Mars Patel & The Comeback of Audio Dramas
Let’s jump in the DeLorean and go back in time. Back to the days of those great old-timey radio shows like the Shadow, Suspense and Superman. I can imagine my parents and grandparents huddling around the family radio, enjoying the weekly broadcasts. These shows used voice actors, great sound effects and music to create movies for the ears. They were immensely popular and were a great, creative way that the technology of the time was used to entertain audiences around the country.
When television began to replace radio as the preferred way of getting entertainment in the home, these radio shows and dramas went the way of the dodo. Now, I am happy to report, audio dramas are making a huge comeback in the form of podcasts and full cast audiobook recordings. I have introduced my kids to some of the more “family-friendly” offerings and they are hooked. One such show is the one I am going to talk about today. It is a podcast called The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel and all of us, from mom and dad to the four year old, love it.
There are currently two full seasons of shows, each consisting of about ten main episodes and some additional extra episodes that help flesh out the story. Title character Mars Patel and a group of friends are middle-school aged kids working to solve a mystery. I won’t say more than that because I don’t want to spoil anything. The story is a bit science fiction and a bit suspense thriller and it all comes together in a crazy, haywire mashup that causes begging for more after each episode. Along with a full cast of voice actors, the show features amazing sound effects and music that hit all the right notes for the listener.
One of the coolest things about the show is that all the characters that are kids are cast by voice actors that are also kids. This adds authenticity to the show and made it all that more appealing. One other thing that I heard just this past week is that the show has been optioned for a TV show so we may get to see these characters that came to life in our ears, on a TV one day soon. That has to be an unusual occurrence in the world of podcast entertainment. We cannot wait for Season 3 to come along but the good thing is, I have found other great audio dramas to listen to while we wait. Give it a listen as you can find it on iTunes or on your podcast listening app of choice.
