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| Red Valley | |
|---|---|
| Presentation | |
| Starring |
|
| Genre | |
| Written by | Jonathan Williams |
| Directed by |
|
| Language | English |
| Length | 20–30 minutes |
| Production | |
| Production | Alan Mandel |
| Composed by | Richard Campbell |
| No. of seasons | 2+ |
| No. of episodes | 19+ |
| Publication | |
| Original release | March 22, 2020 |
| Provider | Fable and Folly |
| Related | |
| Website | www.redvalleypod.com |
Red Valley is a British science fiction and mystery podcast created by Jonathan Williams and Alan Mandel. It deals with the concept of cryosleep, its costs and potential consequences.[1]
Production
[edit]Red Valley is recorded and produced at Orpheus Studio in London.[2] The first season consists of 6 episodes, the second season of 8 episodes, with a miniseries consisting of 4 episodes connecting the two. A third and final season will be released in 2023. Season 3 was funded through a crowdfunding campaign that ran from August to October 2022.[3]
The cover art was created by John Cook Lynch.[4]
The podcast is part of the Fable and Folly Network.[5]
Cast and characters
[edit]- Jonathan Williams as Warren Godby
- Alan Mandel as Gordon Porlock
- Tash Reith-Banks as Aubrey Wood
- May Cunningham as Bryony Halbech
- Alexander Broad as Clive Schill
- Susan Hingley as Hester Hiyashi
- Rachel Fowler as Pamela Jennings
- Daon Broni as Degracious Melé
- David Charles as Malcolm Landry
- Natalie Day as Blue Sky
- Carol Pestridge as Francesca Jones
Plot
[edit]Season 1
[edit]Warren Godby, an accounts employee for Overhead Industries, tries to find out what happened to the research station Red Valley. He receives help from Gordon Porlock, an archivist at the same company, who is in the possession of some tapes from Red Valley's last occupant, Aubrey Woods. Through the tapes Warren learns about the cryonic preservation experiments that Overhead conducted at the research station. The both of them travel to the station. After arriving at Red Valley, they learn that Warren was one of the test subjects, and the only one so far who survived the process, even though he lost his memories of these events. Gordon has to choose between being killed or taking a job as the facilities caretaker, which he accepts. Warren is put back into hypersleep.
The miniseries While You Were Hypersleeping is set immediately after season 1 and reveals what Gordon is doing in between seasons.
Season 2
[edit]Warren and Gordon now live at the research station. Bryony Halbech continues experimentation on Warren, while Gordon is made to record and archive everything. Warren is put in and out of hypersleep multiple times, which starts taking a toll on his physical and mental health. Gordon makes contact with Aubrey Wood, who is on the run from Overhead but hiding close to the station. She wants to stop what is going on. Bryony is fired after Overhead directors learn about her unethical methods through Gordon's recordings. Bryony shoots Gordon for this supposed betrayal, and Warren goes into shock. Aubrey, who snuck into the station to help Gordon and Warren escape, puts both of them into hypersleep to save their lives. 44 years later Aubrey wakes Warren up.
Reception
[edit]In 2020, the show received an Audio Verse Award in the category Vocal Composition for the song Morior Invictus,[6] and was nominated in the category Vocal Direction.[7] In the 2022 Audio Verse Awards, David Charles, Robin Hellier and Rosie Owen were nominated in the category Best Guest Performer in an Existing Production for their roles in the second season of the show.[8]
Writer and voice actor Alasdair Stuart calls the script "as funny as it is disturbing".[9] In Red Valley "[c]omedy [...], horror and science fiction collide and the end result is vastly impressive."[10] In his review of season two, he calls the show "a horrific, hilarious, touching story about science, redemption, guilt, love and working for a man who threatens to feed you your own teeth" and compares it to "what would happen if John Wyndham wrote The Office".[11]
On an episode of the BBC Sounds show Podcast Radio Hour, audio producer and consultant Ella Watts comments on how a major theme of Red Valley is the treatment of people convicted of a crime, and how they're viewed as sub-human. She also notes how grounded and realistic Red Valley feels for a science fiction show, and praises the writing for its distinct character voices.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ Fernández Collins, Elena (13 April 2020). "18 Fiction Podcast Debuts: March 2020". Medium. Bello Collective. Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
- ^ "Press". Retrieved 18 November 2022.
- ^ "Red Valley - Audio Drama on Twitter". Retrieved 18 November 2022.
- ^ Red Valley - Audio Drama on Twitter, archived from the original on 28 March 2021, retrieved 19 November 2022
- ^ "The Fable and Follly Network - Fable and Folly". Retrieved 18 November 2022.
- ^ "2020 Winners - The Audio Verse Awards". Retrieved 18 November 2022.
- ^ "2020 List of Finalists - The Audio Verse Awards". Retrieved 18 November 2022.
- ^ "2022 List of Finalists - The Audio Verse Awards". Retrieved 2 December 2022.
- ^ Stuart, Alasdair (24 April 2020). "The Full Lid - 24th April 2020". Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
- ^ Stuart, Alasdair (27 March 2020). "The Full Lid - 27th March 2020". Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
- ^ Stuart, Alasdair (7 October 2022). "The Full Lid - 7th October 2022". Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
- ^ Pearson, Chris; Watts, Ella (27 May 2022). "Science Fiction Audio Drama". Podcast Radio Hour. BBC. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
External links
[edit]Category:Audio podcasts Category:Science fiction podcasts Category:Scripted podcasts Category:British podcasts Category:2020 podcast debuts