History Radio / PleasantGreenUniverse

* MarryingTheMark: Happens at least twice. [[spoiler:April]]'s wife in ''Whisperer in Darkness'' is a Department agent sent to spy on her and the other cultists and in ''Aldritch Kemp'', Mrs. Boone was apparently married to a Russian oligarch that the Themis Group eventually assassinated.

* MarryingTheMark: Happens at least twice. [[spoiler:April]]'s wife in ''Whisperer in Darkness'' is a Department agent sent to spy on her and the other cultists and in ''Aldritch Kemp'', Mrs. Boone was apparently married to a Russian oligarch that the Themis Group eventually assassinated. Oddly, despite the fact she was under an assumed identity at the time, a Swiss-German socialite named Ada [[InherentlyFunnyWords Heffelfinger]], she still goes by the honorific "Mrs." even though there's no indication of her ever being married to anyone else under her real name.

** "Fugue State" is a SciFiHorror story that is once again set in Pleasant Green (but not for any particular reason except that it was a normal English village).

** Becomes an ExaggeratedTrope in ''Haunter of the Dark'' with Byron saying "reality doesn't care what you believe" any time someone mentions the word "reality", to the point that [[LampshadeHanging the other characters frequently tell him to shut up]]. This is either hilarious or cringe-inducing [spoiler:until you find out that [Byron has suffered brain damage from repeated contact with eldritch entities and saying the same thing over and over is a common symptom]].

* BecomingTheMask: Parker implies in ''Shadow over Innsmouth'' [spoiler:that this has happened to Mary Lairre, who's taken on the identity of Eleanor Peck and has now forgotten who she really is.]] [[spoiler: This is confirmed in ''The Haunter of the Dark'', where Mary briefly returns.]]

* AdaptationalVillainy: Numerous characters mentioned in the BackStory of ''Charles Dexter Ward'' as either adversaries or, at worst, {{Unwitting Pawn}}s of Joseph Curwen, such as Eliza Tillinghast or [[spoiler:Ezra Whedon]] in the original novel are willing participants in his long-running occult conspiracy here.
* AgentScully: Professor Peck makes no secret of the fact that she doesn't believe in the supernatural despite, or more likely because of, the fact she's an expert in the history of the occult. [[spoiler: She loses this attitude in ''Shadow over Innsmouth'' and realises it's all true, which is what convinces Matthew Heawood that [[GodzillaThreshold things have gotten really dangerous]].]] And for extra irony, in the final minutes we learn [[spoiler: that Eleanor is Mary Lairre, an actual superspy ghost, but for some reason she's [[LossOfIdentity put herself so deep undercover she's erased her own memory of this.]]]]

** ''"I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set it free"'', a famous quote from Creator/MichelangeloBuonarroti appears in both ''Fugue State'' and [[spoiler:the very end of ''Whisperer in Darkness'']].
** ''"Babylon"'' (or rather [[spoiler:[[Creator/AleisterCrowley Bab]]'''a'''lon]]) and ''"Pleasant Green"'' itself in ''The Whisperer in Darkness'' are this ''in-universe'', to the point that Matthew begins shouting them repeatedly at a confused Foreign and Commonwealth Office receptionist in order to attract the attention of the Department agents [[BigBrotherIsWatchingYou he knows are listening in]].

* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: The ending of [[spoiler:''Fugue State'', and possibly Matt's fate in ''Shadow over Innsmouth'']]. [[GainaxEnding Maybe.]]
* TheArtifact: [[spoiler:"Joseph Curwen" and most of his incarnations]] still turn to dust when killed, despite not being reanimated from cremains in this version.
* BecomingTheMask: Parker implies in ''Shadow over Innsmouth'' that this has happened to [[spoiler:Mary Lairre,]] who's taken on the identity of [[spoiler:Eleanor Peck]] and has now forgotten who [[spoiler:she]] really is. [[spoiler: This is confirmed in ''The Haunter of the Dark'', where Mary briefly returns.]]

* BodySurf: In contrast to the original Lovecraft story where [[spoiler:Joseph Curwen simply took advantage of his StrongFamilyResemblance to KillAndReplace Charles after being resurrected in an occult ritual, in this version he's actually a disembodied spirit who can possess the body of his closest living relative and "Curwen" was just one in a long line of vessels]].

** Becomes an ExaggeratedTrope in ''Haunter of the Dark'' with Byron saying "reality doesn't care what you believe" any time someone mentions the word "reality", to the point that [[LampshadeHanging the other characters frequently tell him to shut up]]. This is either hilarious or cringe-inducing until you find out that [[spoiler:Byron has suffered brain damage from repeated contact with eldritch entities and saying the same thing over and over is a common symptom]].
* CavalryBetrayal: [[spoiler: Matt's friend Jasper]] appears near the finale of ''Shadow Over Innsmouth'', apparently saving [[spoiler:Matt]] from the Harlequin, an assassin out to get him. [[spoiler: Matthew doesn't realise Jasper himself is the Harlequin until it's too late.]]
* CelebrityParadox: Henry Akeley's letters to [[spoiler:Barbara Sayers]] contain references to the Literature/PrincipiaDiscordia. Said book is peppered with references to the work of Creator/HPLovecraft, including riffing on the famous quote from the original novel of ''The Case of Charles Dexter Ward'' "do not call up any that you cannot put down" as "do not call up that which you cannot put on hold".
* ChairmanOfTheBrawl: Kennedy unties herself from a chair and smashes it over the head of [[spoiler:April Marsden]] after being captured near the end of ''Whisperer in Darkness''.

** Joseph Curwen (aka. [[spoiler:Ipku-Aya]]) is mostly based on the character of that name from ''Literature/TheCaseOfCharlesDexterWard'', but [[spoiler:his particular method of cheating death]] is closer to that used by Ephraim Waite in ''Literature/TheThingOnTheDoorstep'', albeit with slightly different limitations. (Interestingly, the idea of Curwen being reimagined as [[spoiler:a later incarnation of a much older {{Body Surf}}ing occultist]] also echoes Creator/AlanMoore's portrayal of Waite in ''ComicBook/{{Providence}}''[[note]]although this is a coincidence, as according to Simpson's blog he didn't read the comic until several years later[[/note]].) And "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" reveals that beyond all of that [[spoiler: Ipku Aya is just another name for, or avatar of, Nyarlathotep.]]

* CrisisCrossover: ''Whisperer in Darkness'' basically turns into one for much of Simpson's previous work, with the Mystery Machine crew teaming up with Agent Parker and others to stop a conspiracy involving Lovecraftian cultists and the Marsden family from ''Bad Memories'' from [[spoiler:summoning Azathoth]].

** The Aldrich Kemp series is a zippy, fun and modern GenreThrowback to Sixties British SpyFi.

* SequelHook: Oddly occurs right in the middle of ''Aldrich Kemp'' rather than the end. After the Black Windmill explodes at the end of episode 3, Kennedy mentions another lead who might have information on how to return Matt from the Dreamlands, a journalist by the name of [[Literature/TheHaunterOfTheDark Edwin Lillibridge]]...

* AgentScully: Professor Peck makes no secret of the fact that she doesn't believe in the supernatural despite, or more likely because of, the fact she's an expert in the history of the occult. [[spoiler: She loses this attitude in ''Shadow over Innsmouth'' and realises it's all true, which is what convinces Matthew Heawood that [[GodzillaThreshold things have gotten really dangerous]].]] And for extra irony, in the final minutes we learn [[spoiler: that Eleanor is Mary Lairre, an actual superspy ghost, but for some reason she's [[LossOfIdentity put herself so deep on cover she's erased her own memory of this.]]]]