Hi all. I thought it might be interesting to see what types of episodes of The Letters Page were most popular with this community. So, here’s a poll for just that:
0 voters
I kinda feel like classic episodes and Writers’ Rooms are tied for me, but I also expect we won’t be getting many if any classic episodes in the future. xxtz’Huulissh was kind of a fluke that way. :B
Creative Process all the way. Fill out more of the universe. Give us more villains and sidekicks and organizations that the heroes interact with. Give us those seeds to grow for the RPG.
Writer’s Rooms are good; character episodes are better, although there was a finite supply and they’ve pretty much all been done now (unless they start doing them for RPG characters, which won’t interest me very much since I don’t play the RPG - the Daybreak and Xxxhulish episodes were alright, but unless they publish some mini-expansion SOTM decks for these characters, I’m not likely to get very much out of them).
Also, the old episodes of the podcast are better to listen to, just because Adam has been sounding so tired and checked-out lately that the episodes really don’t have the fun energy they used to. We still get a good joke now and again, but whether it’s due to burnout or COVID or busyness with Definitive Edition, C&A just don’t seem to be enjoying themselves nearly as much anymore.
And sorry, but Bullpens kinda suck. Especially since the last couple were entirely devoted to RPG rules questions; I might practically as well have skipped those, since they were full of jargon that means nothing to me.
Adam’s juggling a family, the usual art duties, the podcast, and moving, I’m not surprised he sounds more tired than usual.
Plus he’s always been the laid-back one to Christopher’s more hyper energy. It’s part of why their dynamic is entertaining.
As for the Bullpens, I agree as someone who’s just into the lore the rules-heavy things are less interesting for me, but, I also recognize they’re super-useful for people who play the RPG and need rules clarifications. Not every episode has to be for me, and that’s OK.
Additionally, the “joke” used to be that Adam was raising his normal energy level for the podcast while Christopher was dialing it back. I think Adam’s become comfortable enough he’s just more being himself than he was in the past. 
(Along with all the things @Jeysie brought up. 
)
Which I’m here for – I appreciate hearing them be authentic.
Now that I remember it, there’s also Adam mentioning that he deals with depression in the ADITL: AZ episode, on top.
Can confirm that my own long-term on-and-off-again depression leaves me frequently tired.
Bullpens as an experience where you are interacting with C/A/P and co are great, they take a little bit of a hit for me if I can’t be there live but are still enjoyable.
I would say the old school episodes were the best because it was just learning huge chunks of lore every week and I would love to get something like a general over view of the first few years of Daybreak done in that style, but the time just doesn’t seem right for it yet for them.
Between Writers Rooms and Creative Process I prefer Writers Rooms
I greatly enjoy the Bullpens, it’s good to get voices and energies that aren’t Christopher and Adam in there. Sometimes they can suffer a bit with people trying to find the correct order to talk about things in, but that’s kind of true of all >1 person podcasts. I’d also like to salute the Publisher’s Notes, because Paul is a treat.
Honestly, I enjoy all the episode types, my enjoyment usually only varies depending on the actual topic itself (although I’ve definitely been surprised at times!). Even when the topic doesn’t really interest me, C&A’s chemistry and ability to be fun and entertaining keep me listening. I think C&A have been fantastic hosts, especially through the pandemic, and I respect the energy and dedication it takes to put on a show even when a million other things are on your mind.
So yes, I’m bad at playing favorites. Oops.
Just to clarify, I’m not saying Adam doesn’t have a right to be tired or anything, just stating it as a fact. It’s sad when an entertainer retires and you don’t get any more new stuff from them (this being a lesser version of same), but you can’t really say they don’t have the right to do it; it’s their life. I for one am glad that the happier and more upbeat Past-Adam is recorded in digital form for future generations to continue enjoying; there’s a good argument for the idea that electromedia is the closest humanity will ever get to true immortality.
I mean I’m more pointing out that this is temporary as he currently has more than usual on his plate.
Adam might sound more tired but he also sounds much happier in my view.
I like it when they tell stories! It’s also really fun to listen to Christopher and Adam bouncing ideas off each other in a positive, productive way.
A week has passed. Here are the results so far!
Writers’ Rooms: 7 votes
Classic Character Episodes: 4 votes
Bullpens & Editor’s Notes: 1 vote
Creative Processes: 1 vote
I didn’t vote. I like all the episode types! Listening to the stories from the pages of Sentinel Comics is fun, learning all about a specific character is fun, just getting a whole lot of questions answered is fun, and getting a slew of new characters all at once is fun!
I voted for Writer’s Rooms, but that’s sort of a tricky one. The classic character episodes are the foundations that the podcast is built on; without them, you couldn’t get the in-depth overviews that make the creative processes and writer’s rooms work. But now that we have a lot of them, I’m more interested in seeing how a story develops than deep diving more new characters; it feels like we have enough of a skeleton that we don’t need more bones, if that makes sense.
Creative processes are a close second for me, for much the same reason.
I voted for the Writers’ Rooms but the Creative Processes that generate new characters have been wicked fun and sometimes lead to new Writers’ Rooms ideas themselves (like last week’s ep, for instance, or the Freedom Four 1776 episode).
I was the lone Creative Process, because at this point the main advantage (to me) of the Letters Page is giving us more ideas for our own campaigns. So I like learning new things to pepper in. I don’t need the exact story they were in, I need enough detail to make MY story work with them. Creative Process usually gives us 3-5 new things for us to use.
It is curious that there’s such a gulf between Writers’ Rooms and Creative Processes. To me the only clear distinction between the two is the presence or absence of a cover; otherwise they both just feel like C&A riffing on each other for two hours and some story content emerging. I’m distantly aware that one of them is a single story told in some detail and the other is a group of several broader strokes, but they really don’t seem all that different during the listening process.
I think the cover is a particularly big factor for people.
Like NGL, at least 50% of why I suggested a Soothsayer and Nightmist teamup was the hope of getting art of Soothsayer, heh.
Well it worked, so good job. I actually ended up somewhat interested in the character, even though he was almost deliberately designed to be unappealing to someone of my tastes.