Archive 81 is a horror podcast created by Daniel Powell and Marc Sollinger. Presented as found footage, it follows Dan (voiced by Powell), an archivist tasked with restoring the audio recordings of a young woman named Melody Pendras (Amelia Kidd) during her stay in an ancient building.[5]
| Archive 81 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Presentation | |
| Genre |
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| Language | English |
| Length | 15–30 Minutes |
| Production | |
| Audio format |
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| No. of seasons | 3[1] |
| No. of episodes | 35 |
| Publication | |
| Original release | April 16, 2016-June 5, 2019 |
| Provider | Dead Signals |
| Related | |
| Related shows | |
| Adaptations | Archive 81 (2022) |
| Website | www |
The series premiered April 16, 2016, with its third and final season concluding on October 5, 2018. Each season consisted of ten episodes, although the series also consists of two miniseries, the two-episode The Golden Age released in 2017 between seasons 2 and 3, and the three-episode Left of the Dial released in 2019 after the conclusion of the main show. A television adaptation of the same name premiered on Netflix in January 2022.
Synopsis
editThe show follows the story of an audio archivist named Dan, who has recently been hired for a job that involves reviewing and cataloguing a set of old audio tapes.[4] The contract is for a group called the Housing Historical Committee of New York State and involves working at a remote and isolated bunker in the middle of the woods.[6][7] Throughout his time on the job, Dan is contacted by his boss who insists that Dan must continuously record himself for archival and legal purposes.[7] The audio tapes that Dan is listening to are over two decades old and contain interviews conducted by someone named Melody Pendras.[3]
In the 1990s, Melody Pendras was doing interviews with residents of an old and mysterious Manhattan apartment building called the Eldritch Visser building.[8][4] The interviews are with strange and eccentric residents of the building and often include references to a terrible and unnerving song that has affected the people living in the building.[3] Throughout the first season, Dan attempts to make sense of the tapes and becomes increasingly rattled by the unsettling interviews carried out by Pendras.[7][1] Pendras has a female partner named Alexa who is briefly introduced, but otherwise the tapes consist only of her interviews with other residents.[8]
At the end of the first tape, Dan's best friend Mark reveals that he received these recordings from Dan in the mail and that Dan has been missing since January 2016.[3] Mark is trying to figure out what happened to Dan by slowly releasing the audio to the public as a series of podcast episodes.[9][1]
The second season follows Dan as he explores a different world.[7]
The show contains a three-part miniseries called Left of the Dial, which began with an episode entitled "The Passenger". The miniseries follows the story of two characters named Nicholas and Static Man as they go on a road trip to a place called "the Blacktop".[10]
Background and production
editDaniel Powell began recording radio shows at a young age using the family computer and Windows 95.[11] Powell graduated from Darlington School and began his career in sound engineering.[12] Powell was working from home in isolation, reviewing and archiving sound effects from an audio library for a company called Sound snap, when he and his friend Marc Sollinger came up with the idea for Archive 81.[3] Sollinger worked as an associate producer on a radio program called Innovation Hub, which had support and funding from WGBH and Public Radio Exchange.[3] Archive 81 did not have the same support and funding as Innovation Hub because it was produced independently, which meant that the first season was written, performed, recorded, and edited by themselves in a friend's bedroom.[3][13]
The second season was released in January 2017.[8] A month later, a mini-series titled The Golden Age was released, which uses the old school radio drama style production.[14]
Characters
editMain
edit- Dan (Daniel Powell) is an archivist employed by the "Housing Historical Committee of New York State" in 2015 and the protagonist of seasons 1 and 2. His task to digitize the tapes in Archive 81 leads him to become deeply invested in Melody and her findings at the Visser. In season 2, his body is forcefully modified to record and play tapes, replacing a third of his human body with machines. He briefly appears in the final episode of season 3.
- Mark (Marc Sollinger) is Dan's friend who has released the first season's tapes in order to solve the disappearance of Dan. He returns as the Leviathan Dromen in seasons 2 and 3. In The Golden Age, he appears as the Foley artist for the radio production of Wingbeats, where it is also revealed how he became Dromen.
- Melody Pendras (Amelia Kidd)[15] is a social worker surveying the Visser in 1994, under the supervision of the "Urban Preservation and Development Department of New York State". She mostly appears in the tapes archived by Dan, in which she interviews the residents living in the Visser and investigates meetings held by the Visser Historical Society. In season 2, it is revealed that she has taken residence in The city with her wife, Alexa.
- Oscar Waters (Peter Musante) is the director and lead actor of Wingbeats, starring as the King in the radio play. In The Golden Age, he recounts how he bought the script for Wingbeats from a mysterious shop in Paris, not knowing that the play is a ritual used to summon a Leviathan. He is the grandfather of Nicholas and Christine.
- Alice (Kristen DiMercurio) is a cast member of Wingbeats and plays the role of the Dancer.
- Patricia (Leigh Poulos) is a cast member of Wingbeats and plays the role of the Queen. She also appears in the 28th episode as Ms. Roland, a seller of "arcane artifacts" who transports Christine into another world to obtain some dream ambergris.
- Nicholas Waters (Peter Musante) is the protagonist of season 3 and Christine's half-brother. Throughout the season, he attempts to perform a ritual passed onto him by his deceased father. He is the grandson of Oscar Waters.
- Christine Anderson (Kristen DiMercurio) is the protagonist of season 3 and Nicholas' half-sister. Along with Nicholas, she performs the ritual given by their deceased father. In the 28th episode, she goes into a dream state where she becomes a crew member of The Irons. Since time moves differently in the dream state, she stays there for three years, but returns to the human world only moments after being put to sleep.
Recurring
edit- Mr. Davenport (David Powell) is a middle manager in LMG and Dan's employer.
- Samuel (Austin Mitchell)
- Jacob Lester (John Maher)
- Alexa (Carly Piersol)[8]
- Suit (Lori-Felipe Barkin)
- Clara (Francesca Calo)
- Lou (Alister Austin)
- Payphone (Jamie Agnello)
- Static Man (Jack Calk)
- Aleister (Neil Tyrone)
List of episodes
edit| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 10 | April 5, 2016 | August 9, 2016 | |
| 2 | 10 | January 18, 2017 | May 24, 2017 | |
| The Golden Age | 2 | June 7, 2017 | June 21, 2017 | |
| 3 | 10 | May 16, 2018 | October 5, 2018 | |
| Left of the Dial | 3 | May 1, 2019 | June 5, 2019 | |
Season 1
editThe first season chronicles Dan's time in the bunker, which was recorded for legal purposes and due to the insistence of Mr. Davenport, the man who hired him to catalog and restore audio tapes from archive 81 of the Housing Historical Committee of New York State's tape library. Each episode ends with a note from Mark, Dan's friend, who has released the tapes to the public in an effort to find Dan, who has mysteriously disappeared.
| No. | Title | Running time | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | "A Body In A New Place" | 16:46 | April 5, 2016 |
| 02 | "A Night At An Opera" | 14:47 | April 19, 2016 |
| 03 | "A Story In Cycles" | 16:52 | May 3, 2016 |
| 04 | "A Collection of Disparate Strangeness" | 17:58 | May 17, 2016 |
| 05 | "A Spider in a Web" | 16:28 | May 31, 2016 |
| 06 | "A Conversation Without Record" | 14:17 | June 14, 2016 |
| 07 | "A Face in a Crowd" | 15:44 | June 28, 2016 |
| 08 | "A Chemical Experiment" | 18:35 | July 12, 2016 |
| 09 | "An Implosion of an Idea" | 15:34 | July 26, 2016 |
| 10 | "The Ending, Perhaps" | 15:07 | August 9, 2016 |
Season 2
editThe story focuses on Dan as he is transported to another world called The City. Each episode begins and ends with a note from a creature named Dromen.
| No. | Title | Running time | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | "Body, Recorder" | 38:38 | January 18, 2017 |
| 12 | "Fly, Honeypot" | 41:51 | February 1, 2017 |
| 13 | "Song, Doorway" | 33:39 | February 15, 2017 |
| 14 | "Water, Leviathan" | 36:46 | March 1, 2017 |
| 15 | "Aurora, Cello" | 43:15 | March 15, 2017 |
| 16 | "Vines, Contest" | 43:31 | April 2, 2017 |
| 17 | "Reflection, Retaliation" | 30:10 | April 12, 2017 |
| 18 | "Collection, Composition" | 34:09 | April 26, 2017 |
| 19 | "Escape, Birth" | 29:22 | May 10, 2017 |
| 20 | "Portal, Ending" | 35:55 | May 24, 2017 |
The Golden Age
edit| No. | Title | Running time | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | "The Golden Age, Part 1" | 27:44 | June 7, 2017 |
| 22 | "The Golden Age, Part 2" | 31:52 | June 21, 2017 |
Season 3
edit| No. | Title | Running time | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | "Anoint his forehead with rabbit's blood" | 38:38 | May 16, 2018 |
| 24 | "Sleep on a pillow of swanfeathers" | 29:35 | May 30, 2018 |
| 25 | "Sacrifice three bunnies on the stump of an oak tree to stop moderate to severe throat irritation" | 29:51 | June 13, 2018 |
| 26 | "And a knife both of you have used to cut meat" | 37:13 | June 27, 2018 |
| 27 | "Mix the crushed lead with three drops of your own blood" | 36:16 | July 11, 2018 |
| 28 | "Exist in the place you are currently occupying" | 1:02:19 | August 1, 2018 |
| 29 | "A secret that will make the other think less of you" | 41:01 | August 8, 2018 |
| 30 | "Lay a tarp upon the ground" | 38:53 | August 22, 2018 |
| 31 | "Whatever is in the pond...kill it" | 36:07 | September 5, 2018 |
| 32 | "Are we going to have a problem here?" | 36:17 | September 19, 2018 |
Left of the Dial
edit| No. | Title | Running time | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | "The Passenger" | 43:24 | May 1, 2019 |
| 34 | "Trucker's Atlas" | 1:01:14 | May 15, 2019 |
| 35 | "When The Open Road Is Closing In" | 1:10:37 | June 5, 2019 |
Influences
editPowell and Sollinger view Orson Welles' radio drama The War of the Worlds as an inspiration and influence for their work on Archive 81.[3] The show has influences from the soft horror and paranormal horror popularized by 90s television series such as Twin Peaks and The X Files.[4] The show also has similarities to a Roberto Bolaño novel and contains references to David Cronenberg's film Videodrome.[15][13] The show also has similarities to the urban horror themes present in series such as Candyman.[7]
The show has been described as a radio drama,[6] found-footage podcast,[1] and a fictional scripted investigative journalism podcast.[16] The show uses themes of conspiracy theories.[17] The show is a mix of horror, fantasy, and sci-fi.[14]
While not playing in the worlds of H.P. Lovecraft, there are clear connections to some of Lovecraft's works, such as The Call of Cthulhu or At the Mountains of Madness. For example, there is a reference to a woman with gills, which would be a Deep One in Lovecraft's world or to "Non-Euclidean geometry".
Reception
editThe show was recommended by Cassandra Baim at The Guardian, saying that "the show will suck you in from the very first episode and leave you with new questions and theories after each listen."[6]
The first season was ten episodes long and reached #25 on the iTunes Chart.[3]
TV adaptation
editThe podcast was adapted into television for Netflix by Rebecca Sonnenshine and Paul Harris Boardman.[18] The show debuted on January 14, 2022, and stars Mamoudou Athie, Dina Shihabi, and Matt McGorry.[19] The television series was loosely based on the same story.[20][21] In the podcast Dan is only archiving audiotapes, but in the television series he is restoring videotapes.[22]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Bishop, Bryan; Liptak, Andrew (October 31, 2018). "10 Scary Podcasts to Listen to in the Dark". The Verge. Vox Media. Archived from the original on November 3, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
- ^ Dutta, Anisha (July 3, 2019). "15 Podcasts You Must Listen to if You Love Lore". The Cinemaholic. Archived from the original on July 4, 2019. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Locke, Charley (August 24, 2016). "Fiction Podcasts Are Finally a Thing! Thank You, Sci-Fi and Horror". Wired. Condé Nast. ISSN 1059-1028. Archived from the original on August 24, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
- ^ a b c d Farrar, Joseph (July 4, 2016). "'Archive 81' and the Rise of 'Soft-Horror' Podcasting". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on July 5, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
- ^ "From Audio Tapes to VHS: The History Behind Archive 81". Netflix. Archived from the original on February 8, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
- ^ a b c Verdier, Hannah; Slaney, Rowan; Tresilian, Susannah (October 20, 2017). "A Fresh Perspective on Donald Trump – Podcasts of the Week". The Guardian. Archived from the original on October 20, 2017. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Roper, Naomi (March 12, 2018). "Ten Horror Podcasts to Give You All the Fun Scares". Geek Girl Authority. Archived from the original on September 28, 2020. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
- ^ a b c d Watts, Gabrielle (December 9, 2016). "A BiGinner's Guide to Queer Culture in 2016: Podcasts". Rife Magazine. Watershed Charity. Archived from the original on April 21, 2017. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
- ^ Griffin, Sarah (August 11, 2018). "Archive 81 is a horror ensemble notable for lack of conformity". The Irish Times. Irish Times Trust. Archived from the original on August 11, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
- ^ Collins, Elena Fernández (May 6, 2019). "Comedy Bang! Bang! Does the Damn Thing With a 10-Hour 10th Anniversary Episode". The A.V. Club. G/O Media. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
- ^ Avila, Severo (January 31, 2022). "Podcast Created by Rome Native Adapted for Television and Available on Netflix". Rome News-Tribune. Times-Journal. Archived from the original on February 8, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
- ^ Lahr, Spencer (July 25, 2018). "One Odd Job Turns Into Creative Pursuit for Darlington Grad". Rome News-Tribune. Times-Journal. Archived from the original on January 17, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
- ^ a b Verma, Neil (January 2017). "The Arts of Amnesia: The Case for Audio Drama, Part One". University of Wollongong. Northwestern University. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
- ^ a b Feltman, Rachel (November 23, 2016). "The Science Fiction Podcasts Every Nerd Should Listen To". Popular Science. Recurrent Ventures. Archived from the original on October 9, 2019. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
- ^ a b McCammon, Muira (January 27, 2017). "The Pod People: 5 Audio Dramas on Good and Evil – From Global Warming to Guantánamo". Paste. Paste Media Group. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
- ^ Peters, Lucia (October 7, 2016). "8 Creepy Podcasts to Listen to Late at Night". Bustle. Bustle Digital Group. Archived from the original on September 1, 2017. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
- ^ Zabiegalski, Robin (April 9, 2017). "15 Creepy Podcasts That Will Keep You Up All Night". TheTalko. Valnet. Archived from the original on July 12, 2017. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
- ^ Porter, Rick (October 26, 2020). "Netflix Snags Archive 81 Horror Series Based on Podcast". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 21, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
- ^ Chitwood, Adam (January 5, 2022). "Archive 81 Trailer: Netflix Series Tells a Chilling Horror Story Across 2 Timelines". The Wrap. Archived from the original on February 8, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
- ^ Ouellette, Jennifer (January 17, 2022). "Review: An Archivist Gets Drawn Into a Spooky Cold Case in Addictive Archive 81". Ars Technica. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on January 19, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
- ^ Cobb, Kayla (January 17, 2022). "Is 'Archive 81' Based on a True Story?". Decider.com. New York Post. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
- ^ Mitchell, Molli (January 25, 2022). "Is 'Archive 81' on Netflix Based on a True Story?". Newsweek. IBT Media. Archived from the original on February 2, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2022.