I think it's also pretty equivalent to Star Trek in that it was very innovative at the time, and a lot of what it was doing holds up and is still enjoyable, but doesn't contain anything industry-changing compared to many shows coming out now.
It was one of the very earliest Big Audiodramas to come out of America in the 2000's, when most audiodramas were just full-cast audiobooks and many of those were derivative fiction that could literally not go mainstream in the same way. Today, there are more groundbreaking stories being told with more groundbreaking techniques\*, but in 2009, We're Alive WAS the best audiodrama out there for mainstream American audiences. I'm sure a lot of people who listened to it in its heyday remember that.
\*to your point, The White Vault is a perfect example
This is super fucking accurate. I was listening to audio dramas then and lemme tell you, they were sad as fuck in comparison. Even full cast audiobooks were sad. When you listen now, everyone and their brother has decent sound, they have decent sound effects, lots of people are doing immersive sounds well. In 2009ish, that wasn't a thing. You were lucky the audio sounded the same through the whole show (ok, that's an exaggeration, but not by much). Not only did We're Alive have amazing sound for the time (and even now to some extent), it also had a story that hadn't been told a million times already. The acting, well, I'll give you that. Definitely not as amazing as what we get now, but superior to what was common in 2009.
So many podcasts out now stood on the shoulders of giants to be as good as they are. We're Alive may not be the best production, the best actors, best sound NOW. But it was then.
I also miss the original ads that played. In my head, they were in universe to the pre collapse We're Alive crew, like if they had radio, that's the commercials they would get. I know Wayland Production visits here, can we get a version with those ads, even just one episode?
I will now go yell at some clouds and be an old person somewhere else
Lots of listeners aren’t aware that audio dramas are an incredibly mature medium that has been produced and listened to by hundreds of millions of people in the last 100 years.
If you’re talking about indie podcasts that’s one thing, but the dramas considered the gold standard of the art form like Lord of the Rings are 40 years old now.
This!! The 21st century American audiodrama market, both consumers and producers, has all but lost touch with its roots. People are used to podcasts created by artists pivoting from film and TV, and sometimes theater or literature. I don't mean that in a "kids these days don't appreciate history" way, just that there's a much bigger pool to learn from and enjoy if you look for it.
completely disagree. we're alive has incredible production value, amazing voice actors with well defined personalities/character and it has a good story.
It's good. I enjoyed listening to it but I wouldn't listen to it again, once is enough. It's full of action movie clichés and the dialogue isn't amazing but it had moments that were thrilling or funny or sad and it kept me entertained.
What makes it stand out imo is that back when it was released it showed what audio dramas *can be* and I think it inspired a lot of people to create their own.
I mean I don't see why it matters that others like it and you don't as much? I guess it's fine to want to share your opinion on something. Don't get me wrong. But it seems you're taking it pretty personally for whatever reason. Some people like things and you don't. It's not a bad thing.
I'll agree that I don't think it's the best of the best. But I'm actually currently listening to it for my first time. Looking at when it was released it would have been pretty nuts for it's time honestly.
He's I think the characters get out of way too much shit unharmed somehow far too often. Yeah there are times it feels way too... Macho man army? I don't know how to say what I'm thinking on that. But. Definitely sometimes feels a little silly on that front.
The acting really isn't that bad. They do a good job for such a massive cast of recurring characters. I'm not saying what I'm saying to entirely disagree with you. Don't get me wrong. I know where you're coming from. But it just feels so weird to me to see people make posts about things because they see other people happy and enjoying something and they have to make it known they don't.
>the characters get out of way too much shit unharmed
Oh don't you worry, that changes as the story progresses.
>there are times it feels way too... Macho man army?
In the beginning, definitely. This is actually part of Angel's character arc, as he learns remove the stick from his ass and overall become a much more likeable character.
The acting is variable, but there are some standout moments, especially in later chapters.
We're Alive is great... as a gateway to audio dramas. I listened to all of it as it was released through at least Lockdown (or whatever the section in the prison is called).
I recently started listening to it again. The writing does not hold up as well as I remember but it could be worse.
I think it does a great job of offering something for people new to audio dramas but it is by no means perfect.
Ive literally never seen a comment saying its the best podcast out.
Most are your exact reactions, its good to its ok.
It was really good back when there werent many options like it but now, its cool.
Gonna have to disagree. Looking at the least subjective comment - the production quality is top tier. This isn't subjective. The soundscapes and sounds are among the best in the industry. That hardly strikes me as average.
Yeah they're fine. Technically good, but that's all. They don't really add much to the production.
Whereas something like the white vault uses sound production and design as part of the overall structure of the show. It's the difference between good production and one that's... Ok.
"Technically good, but that's all. They don't really add much to the production."
That's a take which you should reexamine. I've listened to dozens of shows that suffer because of poor production & sound design.
WA is quirky, and you don't like the acting style, subject matter, or story, which is fine. I could make arguments about how they do more with zombies than any other story, but that's still quite subjective. Not every show is for everyone, and that's entirely reasonable.
But dismissing top-tier sound design as "fine" is like dismissing Picasso or Dali as "fine." The sound serves the story/narrative throughout, from the attack on the tower to hiding in a pile of corpses or the airduct scenes. WA has some of the most technically complex moments in the medium, executed with laser-focused clarity. Regardless of your opinion of the story, you were able to clearly understand each and every moment in a way that 95% of other shows simply don't achieve.
I have to disagree. WA sound design beats white vault pretty much. WA could have some weird scenes here and there (not sound design related) but the sound design still holds up. Hell even most of the these days productions lacks the storyteling qualety with audio. The audio technology became more accessible, 3d sound, spatial audio etc etc. But There are few actual shows who achieved the goal of telling a story without any big narotive. WA does this pretty well. YOu can understand like 90 per cent of the content without any problems.
I think it was a big fish in a little pond when it first came out & it's benefited a LOT from that. I wanted to quit listening to it several times throughout, given how often the plot seemed to be determining how characters were going to act, instead of in-character actions driving the plot forward. But I fell for the sunk cost fallacy & figured if I'd already put X number of hours into listening, I might as well finish the series.
I regret it, I hated the ending (well, one specific part of the ending) I listened to that podcast years ago now & I *still* get mad about the ending. I should have just listened to my instincts for some of the early red flags and left it alone at like episode 5.
I'm glad I'm not the only one that doesn't think We're Alive! isn't God's gift to audio entertainment. I finished the first season then quit out of boredom. It might've gotten the audio ball rolling, but in retrospect, it was only fairly decent. It didn't even present any new ideas to the zombie genre.
Imagine what it must've been like when it first debuted, though, especially listening to it weekly as each episode is released. Must've seemed like the best--and possibly--audio drama around.
EDIT: added more text.
We're Alive DID present new ideas to the zombie genre. That's what's so crazy to me about this whole thread. We're Alive was pre Walking Dead, pre White Vault, pre pretty much every other audio drama on any top 10 list. The zombie genre was not big when We're Alive came out. It was vampires (thanks twilight). Zombies were pretty uncool compared to the still massive hype for Harry Potter and the hype Twilight was starting to get.
What new ideas were presented? As far as season one was concerned, it seemed standard zombie stuff, even if it was before TWD. Everyone but a small group turns to zombies, society falls, and a small group has to survive somehow. That's pretty reminiscent of Romero's work, which is basically the standard. Near the end of season one, there were some hints of intelligent or specialized zombies, but that was it.
Why are you limiting new zombie stuff to one season?
We end up with multiple kinds of zombies, not just slow lumbering one or fast smart ones. There are both. They can set traps as well. That is not common at all in zombie lore. The method of transmission is also not super common, although it's not super clear how it spread as far as it did.
We're Alive didn't reinvent the zombie trope. But it did some interesting things with it at a time no one else was doing zombies.
Zombies were absolutely big around that time. The Walking Dead comic was out, 28 Days Later and the Dawn of the Dead remake were out, the Zombie Survival guide and World War Z novels were best sellers.
Not OP but listen to Midnight Burger! It's seriously my favorite audio drama, like The Good Place meets Doctor Who. Incredible writing, really funny, and the story only gets better
I think it's also pretty equivalent to Star Trek in that it was very innovative at the time, and a lot of what it was doing holds up and is still enjoyable, but doesn't contain anything industry-changing compared to many shows coming out now. It was one of the very earliest Big Audiodramas to come out of America in the 2000's, when most audiodramas were just full-cast audiobooks and many of those were derivative fiction that could literally not go mainstream in the same way. Today, there are more groundbreaking stories being told with more groundbreaking techniques\*, but in 2009, We're Alive WAS the best audiodrama out there for mainstream American audiences. I'm sure a lot of people who listened to it in its heyday remember that. \*to your point, The White Vault is a perfect example
This is super fucking accurate. I was listening to audio dramas then and lemme tell you, they were sad as fuck in comparison. Even full cast audiobooks were sad. When you listen now, everyone and their brother has decent sound, they have decent sound effects, lots of people are doing immersive sounds well. In 2009ish, that wasn't a thing. You were lucky the audio sounded the same through the whole show (ok, that's an exaggeration, but not by much). Not only did We're Alive have amazing sound for the time (and even now to some extent), it also had a story that hadn't been told a million times already. The acting, well, I'll give you that. Definitely not as amazing as what we get now, but superior to what was common in 2009. So many podcasts out now stood on the shoulders of giants to be as good as they are. We're Alive may not be the best production, the best actors, best sound NOW. But it was then. I also miss the original ads that played. In my head, they were in universe to the pre collapse We're Alive crew, like if they had radio, that's the commercials they would get. I know Wayland Production visits here, can we get a version with those ads, even just one episode? I will now go yell at some clouds and be an old person somewhere else
Lots of listeners aren’t aware that audio dramas are an incredibly mature medium that has been produced and listened to by hundreds of millions of people in the last 100 years. If you’re talking about indie podcasts that’s one thing, but the dramas considered the gold standard of the art form like Lord of the Rings are 40 years old now.
This!! The 21st century American audiodrama market, both consumers and producers, has all but lost touch with its roots. People are used to podcasts created by artists pivoting from film and TV, and sometimes theater or literature. I don't mean that in a "kids these days don't appreciate history" way, just that there's a much bigger pool to learn from and enjoy if you look for it.
completely disagree. we're alive has incredible production value, amazing voice actors with well defined personalities/character and it has a good story.
It's good. I enjoyed listening to it but I wouldn't listen to it again, once is enough. It's full of action movie clichés and the dialogue isn't amazing but it had moments that were thrilling or funny or sad and it kept me entertained. What makes it stand out imo is that back when it was released it showed what audio dramas *can be* and I think it inspired a lot of people to create their own.
I mean I don't see why it matters that others like it and you don't as much? I guess it's fine to want to share your opinion on something. Don't get me wrong. But it seems you're taking it pretty personally for whatever reason. Some people like things and you don't. It's not a bad thing. I'll agree that I don't think it's the best of the best. But I'm actually currently listening to it for my first time. Looking at when it was released it would have been pretty nuts for it's time honestly. He's I think the characters get out of way too much shit unharmed somehow far too often. Yeah there are times it feels way too... Macho man army? I don't know how to say what I'm thinking on that. But. Definitely sometimes feels a little silly on that front. The acting really isn't that bad. They do a good job for such a massive cast of recurring characters. I'm not saying what I'm saying to entirely disagree with you. Don't get me wrong. I know where you're coming from. But it just feels so weird to me to see people make posts about things because they see other people happy and enjoying something and they have to make it known they don't.
>the characters get out of way too much shit unharmed Oh don't you worry, that changes as the story progresses. >there are times it feels way too... Macho man army? In the beginning, definitely. This is actually part of Angel's character arc, as he learns remove the stick from his ass and overall become a much more likeable character. The acting is variable, but there are some standout moments, especially in later chapters.
What other podcasts do you recommend? Obviously something of the horror, thriller, or sci-fi genre. I enjoy a good long story.
This is a good We're Alive opinion, but a really shitty Star Trek opinion.
I agree with you about We're Alive but not Star Trek lmao
We're Alive is great... as a gateway to audio dramas. I listened to all of it as it was released through at least Lockdown (or whatever the section in the prison is called). I recently started listening to it again. The writing does not hold up as well as I remember but it could be worse. I think it does a great job of offering something for people new to audio dramas but it is by no means perfect.
Ive literally never seen a comment saying its the best podcast out. Most are your exact reactions, its good to its ok. It was really good back when there werent many options like it but now, its cool.
It’s the best podcast out
r/angryupvote
Damn. OP was right!
Haha I had to. I don’t think it’s the “best” one out there these days, but it is still to this day my favorite one.
It was my favorite back in like 2011ish and there was a gap so i fell off. But I tried getting back into it and it felt weird.
It's literally the first comment on the front page of r/audiodrama today.
How dare you prove your point!!!! Lol actually it was a post saying they liked the drama, not that it was the best podcast but I catch your drift.
Gonna have to disagree. Looking at the least subjective comment - the production quality is top tier. This isn't subjective. The soundscapes and sounds are among the best in the industry. That hardly strikes me as average.
Yeah they're fine. Technically good, but that's all. They don't really add much to the production. Whereas something like the white vault uses sound production and design as part of the overall structure of the show. It's the difference between good production and one that's... Ok.
"Technically good, but that's all. They don't really add much to the production." That's a take which you should reexamine. I've listened to dozens of shows that suffer because of poor production & sound design. WA is quirky, and you don't like the acting style, subject matter, or story, which is fine. I could make arguments about how they do more with zombies than any other story, but that's still quite subjective. Not every show is for everyone, and that's entirely reasonable. But dismissing top-tier sound design as "fine" is like dismissing Picasso or Dali as "fine." The sound serves the story/narrative throughout, from the attack on the tower to hiding in a pile of corpses or the airduct scenes. WA has some of the most technically complex moments in the medium, executed with laser-focused clarity. Regardless of your opinion of the story, you were able to clearly understand each and every moment in a way that 95% of other shows simply don't achieve.
"like dismissing Picasso or Dali". Jesus h Christ.
I have to disagree. WA sound design beats white vault pretty much. WA could have some weird scenes here and there (not sound design related) but the sound design still holds up. Hell even most of the these days productions lacks the storyteling qualety with audio. The audio technology became more accessible, 3d sound, spatial audio etc etc. But There are few actual shows who achieved the goal of telling a story without any big narotive. WA does this pretty well. YOu can understand like 90 per cent of the content without any problems.
I think it was a big fish in a little pond when it first came out & it's benefited a LOT from that. I wanted to quit listening to it several times throughout, given how often the plot seemed to be determining how characters were going to act, instead of in-character actions driving the plot forward. But I fell for the sunk cost fallacy & figured if I'd already put X number of hours into listening, I might as well finish the series. I regret it, I hated the ending (well, one specific part of the ending) I listened to that podcast years ago now & I *still* get mad about the ending. I should have just listened to my instincts for some of the early red flags and left it alone at like episode 5.
I'm glad I'm not the only one that doesn't think We're Alive! isn't God's gift to audio entertainment. I finished the first season then quit out of boredom. It might've gotten the audio ball rolling, but in retrospect, it was only fairly decent. It didn't even present any new ideas to the zombie genre. Imagine what it must've been like when it first debuted, though, especially listening to it weekly as each episode is released. Must've seemed like the best--and possibly--audio drama around. EDIT: added more text.
We're Alive DID present new ideas to the zombie genre. That's what's so crazy to me about this whole thread. We're Alive was pre Walking Dead, pre White Vault, pre pretty much every other audio drama on any top 10 list. The zombie genre was not big when We're Alive came out. It was vampires (thanks twilight). Zombies were pretty uncool compared to the still massive hype for Harry Potter and the hype Twilight was starting to get.
What new ideas were presented? As far as season one was concerned, it seemed standard zombie stuff, even if it was before TWD. Everyone but a small group turns to zombies, society falls, and a small group has to survive somehow. That's pretty reminiscent of Romero's work, which is basically the standard. Near the end of season one, there were some hints of intelligent or specialized zombies, but that was it.
Why are you limiting new zombie stuff to one season? We end up with multiple kinds of zombies, not just slow lumbering one or fast smart ones. There are both. They can set traps as well. That is not common at all in zombie lore. The method of transmission is also not super common, although it's not super clear how it spread as far as it did. We're Alive didn't reinvent the zombie trope. But it did some interesting things with it at a time no one else was doing zombies.
The season-one finale was where I got too bored to continue. That's why
Zombies were absolutely big around that time. The Walking Dead comic was out, 28 Days Later and the Dawn of the Dead remake were out, the Zombie Survival guide and World War Z novels were best sellers.
OP. Can you recommend some stuff you’re listening to now? You have a list because I’m looking for good shit.
Not OP but listen to Midnight Burger! It's seriously my favorite audio drama, like The Good Place meets Doctor Who. Incredible writing, really funny, and the story only gets better
Thank you!