Month: December 2022

Have a Cool Yule Y’all

December 25, 2022 / / 0 Comments

No review this week sorry. As I write this, I am elbow deep in wrapping paper and working out timings for cooking my Christmas dinner. As you read this, I will be elbow deep in shredded wrapping paper and seeing if my timing estimates are indeed accurate.

I can’t believe that I’ve managed to do this for a year without losing interest (this really is a rare occurrence). I have already paid for another year’s hosting, so I’ll stick at this for at least another year!

In case you want to get ahead of me, then the next few shows I review (in no particular order) will be.

A Tradition Of Violence
Deviltown
Badlands
Death In The Afternoon
The Lovecraft Tapes

I hope you all have a happy Christmas if you celebrate it, if you don’t then try to enjoy the endless crap on TV. You could always listen to a podcast instead…

Bah Humbug!

Fry your brain

December 18, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Great Leap Years review

Rating –

Great leap years logo

As someone who has literally grown up as a Stephen Fry fan, from A Bit Of Fry And Laurie, to Jeeves And Wooster, to QI. This review may seem somewhat biased. If Mr Fry puts his name to something then you can rest assured it will be quality. Having said that, I don’t think he did a podcast before this one. So is this another notch on his tally of greatness, or is it an uncharacteristic fail? Read on and see.

So what’s it about?

This series covers the history of human invention. That may sound like a lot, and indeed it is, but thankfully Stephen skips through the first 10,000 years or so rather quickly so we can get down to more “recent” technological achievement, starting in the middle ages.

Each episode follows along in a somewhat chronological order. Starting in earnest with the invention of the Gutenberg Press, and ending with the invention of computers, maybe even glimpses of the real bleeding edge of advancement.

I guarantee you there will be lots of facts here that you will have never heard before, even if you know about the actual inventions. The way that the most revolutionary things get invented, either by accident or as a “plan b” is truly mind-blowing, and goes to show that these guys are (usually) just ordinary people.

I think my favourite episode here was the reason I found this podcast (after hearing Penn Jillette mention it on his Sunday School podcast) about Fritz Haber, who was responsible for saving more people than anyone else in history, then killing more people than anyone else, and then saving people again. That one is as heartbreaking as it is fascinating, and goes to show the duality of technological advancement, especially during war time.

Is it any good?

If you like learning new things in a fun and interesting way then you’ll love this series. If that previous sentence doesn’t apply to you, I suggest you go back to Joe Rogan. Seeing as an awful lot of people know Stephen Fry from QI, then a series about obscure fact on well known subjects won’t be anything new.

Stephen Fry has a real talent for making things interesting. I suspect this is because he is genuinely interested in the subject matter too. I think this is why there are so many bad teachers in the world. They just aren’t really interested in their own subject matter, but I digress.

Final thoughts

Imagine, if you will, the chapters on recent earth history in The Hitchikers Guide To The Galaxy, and you’ll be somewhat close to this show. Yes, I know that Mr. Fry narrated that particular work of genius for the audiobook. That’s why I said it. He has now become as inexoravbly linked to that, as he has to the works of P.G. Wodehouse. Which is no bad thing.

The only thing that stops this being the best podcast I’ve ever heard is the fact that there is so much information that my brain does start to fry after a few episodes. If you’re not as greedy as I am, and you listen to one or two episodes a day then I’m sure you’ll agree that this is practically perfect in every way.

You can get Stephen Fry’s Great Leap Years here:

http://www.stephenfry.com/greatleapyears/

Or wherever you get your podcasts.

It’s in the system…

December 11, 2022 / / 1 Comment

The System review

Production company – BBC

Rating –

I feel somewhat tricked into this series. I was looking through the “recommended” list and saw a Tom Clancy Splinter Cell series so I subscribed. Not that I’m a massive Tom Clancy fan. In fact my only knowledge of his work is the Splinter Cell computer games. I figured maybe I should get to know the stories as well.

In the first episode they are talking about people with animal names. “Ah yes”, I  recall. “Something ocelot wasn’t it?” About 30 seconds later I remember that “something ocelot” was “revolver ocelot”, who was from Metal Gear Solid, not Splinter Cell. Old age doesn’t come alone I tell you.

So what’s it about?

The System is a rather gripping drama series focussing on the disappearance of Jake, a disillusioned young man with no prospects, stuck in a dead end job. His half sister Maya is thrown into a dark and violent world after a mysterious phone call from Jake telling her to recover a box from his flat. Following a near miss with some shady looking individuals who also seem to want the box, Maya is determined to uncover the truth.

From there, the story is told in a series of flashbacks that follow Jake’s initiation into “The System”, and the true motivation behind it. Is it just a seemingly innocent (but very intense) self improvement club, or something else? What is the meaning of the spooky list that ends in “Judgment Day”? And just who the hell is Beau Leech?

Is it any good?

It’s very good, yes. The series is well written, and the acting is very good. You may wonder then, why I rated it rather low. Essentially, the main plot thread is not as clever as I suspect the writers thought it was. In fact from quite early on you can see how this is going to play out. Having said that, whilst I did guess the general direction it was taking, the final piece of exposition that triggered the creation of The System was truly heart rending. 

The fact I guessed the twist is the only reason for the low score though. I highly recommend you give it a listen, if you don’t spot the clues, you’ll wonder why I didn’t give it a 5 brain rating. 

I desperately want to expand on the plot to compare it to other podcasts I’ve heard, but that will give the game away somewhat, so I will bite my tongue. As such this review will probably be a bit shorter than usual. When I get round to reviewing those podcasts though, I’ll be linking back to this one, so you’ll eventually see what I mean.

Final thoughts

This podcast series seems to have a diverse range of stories, the latest one being based on Splinter Cell. Each series is short enough to be binge worthy (fewer than 10 half hour episodes), and if the other stories. Rest assured I’ll be reviewing them all in due course. I may even skip to the Splinter Cell one next!

You can get The System here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000wdh0

Or wherever you get your podcasts.

And the winner is!

December 4, 2022 / / 0 Comments
Trophy pic

December 2nd marked the 1st anniversary of me launching this blog. In a rather preemptive strike on the traditional end of year lists that will invariably clog up all your timelines in a few weeks, I thought I’d get in with my rather unofficial awards celebrating the best (in my opinion) podcasts you can get. So, ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce the first annual podcastgeek awards ceremony!

Some shows I will have reviewed, and I’ll be adding links to the reviews where available. Others will be reviewed as soon as I get round to it. Each category will have a shortlist of five entries in no special order apart from how they spring to mind. At the end of each shortlist we will have the winners. I hope you have the patience to read all the way through. It shouldn’t take too long!

Now, there may well be some glaring omissions, especially if you’ve been following this blog for a while, but seeing as this will be an annual event, there is always next year, and I promise no series will win more than once.

The drinks are flowing here at the podcastgeek enormodome and the guests are waiting with bated breath to see who takes the gongs home. So without further ado, I’ll roll out the red carpet as the spotlights rake the night sky, put on my best bib and tucker and heap praise on a multitude of shows. DRUMROLL PLEASE!

Best fiction podcast

This was a tough one, because the entire shortlist is excellent, ultimately though, the result will come as no surprise to anyone who’s read my reviews.

The winner is THE MAGNUS ARCHIVES!

Magnus Archives Logo

Best true crime podcast

  • Hunting Warhead
  • The Lazarus Heist
  • Death In Ice Valley
  • Deep Cover
  • The World’s Greatest Con

Another tough one. Another 5 incredible shows, but there’s only one winner tonight. This podcast won just for the fact that there is some resolution to the crimes, and the fact that there are no real trigger warnings.

The winner is THE WORLD’S GREATEST CON!

World's Greatest Con logo

Best gaming/geek culture podcast

I had originally intended to spend a month or so only reviewing this rather niche area of the podcastverse, but I didn’t want to lose either of my regular subscribers, so I decided against it. Anyway, these are five very worthy podcasts, but for the sheer range of subject matter there can be only one (as the highlander would say).

The winner is HYPNOGORIA.

Hypnogoria Logo

Best science podcast

Originally I avoided science podcasts, thinking they would be stuffy and boring (despite having an interest in science). How wrong I was. The podcasts here are all very accessible and very entertaining.

The winner is BIG PICTURE SCIENCE.

Big Picture Science logo

Best comedy podcast

Over the years, I have listened to plenty of “comedy” podcasts that are as funny as standing on a plug. The shortlist here though are all very, very funny indeed. That said, in much the same way the The Magnus Archives was a rather predictable win, so is this. This one is a very sweary win “fae Dougie, Lee and John the dug”.

The winner is A SCOTTISH PODCAST.

A Scottish Podcast logo

Best paranormal/folklore podcast

I could have happily had four of Danny Robins’ podcasts and one other to make up the numbers, but that wouldn’t be fair, especially with so many interesting paranormal and folklore podcasts out there. The winner of this category really takes top spot, like hypnogoria, for the sheer breadth of subject matter. This really is a great series.

The winner is BONE AND SICKLE.

Bone And Sickle logo

Best factual podcast

Possibly the hardest category to judge, due to the catch-all nature of the title. Again, the shortlist entries are all worthy of your time, and I recommend you check them all out. The contrarian in me has decided though that it has to be heroic.

The winner is HOW TO BURN A MILLION QUID.

How To Burn A MIllion Quid logo

Phew, that’s a lot of podcasts isn’t it? And I’ve obviously done a load of listening. That is only a small selection of the podcasts that I’ve pumped into my brain over the last few years. If the best idea is to “write about what you know”, you can see why I started writing about podcasts can’t you?

“Ha! Mr podcastgeek” I hear you scoff. “Why don’t you get a life?”

In response I will click my fingers and out of the shadows a group of no-necked toughs in suits will have these hecklers ejected from the venue.

We have had some great shows mentioned this year, and despite missing out on a win, I really need to give an honourable mention to The Good Friends Of Jackson Elias. When I posted my review of that podcast, it had so many shares and comments, it is BY FAR the most popular post I’ve written. So thank you to all the Call Of Cthulhu and Chaosium fans who took the time to help grow my blog. It is greatly appreciated.

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