H.G. Wells Has His Regrets is a slice-of-life time travel audio drama in which the famous author succeeds in creating an actual TIME MACHINE. Rather than trying to alter key events in history or discover if the future is anything like what he wrote about, H.G. decides to meet people with whom he can have real conversations. And who better to converse with than authors from past time periods?
This is probably the lowest-stakes time travel story I’ve ever encountered, and it works brilliantly. The time travel element only exists to facilitate the conversations H.G. Wells has with other famous authors. The writers are clearly familiar with the lives and eccentricities of the authors Wells visits, and the conversations are intensely human and often amusing, but always fascinating.
We’re also treated with glimpses into Wells’s life in his own time. His interactions with his wife are some of my favorite moments in the story. They clearly have a loving relationship, and his wife occasionally borrows the time machine for missions of the utmost importance… like shopping for groceries. Wells also has a rather interesting and combative relationship with his neighbor, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Over the course of the story, H.G. Wells slowly comes to realize that he has more regrets than he first admitted. Though the show is somewhat comedic, there are emotional moments throughout and I’m looking forward to seeing how Wells grows as a person.
At the time of this review, there are only seven episodes available from season 1. More will be coming, though, and I’m eagerly awaiting them. If you enjoy slice-of-life stories that focus on the human element over the speculative, consider giving this a listen.
You won’t regret it.
H.G. Wells Has His Regrets is a free time travel audio drama created by Turpentine Productions. This audio drama is available through iTunes or wherever you find podcasts. Check out its website for more information or listen to the teaser episode now:
