The first season of “Zoolaplex” is what happens when “South Park” meets Saturday Night Live in the form of a workplace sitcom. Imagine “The Office (US)”, but raunchier and unafraid to use explicit language. As the season progresses, the satire becomes more obvious but less powerful. Yet, still, the show never loses its sense of humor and depth of characterization.

Social Satire and Philosophical Humor in Zoolaplex

The season starts with a joke whose punchline is too far away from the setup. Don’t worry, it gets repeated in later episodes as a running gag and each time is funnier than the last. It’s similar to how “Red vs Blue” begins with a philosophical question of “why are we here?” as a simple misunderstanding between two characters. The first three episodes are there to set up characters, but we don’t get to know them or differentiate them until the episode with the psychologist, Sonia. Her introduction and minor reoccurring appearance in later episodes make her feel like she was added for the sake of getting to know the characters better.

Symptoms of Depression May Include Self-Loathing

The episodes after Sonia’s introduction as a character marks a shift in direction for the show. Where before the continuity between episodes was minimal at best, now it’s more irreverent. Episode 4 is where the employees of the movie theatre in fictional Cityville, USA become real people. The use of therapy sessions makes for great insight into the character’s lives and backstories and it doesn’t feel like a crutch for the writer to expound exposition. It’s organic and natural.

Speaking of the writer, Reece Bridger’s performance as Andy seems almost self-hating in a meta-contextual way. Major props to him for performing as a character who’s the most hated guy at the movie theater and fictional town of Cityville, USA. That said, I don’t understand everyone’s hatred of Andy when there are worse people who visit and work at the Zoolaplex.

Continuity and Trigger Warnings

Zoolaplex is a show that screams their jokes, but is more dramatic and soft-spoken when it comes to sensitive matters. Particularly episode 8, “Happy Hour,” which has an important message about sexual assault. The PSA at the end feels natural. Two episodes later, during the Hipster apocalypse, a less effective public service announcement about treating everyone with respect feels forced. You’re showing us one thing and telling us something different and it just doesn’t work.

Season Finale and Overall Thoughts on Zoolaplex

The season one finale “Citizen Drake” takes the presumed sociopathy of Drake and humanizes him. The listener doesn’t know much, but they can put the pieces together to formulate why Drake is distant with everyone. The season one cliffhanger works to hook the listener. With one season left that ended in 2018, it’s unclear at the time of this writing whether the show finished its story or stopped (or went on hiatus) due to unforeseen circumstances.

There are so many characters and plot threads that it could last forever. Regardless of how the series ends, one thing is clear. It’s both a potential lack of closure and the fear of having things end that make this a tossup on whether continuing is in someone’s best interest. That someone is me.

8/10 Stars

Next Time

Day of the Martians (Affiliate Link to Amazon/Audible Page)

Social Media

https://Twitter.com/AudioDramaNews

https://Facebook.com/AudioDramaDigest

Donations 

https://Ko-Fi.com/AudioDramaReviews or https://Paypal.me/MikeBergonzi

Podcasts

http://AudioDramaReviews.com/Media