What Season is your favorite?

[GeneraLee]

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So, after I was in iTunes, I saw that post and it kind of made me think. 1... Paying for the last show? It's free... you pay for it if you want it early. 2. The show has become shorter? Nope. On average much longer. Jump the shark?

Anyway, you can't please everyone, but it got me thinking which Season might be a favorite. If you had to pick, which would you choose?

And side note... if you think the show jumped the Shark, when and where was that for you? I know asking this on the forum may be odd considering most people who love it are here, but it's worth asking.

OH! And I know Season 4 isn't over, but I thought it was worth asking anyway. You can assume about the finale, I guess.

[Gooer]

Review.jpg

So, after I was in iTunes, I saw that post and it kind of made me think. 1... Paying for the last show? It's free... you pay for it if you want it early. 2. The show has become shorter? Nope. On average much longer. Jump the shark?

Anyway, you can't please everyone, but it got me thinking which Season might be a favorite. If you had to pick, which would you choose?

And side note... if you think the show jumped the Shark, when and where was that for you? I know asking this on the forum may be odd considering most people who love it are here, but it's worth asking.

OH! And I know Season 4 isn't over, but I thought it was worth asking anyway. You can assume about the finale, I guess.

Huh, the show has gotten shorter? Don't think so, they never used to be 20-30 minutes long..... that person is just chatting BS.

Anyway, I loved season 3 and 4, but because of so much pain and suffering season 4 has given me, and the group being split in season 3, i'm not sure what to put.....

[pmchawk]

The quote I think best describes season 4, Puck said during season 3 "it's all build up no release."

[Litmaster]

Damn, I can't really pick a single season, but I definitely have my favorites:

Season 1: This is the season where I felt the most excited about the show, but in retrospect I think that was mostly because it was all new to me. I had listened to several other audio drama podcasts, but nothing near this quality before, and the story had me hooked from the very fist episode. I love the tower defense aspect of the plot in Season 1, as well as the scavenging and information gathering in the early chapters. Overall, I'd say Chapters 12 and 13 ("The War" and "Separate Dying Embers") are among my favorites because of all the non-stop action and some of Burt's finest Badassery.

Season 2: Kc was very smart here to extend the story beyond the Tower and to the Colony, as the dual locales kept the story from growing stale. This was also the season where we got so much of the great tinfoil hat material, what with 'The Rat' plot-line and as yet so many unanswered questions. I might go back and peruse some of those old forum threads just to see how far off base we were with our wacky predictions.

Season 3: The early part of this season was a bit of an adjustment after the epic finale of season 2, what with the long transition to Irwin and the tying up of a lot of back story (e.g., Chapter 27: "The Thirty First"). But this paid off big time with the best finale of any season, with the dual battles going on at Irwin and the Colony. Fucking awesome stuff! When that Pelican finally flew over the Colony and started raining Hell down on the biters... wow, that was my favorite 'moment' of the series. The show could have ended with that episode and I would have been pretty well satisfied. But for some reason, my favorite episode of the series is Chapter 33-2 ("Red Winter"), where we are first introduced to Robbins and Muldoon. Great additions to the show, and Kc you suck for killing them off.

Season 4: Darkest season yet, which may be why it's also my least favorite of the four. Or maybe I'm just depressed that it will all be over soon. Here were are with one episode to go, and we have Ink, Randy, and Scratch all still alive, as well as most of the major characters, so I expect a bloodbath to end this thing. Kudos to Kc that I still have no real idea what is going to happen at the finale, but I for damn sure will be there live and in person to find out!

[Witch_Doctor]

I'm a diehard Season One fan. I had been listening to various Zombie audio dramas on iTunes; some good, some decent. Most of them seemed to be put together by a groups of friends and or amateurs who just liked the zombie apocalypse genre. The most common thread among them seemed that they would end production without notice, almost as if cast were attacked by zombies on the way to recording.

One day while taking a road trip with my wife*, she played a couple of horror podcasts on our trip. One was We're Alive, which took me by surprise for several reasons. First and most immediately, Jim Gleason was much better at acting than anyone from the other stories. Secondly, the very first guns shots. Period. "Wow, how did they do that? That sounds real, and really loud too." Third most, I kept thinking that I heard the podcast before and was wondering how my wife* got a much better recording. I later realized that I got We're Alive mixed up with Age of Zombies.

What really got me was how the characters were trying to make sense of their changing world. They were using logic and reason to evaluate the outbreak. My favorite is when Micheal Saul and Angel were discussing if they were dealing with zombies, and Micheal laid out the similarities, ending with 'based on what we know from the movies."

The main critique that I had of the production was the amateurish way that it approached romance. I kept thinking to myself, "The writer writes like he's never talked to a girl before. What is he, an eight year-old?" Riley overdoing her laugh after she thinks Micheal is flirting with her, Pegs, asking Micheal to repeat calling her pretty, Riley and Angel awkwardly explaining why they need to be naked to clean each other, Datu's and Samantha's spin-the-bottle-like courtship in the arena.... But this was in juxtaposition to the rest of the production.

It was this professional+realism+amateurish mix that brought out a tasty flavor. I would listen to one part and think, 'don't expect too much' then BAM (literally) Holly Wood sound effects! Awkward Boy-Meets-Girl interaction then creative, well thought-out story. To put it in simpler terms, it was like a good home cooked meal. My wife doesn't cook, so I do all of the cooking at home. It's either what ever I can Pegs together or we're going out. Restaurant food is good, no doubt about that, but it can get old really quickly. Too much of a formulaic, one-size-fits-all approach. Home cooked food is on the opposite end. Might not be the perfectly seasoned and grilled steak but instead a tasty hearty meatloaf. A GOOD HOME-COOKED MEAL bridges the gap. If you often eat out of a box, the microwave, on the road or anywhere else where you get something that's been put together to please the lowest common denominator or diners, then you exactly what I'm talking about.

I've heard from a lot of fans that appreciate the improvement in writing and sound quality over the seasons and I include myself as one of them. Yet, I think KC has been a bit hard on himself when he talks about how bad the first season what put together, compared to the later ones. Yes the improvements are awesome and they do make the story better, because it improves upon the amazing tale. But the first season is like tasting Grandmother's Sunday dinner cooked like one on else in town.


*I mentioned that my wife doesn't cook, but she DID introduce me to We're Alive. I consider this to be the best home-cooked meal she's ever given me.

[Witch_Doctor]

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And side note... if you think the show jumped the Shark, when and where was that for you? I know asking this on the forum may be odd considering most people who love it are here, but it's worth asking.

OH! And I know Season 4 isn't over, but I thought it was worth asking anyway. You can assume about the finale, I guess.

I'm gonna admit that I thought the show jumped the shark with the introduction of Ink. That may have been due to something I read in the forum or heard on We're Not Dead before I got to Ink's first appearance in the arena. I was worried that the story was going to go down hill with a zombie mastermind, puppet master who started the whole thing. Then I heard him mimicking the soldiers and Lizzy describing him as if he was a zombie with some intelligence remaining and that actually sent chills down my spine.

So, no. No Micheal wearing a leather jacket on water skis to see here.

[HardKor]

No shark jumping for me.
But I have to say season 2 has consistently been my favorite, in part because I started listening during chapter 19, and in part because chapter 24 was the biggest, most gut-punching episode for me.

Season 1 was a lot of setup and a great "first installment." We got to know the characters and get our first glimpses of the world of We're Alive. And then the season ended with a big climactic battle for the Tower, but it also had the feel of "this was the first battle of a much longer struggle." If I could compare We're Alive it to Star Wars, then season 1 was "A New Hope." With season 2 being Empire.

Season 2 had a lot of the meat of the show and an epic cliff hanger ending that had the Tower folk momentarily defeated and on the run. I loved the rat storyline and was caught up with the whole thing guessing game of "who's the rat." (I thought it was Riley. I can still taste the crow from that one.) Overall I just love season 2 because it felt like the "meat" of the show, before everything started to change.

If I have a least favorite season, it would have to be Season 3. Of course my least favorite season of We're Alive is still pretty damn good. But I just never really adjusted fully to the changes made in that season. Irwin and Boulder were so different from the original Tower setting. Saul, Vic, and CJ planning to take over The Colony kept enough of the "classic" We're Alive feel for me to stay invested though. And overall I still liked it, but it was different.

Season 4 has felt like a big info dump. We've gotten a lot of exposition about Ink and possible origins of the outbreak. It's also got that "tie up loose ends" feel. Add to that a couple of gut-wrenching character deaths and some really dark emotional stuff from Riley and Burt, and I'm intrigued. It feels like things returned to form this season after a brief departure in season 3, and now the story is gearing up for the big finish. If the finale can manage to top chapter 24, then this season may give season 2 a run for it's money in my opinion. Getting back to my Star Wars comparison, this season is kinda like Jedi, but without the "lighter and softer" vibe.

[Miharu]

My favorite season was the second, but the third is right on its heels, thanks to the amazing introduction to near-bulletproof zombies that can overtake an army base with incredible ease.

My favorite scenes are:

When Angel and Kalani tag team the behemoth near Skittles. Speaking of which, did anyone else hear a certain video game character when Skittles said "Ladder's unlocked!" ?

The War finale. C'mon.

When Angel and Burt are trapped in the hospital, and Kalani and Riley have to find a way to save them. That entire incident was amazing, and the descriptions of what was left within the halls and rooms was eerily epic.

Saul punching someone to death? Maybe he used the butt of his gun, but the way I imagined the scene was (season 2 finale, btw) him running through a hailstorm of bullets toward his incredibly inaccurate opponent, then senselessly beating him while everyone else mopped up. Too badass for me.

Kalani going kamakaze after hearing of Hanna's execution(which was just morbid).

Michael and Pegs having sex... Her voice actor is hot. But so is Scratch's...

Bullet-resistant normal zombies!

R2Da2

When the characters finally figured out that the man on the news(when Lizzy was using the tvo) was a very, dangerous, character. If anyone got that reference, then good job. You love to read.

[clem131]

Review.jpg
Anyway, you can't please everyone, but it got me thinking which Season might be a favorite. If you had to pick, which would you choose?

And side note... if you think the show jumped the Shark, when and where was that for you? I know asking this on the forum may be odd considering most people who love it are here, but it's worth asking.

It's weird, but I my favorite season is 3, which is also the one where I find some moments are a bit stretching the suspension of disbelief. No jumping sharks, mind you, just a bit difficult to accept.
I love season 3 for one reason: progress and stability. The first two seasons have the Towerites always struggling to survive and with little time to do anything else. What few investigative missions they undertake end up badly (Purgatory) and mostly it's a tale of survival. On season 3 we finally have at least part of the group in a reasonably safe environment and the attention of the characters shifts from "What are we gonna eat tomorrow, where do we find water" to "How are we going to defeat these things" (Michael and Tanya) and "Where is Lizzy and how do we get her back" (Saul and Vic). So it's good to shift focus between seasons and there is progress and investigation. There's also a lot of action, and some of the best sequences in the assault on the colony, and chapter 36 (season finale) is just the best episode ever in my opinion.

The problems I have with this season is that the characters always were faced with almost impossible difficulties, but there was a reasonable way of facing the issues. What I mean is that I accept easily that you need higher caliber for behemots and little ones. I don't accept as easily that on top of that they can cut open tanks with their nails. Or that Scratch with a 20 cm blade somehow gets around a 1mt blade, or that Saul misses her in a corridor, or I lost count how many times they shoot Ink and then "Damn! He moved!". Probably that's why I love that the season ends with them winning a battle, for once. the last 3/4 chapters is just the survivors trying to do something, anything and the dungeon master going "Nope, you fail"without even rolling the dice. The final moments of chapter 36 are really a relief.

[LiamKerrington]

Hi.

Well. It really is hard to tell. I love all of the seasons, each one for its particular focus and strength. No# 1 for setting the stage, no #2 for its real and somewhat seemingly realistic perspective of the survival, and then all the effed up twists and turns, no #3 for getting the bigger picture and a real feeling of hopelessness, and finally #4 for re-focussing and aiming at particular targets ...
I voted for no#1, though, because no#1 is where it all begins; and it is kind of representative for the complete show of We're Alive. So my vote for #1 is also a vote for each of the other seasons as well.

As for the single-star review up there: It is a shame that he must've confused something else with We're Alive. Almost nothing he wrote is true about We're Alive. But I feel especially sorry for him that he felt the urge to call WA fans "suckers" - if he is so not pleased with WA, then he should simply let go; but verbally round-housekicking at total strangers because they love what he neglects is plain stupid, dumb and feels soo wrong.

Best wishes!
Liam