“What was that?” –Alex Reagan, host.
Evidence is a funny thing. Even the strongest evidence of something might not convince a skeptic, and yet a die-hard believer gets by on the slimmest of facts in order not to shatter his or her own worldview. Do you believe? Do you want to?
Alex Reagan is the host of the podcast Pacific NorthWest Stories, and in the course of researching a story, she hears of Dr. Richard Strand, a well-known (and well-reviled) skeptical paranormal researcher whose main goal in life seems to be debunking claims of the paranormal. In his office he has a group of tapes set off to the side, away from the rest of his personal effects, and these, he explains, are tapes of paranormal cases for which he has not found a scientific explanation. Yet. Alex is intrigued and asks permission to listen to the tapes, and to investigate the claims.
That’s the premise of the podcast The Black Tapes, and I think it’s brilliant. The format allows the host to explore an ever-widening variety of spooky events, while at the same time allowing those stories to circle back to the continuing thread of Dr. Strand’s mysterious past. If The X-Files was reborn as an old-timey radio program, The Black Tapes would be the result. More or less.
Like that classic show, some episodes are more effective than others, and some stories work better than others. Don’t come to these episodes looking to be terrified: it ain’t gonna happen. But there is a terrific, pervasive, growing sense of unease, a creeping feeling of dread that grows and grows the more you listen. The fact that you have to really use your imagination as you listen, forcing you to fill in the blanks of this long-form radio play in your head greatly adds to the atmosphere.
The production values are fabulous. It sounds exactly like a high-quality podcast should sound, like a paranormal This American Life or Serial, put out by the very professional (but fictional) Pacific NorthWest Stories. The writing, the background music, the editing are all top-notch. They are creating something very special here, and the care they are showing while doing so is refreshing.
If I have one quibble it’s with the acting, occasionally becoming heavy-handed and overly dramatic. Alex Reagan makes a good host, and is fine during the “hosting” parts of the program. But when she is supposedly speaking off-the-cuff and conversationally with someone, it still sounds like she’s reading from a script. I wish the “real life” portions sounded a little more “real” and not so polished or rehearsed. Dr. Strand is the most glaring example of this. I’m sure they were trying to make him sound aloof and secretive, but his delivery often comes across as stilted and wooden.
But, again, that’s a minor irritant in an overwhelmingly fun and unique series. I’m seven episodes in (there are only eight so far, with a few bonus shorts and previews thrown in for good measure) and I really can’t wait to see where it all leads. I hope they’ll be able to sustain the quality they’ve achieved so far, and keep the mystery plates spinning in the air for the entire season. Even if the final destination doesn’t end up where I’m expecting (or hoping), the journey there will be fascinating.
Uncle Mike sez: check it out.
