By Jove!
Rude Alchemy review
Rating – 
Years ago, there was a radio show called The Harpoon. It was a spoof of the vintage British radio shows from the 1930s and 40s. It was a sketch show styled in the form of a comic (strangely) and it was very funny. You may be wondering why I mentioned this, but it is pertinent. Sort of. This podcast was recommended to me on Reddit by a fellow fan of A Scottish Podcast. You’ll be well aware of my giddy fanboy fawning of this show, so to have something else mentioned in the same breath was high praise indeed.
So what’s it about?
Rude Alchemy is a pastiche of old time radio shows. Season one follows the misadventures of Carver Cranebottom, Bone Detective. Set in Victorian England, this preliminary escapade involves theft, imprisonment (and escape), enigmatic characters and a generous spoonful of zany humour.
Season two carries the theme, albeit involving a different eccentric protagonist. The name of the game here is comedy. Strange comedy with an antique patina. Think back to an early review of mine (and a classic as far as I’m concerned), Wormwood: A Serialised Mystery and you’ll be on the right path.
Is it any good?
Well, it’s nowhere near as good as ASP (but then not much is). Name dropping a show like that is high praise indeed, and unfortunately, if you go into this show expecting another classic, then you’ll be disappointed. It reminds me of another podcast that seems to be beloved by comedy podcast fans. That is True Tales Of The Illuminati. I have reviewed that in the past, and you can spot the similar rating here.
The criticisms are the same here. While I certainly can’t fault the gusto with which the show is performed, that hyperactive comedic style leaves me cold. I’ll be honest here, I actually prefer the bonus episodes they release. They are still silly, but the humour seems more authentic and less “forced”, and I enjoy them a lot more.
Final thoughts
If you like this show then I would recommend digging out the aforementioned show The Harpoon. I would also recommend Brain Cigar, Wormwood, even Listen Through The Brown Window does vintage humour very well, albeit representing different eras.
I sometimes wonder what’s wrong with me, what I’m missing with shows like this. Believe me, I’m not being deliberately contrarian. Obviously, if I liked every podcast I listened to, then this blog would be pointless. Sometimes I have to really try hard to find faults, other times I don’t.
As I’ve said before, these reviews are my opinion, and if crazy, silly, surreal humour is your thing, particularly if you like other shows I’ve mentioned, then give this one a go.
You can get Rude Alchemy here:
https://www.greatpods.co/podcasts/rude-alchemy-320654
For more great reviews, I recommend GreatPods