luthor's Brain and other earlier storlyines are covered in the first half hour to set things up. That first half hour takes the most liberties, once the proper storlyine is in play, it cuts stuff out of course but what it covers is a word for word dramatization.
Of the stuff cut out some scenes I miss more then others, mainly a couple key Lex scenes.
The first half hour is the kind of material I have more patience for then most, (it's 2 hours and 37 minutes total) lots of exposition explaining how the (then) current Superman mythos work to non comic readers, including key Chekovs guns. There are also cool moments there however, introducing the form of Lex Luthor least well known to non Comic Readers, the Lex Luthor Jr version.
But once the actual Doomsday battle starts it becomes a very fast paced intense and emotional story, and very suspenseful. A story being told in sound only can stimulate the brain in unique ways, making you use your imagination like reading does, but still giving you the emotional investment that only a performance can make possible. It's something I think more people should try out.
The Sound effects are phenomenal.
The actors I think were great, they're in no way confusable with the kind of acting the DC animated projects go for, but I think just as rewarding to listen to. No one is Orson Wells, but they all I think could have carried a Mercury Radio play with him.
Lois Lane is the most perfect, so often Lois and other female leads get labaled the weakest link in various CB projects. I don't tend to join that bandwagon nearly as often as is popular, but sometimes I do feel male writers and casting directors don't know how to handle iconic female characters. This Lois voice was to me the perfect voice for who Lois was at this time, (this was made when the story-line was very recent history, in the early 90s). And I may even be willing to say the best Lois performance of all, but there are others I like.
Clark Kent/Superman's voice can't compete with Tim Dally or Geroge Newborne. And would probably ultimately lose to Bud Collyer also. And even though he's done Superman only once I'll say the same of the lead in Superman Unbound. But he works well, and follows the tradition of changing his voice between Clark and Superman. The same actor does the Visored Superman, with a very different tone, and is really good at that role.
Jimmy, Perry, Turpin, Sawyer, Westfield, XX, Guardian, Cat, Tana Moon and Hamilton and other small roles were all good.
The character this indisputably dramatizes better then anything else is Doomsday himself. It seems the beast infamous for being the one thing that could Kill Superman always disappoints when brought to life visually, animation or live action. But here, only hearing his roars and the damage he causes, it really sells that this is an unstoppable force of destruction.
The Supergirl voice is distinct from what you might be used to for Supergirl but well done. Thing is without the grander context of her character's arc (this is the Matrix not Kara), the problomaticness of her seemingly blind devotion to Lex is harder to handwave away.
Only voice I really dislike is Superboy's, I do not buy that as a real 15 year old at all. Cyborg Superman however was played by the same Actor and that voice was really really cool.
For Steel, at first I doubted that was an actual African American actor playing him, and my doubts remain, but in time I came to believe he was that character. I'm no expert at discerning ethnicity from voices however.
I shall finish on Lex, who was awesome. Since only one actor for Lex Luthor was in the credits, I shall assume both Lex Luthor voices heard are the same actor, and it certainly sounds plausible. But the accent isn't the only way his voice changes, as the original Lex he also sounds older.
I'm glad they indeed used an Australian Accent, at first I was unsure this was the kind of Australian accent I wanted, but it grew on me pretty quickly. The voice for the original Lex doesn't disappear entirely after transformation, unlike in the comics it returns whenever he fully drops his figurative mask.
The two Lex scenes missing that I really miss are when he snaps and starts beating up Doomsday's body, the onlookers think he's mourning Superman, but he's really angry he didn't get to Kill him. The other I can't begrudge them as much for since it's after where they closed their narrative, is when he is convinced the real Superman is real.
What remains is the scene of him Alone in Superman's Tomb after reclaiming the body from Cadmus. In the Comic he also plays this as his victory over Superman, but it's clearly really just a consolation prize, getting to bury him since he couldn't kill him. My only gripe with Lex in this Audio Drama is that it seems like Superman's Death by Doomsday was something Lex was totally okay with, the usage of the Only One Allowed to Defeat You trope is gone.
Some people have expressed concern that the Audio Drama doesn't address how Clark Kent's presumed death is resolved. I feel the answer to that dilemma was sufficiently set up in advance, in one scene at the Daily Planet.
The Credits at the end are spoken to the audience, I think by the same Actor who is Lois. What I like is how enthusiastic she was about it, she did not seem to view it as a chore.
Soon I intend to listen to the one for Knightfall which had the same director but a different story structure being 3 minute episodes. Unlike above, this is a storlyine for which, I may kill a lot of my Nerd Cred here, I haven't read the Comics. Only glimpse I've had into that Batman era is in Robin Flying Solo.
There are plenty that still have no Audio Dramas, but I would love to see made. Bruce Wayne Murder/Fugative, Robin Unmasked, Batman War Drums, War Games and War Crimes. And Robin and Batgirl's adventures in Bludhaven after War Games (for Under the Red Hood the animated movie is adequate, my only gripe is not mentioning any of that prior history, but that's because those storlyine are more interesting to me anyway). It'd be cool if they could do those Batman stroylines with Bruce Greenwood. And the Shipper in me really wants the StephCass moments not to be cut.
Outside of Batman, I want Identity Crisis, OMAC Project, and Villains United. The Wolfman Perez Teen Titans storlyines, and the Geof Johns era Teen Titans as well.
Update: I've listened to Knightfall
It has Michael Gough, as Alfred, the same Alfred as the Burton-Shumacker movies. That's really surreal, hearing the definitive Alfred of the 90s in something actually based on the comics. This was made before Forever so he interacted with Tim Drake before he did Dick Grayson, and most people have no idea.
Upon further research the Actor playing Steel was Black, but he wasn't African American, these were produced in England, I think his voice has that awkward vibe as first possibly because he had more trouble doing an American accent then the others.
I expected that an only 3 hours long Knightfall adaptation wouldn't include Robin Flaying Solo, but it did have one scene from it. That's a novel I got mainly for Stephanie Brown, who I observed early on wasn't in the cast for this.
About the character of Jean-Paul Valley, as a famous Billionaire Playboy once said, a guy who dresses up as a Bat clearly has issues. I loved that they named this French catholic Order after Alexandre Dumas.
I see they borrowed that whole psychologist condemning Batman and defending the Akrham inmates routine from DKR.
It was pretty awesome, the Bane Voice it not like any you've heard before and it's great. Both Batmans were done well. Renee Montoya and a number of female characters are the same actress as Lois Lane from the Death of Superman, and she did very well. However her Lady Shiva accent was kind of offensive.
I'm gonna make perhaps the most controversial claim in this post right now. For a voice only performance of The Joker, I like this guy better then Mark Hamil. Hamil is great, he got better over the years, but this guy was truly psychotic. He's not better then Ledger but miles ahead of Nicholson.
I commented on the Credits sequence for the Superman one. This one is done differently, and I don't want to spoil it.
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