Does anyone actually listen to the podcasts here? If so please comment as I've noticed a number of podcast threads where no one commentss. The podcasters go to enormous efforts to get these things made but if no one comments, we're going to have to rethink whether these links will generate interesting discussion and if they should be posted at Whedonesque.

Simon | June 02, 01:02 CET

Well I typically do not listen to many of the Firefly Podcasts because I find them a bit bloated and gushy. I'll only tune in if there is a particular feature I want to hear (such as the David Newman interview).

[ edited by guardian_owl on 2006-06-02 00:20 ]

guardian_owl | June 02, 01:19 CET

I think also much of the podcast discussions occur at the boards that exist for those podcasts.

My worry might be that as time goes on there might be new people who would not even learn of The Signal or Firefly Talk or whatever unless posts mentioning them show up here.

theonetruebix | June 02, 01:50 CET

Well, I listen, but I guess that's kinda obvious. The reason I make the posts are pretty much for what bix said - to inform those who don't know, or who might not be interested in the podcast in general, but might be interested in one of the articles mention. I remember a while back someone made a post saying how they don't listen to the podcast, but was interested in it because Farscape was the show for Sci-Fi Review. As for why it's not commented on, I usually don't get to listen to the podcast until a day or two after it's been released, so by the time I can post about it, the link is off of the main page. Also, it's alot faster to comment on an article that takes three minutes to read compared to the podcasts, where it takes an hour plus to download and listen to.

DavidB | June 02, 02:20 CET

I've listened to the Signal before. It's OK, it jumps around topics a lot which is fine for some people. I personally enjoy the Buffycasts more because there is a central theme and also Revello is just really dry and witty. He cracks me up. I say keep linking the Podcasts! I tune in when I can! And it's nice to find them when you've joined the fandom late. Seeing all the DVDs, reading all the comics, and reading the novels sometimes just isn't enough. Sitting down, relaxing, listening someone yammer on about one of your favorite topics is a wonderful treat. Especially if you don't have a lot of friends that are as heavily into the fandom as you.

Harmalicious | June 02, 03:01 CET

I do listen and appreciate the reminder when a new one comes - especially as The Signal is no longer weekly.I am often a week or two behind though, and this has usually dropped off the page by the time I have comments.

Lioness | June 02, 03:23 CET

I am also one of the people who don't download every podcast but check out what articles are included to see if I will download it or not. So I appreciate that the podcasts are linked on Whedonesque.com.

Also as others have mentioned, it's generally a couple of days before I get around to listening to the podcast and by then it's too late for comments.

Matt_Fabb | June 02, 03:50 CET

I don't listen to podcasts because it takes people forever to say what they could simply write in about 10 seconds. I have to sit there and listen to people talk, or listen to that little montage of Firefly sounds at the beginning, all to get something that I could easily read. I like these links on Whedonesque, though, since they basically tell me everything I need to know without ahving to actually listen to the podcast.

TychoCelchuuu | June 02, 04:21 CET

Hmmm would people be more inclined to listen to Firefly podcasts etc if they were also available in segments? i.e. a five minute MP3 download discussing the latest news and then a two minute MP3 download which mentioned the latest fan campaigns? Pick and choose the various bits you want to listen to so to speak.

Simon | June 02, 04:28 CET

BTW, I thought I'd mention here that the producers of the podcast were considerate enough to run the negative review of my novelization by me before recording it, which was incredibly classy -- and also unnecessary. I've been a critic, and I've written plenty of negative reviews, so I'm hardly going to quibble when I get the same treatment.

But I thought the Signal folks' classiness deserved to be mentioned in public. *grin*

krad | June 02, 06:25 CET

I've listened to The Signal from the beginning. It's what turned me on to podcasts in the first place (and now I subscribe to more than I can listen to). The jumping around of segment in The Signal works for me. It's more of a news and features podcast and I thing the format works well for that type of show. For me, it wouldn't work as well if it was in individual, short segments. I listen to podcasts mostly at the gym and it's a lot easier to have something that will run for 45 minutes to an hour rather than having lots of little bits and pieces.

gt0163c | June 02, 06:35 CET

Simon, what I think would be helpful is to have a time stamp next to each of the main bullet points on the show notes for where in the podcast that topic begins.

IE
*(0:00:00) Les and Kari introduce the show and talk about
*(0:03:53) Main Topic A
--subtopic 1,2,3,4 of topic A
*(0:09:34) Main Topic B, etc.

That way those listeners who want to skip to certain sections can do so much easier.

guardian_owl | June 02, 07:18 CET

I think having short segments that you could pick might really help. For me, old and out-of-it technically, what's turned me off of most of the few podcasts I've downloaded has been the terrible sound (I haven't tried of any the Signal yet, I may be accusing you unjustly). And the inability to chose the parts. Really bad sound makes me shrivel up internally, and the only thing that can overcome the aversion that causes is powerfully interesting content.

dreamlogic | June 02, 07:53 CET

I would definitely be more interested if it were possible to download segments of interest -- faster to download, no need to fast forward. Good suggestion, Simon! Second choice would be guardian_owl's good suggestion of time stamps. :-)

billz | June 02, 09:22 CET

Slightly misleading title, doncha think?

From a post entitled "Doctor Who & Firefly" I would expect, at the very least, sordid tales of David Tennant and Nathan Fillion's adventures on the erotoplanet Nudie.

Damn you. Damn you for making me anticipate Doctor Hottie/Captain Tightpants crossover smut!

Bad Kitty | June 02, 15:40 CET

I listen to the Signal and Firefly Talk regularly, but as mentioned usually not far a couple days after they come out. Hence no comments on a thread here.

I enjoy both of those podcasts and do think of them as very well done aural fanzines. I find myself enjoying the musical interludes etc. I have tried some others in the Whedon universe but so far none have appealled to me. I have listened to the Buffycasts, but I usually spend my time shaking my head and being appalled at the inaccuracy and other such distractions. It has, however, given me a certain amount of insight into the differences in how comic book fans may look at things vs science fiction fans or theater fans. (You may substitute "geek" or "nerd" for "fan" in all of the previous sentence if you are inclined and think it more accurate. ;-) )

I probably should go recheck out some of the other Whedon oriented podcasts to see if they have changed as they got going. I found the others that I tried were making the common beginner mistake of doing the show for the people in the room rather than the audience. Making each other laugh at something visual, for instance and then sometimes explaining to the audience why they are having so much fun. The idea should be for the audience to be having fun with you. An explanation should not be needed. If it is, the audience is being excluded and who needs another way to be excluded?

I also like the long format so I do not have to stop what I am doing and pick the next one. (I have so many 1 minute segments of the Onion News lined up that I have not listened to because I am too impatient to sit at my computer opening another file every minute. ) Something telliing where different segments start and stop would be good though, especially if I have to stop in the middle and later want to be able to easily find whaere I left off.

I don't have an I-Pod or MP3 player so I have to listen through my computer at home. I have not researched my options. Is there a Mac-compatable something that I can download on to and play these things that is cheaper than an I-Pod but still works well?

newcj | June 02, 21:10 CET