Alice Isn't Dead Season 1

"I want to start by saying that this is not a story. It's a road trip. Which... Same difference. In a good one the start is exciting, and the finish is satisfying, and we end up somewhere else... Somewhere a long way away from where we started.

I don't know where this trip started, what counts as the first moment. But for a lack of a better answer, I'll start with this: 

I'll start with the omelet." - Alice isn't Dead, Part 1, Chapter 1: Omelet 

Alice isn't Dead is a Found Audio Horror Podcast written by Joseph Fink and Narrated by Jesika Nicole. AID is produced by Disparition and is part of the Nightvale Presents Network of Podcasts.

One of the many things that have defined the history of america is the distance and size of our country. with the advent of our National Highway System in the early 20th century a new type of story grew into our public consciousness. The story of the road trip. The long stretches of open road lead to an almost mythic landscape an expanse meant to allow the characters to grow or change. Some find love, (such as 1934's It happened one night), some try to escape from their past, (like Thelma and Louise(1991)) and some try to find something whether its tangible or intangible. AID takes its perspective from a lone truck driver looking for her missing wife and telling her experiences on her CB radio. Nicole's story is heavily surrealist and philosophical reminding me a bit of the fantastic Interstate 60 (2002), but where I60 uses its characters for comedic value, AID takes a page from its predecessor WTNV and winds up in unadulterated horror.

One of the great things about WTW and AID being released the same year is that you can see the influence that Cranor and Fink both had on the originator of the network Welcome to Nightvale. While both have a excellent knack for mesmerising tangents, you can definitely see how Fink's style added to the surrealism of WTNV. Some of my favorite moments where the asides that Nicole's character had during the lighter parts of the story such as her discussion of the night sky in Episode 1, (very similar to the "Mostly Void, Partly Stars scene from WTNV) and her discussion of a date night with Alice in episode 4. Nicole's descriptions of the landscape, these little sarcastic travelogues of the area, show both the verisimilitude of the setting but also a very realistic look of traveling through the country. AID feels personal whether its Nicole's character talking to Alice or simply relaying her thoughts and experiences on the world. WTNV's Cecil Palmer excepts the horror of his reality with a stoic and almost nonchalant air, however Nicole's character is realistic she puts on no airs as she deals with her surrealistic reality. Strange, terrible things happen to her and she has to deal with it. As she says in Episode 2: Alice

 "I don’t know what this meant. I only know that it’s meaning does not include me. I am not necessary to it."

The horror of the show appears on two fronts, the episodic events, (such as the Town of Charlatan, and Praxis Industries.) and the Thistle Man. The Thistle Man, for lack of a better description, is terrible unhuman, a simulacra of humanity whose only wish is to destroy and consume. Nicole's story is just as much about defeating this horrid and personal evil as it is finding her missing wife. Many shows fail at having a centralized arch antagonists while keeping up its episodic format but AID has an excellent balance between the various threads of the story it wishes to tell.

I have been a long time fan of Jesika Nicole first seeing her playing Astrid in the Sci-Fi Horror show Fringe. Long time listeners might also recognise her voice as that of Intern Diana/Mayor Cardinal of WTNV. Hearing that one of the central VA for season two of WTNV was going to be the lead narrator of a new podcast was definitely a winning point for my entrance into the series. Nicole is a fantastic actress and while she did well as Intern Diana her character in AID Keisha Taylor is much more fleshed out and emotional. One moment in Episode 3: Nothing to See, (which dealt with a moment of Physical assault) was terrifying and visceral. Nicole shows a enormous amount of range  and becomes both a sympathetic and relatable character throughout the show.

Alice isn't Dead is a personal and terrifying journey looking for someone who might not want to be found. Life is complicated, relationships are messy, and sometimes they're things which you didn't want to know. The Stream of Consciousness writing and the excellent voice acting of Jessica Nicole help bring together a tight knit Audio Drama that is just as much about love and trust as it is about horror. It is a must listen too for both Audio Drama and Horror fans and one of the best example of storytelling in the medium.

And now why did the Chicken cross the road?

 "Because the dead return. Because light reverses. Because the sky is a gap. Because it’s a shout. Because light reverses. Because the dead return. Because footsteps on the ceiling. Because footsteps in the basement. Because the sky is a shout. Because it’s a gap. Because the grass doesn’t grow, or grows too much, or grows wrong. Because the dead return. Because the dead return. That – that – is why the chicken crosses the road." -Episode 1: Omelet

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For Reference
WTNV - Welcome to NightVale
AID - Alice isn't Dead
WTW - Within the Wires