I would describe Night Vale as a mix between NPR and The Twilight Zone. And, speaking of NPR, Joseph Fink talked about the origins of the story in an NPR interview: "(We) came up with this idea of a town in that desert where all conspiracy theories were real," which is a very good way to sum up the gist of what Night Vale is all about.
It's set in the fictional town of Night Vale, way out in the middle of the desert. The podcast is set up as a radio show, with the host, Cecil Palmer (voiced by Cecil Baldwin), talking to his fellow townies about the goings-on. This news-based aspect is the NPR bit. The Twilight Zone bit comes in with the nature of the stories: in Night Vale, bloodstone rituals and floating cats with poisonous spinal ridges are seen as completely commonplace and ordinary. Helicopters fly overhead, manned by the Sheriff's (not-so) Secret Police to watch the town. The dog park is occupied by malicious supernatural creatures that will steal you away.
It's a very interesting and unique concept that can appeal to just about anyone. What I think is so great about this being a podcast rather than a TV show is that, as there are rarely any in-depth physical descriptions of the characters, Cecil included, people can dream up what they think the Night Vale citizens look like, and it's all completely valid. Okay, well, mostly valid -- what's not cool is whitewashing characters like Carlos (Cecil's love interest) or Tamika Flynn, who are very obviously people of color.
Which, speaking of Carlos, he's also another really important facet to this story. Oftentimes in media today, when there is a gay romance plot, there's a whole big to-do about the characters being gay in a straight-centric society, and will they be okay? how ever will the family react? can the couple stay together throughout the trials and tribulations of being in a homosexual relationship??? The plot is more focused on the fact that they're gay rather than the fact that they're in love. Not Night Vale. When Cecil falls for Carlos (which is in the very first episode, so it's not really a spoiler), it's because Carlos is Carlos, and that's it. Their relationship is dealt with wonderfully and realistically -- I don't think the word "gay" ever even comes up in the entire podcast.
The final big thing I adore about this podcast (besides absolutely everything about it) is the amazing attention to detail the writers have. A big issue in television or book series is laziness on the writers' parts, who leave out plot points that had been brought up in earlier seasons or episodes, totally disregarding continuity. Not Night Vale!!! The writers bring back characters and plots from several episodes back, catching the listener off-guard and making them stop to think, remember where they heard that name before. It keeps the audience on their toes, as they never know what character is going to come back and wreak havoc at any point!
Each episode ranges from 20 to 30 minutes. Two episodes are released every month (there are a total of 40 published episodes to date). Though Cecil is the main voice on the show, other characters sometimes come in to have a few words themselves. There is music under much of the stories (created by Disparition), but there is one specific segment, the weather, where new music from a different artist each episode is played -- which is something I really love, because it gets bands and singers that might have gone under the radar for a long time some very good exposure. And, just as a head's up, Cecil's voice is so smooth that it will literally lull you to sleep, so make sure you're sitting up or doing something else when listening, or you're a goner.
I give this podcast an A+ for its immersive and intriguing storylines that keep listeners interested, keeping us coming back to hear the resolution of each subplot, as well as having really great characters and relationships.
Start listening by downloading the (free!) episodes: iTunes - Stitcher - Libsyn - Feedburner - Soundcloud
I already reviewed this series on my blog. I feel like a copy cat now since you reviewed it too. Atleast there is another one in the fandom at school
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