How many times have you wished that politicians would just do something in the face of injustice? It's a sentiment shared across political lines: action must be better than the status quo, even if throwing out the incumbents heralds the unknown. But what if it isn't? What if, like the Iraq War or the "Mini Budget," a hubristic desire for action leads to dire consequences?
Pride vs prudence. That is the moral heart of Goalhanger's impressive new audio drama, Bear Hunt, a ten-part cinematic thriller created by co-founder Tony Pastor, alongside Dave Allen, Joel Emery, Adam Jarrell, and the company's in-house audio drama team. Bear Hunt launched on September 10, and we were given early access to listen to the whole series. At that stage, the plot was obscure. A British plane crashes. The Russians are probably behind it. An impotent Prime Minister makes a daring choice with potentially disastrous consequences. In an average audio drama, this inciting event would lead to a series of hammily linked clues, a couple of dramatic scenes, and a lacklustre ending that serves as a way for the central character to realize she works too much.
Not Bear Hunt. The story, which began as a simple question: "If the British government decided to eliminate a foreign leader, how would we do it?" (Turns out, it depends on whether you want your assassin back), features a cleverly woven plot line that takes listeners backwards in time to the battlefields of Afghanistan, to the current backrooms of Westminster, and deep behind enemy lines in China.
Please note, we will be mentioning minor spoilers from here on.
The story begins with a British Airways plane disaster that kills someone close to Prime Minister Alex Kernoway (Thomas Mitchells). Frustrated by his flaccid public image (shared by most people, including his own brother), Kernoway makes a decision that will change the course of history: to order the assassination of the Russian President. As far as midlife crises go, it couldn't be much worse; the assassination may trigger World War 3. To compound the problem, Kernoway and his Centrist Dad party are quickly booted out following the General Election, making way for the new Reform-esque PM (Lauren Ingram) to announce, in a moment of delicious irony, that she wants closer relations with Russia.
When the new PM uncovers her predecessor's far-fetched plot – the unleashing of a skilled and "disgraced" operative named Shaun Wade (Freddie Trenholme) to use cover as an independent contractor training the Chinese army to kill the Russian President during a peace summit – she and the head of MI6 (Naomi Miller) set into motion the only solution they can conceive: send in another operative to hunt down the first.
The most effective aspect of Bear Hunt is the plotting. The story has all the aspirations of a Netflix series, and it's easy to see how the IP will be shopped around in the coming years. But rather than writing a convoluted story for the sake of length, Bear Hunt takes time to explain Kernoway's motivations, and to let his plan unravel at a pace that fuels the tension for the listener. When new characters are introduced, it is always for a purpose. The threads, confusing at first, begin to come together halfway through the series, making for a cathartic experience for those who haven't been distracted from the story by a work call or their children running rampant. But let's not kid around here: this story requires your attention. As someone who can listen to a podcast and hold a conversation at the same time (much to my fiancée's amazement), I listened to Bear Hunt while walking or commuting. Any more distractions and I began to miss connections.
But despite its engaging plot line, I was frequently taken out of the story by the clunky writing. A tip for penning dialog: adding six curse words to a single sentence does not make it sound natural. Despite Trenholme's excellent performance, Scottish operative Shaun Wade has some of the most synthetic lines in the script. One of the gags about President Obama’s stance on active combat has the 20/20 hindsight of a cartoon from last week’s copy of Private Eye. "This is 2010!" exclaims Wade to his teammate. Yes, we know. Five minutes ago the narrator opened the scene with the line "Fifteen years earlier." Surely, there must be a better way to signpost temporal jumps than characters randomly shouting out the year in the middle of an action scene?
Speaking of action, I would be remiss not to highlight the violence in this audio drama. There are some scenes that sound like extended clips from Call of Duty. Gunfire, explosions, deaths. While justifiable, it is difficult to listen to. This is not a series you can enjoy with children or reactive pets close by.
Part of what makes the violence so distressing to listen to is actually what makes the show a cut above others in the genre. Bear Hunt's sound design is world class. From jungle scenes to a tense urban chase, the layers of effects are immersive and convincing. And while the propulsive music makes many of the early episodes feel like an extended action trailer, it does give the series momentum.
Since finishing Bear Hunt, I've been wondering how long to wait before re-listening. Like a good book, the story rewards persistent listeners. Details I disregarded at the beginning are suddenly vital, and I reckon there's more to enjoy the second time around. If this is the direction that Goalhanger Drama is headed, I'm looking forward to the ride.
