RADIO DRAMA REVIEWS ONLINE

Titanium Rain by Josh Finney, adapted by Finney and Kat Rocha

Home
AUTHORS A-J
AUTHORS K-R
AUTHORS S-Z
DRAMATISTS A-Z
Contact Us

More information about Titanium Rain

 
In the year 2031 mankind’s survival instinct is put to the test when a civil war in China spirals into global conflict. Nations are destroyed. Millions are killed. And for many, like US Air Force pilot Alec Killian (Lance Roger Axt), survival will mean shedding some of his humanity in exchange for biotech and machine. Is this the ultimate corruption of nature, or the birth pains of a new chapter in mankind’s evolution?
 
Adapted from Finney's graphic novel series of the same name, William Dufris' production communicates the thrill of working with new technology through a combination of cries and sound-effects. Killian and his fellow-pilots have a job to do, but they actively enjoy the task of eliminating enemy planes with their state-of-the-art machinery. To an extent the radio drama celebrates masculinity; only the fittest and the brainiest will survive.
 
The pilots' expedition is termed Operation Prometheus, reminding us that the god was a trickster figure who was entrusted with the creation of humankind. His attempts to better the lives of human beings brought him into contact with Zeus. He eventually ended up delivering fire to human beings delivered within a fennel-stalk. The elemental imagery associated with the Promethean myth seems eminently suitable for this drama.
 
The action is cleverly constructed, combining past and present. We hear the pilots' immediate experience of flying, which is contrasted with flashbacks to the time when they start training. We do not find out the cause of the conflict until the fourth episode, suggesting a "strike first, ask questions later" approach on the pilots' behalf. This structure is a clever one, providing much-need sonic relief from the sonic whizz-bang of the pilots in action, with radios crackling away in the background.
 
Titanium Rain is not for the faint-hearted; but nonetheless proves how radio drama provides the ideal medium for presenting epic dramas at minimal cost, with the varied sounds encouraging listeners to use their collective imagination,