The Cambridge Geek

In The Gloaming

I'm afraid it's been rather a while since I've got a post up, as moving house is not a small undertaking. With that now mostly out of the way (though with a depressing amount of painting and shelf assembly still to do), time to get back to writing about the entertainment I've enjoyed.

In The Gloaming is an older podcast, with the first episode being released back in 2009, and only five episodes being produced variously over the years, so it's an easy listen. However, it also had a bit of a troubled past, which is why it didn't continue. If you're a podcaster, you might want to read some of their lessons on how not to make a podcast (though with the caveat that the environment has changed a bit since 2010 when that was written).

It's generally in the style of Appointment with Fear/The Man in Black, as an anthology series of horror stories, each bookended by a sarcastic, cannibalistic chap, who is always brought to glee by the escapades of the characters. And they of course have terrible things happen to them. There's an unusual diet plan, trouble with the undead, difficulties for some new parents, a brain-switching device and an ungodly nativity.

It's an excellent combination of gruesome and hilarious. It uses the most valuable concept of this sort of punishment/revenge show, by ensuring that all of the people to which nasty things happen are utterly unlikeable. Whether they're more than a bit racist, overly controlling, or just horribly violent, you'll enjoy listening to them get their comeuppance. But it also manages to maintain that sense of the comical by having the events that occur being both ridiculous and a little surreal. For example, Stephen King's Thinner is a grim novel, but here, even as our weight loss fanatics shrink beneath a stone and a half, they're still pleased with how sexy they look.

I enjoyed all five, and it's a shame it didn't get more, though theoretically you could claim the first series is still running. The fifth episode was released in 2017, and got an amusing Brexit-y spin, with the excellent line "We're taking back control...of your legs!" You never know, a kickstarter or similar might ratchet another series together.

Anyway, as I say, it's a short listen, and one I heartily recommend. You'll likely spot a few names you recognise in the cast, as it has the same style as Wooden Overcoats, with a few well-known voices dropping in, including Ruth Bratt and Jake Yapp. And finally it's got a very nifty theme tune.

Score:
Score 4

Tagged: Audio fiction Comedy Cast Dramatised Horror Anthology