Podcast Review #61: Black Jack Justice – Season Five
itle: Black Jack Justice – Season Five
Author: Gregg Taylor
Genre: Crime Detective Drama
Released: 4 December 2009 – 12 February 2010
Located: Author’s Site
Formats Available: podcast only at this time
Rating: G for mild old time radio type violence
(I wrote this intro 30 reviews ago for Decoder Ring Theatre’s The Red Panda, but it still holds true.) During the spring of 2007 I was desperate to be entertained and had subscribed to a number of Old Time Radio shows. I love the old shows. I’d listened to The Shadow, Gunsmoke, Fort Laramie, The Six Shooter (Jimmy Stewart radio is not to be missed), The Green Hornet and numerous others.
Of course by this time I had also discovered podiofiction and had subscribed to many podiobooks. Still, I was craving a self contained story that also had a greater story arch. I missed that and after a bit of looking on iTunes I discovered Decoder Ring Theatre. (Yup, still true.)
Now, some of you might think I’m stretching my own rules a bit. You may be right, but I think it is very close to the line, and hey, it’s my blog. Decoder Ring is built around two hallmark series. The Red Panda and Blackjack Justice. Each are released in turn in two week intervals with The Red Panda in the spring, Blackjack Justice in the fall and something unique in the summer.
So… today we’re going to be looking at the 5th Season of Black Jack Justice. I am usually a larger fan The Red Panda. I have been since season one. However, season five of raised the bar.
So, on to the review.
Synopsis: Hard-boiled pulp mystery and adventure comes to life in the days when men were men, women were dames, and everyone looked swell in hats. Join Jack Justice and his long-suffering partner Trixie Dixon, Girl Detective as they navigate murder and mayhem with a gaudy metaphor and a good-natured leer. Each episode is a self-contained story in the style of the classic broadcasts of radio’s golden age. (Stolen from Podiobooks website, that you can only seem to find by using Google.)
Production: Decoder Ring Theatre is very much a professional operation. Mr. Taylor, the writer of all of DRT’s standard stories, I believe is also the director and producer of the eps. For a podcast/radio show that has been going strong for over five years, you can definitely tell that this is some serious producing chops. Remember each ep is a self contained story in the overall story arc of the season.
Grade: A+
Cast: The Red Panda is a full cast audiodrama modeled very obviously after old time radio dramas. The cast members are all top quality professional voice actors and deserve to be recognized for their contributions. Unfortunately, I really don’t have the time to do that here. Instead I am providing a link to the cast page available at the DST wikipedia article.
Grade: A+
Story: As previously mentioned, each episode is a self contained story. There are times when, for one reason or another, this is exactly what I need. There are many recurring peripheral characters that do indeed enhance the series. I especially like Freddy the Finger and Jack gains a new friend near the end of the season that I hope we get to know much better.
Grade: B+
Verdict: Season Five of Black Jack Justice has really catapulted it into one of my favorite shows. If you’re currently not subscribed to the Decoder Ring Theatre feed, you should fix that.
Disclosure: I do follow the @Decoder_Ring on Twitter, but I have never tweeted with them or had any conversation in any other manner. I was not offered anything in recompense for this review.
View from Valhalla 