Episode 6: Sex & Drugs & Riverdale - a podcast by Vox Populorum

When we started this podcast, one of our first goals was to make sure we did and episode about the CW reboot of Archie comics, Riverdale. The show reimagines the classic Archie characters in a adolescent soap opera world of mixed genres: hardboiled detective, film noir, goth horror, teen romance, erotic thriller. To us it is notable because both believed from the initial trailers that it would be cancelled in a  matter of weeks. Now, two years later, it  one of our favorite shows.

How the hell did that happen?

Join us as we dive into the history of Archie and teen sex dramas to deconstruct how a 90210/Gossip Girl/Pretty Little Liars formulaic ripoff based on a nearly 80 year old comic, that is both ridiculous in construction and nigh schizophrenic can become a thoughtful and innovative cultural masterpiece.  Why does the show work? How does it lean on the source material and update it to be something that works with a modern audience? How can it possibly babe enjoyed by teenage girls and middle aged men? Was Betty always crazy? Why do Cheryl and Jughead kick total ass? We are joined by fellow lover of the show, Connie Eaton (a friend of Mav’s from college) and two teens who are actually in the theoretical demographic the show is targeted at, Sophie Hummel and Jamie Pachuta.

(very minor Spoilers in this episode, mostly about the first season)

Citations and Links:



* This episode’s Call for Comments

* Twelve Cent Archie by Bart Beaty

* Riverdale: Season 1

* The Archies Greatest Hits

* “How Riverdale Turned Archie into a Fascist” by Eric Thurm

* “Turns Out Katy Perry’s Been Taking Cues From an Archie Comics Character” by Aylin Zafar

* Archie: The Best of Dan DeCarlo – Volume 1 by Dan DeCarlo and various authors

* Arrow Fashion Blog

* this weeks bumper uses clips from Kevin Smith’s Chasing Amy





* Thank you to Maximilian’s thoughtForm Music for our theme

* Follow us on Twitter: @voxpopcast, @chrismaverick, and @wayne_wise

* Follow us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/voxpopcast

* Follow Mav’s Personal Blog: http://chrismaverick.com

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