Tea in the Sahara
Kev: Critic & Podcaster
This week guys I’m back with another blistering podcast review of QCODE’s Hidden Signals’ latest sci-fi thriller Evergreen – created by Chloe Stearns and John Wynn of Last Known Position fame – which I also reviewed in January last year.
My Evergreen elevator pitch follows eccentric billionaire Fin Gorale (Alan Cumming), who constructs a vast doomsday bunker deep underground called Evergreen – I mean there are only so many Maserati’s a dude can own right?
A mondo asteroid smashes into the Earth and destroys all life as we know it. So in the absence of the cast of ‘SAS: Who Dares Wins’ not being readily available who else would you trap within a subterranean biosphere miles underground to restart humanity… SUPER nerds is the correct answer!
Bar catering, our nerds from every sci-fi field required to continue humanity – engineering, science, and cryogenics make up the casting numbers unwillingly held captive inside Evergreen. The show does have a lead role in the shape of Hannah (Lana Condor). However, IMO one of the unique Evergreen traits is backstory and airtime feel evenly distributed amongst each character steering away from the traditional lead character setup.
Given Evergreens Elon Musk-esque facility pricetag the tech, texture, and feel is off the scale. Additional upgrades include the ability to alter the weather from UK deluge rain – to Pinot noir sunsets all controlled by Evergreen’s sinister AI Cortex. All of this sounds rather cozy doesn’t it… so you won’t fall off your chair if I said everything is not as utopian as it appears within Evergreen will you…
Pitch over, I am honestly enjoying the Alfred Hitchcock Lifeboat scenario that both cast and listener share within this tense audio drama. The writers have masterly tapped into society’s morality and humanity’s basic need for survival. When humans are in survival mode, flight or fight ushers in scenes of claustrophobia, internal politics, treachery, and human Jenga that tightly binds this captivating podcast together.
Brass tacks time – is it worth investing your energy into Evergreen?
Although buried deep underground Evergreens’ exquisite audio and production dominates – IMO comfortably slotting it within the illustrious company of last year’s interstellar SOLAR.
The show’s pacing offers a solid combination of storyline development with enough edge/mystery to keep the listener gripped. Some scene transitions when moving to another story arc could have landed smoother – and Evergreens episode runtimes are pretty mammoth which may not work for casual listeners.
Having written a podcast review created by John Wynn before he does appear to enjoy scripted podcasts within extreme settings. Whether that be fathoms underwater, or miles underground with Evergreen our boy John again proves a master at curating spectacular psychological thrillers for an audio audience. Hey John, with drama as awesome as this next time you launch a new show give this critic the heads up!
Evergreen scores – 4/5
Your choice of podcast critic to follow is optional, so I am pleased that you took a punt on reading this indie review. If you’ve enjoyed my tone of writing get in touch for your own bespoke podcast review – tinthesahara@gmail.com
Tea in the sahara 