Alice Isn't Dead
Alice Isn't Dead is a podcast presented as a series of audio diaries by a truck driver in her search across America for the wife she had long assumed was dead (the eponymous Alice). In the course of her search, she encounters not-quite-human serial murderers, towns literally lost in time, and a conspiracy that goes way beyond her missing wife.[4] The series was created in 2016 by Joseph Fink, and it has been published by Night Vale Presents since March 8, 2016.[2] The main character and narrator, whose name is only mentioned as being Keisha on the last episode of the first season, is voiced by Jasika Nicole. During its run, the podcast typically aired on alternating Tuesdays. The first season ended on July 12, 2016, with a second season premiering on April 4, 2017 which concluded on August 8th, 2017. Fink has stated that the third season would be the final season, and it began airing on April 24, 2018.[5][2]
| Alice Isn't Dead | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Presentation | |
| Genre | Mystery, Supernatural horror, Drama |
| Written by | Joseph Fink |
| Narrated by | Jasika Nicole Erica Livingston Roberta Colindrez |
| Language | English |
| Production | |
| Opening theme | "Le Petit Bleu de la Côte Ouest" by Disparition[1] |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | |
| Publication | |
| Original release | March 8, 2016 – August 28, 2018 |
| Website | www |
A novel based on the series, written by Fink, was released on October 30, 2018 by Harper Perennial. Additionally, a television adaptation, executive produced by Fink, is in development for USA Network by Universal Cable Productions.[6]
Production
In an interview with the Huffington Post, Joseph Fink explained that the inspiration for the podcast came from his experiences traveling around in vans on long trips, particularly in the United States, for the Welcome to Night Vale live shows.[4] The series puts particular focus on the narrator driving through towns without stopping and spending time at rest stops along the highway. All ten episodes of the first season were written by Fink, with music by Disparition.
Jasika Nicole also appears on Welcome to Night Vale in the role of Dana Cardinal.[7][8] She was pitched Alice Isn't Dead during a conversation with Fink before one of the Night Vale live shows and signed on immediately, receiving scripts a few months later.[4] The first season was partially funded through sponsored advertising by Audible Inc., Squarespace, Casper Sleep, and Blue Apron[2] - a practice that would continue with other series under the Night Vale Presents banner such as Within the Wires and The Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air).
Roberta Colindrez, who appeared in the original cast of Fun Home and was a member of the Neo-Futurists alongside much of the Night Vale Presents crew, makes an uncredited voice cameo in the finale of Part 1.[9] She makes her first credited appearance as this character in the bonus episode "Haugen, Montana," narrating in place of Jasika Nicole, before making an appearance in the premiere of Part 2. Erica Livingston, also a former Neo-Futurist, makes an uncredited voice cameo as the titular Alice in the finale of Part 2, before making her first credited appearance as the character narrating the bonus episode "Mérida, Yucatán."
List of episodes
Series overview
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | ||||
| Part 1 | 10 | March 8, 2016 | July 12, 2016 | ||
| Part 2 | 10 | April 4, 2017 | August 8, 2017 | ||
| Part 3 | 10 | April 24, 2018 | August 28, 2018 | ||
| Bonus | 10 | 3 | March 14, 2017 | March 28, 2017 | |
| 3 | March 26, 2018 | April 10, 2018 | |||
| 4 | June 26, 2018 | October 29, 2018 | |||
Part 1 (2016)
| No. | Title | Written by | Starring | Date | Running time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Omelet"[2] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole | March 8, 2016 | 20:47 | |
| "A conversation in a diner gets ugly." | ||||||
| 2 | "Alice"[2] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole | March 22, 2016 | 22:25 | |
| "What is happening in the town of Charlatan?" | ||||||
| 3 | "Nothing to See"[2] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole | April 5, 2016 | 21:13 | |
| "What was that sound in the trailer just now?" | ||||||
| 4 | "The Factory by the Sea"[2] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole | April 19, 2016 | 21:23 | |
| "A delivery in Florida turns strange." | ||||||
| 5 | "Signs & Wonders"[2] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole | May 3, 2016 | 27:16 | |
| "The billboards have something to tell us." | ||||||
| 6 | "Sylvia"[2] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole | May 17, 2016 | 24:29 | |
| "A passenger leads her far from where she planned to go." | ||||||
| 7 | "Let's Break into a Police Station"[2] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole | May 31, 2016 | 24:13 | |
| "They break into a police station." | ||||||
| 8 | "The Other Town"[2] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole | June 13, 2016 | 25:46 | |
| "What is happening in Victorville, CA?" | ||||||
| 9 | "Go Home Again"[2] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole | June 28, 2016 | 22:17 | |
| "She goes home. But something is waiting there for her." | ||||||
| 10 | "Thistle"[2] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole, Roberta Colindrez | July 12, 2016 | 37:56 | |
| "Season finale. The end of one search, and the start of another." | ||||||
Part 2 (2017)
| No. | Title | Written by | Starring | Date | Running time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | "The Last Free Place"[2] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole, Roberta Colindrez | April 4, 2017 | 25:20 | |
| "A dangerous meeting in the last free place." | ||||||
| 12 | "Mouth of the Water"[2] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole | April 18, 2017 | 28:34 | |
| "A mystery at the mouth of a river." | ||||||
| 13 | "Abandoned Places"[2] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole | May 2, 2017 | 23:56 | |
| "What waits in the abandoned places?" | ||||||
| 14 | "Chain"[2] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole | May 16, 2017 | 24:34 | |
| "Each Kmart sign looks like each Kmart sign; every Subway sandwich tastes the same." | ||||||
| 15 | "Taconic"[2] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole | May 29, 2017 | 25:23 | |
| "Sylvia investigates her mother's murder." | ||||||
| 16 | "Badwater"[2] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole, Roberta Colindrez | June 13, 2017 | 24:10 | |
| "Two voices in a desert." | ||||||
| 17 | "The Monk of Crystal Springs"[2] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole | June 27, 2017 | 26:31 | |
| "Once a man lived at the Crystal Springs Rest Area. He doesn't live there anymore." | ||||||
| 18 | "Absent Family"[2] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole | July 11, 2017 | 23:53 | |
| "The return to a certain abandoned house." | ||||||
| 19 | "Prey"[2] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole, Roberta Colindrez | July 25, 2017 | 28:08 | |
| "A question is raised; a decision is made." | ||||||
| 20 | "Why Am I Alive?"[2] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole, Roberta Colindrez, Erica Livingston | August 8, 2017 | 27:33 | |
| "Did I know from the first time I saw you Alice? It feels like I did." | ||||||
Part 3 (2018)
| No. | Title | Written by | Starring | Date | Running time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | "Cause and Effect"[2] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole, Erica Livingston | April 24, 2018 | 20:19 | |
| "Causality is a tricky thing." | ||||||
| 22 | "Surroundings"[2] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole, Erica Livingston | May 8, 2018 | 20:33 | |
| "There are oracles on these roads." | ||||||
| 23 | "Means of Escape"[2] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole, Erica Livingston | May 22, 2018 | 24:09 | |
| "When it's time to leave, do it quickly." | ||||||
| 24 | "Three Nights at the Old Motel"[2] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole, Erica Livingston | June 5, 2018 | 25:55 | |
| "Watch out for the locals." | ||||||
| 25 | "What Happened to Hank Thompson"[2] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole, Erica Livingston | June 19, 2018 | 23:05 | |
| "The bad is as human as the good." | ||||||
| 26 | "This Isn't It"[2] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole, Erica Livingston | July 3, 2018 | 18:59 | |
| "Is this it? (It isn't.)" | ||||||
| 27 | "Speakers"[2] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole, Erica Livingston | July 17, 2018 | 22:39 | |
| "Man, this isn’t even close to the weirdest thing." | ||||||
| 28 | "To Forgive"[2] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole, Erica Livingston | July 31, 2018 | 20:50 | |
| "I don't know if you deserve forgiveness." | ||||||
| 29 | "Praxis"[2] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole, Erica Livingston | August 14, 2018 | 24:54 | |
| "It didn’t feel like fear. It felt like movement." | ||||||
| 30 | "An Ending"[2] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole, Erica Livingston, Roberta Colindrez | August 28, 2018 | 27:17 | |
| "All road trips end." | ||||||
Bonus episodes
During the lead ups to the releases of Part 2 and Part 3, short bonus episodes were released to advertise the podcast's return.
Part 2 (2017)
| No. in season | Title | Written by | Starring | Date | Running time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "(3) North Rim, Arizona"[2] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole | March 14, 2017 | 3:57 | |
| "A cold morning at the Grand Canyon." | ||||||
| 2 | "(2) Fremont, Washington"[2] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole | March 21, 2017 | 4:00 | |
| "A vision under a bridge." | ||||||
| 3 | "(1) Haugen, Montana"[2] | Joseph Fink | Roberta Colindrez | March 28, 2017 | 3:16 | |
| "Allow me to introduce myself." | ||||||
Part 3 (2018)
| No. in season | Title | Written by | Starring | Date | Running time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "(1) Perth, Western Australia"[2] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole | March 26, 2018 | 4:31 | |
| "There are many places I'll never go." | ||||||
| 2 | "(2) Mérida, Yucatán"[2] | Joseph Fink | Erica Livingston | April 3, 2018 | 3:56 | |
| "I know I have a lot to answer for. And I will. I’ll answer for it all." | ||||||
| 3 | "(3) Los Angeles, California"[2] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole | April 10, 2018[lower-alpha 1] | 36:24 | |
| "Our special, one-off live episode as performed by Jasika Nicole and Disparition in Los Angeles on April 5, 2018." | ||||||
- This episode was originally performed live in Los Angeles on April 5, 2018.
Another live show, entitled "The Finish Line," was be performed at Live at the Coronet in Los Angeles on April 27, 2019, and was released digitally on November 14, 2019.[10]
Patreon-exclusive
As part of the Patreon campaign for Part 3, several bonus episodes were released to patrons of the show.[3] On October 14, 2019, the first four Patreon exclusive episodes were released publicly as a compilation episode called "The Window & The Mirror."
| No. in season | Title | Written by | Starring | Date | Running time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Singapore"[3] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole | June 26, 2018 | 3:28 |
| 2 | "House on the Rock"[3] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole | July 9, 2018 | 2:59 |
| 3 | "Skagway"[3] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole | July 16, 2018 | 3:25 |
| 4 | "Whitby"[3] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole | August 7, 2018 | 3:07 |
| 5 | "Newport"[3] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole | October 25, 2018 | 4:29 |
| 6 | "Darvaza"[3] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole | October 26, 2018 | 3:59 |
| 7 | "Camarillo"[3] | Joseph Fink | Jasika Nicole | October 29, 2018 | 4:52 |
Reception
Cassandra Khaw of Ars Technica positively reviewed the first three episodes, stating that the series "very quickly comes into its own, dropping any pretence of gallows humour for the kind of creeping, consuming terror that pervades the best horror movies."[11] Neil Verma compared the modus operandi of the Thistle Man, the series' antagonist who follows its narrator as she drives across America, to that of the eponymous villain in Lucille Fletcher's 1941 radio play The Hitch-Hiker.[12]
References
- "Alice Isn't Dead". Disparition. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
- "Alice Isn't Dead". feeds.nightvalepresents.com. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
- "Alice Isn't Dead is creating Alice Isn't Dead, Part Three". Patreon. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- Capewell, Jillian (March 9, 2016). "Your New Podcast Addiction Is A Fictional Thriller Starring A Truck Driver". Huffington Post. Associated Press. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
- "Alice Isn't Dead". Night Vale Presents. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
- "'Alice Isn't Dead' podcast being adapted for print and TV". The Washington Post. August 16, 2017. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
- Baronemarch, Joshua (March 7, 2016). "'Alice Isn't Dead,' a Dark New Fictional Podcast in a Booming Market". The New York Times. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
- Dobbs, Sarah (July 25, 2013). "Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor on Welcome To Night Vale". Den of Geek. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
- @AlicePodcast (March 31, 2017). "And a new voice! That we know now is Roberta Colindrez. And who is not the character people assumed she was. #AliceIsntDead" (Tweet). Retrieved June 15, 2017 – via Twitter.
- "Night Vale Presents: Alice Isn't Dead". Retrieved March 22, 2019.
- Khaw, Cassandra (April 21, 2016). "Alice Isn't Dead review: Gorgeously eerie work from the creators of Night Vale". Ars Technica. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
- Verma, Neil (2017). "The Arts of Amnesia: The Case for Audio Drama, Part Two". RadioDoc Review. 3 (1): 1–22. doi:10.14453/rdr.v3i1.6.