Kyrie
I'll be honest - even if this had been just a collection of the scripts, I still would have loved this book.
The best way to appreciate this podcast is by listening to Cecil Baldwin's wonderful performances. But - at least for me - sometimes lines or information end up slipping through the cracks when you're just listening. I can't really just listen to something - it's why I don't do audio books. When I watch movies, I need to be doing something else in order to focus on the movie. And I know that sounds kind of backwards. But if I'm not doing something like playing a game, or knitting, my mind just won't stay on whatever I'm trying to watch or listen to.(Minecraft is my go-to for Night Vale episodes.)
So, I like having the visual aid of transcripts. (The CecilSpeaks tumblr is a wonderful resource that I generally use after new episodes get posted. That way, I can go back through and see if there was something I missed. I also use it to work on my vast network of head-canons and conspiracy theories.)
But, back to the point I was trying to make. I would have loved this book if it were just a collection of scripts. However, it has the benefit of having short little introductions to each episode by cast members - Cranor, Fink, Cecil Baldwin, Dylan Marron - that give context to some of the story lines and imagery in the series.
Just a side note: it amuses me that so much of the cast came from SomethingAwful.
For instance, the candle analogy from the episode “A Memory of Europe”: was something that Cranor had started thinking about one night while drunk. Station Management's monster noises? Just a straw on a plastic lid, digitally altered. And we have Cecil Baldwin to blame for Kevin's existence. Because he just HAD to ask if they could do a scary episode, while Cranor was working on a dual perspective episode. But, as fun as the little intros were, I was actually kind of hoping for more. I mean, I knew they weren't going to go into a detailed backstory about the overarching plot of the show...but a part of me had hoped.
(I did have to physically restrain myself from popping The Great Glowing Coils of the Universe open to read the note for “Cassette”, though.)
Still. The behind-the-scenes bits were nice, as were the wonderfully bizarre illustrations by Jessica Hayworth. (She does a lot of art for the series. Like, the live show posters? That's her.)
I can't wait for the next couple of years' worth of scripts to come out - I'm dying for the story behind “Best Of”.
I'll be honest - even if this had been just a collection of the scripts, I still would have loved this book.
The best way to appreciate this podcast is by listening to Cecil Baldwin's wonderful performances. But - at least for me - sometimes lines or information end up slipping through the cracks when you're just listening. I can't really just listen to something - it's why I don't do audio books. When I watch movies, I need to be doing something else in order to focus on the movie. And I know that sounds kind of backwards. But if I'm not doing something like playing a game, or knitting, my mind just won't stay on whatever I'm trying to watch or listen to.(Minecraft is my go-to for Night Vale episodes.)
So, I like having the visual aid of transcripts. (The CecilSpeaks tumblr is a wonderful resource that I generally use after new episodes get posted. That way, I can go back through and see if there was something I missed. I also use it to work on my vast network of head-canons and conspiracy theories.)
But, back to the point I was trying to make. I would have loved this book if it were just a collection of scripts. However, it has the benefit of having short little introductions to each episode by cast members - Cranor, Fink, Cecil Baldwin, Dylan Marron - that give context to some of the story lines and imagery in the series.
Just a side note: it amuses me that so much of the cast came from SomethingAwful.
For instance, the candle analogy from the episode “A Memory of Europe”: was something that Cranor had started thinking about one night while drunk. Station Management's monster noises? Just a straw on a plastic lid, digitally altered. And we have Cecil Baldwin to blame for Kevin's existence. Because he just HAD to ask if they could do a scary episode, while Cranor was working on a dual perspective episode. But, as fun as the little intros were, I was actually kind of hoping for more. I mean, I knew they weren't going to go into a detailed backstory about the overarching plot of the show...but a part of me had hoped.
(I did have to physically restrain myself from popping The Great Glowing Coils of the Universe open to read the note for “Cassette”, though.)
Still. The behind-the-scenes bits were nice, as were the wonderfully bizarre illustrations by Jessica Hayworth. (She does a lot of art for the series. Like, the live show posters? That's her.)
I can't wait for the next couple of years' worth of scripts to come out - I'm dying for the story behind “Best Of”.