Vulture is an American entertainment news website. It is the standalone pop culture section of New York Magazine . Its tagline is "Devouring Culture".
34-417: Midst is a space western audio drama podcast created and narrated by an anonymous trio of artists known as Third Person. The first season aired from January 7, 2020, to May 1, 2020. The second season aired from July 30, 2021, to April 29, 2022. In March 2023, Midst was acquired by Metapigeon which rereleased the remastered series weekly beginning on April 11, 2023, on various podcasting platforms and
68-500: A tabletop role-playing game they played together. It was originally released from January 2020 to April 2022. In March 2023, the science fiction podcast was purchased by Metapigeon , the film and television production banner of Critical Role Productions ; this is the first time that Critical Role has acquired outside intellectual property. Critical Role began to rerelease Midst in April 2023. This rerelease includes remastered audio,
102-457: A diabolical bastard – as their paths intersect in unexpected ways" in the town of Stationary Hill after the mysterious civilization known as the Trust becomes interested in the islet of Midst where the town is located. Midst was originally produced by the studio Third Person which was made of the podcast's three anonymous narrators and was inspired by a campaign setting the narrators created for
136-496: A fresh world. Galaxy Science Fiction ran an advertisement on its back cover, "You'll never see it in Galaxy ", which gave the beginnings of make-believe parallel Western and science-fiction stories featuring a character named Bat Durston. The genre of space Westerns has been informally—and often derisively—known as "Bat Durston" stories since. Such scathing attacks on the subgenre, along with further attacks on space operas, caused
170-601: A new story and with its own creative team. The first issue, titled Midst: Address Unknown , is scheduled for release in August 2024 and will be written by Colin Lorimer with art by Alejandro Aragón, colors by Chris O'Halloran, and letters by Jim Campbell . It will follow new characters after their postal ship crashes on Midst. Moonward , a four-part limited series set after Midst , was announced in July 2024. It features Xen as
204-403: A new video format and a planned new third season. It also has an ad-free subscription option that includes an early release schedule and other bonus content. When asked in an interview on how the production changed after acquisition, Third Person narrator Xen opined that the upcoming third season will be "on another level" as it will be the first season the group works on full time as opposed to
238-465: A perception that all space Westerns were by definition hack writing and not "true" science fiction. Although the underlying themes remained influential, this bias persisted until the 1980s, when the release of the film Outland and children's cartoons such as BraveStarr and The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers re-popularized explicit themes of cowboys in space. BraveStarr chronicles
272-411: Is a subgenre of science fiction that uses the themes and tropes of Westerns within science-fiction stories in an outer space setting. Subtle influences may include exploration of new, lawless frontiers , while more overt influences may feature actual cowboys in outer space who use rayguns and ride robotic horses. Although initially popular, a strong backlash against perceived hack writing caused
306-740: The Star Wars film series took strong cues from Westerns. Boba Fett , Han Solo and the Mos Eisley cantina, in particular, were based on Western themes. George Lucas attributes the character of Boba Fett to the Man with No Name in the DVD commentary on The Empire Strikes Back . Han Solo's original costume and charming rogue gunslinger mannerisms also reflects the Western's influence on Star Wars . These science fiction-films and television series offered
340-474: The Critical Role YouTube channel. Metapigeon also ordered a final third season of the show which aired from February 14, 2024, to June 26, 2024. An upcoming limited series spin-off , titled Moonward , set after the events of Midst was announced in July 2024. Midst is a semi-improvised space-western audio drama focused on "three protagonists – a crotchety outlaw, a struggling cultist and
374-506: The expanded universes of Star Wars and Star Trek. They often consider and view an interstellar war and oppression of a galactic empire as a backdrop, with a focus on lone gunslingers in space wielding a raygun with fantastic fictional technologies in a futuristic space-frontier setting. Westerns influenced early science-fiction pulp magazines . Writers would submit stories in both genres, and science-fiction magazines sometimes mimicked Western cover art to showcase parallels. In
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#1732772307203408-505: The 1930s, C. L. Moore created one of the first space Western heroes, Northwest Smith . Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon were also early influences. After superhero comics declined in popularity in 1940s United States, Western comics and horror comics replaced them. When horror comics became untenable with the Comics Code Authority in the mid-1950s, science-fiction themes and space Westerns grew more popular. By
442-525: The adventures of the Space Marshal, as he seeks to uphold law and order in the 23rd century. The opening trailer of The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers shows Texas Rangers –like heroes riding across a prairie landscape on robotic horses. Spaceships and six-guns both feature prominently throughout. In the 1990s, Japanese manga and anime series such as Trigun (1995 debut), Outlaw Star (1996 debut) and Cowboy Bebop (1997 debut) explored
476-462: The announcement of the Moonward spin-off, Third Person revealed that the anonymous narrators are Matt Roen, Sara Wile, and Xen. The nineteen episode first season ran from January 7, 2020, to May 1, 2020, and the nineteen episode second season ran from July 30, 2021, to April 29, 2022. In March 2023, all episodes were removed from various podcast platforms. On April 11, 2023, Critical Role released
510-399: The appendices, character portraits, episode icons, etc. So having the opportunity to visualize our world through the styles of so many different artists has been a dream come true. In January 2024, Critical Role announced that while the upcoming third season would be the final season for the podcast, the partnership with Third Person would continue with future projects. In July 2024, as part of
544-717: The first remastered episode and then released two more episodes that week. Following the initial three episode release, the remastered episodes for the first season were posted weekly on "every subsequent Wednesday". The remastered episodes are available on various podcasting platforms and the Critical Role YouTube channel; subscribers have access to an ad-free early release version. The remastered second season premiered on August 23, 2023 with subsequent episodes released weekly on Wednesdays. The nineteen episode third season premiered on February 14, 2024 with subsequent episodes released weekly on Wednesdays. The final episode
578-441: The first two seasons where they were "hobbyist producers" with limited time. Narrator Matt also highlighted the transition of working on the podcast during the group's hobby time versus now working on it full time. Narrator Sara highlighted the art of the new YouTube edition: Midst is an audio drama, but even when we were indie, we were very gung-ho about making it "more than just a podcast" – creating as many supplements as we could,
612-535: The genre are new frontiers in the galaxy and trying to "control" the vast expanse of space. The stories focus on the hardship and adventure of the unexplored space frontier. Space Westerns sometimes intertwine with space opera and military science fiction and are generally placed within the Space warfare in science fiction sub-genre thematic. Specifically written space Western fiction, movies and TV series are sometimes based on established space opera franchises with
646-475: The genre popularized by Star Trek : it used frontier towns, horses, and the styling of classic John Ford Westerns. Worlds that have been terraformed may be depicted as presenting similar challenges as that of a frontier settlement in a classic Western. Six-shooters and horses may be replaced by ray guns and rockets. The idea is that the vast distances of space have formed barriers, forcing people to become independent or even restricted. Popular themes within
680-563: The genre to become a subtler influence until the 1980s, when it regained popularity. A further critical reappraisal occurred during the 2000s due to critical acclaim for Firefly . The space Western is a science fiction story that contains Western genre elements within an outer space setting. These Western themes can be explicit, such as cowboys in outer space, or they can be a more subtle influence in space opera . The genre can be contrasted with science fiction Western , which generally relies on traditional Western frontier settings. while
714-500: The genre. Several years later, Firefly won acclaim, further causing a critical reassessment of space Westerns. Games such as StarCraft , The Outer Worlds , and the Borderlands series have also popularized the space Western theme. Films like The Chronicles of Riddick have continued the space Western theme. Vulture (website) Vulture debuted in April 2007 as an entertainment blog on nymag.com,
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#1732772307203748-526: The guide narrator with Liam O'Brien , Marisha Ray , Roen and Wile as players. Cheryl Teh of Business Insider highlighted that Moonward features "just pure roleplay and acting" as "there no dice and no rules in" the series. The series aired from August 7 to August 28, 2024 with early access for Beacon and Midst subscribers. Tara McCauley, in a review for The Escapist , commented that Moonward "proves undoubtedly engaging" for those who are "in search of character focused storytelling". She noted that while
782-528: The mid-1960s, classic Western films fell out of favor and revisionist Westerns supplanted them. Science-fiction series such as Lost in Space and Star Trek presented a new frontier to be explored. Peter Hyams , director of Outland , said that studio heads in the 1980s were unwilling to finance a Western, so he made a space Western instead. Outland took the plot directly from High Noon (1952) and placed it on Jupiter's moon Io. Space operas such as
816-434: The show "lacks the mechanical perquisites of actual play", Moonward "still deals heavily in the genre's broader motifs, such as creative group problem solving and character-based decision-making" and that this style of storytelling shows the "improvisational method" that was behind Midst . McCauley also highlighted that Moonward , at roughly two hours per episode, has much shorter episodes than Critical Role and that show's
850-451: The show". Chuen stated that the podcast "is an excellent display of interactive and creative storytelling that's rare to see done with such professionalism. The story has everything from murder mysteries and brainwashing cults to magic and love, all in a distinct world with interesting characters". In April 2024, a new comic limited series published by Dark Horse was announced. The series will consist of three oversize issues each following
884-412: The space Western, having its roots in science fiction, contains plots, tropes, or archetypes of the Western genre, but is generally set in outer space in a futuristic setting. Gene Roddenberry described Star Trek: The Original Series as a space Western (or, more poetically, as " Wagon Train to the stars"). Firefly and its cinematic follow-up Serenity literalized the Western aspects of
918-654: The staging is more similar to what is seen in Candela Obscura , however, it "ups the theatrical ante" and "flits between shots of individual players, sides of the table, and the occasional split-screen" between scene partners. Unend is an upcoming audio drama set several decades after Midst and Moonward by Third Person. The cast consists of Xen, Roen, and Wile. It is scheduled to premiere on October 9, 2024 with new episodes airing weekly on Wednesdays. Beacon and Midst subscribers will have access to an early release schedule. Space western Space Western
952-482: The themes and morals that Westerns previously did. This frontier view of the future is only one of many ways to look at space exploration, and not one embraced by all science-fiction writers. The Turkey City Lexicon, a document produced by the Turkey City science-fiction writers' workshop , condemns the space Western as the "most pernicious" form of a pre-established background that avoids the necessity of creating
986-414: The website of New York Magazine . Melissa Maerz and Dan Kois were the founding editors. The initial focus was television and film news, especially recaps of recent television episodes. Over time, it expanded to publish news and criticism in other areas of high and low culture, such as music, books, comedy, and podcasts. In the process of spinning off from New York Magazine , Vulture 's website
1020-419: The world the narrators are building for you". Caitlyn Ng Man Chuen, for CBR in 2023, called Midst "creative and original" with a "world that listeners just can't get enough of". She highlighted that the setting mixes "elements of science fiction, fantasy, and drama" – "beyond this, it also has interesting elements related to the world's political system and economy, which adds a lot of political intrigue to
1054-489: The world's Valor system which is based on a "person's inherent goodness" with inheritable debt resulting in many people spending "their entire lives trying to rack up enough good deeds to end up at a balanced zero". Rao commented that the Valor system heavily impacts the narrative along with the motivations of various characters and becomes "a brilliant criticism of capitalism because of how closely it aligns to reality". Midst
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1088-516: Was included as an "interesting pick" on Vulture 's "The Best Podcasts of 2022, According to People Who Make Podcasts" list – the article stated that the podcast is "a consistent entry among producers who either work in the genre or pay close attention to it". Lauren Shippen highlighted that it has a "rich and full sound design" with a spin on the "concept of an exclusively narrated podcast"; "a lot of podcasts throw around words like immersive , but Midst actually delivers – you feel like you're inside
1122-696: Was redesigned in 2010 from a blog format to look more like a "full-fledged" online magazine . Vulture subsequently moved to an independent URL / domain (Vulture.com) in February 2012. The first Vulture Festival, an annual two-day event featuring celebrities from various pop culture fields, took place in New York City in 2014. Vulture 's parent company, New York Media, bought the comedy news site Splitsider from The Awl Network in 2018 and folded some of its coverage and its editor Megh Wright into Vulture . In September 2019, Vulture became
1156-405: Was released on June 26, 2024. Rashika Rao, for International Podcast Month in 2020, stated that the style of Midst is "reminiscent of Gravity Falls " and that the podcast "combines the unapologetically weird with the frighteningly real to create one of the most original fictional worlds out there right now. Do yourself a favor and speedrun season one—you won't regret it". She also highlighted
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