#MechaBetty

[haveyouheardthispodcast]

[greaterblogston]

The writer and creator of MechaBetty needs help and support through a very difficult time. Please do what you can, and signal boost.

[epic-semicolon-ftw]

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDyvaVOTgQ7T1AKevzQ07LPNml4KMHfYX

[oots-digitalmedia]

Queer Rep in Fantasy/Sci-Fi Podcasts

Looking for your next fictional queer fantasy/sci-fi podcast? Check out our previous entries under the break:

The 12:37

Adventures in New America

Adventures of Mechabetty

The Adventures of Sir Rodney the Root

Alba Salix, Royal Physician

Ars PARADOXICA

Audio Diary of a Superhero

The Axe & Crown

BCRS - Late Nights with Sonya Romain

The Bright Sessions

CARAVAN

Cyber

Dark Ages

Diana’s Monster

Dining in the Void

Dreamboy

Elixir

EOS10

Epiphany: The Story of a Heartbeat

Extraordinary Terrestrials

The Falcon Banner

Don’t Worry; It’s Only The End Of The World

The Far Meridian

The Ghost Radio Project

The Glass Appeal

Greater Boston

Hello From The Magic Tavern

Inkwyrm

Inn Between

Interference

Jarnsaxa Rising

Jim Robbie and the Wanderers

Kaleidotrope

Kalila Stormfire’s Economical Magick Services

King Falls AM

LEARN Podcast

LifeAfter

Lost in Williamsburg

MarsCorp

Mentally Healthy

Moonbase Theta, Out

Mount Olympus University

New World Sonata

The Nuclear Solution

Null/Void

OAKPODCAST

Oblivity

The Once and Future Nerd

The Orbiting Human Circus (of the air)

The Orphans

Overkill

The Penumbra Podcast

The Pilgrimage Saga

PleasureTown

Raising the Dead Again

Ray Gunn & Starburst

Sidequesting

The Strange Case of the Starship Iris

Supervillain Corner

Tides

The Two Princes

Under the Electric Stars

Valence

Violet Beach

Welcome to Night Vale

Within the Wires

Wolf 359

Zoo

Missing your queer fantasy/sci-fi favourite podcast? Put it in the replies or tags and I’ll make an entry!

Check out our other lists here.

[bat-witha-hat]

Finished pixel gif commissions for @mechabetty and @muteorator!  I honestly had a lot of fun on the Big Mac one!

[redphienix]

Social anxiety and tumblr bizarre-ness is noticing a main blog of a mutual deactivating, but not an alt of theirs, and a likely new-blog of theirs appears a while back, and the whole scenario doesn’t concern you but you assume something bad happened and wish them the best in a vague post?

Fuck me and where my head lies late at night.

Mutuals past and present I wish you the best and a half.

[sol1loqu1st]

"this is not your captain speaking, get the fuck out now" is among my favorite lines i have ever heard holy s hh it

[podcake]

Audio Drama December: Neon Nights: The Arcane Files of Jack Tracer Review

A week has already passed and here I am again on a Sunday morning trying to justify my sudden yearning to peal back the monochrome layers of the noir genre. Noir in audio drama is an interesting little specimen that I might not be able to go into much detail about in the upcoming year, though the constructs of genre, narrative, and aesthetic choices truly do flourish in this particular style and covering it was inevitable given this line of journalism.

I’ve already offered my thoughts on the topic a few weeks ago and what I thought of The Penumbra mere days from now, so let’s spare the introduction and get to the second part of a very much anticipated dual review month. Today’s case to crack is Neon Nights: The Arcane Files of Jack Tracer, a supernatural mystery series brought to you by Evil Kitten Productions. 

It tells the story of Jack Tracer, a cop gone private investigator, who spends his days keeping track of the strange and eerie events of Neon City where he encounters some strange people and even stranger events surrounding them. It’s the broader lens of the whole plot but makes room for some innovative individual stories nonetheless. 

Neon Nights adheres to a sort of supernatural edge that I found strangely lacking in a lot of noir podcasts I’ve come across. Though The Penumbra certain has its moments, the more bizarre elements were almost always on behalf of smoke and mirrors and some sci-fi technology that makes sense within the world’s universe while Neon Nights has a more distinct air of the occult in play which can be both a strength and a weakness depending on the stakes-more on that later. 

There’s creepy cults and mystical items and just something that implies there’s a bigger, badder thing on the surface that the series hasn’t quite admitted to yet. Episodes are often divided up into ten to fifteen minute shorts that boil down to a four part complete product when put together. It manages to pack quite a bit of lore and intrigue in just a few short moments and the individual pieces flow together nicely into a pretty gripping series of events.

Neon Nights has some authentically noir inspired tropes to its design from its acting, to music, to use of old-timey sound effects that almost make you feel like you’re listening to it in black and white. The opening track is wonderfully rustic with some bass and piano over some soothing vinyl crackling and even without any background music, you still get this sort of jazzy vibe from the whole ting.  

As far as audio editing goes, it certainly knows how to make use of the most subtle of sound effects to improvise an idea of space and can seamlessly flow between narration and conversations with little stumbling. 

The presentation is certainly Neon Nights’ strong point, seeming to know all the best ways to make a scene feel as exciting or tense as it needs to be. Even through the most subtle of music selection and rain effects, it brings many of the moments to life and leaves a lot to drink up even with the short run times of individual episodes. 

If there was anything here that I really found myself liking it was the unsettling mood it was able to pass off in only a few seconds of an opening scene. This especially goes for episode four of “Case of Shady Grove”  that gave me some strong Psycho vibes and the entirety of “House of Joy” that not only had one of my favorite antagonists but a nice perspective switch between the two leads and what had me rooting for Red immediately. And with that in mind, we can nicely segue into some complaints.

I’m sorry to say that the lead character Jack Tracer doesn’t have the most pleasant of voices. Though I admit the rasp and aggression of his performance has its charm here and there, it’s often just a touch too absurd to take seriously. It gets just a little more bearable in later episodes, though it just wasn’t as easy on the ears as it could have been for our returning protagonist.

As I said, I honestly found myself most enamored by Red, the troubled but equally competent leading lady whose got some nice bite to her performance and a presence you quickly get comfortable with. I always looked forward to her returns and saw her as more protagonist material in the long run.

The dialogue is luckily, at least most of the time, in Jack and the supporting cast’s favor as even if Jack isn’t someone I enjoyed listening to more than a few seconds of, at least his words carried some weight. Now this is only a majority of the writing that can be credited as such as Neon Nights’ tends to fluctuate between some generally solid bits of dialogue and narration and, dare I say, laughable one liners that sound like something straight out of a early sixties comic strip.

So you might just be taken out of the moment when a character drops a cliche phrase into your lap with a straight face and the scene doesn’t pause itself for a laugh track. If this is intentional or not is always a struggle to figure out with noir shows given the hammy nature of their origins and it’s not like Neon Nights is fully exempt from a certain degree of theatrics. A given for a show of this brand, though it would be nice if Neon Nights could decide if it wanted to go full camp or not-giving me the same tone problems I had with The Adventures of MechaBetty.

Neon Nights isn’t exactly the most original of noir shows out there and lacks a certain element of surprise and critical thinking that I often found in my listening of The Penumbra. The supernatural edge can often leave mysteries a little hollow with the villains made apparent in just a few minutes of screen time and the explanations and build up being boiled down to “because magic”. 

Despite this, I can’t say I wasn’t entertained and that the show didn’t have me interested in what new mystery might bubble to the surface. I’m more intrigued by the bigger picture being painted here and I certainly didn’t leave behind the feed feeling unsatisfied. The cases are just creative enough to get you interested in the conclusion and you certainly don’t mind the characters you get to go on the journey with.

Listening to Neon Nights is just fulfilling enough to keep you coming back if not out of curiosity then at least some fun world building and a nice supernatural twinge to the noir formula. It’s an easy and digestible listen that may not be trying to reinvent the wheel but at least has all the pieces to be turning in the first place.

[riskystandard]

Could you do an Adventures of MechaBetty cover art request? It's a podcast about a giant cyborg woman fighting aliens in an alternate 1950s.

something like this, maybe? i’m not posting this with the next batch because i’ve never heard the show

[asexualchloe]

Just in case y’all didn't see, the folks behind the Adventures of Mechabetty are putting on an event! Check it out.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1266948996755671/

[knighting-vale]

6 away from my next 100!

So I'm 6 followers away from my next hundred and to celebrate I will write some short fics this weekend! Send me some podcast prompts!

[otteroflore]

this happened... totally by accident and in the middle of a few really badly aimed shots but it was so great i wanted to keep it.

[oots-digitalmedia]

Queer Rep in Adventures of MechaBetty

Title: Adventures of MechaBetty

    Status: Indefinite Hiatus

    Creator: Unknown, @titankore

    Cast: Jennifer Tiles, SonicPAJ, RiotMode, Liz Madden, Alex Atley, Shuttershade, Paul Ender

    Queer Creators: Unknown

    Accessibility: Captions on YouTube

Summary: Short version: It's a radioplay with a heavy mix of AtomPunk and ElectroSwing

Long version: The Adventures of MechaBetty is a fun throwback to old fashioned radio dramas with some modern twists.

Do you ever find yourself staring at the wall wishing you could listen to something interesting? Have you found that the television has, after 60 years finally lost its novelty? Do you find that the radio has nothing good playing except modern music?

Then the Adventures of MechaBetty may be something for you!

This exciting radio drama follows the audacious adventures of the two-ton dynamite dame from another dimension, MechaBetty, genius inventor and general savior of the planet Earth. Inside her powerful mechanical suit, and with the help of the crew of the USS Eldritch, she fights awful aliens from outer space bent on wreaking havoc on humankind!

Tags: Unknown

This entry could especially use more information from listeners, particularly about whether or not it is queer.

Check out our other queer podcast recommendations here.

[tyrannuspitch]

@ettaperrault @shaselma @raimijenner 

thank you all so much?? i hadn’t heard of most of those things so i know have a list to choose from rather than like. two things i must like because they’re my only options

[sol1loqu1st]

so im just gonna say the soundtrack for mechabetty matches the general vibe of the show perfectly like?????? the kinda old school radio drama superhero thing im just. the soundtrack is /really good/

[podcake]

Week Three: Adventures of MechaBetty Review

Robots, cyborgs, and androids are not territory very commonly explored in audio drama and I don’t think anyone is going to correct me on that. We’ve had our fair share of artificial intelligence from nearly every sci-fi show on the planet or otherwise organic humans with mechanical attachments or replacements, but the whole sentient metal warrior thing just hasn’t really come to full circle.

When it came to covering the concept of innovation for this year’s September in Review, Adventures of MechaBetty was an easy qualifier that I didn’t have to dig too deep into to find its unique qualities. 

From the title to its short but open ended description, Adventures of MechaBetty by someone I only know as Titankore, is likely one of the more “out there” pieces of audio drama I’ve come across, and that’s saying a lot. This is mostly dealing with premise alone, its plot sounding like something right out of an action cartoon or anime, and that’s certainly something I can’t say for a lot of shows.

Though I’m awfully familiar with both topics and even find myself emulating it into my online identity, be it through the use of tasteful gifs or railing these reviews out in between episodes of OK KO, I have yet to see it properly be put to use in an audio format beyond the usual discussion between working adults. 

(Which one’s your favorite? Mine’s the Pizza Party Podcast.) But that stuff is all grounded in reality while my tastes lean more towards the array of fiction crafted by a variety of independent artists making a year’s worth of audio entertainment. And Titankore is no exception to this. I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect when getting into Adventures of MechaBetty and I have to say I’m still fairly surprised by what I found. 

The story of MechaBetty is rather simple at first glance. When the earth gets attacked from an alien menace, it’s up to a normal human girl who willingly turns herself into a giant cyborg to fight them off. With the help of her friends, we’ll see if she has what it takes to save the world. From episode one alone we get a pretty broad idea of what direction the show will be going and things luckily kick off pretty quickly from the first joyful burst of jazz music. 

MechaBetty comes with some fairly smooth and nicely constructed audio-good use of music cues and some simple but effective sound tricks, all for the sake of servicing this vibe of old timey radio. It’s nothing especially elaborate as far as editing goes, but its functional enough to get its message across. It makes for an interesting overarching aesthetic-this combination of mech fights with an opening theme consisting of female scatting-that gives Adventures of MechaBetty quite the distinct identity in a community full of eclectic names already. 

As far as characters go, and we’re given quite a bit, they’re all generally likable. From the roster we have scientists, reporters, and doctors that make for some fun and colorful people and non-people to root for. Personally, I was particularly interested in whatever is going on with the evil aliens, even if we don’t get to spend too much time with them. I just personally found their scenes more intriguing and their all around plan interesting enough to see what else they had up their sleeve.

MechaBetty does take some great strides to portray a truly adventurous world that isn’t afraid to take things slow and occasionally explain itself. Aside from some neat little parts I can only properly describe as action scenes, there’s quite a bit of time spent focusing on dialogue and negotiating strategy between both the heroes and villains. I do appreciate a show that doesn’t reduce itself to the equivalent of audio clutter and MechaBetty’s all around presentation does service to keep its story easy to follow despite all that might be going on.

Despite how obtuse the idea, the whole concept is easy to digest, even if there are quite a few elements working against its favor. 

Voice acting can be very hit or miss, some characters, specifically General Helen who is voiced by Liz Madden, have smooth and controlled deliveries that are well in character while others vary from being painfully flat to being just a little too eccentric to be pleasant on the ears. There’s a very distinct difference between those in the cast who are acting more naturally and those who are just reading the lines with a little extra inflection. 

A lot of people also speak with accents varying from German to Russian to southern which makes each character easy to recognize from the second they speak but might just make the strange assortment of lines and the occasional bad take all the more obvious. Luckily our main star, MechaBetty herself, voiced by Jennifer Tiles, has a fitting pick for her voice. It’s expressive and perky and cute enough for you to grow to like her from the second she can properly process words in her robot form.

But the issues arise again for the writing that varies from realistic and weighty conversations (at least by audio drama standards) and being especially hammy and simple. Some jokes lean on the obvious and will clash with an upcoming curse word and technical jargon coming up a second later, for example. 

If this is intentionally meant to invoke the lighthearted feel of Saturday morning cartoons is debatable, though the show’s ability to just stick to one or the other seems to be based entirely off whatever mood the current scene we’re taking part in. So excuse me if I can’t really make heads or tails over what exact vibe Adventures of MechaBetty is going for as an entire show. If it is a deliberate parody of itself, then there aren’t enough jokes and subversions to service it, but if it’s being played straight, then we’re not given enough original material to make listening to MechaBetty the truly fun and memorable action comedy experience it wants to be.

It’s one part robot girl action show and another part government conspiracies and another part building/repairing things so it may be up to personal preference about which aspect you like the most. All of which are delivered with a sort of flare and fun energy that I found myself grinning at every once and while, but the effect only lingers for so long.

All around, MechaBetty is a comedy but even those looking for something genuinely hilarious may be let down due to the assortment of simple jokes that won’t make anyone whose watched preteen television in the past year all that impressed. 

Actually, MechaBetty would do itself a great service by going all out with its premise, truly reveling in its own strangeness. So it was a major letdown to see just how tame things turned out to be once I got through the current stretch of episodes. No twists or turns I couldn’t predict, no especially quirky scenarios to visualize with colorful vividness-just setup following setup with no real spark.

But once again, I find myself wondering if if this is supposed to invoke the Saturday morning superhero show thing and even that feels like an excuse to give the writing a pass.

MechaBetty certainly delivers eccentricity to the table, it easily being the only podcast I can describe with such terminologies I would normally reserve for cartoons, but I can’t say what I’ve seen of the series has left a big impression on me. The all around package still feels a little half baked and for a comedy show it’s a touch lacking in genuine humor. 

As I’ve experienced with shows like Jim Robbie and the Wanderers, good ideas colliding with average takes makes for a show that never quite reaches its peak performance level and could use a little more time being work shopped before becoming whole with its concept. What Adventures of MechaBetty truly lacks is a supremely extravagant, shotgun blast of a story that will give its inspiration the proper kudos it deserves. An utterly self indulgent take on the campiest of camp and the most flashy and shiny and obscenely geeky piece of entertainment it can possibly rise itself up to. If anything, MechaBetty could benefit from being just a little more insane. If your gonna go weird, then I say go completely nuts. 

The general premise and ideas may be just off-the-wall enough for those looking for that kind of variety in their day, and Adventures of MechaBetty is certainly there for people looking for a harmless try at action tropes in audio form, but its systems could use a reboot.