We're Alive S1| Survival Horror, Zombie Mania, Audio Drama

"[I]n order for people to keep their sanity, they needed two things. one they needed safety or at least a sense of it, two: they needed something to do, idle hands in this environment could cut loose already dangling bits of hope." - Michael 2: The Two Things

We're Alive - A Tale of Survival is a Survival Horror via Zombie Apocalypse Audio Drama written by KC Wayland and was produced by Wayland, Shane Salk, and Grayson Stone. It is part of the Nerdist Podcast Network. It stars the acting talents of Jim Gleason(Michael), Shane Salk(Angel), Nate Geez(Saul), Elisa Eliot(Pegs), and Scott Marvin(Burt). For a full list of Cast and Crew. WA have very large seasons with the first season having 12 chapters all in three parts (except for the finale having four) which total 37 episodes or approximately 12 hours of listening. WA have won several awards for Audio Dramas including four Parsec Awards.

We're Alive first came out in 2009 and like many other IPs that came out during the time it was about zombies. Its hard to pinpoint our society fascination with the undead. Perhaps it is part of our ancestral roots putting a mangled face to the fears of pandemic and disease. Perhaps it is part of a power fantasy allowing us to have a tangible threat when the imaging apocalypse of the past dealt with such intangibles as atoms, germs, and scarcity. Perhaps it is like all survival fiction a form of escapism that stripes away the stress and struggles of modern life and resets the world with a simpler set of rules. Like any fantastical creature the rules that make zombies tic are different from story to story. Some sense heat, or noise, or smell, or a billion other qualia that lead to there prey but if you look closely at the stories told about them Its not so much about whats goes bump in the night its about who had survived. WA is must strongly a survival story, (think along the lines of Lost or Jerico), set in a world of the walking dead.

Were introduced to the world minutes before the doomsday clock strikes 12. Sgt. Michael Cross gets called to his army base as "rioters" are discussed over the radio. It is several minutes into the episode when he comes face to face with the undead and by then the world has already been plunged into fire, chaos, and a fate worse than death. Michael, along with the remainder of his battalion, Angel and Saul, secure an apartment building dubbed "The Tower". The cast grows as more survivors arrive at the tower and Michael seeks to figure out how the apocalypse started. Each arc of the story tends to be fairly complex with the events spanning over three mini episodes. I found the plot to be excellent raising up questions about the world while still maintained a television worthy drama between the various survivors. The tone manages to be realistic and gritty while also maintaining enough realism to not become grimdark. There is a hope in the characters even if zombies, other survivors, and acts of misfortune seek to send them off into that good night. The Finale (Chapter 12: The War) was fantastic with some intense moments of action and suspense, impactful characters moments and a truly devastating Cliffhanger that leaves a lot of questions unanswered for season two.

Similar to Lost, WA uses a Ensemble Cast showcases the events of the show through a variety of different viewpoints. (Such as Chapter 5 & 6 which features Burt, Lisa, and Saul's perspectives of the Events). Each character brings they own skills and problems to the dynamic and you manage to get a good sense of some of the characters backstories as they kill zombies and secure their water supplies. Wa does manage to include a nice amount of racial diversity though the show does lean towards heteronormativity. Overall WA has a fantastic cast whose dynamics add a fantastic level of drama to the survival horror.

Wayland had originally planned for WA to appear on the Small Screen but was ultimately retrofitted for the audio world. (On a side note The Walking Dead managed to fill the Zombie niche on television premiering the year after WA and developed at the same time as the audio drama). The show tauts the concept of the "Theater of the Mind" and delivers Stereophonic soundscapes of action, explosions, and overall chaos, as immersive folley work goes I haven't heard such a high level of fidelity since the Darkest Night, (which is binaural). For the most accurate description WA manages to condense it television worthy drama and action into a completely sonic experience.

We're Alive manages to bring the intensity of survival fiction like Lost or TWD to the podcasting World. With fantastic sound design, Intense Character Drama, and a well flesh out post apocalyptic world, Wayland manages to provide a top notch and entertaining Audio Drama. If you still to this day can't get enough of zombie fiction or are looking for a new survival horror story I urge you to check out We're Alive.