|
Post by barnabaslives on Oct 14, 2019 10:13:09 GMT
So.. this news about "cutting down ranges" for lack of a better term.. i wonder what/when... HHMM The only place you reasonibly trim is the DW and TW monthly's everything eles is quarterly or 1 or 2 annualy released alreadly (i suppose they could make DW CCS DL only without too much uproar and i've always questioned the profitabillty of Dark Shadows so that could be reduced to an annual DL Only mini-series) Good question. I have a hard time getting my head around trimming DW monthlies for as long as I've heard that the Monthly Range is the "flagship" of the BF ranges, and while I was surprised by TW going monthly I assumed it did that because it could sustain itself. Dark Shadows may be headed that way anyway, or at least there isn't anything announced except several mini-series beyond the upcoming Tony and Cassandra that I know of. I guess I'm wondering whether they might be thinking of trimming back DW releases like Churchill (been awhile and no sign of another, correct?), Lady Christina, Rose Tyler, Donna Noble, Missy, possibly Captain Jack and maybe the New Series Chronicles, or if that would be ranges like Star Cops, Callan, Adam Adamant, Avengers, Big Finish Originals or Gerry Anderson things, or possibly both? Maybe they mean things like running two Eight Doctor series simultaneously? The rest of the Doctor Who stuff that I can think of seems either anniversary related rather than long term, or things I'd except would support themselves well enough like Hinchcliffe Presents or the Comic Adaptations. Hopefully they're not planning on trimming back 1st and 2nd Doctor releases any further, or aiming the axe at Blake's 7? Of course I am totally speculating (flailing might be more accurate), but I wish I knew quite what to brace for here.
|
|
|
Post by mark687 on Oct 14, 2019 10:14:13 GMT
So.. this news about "cutting down ranges" for lack of a better term.. i wonder what/when... HHMM Well, I guess, for starters, the War Master range. Maybe they'll give the Eighth Doctor - The Time War range a rest after the 4th volume. Maybe no more new series tryout ranges like Tales of New Earth after Donna. Maybe even no more Doctor Chronicles (don't know if they've said whether there are any more plans for those). We know there is more CDNM in the works, plus more Lucie, so those might be the wildcard releases next year, apart from the "main ranges" (monthly, 1DAs, 3DAs, 4DAs, 8DAs, Short Trips, EAs (which has already been cut down), CCs, Benny, River, Torchwood and Gallifrey), plus the already announced Paternoster, Counter Measures, Donna and the Robots. That's more than enough. In Yesterdays Twit chat Nick did there was another Volume for the 11th Doc being worked on.
Regards
mark687
|
|
|
Post by mark687 on Oct 14, 2019 10:27:00 GMT
The only place you reasonibly trim is the DW and TW monthly's everything eles is quarterly or 1 or 2 annualy released alreadly (i suppose they could make DW CCS DL only without too much uproar and i've always questioned the profitabillty of Dark Shadows so that could be reduced to an annual DL Only mini-series) Good question. I have a hard time getting my head around trimming DW monthlies for as long as I've heard that the Monthly Range is the "flagship" of the BF ranges, and while I was surprised by TW going monthly I assumed it did that because it could sustain itself. Dark Shadows may be headed that way anyway, or at least there isn't anything announced except several mini-series beyond the upcoming Tony and Cassandra that I know of. I guess I'm wondering whether they might be thinking of trimming back DW releases like Churchill (been awhile and no sign of another, correct?), Lady Christina, Rose Tyler, Donna Noble, Missy, possibly Captain Jack and maybe the New Series Chronicles, or if that would be ranges like Star Cops, Callan, Adam Adamant, Big Finish Originals or Gerry Anderson things, or possibly both? Maybe they mean things like running two Eight Doctor series simultaneously? The rest of the Doctor Who stuff that I can think of seems either anniversary related rather than long term, or things I'd except would support themselves well enough like Hinchcliffe Presents or the Comic Adaptations. Hopefully they're not planning on trimming back 1st and 2nd Doctor releases any further? Of course I am totally speculating, but I wish I knew quite what to brace for here. Churchill is coming into the MRs sometime next year (BF Anniversary Weekend reveal)
Gerry Anderson stuff was mentioned in yesteday's chat but it was confussed. BF will keep the connection but the next lot of Space 1999 isn't due to be recorded to next year, whether that means there could be anthother Anderson show taken on in the meantime?
Regards
mark687
|
|
|
Post by scriptortempore on Oct 14, 2019 10:55:38 GMT
This Months Doctor Who Magazine (out this coming Thurday) will have a free DVD AND a Download Code for 11 free BF Eps
Regards
mark687
Cheers for sharing this! Any word on which ones? Wouldn't be surprised if it's a code for all the previous DWM exclusives myself, or maybe that's just me wishful thinking.
|
|
|
Post by xlozdob on Oct 14, 2019 11:09:32 GMT
Well, I guess, for starters, the War Master range. Maybe they'll give the Eighth Doctor - The Time War range a rest after the 4th volume. Maybe no more new series tryout ranges like Tales of New Earth after Donna. Maybe even no more Doctor Chronicles (don't know if they've said whether there are any more plans for those). We know there is more CDNM in the works, plus more Lucie, so those might be the wildcard releases next year, apart from the "main ranges" (monthly, 1DAs, 3DAs, 4DAs, 8DAs, Short Trips, EAs (which has already been cut down), CCs, Benny, River, Torchwood and Gallifrey), plus the already announced Paternoster, Counter Measures, Donna and the Robots. That's more than enough. In Yesterdays Twit chat Nick did there was another Volume for the 11th Doc being worked on.
Regards
mark687
I just saw that! Good to hear, too. Here are some more tidbits from the Q&A (I didn't see some of these in the lists above, so I thought I might as well share).
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2019 11:17:35 GMT
This Months Doctor Who Magazine (out this coming Thurday) will have a free DVD AND a Download Code for 11 free BF Eps
Regards
mark687
Cheers for sharing this! Any word on which ones? Wouldn't be surprised if it's a code for all the previous DWM exclusives myself, or maybe that's just me wishful thinking. Whatever they may turn out to be, the lure of eleven free downloads is tempting enough for me to contemplate buying Doctor Who Magazine for the first time in....umm....forty years...š³ Though with my luck I'll already have them all...š¤¦āāļø
|
|
lidar2
Castellan
You know, now that you mention it, I actually do rather like Attack of the Cybermen ...
Likes: 5,819
|
Post by lidar2 on Oct 14, 2019 11:32:50 GMT
So.. this news about "cutting down ranges" for lack of a better term.. i wonder what/when... HHMM Well, I guess, for starters, the War Master range. Maybe they'll give the Eighth Doctor - The Time War range a rest after the 4th volume. Maybe no more new series tryout ranges like Tales of New Earth after Donna. Maybe even no more Doctor Chronicles (don't know if they've said whether there are any more plans for those). We know there is more CDNM in the works, plus more Lucie, so those might be the wildcard releases next year, apart from the "main ranges" (monthly, 1DAs, 3DAs, 4DAs, 8DAs, Short Trips, EAs (which has already been cut down), CCs, Benny, River, Torchwood and Gallifrey), plus the already announced Paternoster, Counter Measures, Donna and the Robots. That's more than enough. I think they could cut some of the more frequent spin-offs. UNIT is currently being "rested" but perhaps when it comes back it will not be at the same 2 boxsets per year frequency, maybe just 1 box set a year. River has recently been upped form 1 boxset pat to 2, maybe she will drop back to 1 per year.
CM/NCM has already dropped from 1 boxset of 4 stories pa to 1 or 2 single releases pa.
Overall I think cutting the number of ranges is probably sensible because, as I have posted before, I suspect BF are their own biggest competitor, i.e. a new range simply takes sales away form older ranges as customers with finite money switch to the new one.
I think BF have perhaps had a tendency to launch more DW spin-offs "just because we can", i.e. they can get the rights and the actors were willing to participate - Tales of New Earth, Lady Christina, etc. rather than because there was a large demand from customers for these ranges. Some of the (pre-BF) spinoffs from the Wilderness Years in the 1990s only worked because fans were desperate for new material and beggars couldn't be choosers. Now that fans are spoilt for choice, not least by BF, we are perhaps not as keen on some of the more obscure spin-offs/ranges.
Likewise, they have tended to do things because "we love this actor and want to find additional reasons to work with them" rather than because there was a pre-existing demand for these ranges. Omega Factor springs to mind here, which was great, but (with hindsight, somewhat predictably) ran out of steam due to declining sales.
So I think they do not so much need to cut ranges - a lot will come to their natural end anyway - but rather be a bit more commercially hard-headed when approving new ones
|
|
|
Post by number13 on Oct 14, 2019 11:52:46 GMT
So.. this news about "cutting down ranges" for lack of a better term.. i wonder what/when... HHMM It was (as reported) cutting down the number of releases but I also interpreted that as maybe meaning 'ranges' (and maybe the end of the MR as Monthly, though I do hope not.)
Certainly BF have been producing an extraordinary number of releases / new ranges or one-offs over the last couple of years (and of a consistently very high quality too.) I wasn't around in the days when BF followers would have thought it a busy month with a new Benny, an MR and a CC. 4 hours of output in one month, wow(!)
Look at next January's schedule for comparison and be amazed! 18 hours of full cast drama, an ST and a Benny audiobook. In one month! (Oh my credit card.) I'm sure they will all be excellent but there must come a point of market saturation and diminishing returns.
EDIT: Be all that as it may, we've been given some real treats in the last couple of years and if this period was 'peak BF' in terms of release volume, it's a great time to be along for the ride.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2019 12:03:40 GMT
Well, each month tends to have a release from: *Doctor Who monthly range *Other "Monthly" range (Torchwood, Early Adventures, Pathfinder etc.) *Doctor Who box set *Non-Doctor Who box set *A third box set (may or may not be Doctor Who) *Doctor Who short trip *A special release (for example, a book)
From that perspective, can it be cut down to two box sets? The uncertainty of pricing has forced me to look at all the ranges I follow and I have to agree that Big Finish are their own biggest competitor. I'm struggling to figure out which to keep and which to drop.
|
|
|
Post by muckypup on Oct 14, 2019 12:10:53 GMT
"Tom stories are recorded beyond the end of the current license; they are trying to "move forward" with all their Doctors because it makes for easier scheduling" I wonder what that means. That they're recording in advance for more Doctors now than just Tom? Tom is 85. Peter is 68 Colin is 76 Sylvester is 76
When your classic era Doctors are all of advanced age, it makes sense to record as early and as much as they are able. Not wishing ill on any of them but from a purely business standpoint, it is what I would be doing.
It sure does, I was very surprised they had not recorded an endgame for jago & lightfoot.........
|
|
|
Post by number13 on Oct 14, 2019 12:17:36 GMT
Tom is 85. Peter is 68 Colin is 76 Sylvester is 76
When your classic era Doctors are all of advanced age, it makes sense to record as early and as much as they are able. Not wishing ill on any of them but from a purely business standpoint, it is what I would be doing.
It sure does, I was very surprised they had not recorded an endgame for jago & lightfoot......... Thanks to the ingenuity of Paul Morris and all involved, I almost feel that they had. 'J&L Forever' was a wonderful way to say a very regretful 'good-bye'.
|
|
|
Post by Whovitt on Oct 14, 2019 13:32:38 GMT
Beyond creating seemingly endless spin-offs from Doctor Who, I do wonder if BF seriously consider the audiences for some of the other licences they have. For example, someone in the Q&A asked Nick about whether there were going to be any more Omega Factor box sets and he said that while it generated "universally positive reviews" (pretty certain those were his words), they simply didn't sell enough to be cost effective.
Now, let's be brutal here - BF acquire licences for things that simply wouldn't have enough draw to be all that commercially viable. Star Cops, for instance, is probably on the same level as Omega Factor; fans of the original may be interested, and maybe you'll generate some interest among new customers, but the audience is going to be very small in the grand scheme of things. Even ranges that apparently "do really well" seem to be coming to end (see Survivors and The Prisoner). Honestly, if they didn't have the Doctor Who licence, I don't think Big Finish would last a year. They simply don't produce anything other than Doctor Who that has any sizeable market worth mentioning. Not that I don't appreciate some of these more obscure IPs (I thoroughly enjoy the likes of Blake's 7, Survivors, The Omega Factor, etc.), but they're really not going to sell that on the general market.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2019 13:56:01 GMT
So.. this news about "cutting down ranges" for lack of a better term.. i wonder what/when... HHMM It will be overall less releases and less spin-off and special releases. Jason admitted that they had overreached themselves recently and just cannot keep doing it. I think it is exactly as I feared when I saw all these spin-offs and specials and expensive huge cast events- I already was wondering how they manage to sustain this.
Reality is- they can't. They are a very small company. Jason said, yes, they sit in the planning room and have all these fantastic ideas of all the wonderful things they could do, and recently, many of these did indeed see the light of day. But from now on, they really need to control themselves and really think about what is worth it and what is not.
Jason said, lose citation: "I do not want to put water into your wine, but this is something we have to do."
I do not want to scare anyone, I do not really think BF is struggling, but from the vibe I got from Jason, to me, he gave the impression of being a bit tense this weekend. However, I am not sure if I am reading too much into this.
So not so much a "cutting down ranges" and more a "trimming back the excess" then? *side eyes the seventy one* boxsets and thirty six monthlies either released or due to be released and linked into the new series licence since it began in 2015. * That's eight UNITs, four War Doctors, four War Masters, four Paternoster Gangs, two Churchill Years, one Jenny, one Lady Christina, one New Earth, one Rose Tyler, one Donna Noble, one Missy, two Classic Doctors New Monsters, four The Doctor Chronicles, four Gallifrey : Time Wars, four Eighth Doctor : Time Wars, three Tenth Doctor Adventures, three First Doctor Adventures, seven Diaries of River Song and sixteen Torchwoods.** The thirty six monthlies are Torchwood. Obviously. š **All of this is off the top of my head. I may have missed some...š³
|
|
lidar2
Castellan
You know, now that you mention it, I actually do rather like Attack of the Cybermen ...
Likes: 5,819
|
Post by lidar2 on Oct 14, 2019 14:15:11 GMT
Beyond creating seemingly endless spin-offs from Doctor Who, I do wonder if BF seriously consider the audiences for some of the other licences they have. For example, someone in the Q&A asked Nick about whether there were going to be any more Omega Factor box sets and he said that while it generated "universally positive reviews" (pretty certain those were his words), they simply didn't sell enough to be cost effective. Now, let's be brutal here - BF acquire licences for things that simply wouldn't have enough draw to be all that commercially viable. Star Cops, for instance, is probably on the same level as Omega Factor; fans of the original may be interested, and maybe you'll generate some interest among new customers, but the audience is going to be very small in the grand scheme of things. Even ranges that apparently "do really well" seem to be coming to end (see Survivors and The Prisoner). Honestly, if they didn't have the Doctor Who licence, I don't think Big Finish would last a year. They simply don't produce anything other than Doctor Who that has any sizeable market worth mentioning. Not that I don't appreciate some of these more obscure IPs (I thoroughly enjoy the likes of Blake's 7, Survivors, The Omega Factor, etc.), but they're really not going to sell that on the general market. I think you're right about a lot of the non-DW ranges, although I think some other franchises with large enough fanbases should be viable. B7 was viable in its own right (possibly not now though, without Paul Darrow). And Dark Shadows is obviously viable in its own right. I'm not into Anderson fandom, but I suspect those releases will be viable, as probably are the Avengers releases. Beyond those franchises, I'm not sure however ...
The Prisoner should have been viable, but I think they seriously misjudged the market and shot themselves in the foot. Series 1 was a deluxe limited edition box set for Ā£40, with only 3,000 copies but that was later reduced to 1,500 so they obviously sold very poorly. Maybe they made up for it in downloads? Series 2 and 3 are standard box sets for Ā£25. The Prisoner was VERY heavily promoted in the podcast, to the point of becoming tiresome, which with hindsight suggests it was not selling well. I do wonder if things would have turned out differently if series 1 had been pitched at the same standard box set for Ā£25 as series 2 and 3, would it have lasted to a series 4 and 5?
I agree with you re Star Cops. I bought it and loved it, but I really can't see it being a huge commercial success, or how BF could ever have thought it would be. And I can see Adam Adamant - which I am going to buy as well - going the same way.
|
|
|
Post by stcoop on Oct 14, 2019 15:22:52 GMT
It sounds like a long overdue re-balancing which I'm all in favour of.
I've long been baffled by some of the non-Who licenses they pick up, so if they are focusing on their core business all the better. Though to be honest even if they are starting to stockpile stories for non-Tom Doctors, I can only see their output continuing to get slimmer in the years to come; especially if no other New Series Doctor than Tennant want to come aboard.
|
|
|
Post by newt5996 on Oct 14, 2019 16:03:00 GMT
It sounds like a long overdue re-balancing which I'm all in favour of. I've long been baffled by some of the non-Who licenses they pick up, so if they are focusing on their core business all the better. Though to be honest even if they are starting to stockpile stories for non-Tom Doctors, I can only see their output continuing to get slimmer in the years to come; especially if no other New Series Doctor than Tennant want to come aboard. I hope it doesn't mean certain ranges are just plain cut completely if they're non-Who, I really love the Dark Shadows range and I know people love Blake's 7 and The Avengers.
|
|
|
Post by fitzoliverj on Oct 14, 2019 18:14:51 GMT
No, but I've posted a copy of a bigger poster on a thread in the "Doctor Who" forum, which describes the 11 downloads as a 'box set', so I reckon it's "Destiny of the Doctor", but that's only a guess.
|
|
|
Post by muckypup on Oct 14, 2019 20:15:11 GMT
It sure does, I was very surprised they had not recorded an endgame for jago & lightfoot......... Thanks to the ingenuity of Paul Morris and all involved, I almost feel that they had. 'J&L Forever' was a wonderful way to say a very regretful 'good-bye'. It was, just surprised that the moment hadnāt already been prepared......
|
|
ljwilson
Chancellery Guard
It's tangerine....not orange
Likes: 5,063
|
Post by ljwilson on Oct 14, 2019 20:31:03 GMT
It sounds like a long overdue re-balancing which I'm all in favour of. I've long been baffled by some of the non-Who licenses they pick up, so if they are focusing on their core business all the better. Though to be honest even if they are starting to stockpile stories for non-Tom Doctors, I can only see their output continuing to get slimmer in the years to come; especially if no other New Series Doctor than Tennant want to come aboard. For me it's the other way around, with far too many Who spin-offs, such as the Doctor chronicles, Tales of New Earth, far too many Unit and River Song sets, etc. It is their core business, but it's all a bit much and seems like a case of 'because they can' rather than much else. Granted, with the ageing classic doctors they need to draw-in new listeners, so a balance needs to be struck and the future needs to be catered for. I prefer the diversity, with some of the other ranges being fantastic. I cant see Star Cops having much longevity as it is pretty niche, but I've loved having a grounded space series with no aliens in sight. Either way, they pump out far too much content which isn't exactly cheap. Cutting back a bit is no bad thing really. If you are reading this Jason H-E, feel free to offer me the commercial/advertising guru role that currently needs filling.
|
|
|
Post by shallacatop on Oct 14, 2019 20:39:22 GMT
Iām not sure if this is the correct place, apologies if not. I attended an event this evening in which Christopher Eccleston did a very touching talk and Q&A to promote his autobiography. All of the questions afterwards were directly related to the talk, except one who asked if Chris would ever reprise the Ninth Doctor for Big Finish.
The response? A very firm no. He did say he maybe should lie and skirt around it, but he said heās very much done with Doctor Who as a whole with emphasis on ābackstabbingā by the BBC. I guess itās not particularly shocking, but I think thereās always been a glimmer of hope, especially as heās started doing conventions. He is very proud of his 13 episodes, though.
EDIT: Iāve just noticed this has been talked about in another thread in the Doctor Who BF section.
|
|