S-Town

John B. McLemore and his hedge maze                                                          Daily Express

        This American Life has been showcasing extraordinary pieces of reportage and American storytelling since its premiere in 1995. Hosted by Ira Glass and banded together by contributors, comedians, storytellers, authors, humorists, and political commentators alike, it has produced some of the most worthwhile stories to ever flow across the airwaves. Sometimes the show is made up of a bunch of little stories that cover topics such as police violence, the election, and coincidences, to large stories about the party going antics of Penn State, or the story of two women who were switched at birth. Whatever episode you tune into there’s something amazing or revelatory in store, brought to you by the soothing voices of people like Chana Joffe-Walt, Alex Blumberg, and Mike Birbiglia.

            In 2014 Sarah Koenig took a story that was too long for a single episode of This American Life, and created the podcast Serial. Its first season followed an old murder case that had already yielded the conviction of Adnan Syed, a teenager at the time. That first season was amazing, as Koenig picked apart the entire case one piece of evidence at a time, and revealed serious doubt into whether Syed was guilty. The Netflix documentary Making a Murderer was released the next year, and since then the subject of true crime has been on many producers’ minds. Koenig grasped at this theme for her podcast’s second season by covering the case of Army deserter Bowe Bergdahl, which lent to a less than stellar second season and disinterest in the show’s future. Instead of producing releasing a third season this year, Koenig and Glass released this spinoff of a spinoff.

"Serial" producers Sarah Koenig, Ira Glass, and Julie Snyder                               Mother Jones

            Host Brian Reed has been working on S-Town since 2014, when Woodstock, Alabama resident John B. McLemore called with a tip that a murder had been committed by an affluent local teen, and it was covered up by the corrupt local police department. This concept became the hook that Reed’s team pushed in all its advertisements for the show, leading up to its March 28th release. Earnest fans of Koenig’s predecessor were excited for another whodunit, another true crime to unravel and dissect with precision and empathy. In reality, this was a near ruse, because though that this is the start of the story, it is definitely not the ending. Instead of a true crime podcast, this is actually a really long character study, one that is beyond interesting, but perhaps packaged incorrectly.

            I have a lot of opinions on this podcast, but the most important assertion I want to make is that the subject of this podcast is incredible and near otherworldly. He is a find that any radio producer would love, and Brian Reed honestly loves McLemore in a way that he imparts in every interview he does. He waxes philosophical about almost every aspect of McLemore’s life and often uses McLemore’s words, as well as his family’s and friends, to understand the personality and intellect of the former horologist. McLemore is a subject that would have shone brightest in a documentary, as there’s too much to describe in detail, for a radio audience. McLemore was a man who fixed clocks, created mazes, was physically interesting in many respects, and lived in a town that needed to be seen to be believed. The only thing that truly works well in this format was his voice, which is absolutely intoxicating with its Alabamian drawl, and crass language. Of anything, Reed was right to exhibit McLemore’s words.

Host and producer Brian Reed and McLemore                                 Photo credit: Andrea Morales

            What I simply do not understand is why this, why now? This podcast’s release feels like a Hail Mary to protect the Serial brand in lieu of its morose second season. This could have easily been a single episode of This American Life, if it was edited properly. A lot of effort was expended in making this, and that simple fact coupled with Reed’s desire to explain every facet of John’s life led to this being released as a series. It is a great series, but an unneeded one. We don’t really need the story of the cousins or the aftermath of their dealings with John’s mother and his protégé, Tyler. While many episodes are interesting and lend to a deeper understanding of McLemore as a person, again this could have been condensed and still have been enjoyably introspective. On the other hand there’s also much more to be said about McLemore. While Reed covers many subjects that could have been omitted completely, he also cuts off his reportage now, in 2017, when there’s still so much that could happen. Tyler has a trial coming up, and not everything is said and done in Woodstock. Sure, this could be a sufficient cut-off point, but without a lengthy narrative arc like Serial, what’s the point of stopping now? This could have been produced for another couple of years, and may have yielded even more information and insight into McLemore’s life. As it stands this ending feels a little hackneyed and blunt.

            If you love This American Life or Serial I doubt you will have the same complaints I do. You will probably be just as intoxicated as many others when listening to the exploits, opinions, and vulgarities that come from John B. McLemore’s mouth. The annihilation of his world in the last four episodes is definitely interesting and lends to an emotional and thoughtful character study. Still, when you have listened to a better iteration of this art form, and that iteration was given more time and care in its creation, you as a listener feel let-down. That sounds naïve when speaking about a well-researched and lengthy production, but that is my opinion. Perhaps I was spoiled by Making a Murderer which took ten years to document, or the first season of Serial, which covered a very old case.

The town of Woodstock, AL water tower                                                                 Vulture

Really though, those comparisons are worthless, because S-Town is its own property, and therein lies the problem. The podcast presents itself as a contemporary of Serial, using the same structural production and having the same producers, but it’s something completely separate. Either Reed needed to separate himself fully from the WBEZ fold, or keep in step with his contemporaries. This strange bait and switch maneuver lent to an engrossing story, when it understood what it was trying to say, but when it didn’t, it was a confusing mess. Hopefully we will soon be gifted with longer radio stories that don’t have to promote themselves as something they aren’t.