The antiques spookshow
The Collection Of Moira Graves review
Production Company – Lengthy Tangent
Rating – 
This week I am revisiting a style of podcast that I have neglected somewhat. That being the good old anthology series. Anthology stories range from from the classics (The Magnus Archives) to the really not so good
This was a show that was new to me though, so with the brief blurb enough to pique my interest, I pressed play.
So what’s it about?
The Collection Of Moira Graves is a horror anthology series that revolves around psychic antique collector Moira. Each episode she relates the tale of the many diverse trinkets. The episodes are structured as an intro, where she meets one of the locals where she lives, the main story, which is dramatised, and the epilogue, which is really just more of the same small talk from the intro.
The stories involve a diverse range of items, from an old TV, some self help tapes or an old movie projector. Moira is skilled at psychometry, so as soon as she touches an item, she is transported to the events which shaped the item’s story.
The residents of the town are all a bit strange in their own way, and slightly wary of Moira and her magpie companion. She soon wins people round though, and as the episodes progress, she settling in rather well.
Is it any good?
I’m going to be brutally honest here. I mean, I am always brutally honest, but you may feel me being a bit more brutal than usual. So here we go.
The acting isn’t great. It’s ok, but something here just misses the mark for me. It’s strange to have a cast of voice actors that range so much in skill. I don’t know if you have ever listened to roleplaying game “actual plays”. The majority of the actors have a very overzealous and flamboyant style. Think Joe Lo Truglio in the film Role Models (rub a dub dub).
Also, the stories can tend to be a bit samey. There are two episodes early on that really did share a similar story arc. I was hoping that it was just a one off, and so far, this seems to be the case.
There’s just nothing to really sink your teeth into. The writing is ok. Nothing more. I suspect that creating a show like this will occasionally have you painting yourself into a corner from a creativity standpoint. I wonder what will happen once Moira has met all the residents in town, and told them all a story?
If you were a fan of The Foxes Of Hydesville, you’ll probably love this, so feel free to get stuck in.
Final thoughts
Yes, I am grumpy, and yes, I can be a contrarian. I try not to be deliberately so though. There is a lot here that many people will love. There are a lot of very similar shows that get name dropped all the time, and that’s fine. I’m just at the point now where I need more. Maybe I’m approaching some kind of burnout, who knows.
There are, as I write this, only six episodes out, so there is plenty of room for the show to develop. I sincerely hope that it does, because there is a lot of potential here.
You can get The Collection Of Moira Graves here:
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