The Thrilling Adventure Hour is an intriguing crossover of entertainment platforms that shows how creative people find success by exploiting all forms of media.
It began more than 10 years ago as a live comedy show in Los Angeles, became a monthly event, and along the way its creators decided to record the performances and release them as podcasts. As its success grew, they took the show on the road and also produced a graphic novel, comic books and a DVD, financing each with web-based Kickstarter funding.
The podcast releases include question-and-answer sessions and panel discussions with fans. There have also been crossover shows that unite casts and writers from other podcasts, in particular Welcome To Night Vale.
The whole thing is the creation of a pair of writers with the unlikely names of Ben Acker and Ben Blacker. It is badged as being "in the style of old time radio" in that it is written and performed as separate roughly half-hour episodes, such as Sparks Nevada – Marshal On Mars, a sci-fi western; and Beyond Belief, starring a hard-drinking husband-and-wife duo of reluctant supernatural sleuths ("they see ghosts"). After each monthly performance, the show is divided into episodes and released as weekly podcasts.
The actors are consistently outstanding and although they are performing for an audience, they do not wear costumes and they deliver their lines with scripts in hand. The writing by Acker and Blacker is brilliant. In keeping with the old-time radio theme, there are announcers/narrators, a house band – the Andy Paley Orchestra – a sound-effects man, and ads (for fictional products).
It was recently announced that the show will cease production this year, although the podcasts will remain available. There are more than 200 TAH podcasts available for streaming or download, starting from 2011.
The Thrilling Adventure Hour is appearing in Sydney as part of the Sydney Comedy Festival on May 15 at the Concourse in Chatswood and on May 16 at the Enmore Theatre.
