I don't know if there are any Night Vale fans here, but I could only find a few mentions in comments when I searched. Boyfriend has been getting me into it lately, and now I'm hooked. It's delicious, funny, dark, and absurd, sort of like a less cartoonish version of League of Gentlemen.
I'm delighted that stuff like this can find an audience, though I don't expect that it could have flourished in the pre-Internet days. It's especially gratifying that the Internet has latched on to the presenter Cecil's adoration of Carlos, a scientist who is there to study Night Vale's oddities. "His hair is perfect, and we all hate and despair and love that perfect hair in equal measure." Those understated plot threads are what make the town feel more real rather than just a series of offbeat gags.
If you're not sure whether you want to try listening to it, here's a quote from their Twitter that represents the kind of bizarre horror/humor they do:
- Roses are red.
Violets are sentient.
Orchids have giant hearts.
Lilies feel pain.
This has been a comprehensive list of flowers.
It's one of those podcasts that's best listened to in small doses. After a while, the episodes just kind of blend in to each other. That said, it does have some interesting characters and circumstances, like the man who is neither too short nor too tall, or the house where time and space don't work.
Yeah, I agree, I can't binge it — I can't tell whether that's because it was better at the start or because the episodes tend to get repetitive, but either way it's always good for a chuckle at least. Last year they came out with a novel, which I read with a lot of anticipation. It suffered from exactly the problem you'd expect — it has the same tone and pacing as the podcast, which is totally wrong for a novel. It has its moments, but you can't write a novel like it's a half-hour podcast. I did go see their live show last year, though, and that was spectacular. They really nailed it there with more of a variety format where we got to hear a lot from different characters. There's always a special joy in the Glow Cloud (all hail) or the Dog Park (no dogs or humans allowed), or even just Cecil's dewey-eyed admiration for Carlos. Some jokes will just never get old for me.
It's probably a bit of both. It's a drawback of trying to keep a story going just because. The longer it goes, the more likely it is to meander and lose focus. I've heard similar complaints for TV shows and God knows it's true for comics. I think there's a lot of merit to ending a story in a definitive and timely fashion.I can't tell whether that's because it was better at the start or because the episodes tend to get repetitive.
You know I think you're right. They got bogged down in their own continuity. The show worked a lot better when it was a bunch of throw-away references that no-one expected to come back. It starts getting tedious when you're still following the same plot threads (one crumb at a time) from a year ago.
Someone pitched it to me as "like Garrison Keillor moved to Innsmouth". It's hilarious, but gets repetitive after a while. I stopped following around the one about the yellow helicopters. Definitely worth checking out, but maybe not something that should continue indefinitely.
Yes! I hate A Prairie Home Companion which I think is just dull, but Night Vale gives the concept the extra boost it needs to be good. They do get a bit repetitive, but then I wouldn't listen to them on their own. They're entertaining to have on while you're doing something else.
It was great! Robert Altman's last film before he died, it stars Meryl Streep, Maya Rudolph, Tommy Lee Jones, Woody Harrelson, John C Reilly, and a surprisingly incredible Lindsay Lohan. Garrison Keller also plays himself! It's not much of a central plot, but the film follows the "last show" of Prairie Home Companion before the theatre is bought and demolished. The Angel Of Death visits and affects the characters in different ways, and Tommy Lee Jones plays the bitter but understanding man who bought the theatre. Seriously though, watch it. Ebert has a great essay for his Great Movies series, too.
Coworker put me on to this podcast last Sumner and I enjoy it.