|
Post by masterdoctor on Oct 14, 2019 20:42:33 GMT
I’m 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 he’s very much done with Doctor Who as a whole. I guess it’s not particularly shocking, but I think there’s always been a glimmer of hope, especially as he’s started doing conventions. Question for you since you were there, did he actually say that he had interest in non-Doctor Who roles with Big Finish? My friend who was there said he did, but having someone who was there relay info directly would be nice.
|
|
|
Post by shallacatop on Oct 14, 2019 20:45:07 GMT
I’m 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 he’s very much done with Doctor Who as a whole. I guess it’s not particularly shocking, but I think there’s always been a glimmer of hope, especially as he’s started doing conventions. Question for you since you were there, did he actually say that he had interest in non-Doctor Who roles with Big Finish? My friend who was there said he did, but having someone who was there relay info directly would be nice. Sorry, but I think your friend was clinging onto something he didn’t really say. The question was purely about reprising the Ninth Doctor at Big Finish and said no instantly. He didn’t give the mention of Big Finish another thought and moved on to say he’s very much done with Doctor Who, particularly due to BBC “backstabbing”. He is proud of his 13 episodes, though.
|
|
|
Post by masterdoctor on Oct 14, 2019 20:46:31 GMT
Question for you since you were there, did he actually say that he had interest in non-Doctor Who roles with Big Finish? My friend who was there said he did, but having someone who was there relay info directly would be nice. Sorry, but I think your friend was clinging onto something he didn’t really say. The question was purely about reprising the Ninth Doctor at Big Finish and said no instantly. He didn’t give the mention of Big Finish another thought and moved on to say he’s very much done with Doctor Who, particularly due to BBC “backstabbing”. He is proud of his 13 episodes, though. No problem, I knew there was a chance and so having you giving first hand information is much better than spreading misinformation.
|
|
|
Post by cwm on Oct 14, 2019 21:07:58 GMT
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 hadn’t already been prepared...... I suspect it might be felt a bit tasteless to record something specifically so you have an ending in the can when one of your leads kicks the bucket. (And I suppose to a lesser extent it'd be difficult to justify the expense of producing a story with no idea when it'd even be scheduled for release...)
|
|
|
Post by drj on Oct 14, 2019 21:27:31 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 this makes a lot of sense. If you have 100 customers, each with £10/month to spend, but then you produce more material per month, then your total profit per release will be lower as will your overall profit. I must admit I was struggling to keep up. Recently I’ve been pushing to two releases per month, whereas I’m sure I used to be happy at one. If there hadn’t been so much other stuff coming out, then I would have picked up all of UNIT for example, but so much other stuff was coming out, I couldn’t quite manage it.
|
|
|
Post by muckypup on Oct 14, 2019 21:35:06 GMT
It was, just surprised that the moment hadn’t already been prepared...... I suspect it might be felt a bit tasteless to record something specifically so you have an ending in the can when one of your leads kicks the bucket. (And I suppose to a lesser extent it'd be difficult to justify the expense of producing a story with no idea when it'd even be scheduled for release...) Yeah I see what you mean, but as a business you prepare........ they seem to have no problem stock piling toms ‘’but I am sure they know best....
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2019 22:04:31 GMT
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. 😋 **All of this is off the top of my head. I may have missed some...😳 Turns out I did forget some. The two Class boxsets. 🤦♂️
|
|
|
Post by chronotis on Oct 15, 2019 1:20:36 GMT
Big Finish must know that their biggest days are behind them.
I'm not at all surprised that they are going to stockpile stories for later use. The loss of Gareth Thomas and Paul Darrow pretty much kills Blakes 7 as a series. It must have put the fear of god into them.
William Russell has retired, Purves, Hines, Colin and Syl etc aren't getting any younger. Baker is fine because of banking stories, but its quite likely that in 5 years they'll have lost their ability to record 1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th and 7th Dr stories.
That combined with rising costs due to Brexit, Tennant's limited availability and Eccles and Smith declining to take part paints a pretty bleak picture for Big Finish's long term future.
|
|
|
Post by chronotis on Oct 15, 2019 1:34:09 GMT
Plus we know from other sources that there is Doctor Who merchandise franchise fatigue. I can't see how that wouldn't have impacted Big Finish's bottom line.
That's the problem with their 2 year production period. Things can change significantly in that time. Dr Who is now nowhere near as prominent in the public conciousness as it used to be.
|
|
|
Post by tuigirl on Oct 15, 2019 7:34:08 GMT
Big Finish must know that their biggest days are behind them. I'm not at all surprised that they are going to stockpile stories for later use. The loss of Gareth Thomas and Paul Darrow pretty much kills Blakes 7 as a series. It must have put the fear of god into them. William Russell has retired, Purves, Hines, Colin and Syl etc aren't getting any younger. Baker is fine because of banking stories, but its quite likely that in 5 years they'll have lost their ability to record 1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th and 7th Dr stories. That combined with rising costs due to Brexit, Tennant's limited availability and Eccles and Smith declining to take part paints a pretty bleak picture for Big Finish's long term future. As sad as it sounds. But that is just the way it is. I am sure Capaldi will eventually come onboard, but even that would be of only temporary relief since he also isn’t 20 anymore. Let us face it, BF might get one more license extension from the BBC and after that, the topic will be pretty much closed. They might still exist after that in some form, but it won’t be anything as it is now.
|
|
|
Post by stcoop on Oct 15, 2019 8:03:28 GMT
With audio drama becoming increasingly popular through Audible Originals and podcasts, I could see the company increasingly focusing on producing material for other people.
Putting aside whatever occasional issues I might have with some of their business decisions or employees *cough*Briggs*cough*, they are hands down the best people in the world at producing audio drama, with a stellar reputation in the industry and with actors.
I can't imagine them being short of work, even if it's not necessarily the sort of work we might be wanting to listen to.
|
|
lidar2
Castellan
You know, now that you mention it, I actually do rather like Attack of the Cybermen ...
Likes: 5,813
|
Post by lidar2 on Oct 15, 2019 8:30:35 GMT
Big Finish must know that their biggest days are behind them. I'm not at all surprised that they are going to stockpile stories for later use. The loss of Gareth Thomas and Paul Darrow pretty much kills Blakes 7 as a series. It must have put the fear of god into them. William Russell has retired, Purves, Hines, Colin and Syl etc aren't getting any younger. Baker is fine because of banking stories, but its quite likely that in 5 years they'll have lost their ability to record 1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th and 7th Dr stories. That combined with rising costs due to Brexit, Tennant's limited availability and Eccles and Smith declining to take part paints a pretty bleak picture for Big Finish's long term future. A very sad and sobering truth
As for the tastelessness of banking stories, I think it very much depends on the individual. Just as we all know people who have their will made, funeral hymns chosen and all their affairs tidied up as much as possible, we also know people who don't want to think about it at all and have made no plans/preparations and leave a bit of a mess for those left behind. Just as an accountant will tell you that some clients want to do inheritance tax planning while others refuse to even think about the subject, I think the DW actors would be just like the rest of us in this regard - some would see banking as simple common sense on BF's part and not be offended by it in the least, whereas others would react very badly to the suggestion.
|
|
|
Post by tuigirl on Oct 15, 2019 8:54:51 GMT
With audio drama becoming increasingly popular through Audible Originals and podcasts, I could see the company increasingly focusing on producing material for other people. Putting aside whatever occasional issues I might have with some of their business decisions or employees *cough*Briggs*cough*, they are hands down the best people in the world at producing audio drama, with a stellar reputation in the industry and with actors. I can't imagine them being short of work, even if it's not necessarily the sort of work we might be wanting to listen to. Well, they have done so before, just look at their amazing work for Black Library (which were my first ever BF audios).
This would be indeed a way for them to carry on.
|
|
lidar2
Castellan
You know, now that you mention it, I actually do rather like Attack of the Cybermen ...
Likes: 5,813
|
Post by lidar2 on Oct 15, 2019 9:09:00 GMT
With audio drama becoming increasingly popular through Audible Originals and podcasts, I could see the company increasingly focusing on producing material for other people. Putting aside whatever occasional issues I might have with some of their business decisions or employees *cough*Briggs*cough*, they are hands down the best people in the world at producing audio drama, with a stellar reputation in the industry and with actors. I can't imagine them being short of work, even if it's not necessarily the sort of work we might be wanting to listen to. Yes, when so much of our TV drama is produced by independent companies, I don't see why BF couldn't or shouldn't develop to a point where its main activity was as an independent producer of radio drama for say Radio 4, with direct sales to consumers of cult franchises simply a sideline. Arguably the mistake they made with Originals was trying to market and sell them directly to consumers rather than selling them to Radio 4. I have no idea whatsoever how much revenue the Originals will generate through BF's current B2C model versus how much they might generate on a B2B model. Maybe this question has already been asked and the answer was that the B2C model is better for BF.
As we move towards more and more streaming, I don't think that in the long run BF will be big enough to stand as a streaming service in their own right competing with the big players if their supply of niche products like DW dries up due to actors passing away. Instead their niche could be as an independent producer of high quality audio drama selling to the big players.
|
|
|
Post by number13 on Oct 15, 2019 10:04:31 GMT
Rassilon's teeth!! What a thread to hit me in the eye this morning! After reading the last few posts I'm off to watch a day of Brexit news to cheer myself up...
|
|
|
Post by OneTen on Oct 15, 2019 10:54:38 GMT
Big Finish must know that their biggest days are behind them. I'd be astonished if they know that. Or anyone knows that. I certainly don't know that! What's undoubtedly true is that Big Finish is changing. The way they've been using the, for want of a better word, 'new' series is much less focused on creating new full-cast Doctor Who for obvious reasons; they've been very clever developing new ways to explore the wider universe some of which (in my view) have been very successful as well as new formats for telling 'new' Doctor Who (which aren't so much of interest to me), and also adopting these techniques to try and exploit some new licenses as well as developing original stuff with their many creative partners. I think they've gone through a period of highly creative experimentation where they've had lots of ideas to address the changing nature of what they have to work with, and what they may have to work with. I guess what they're going to do now is use this experience to focus on those which have proved most successful. I'm sure they will continue to thrive as a company. Growth doesn't just mean more ranges or more special releases. I hope they continue to produce stuff that I enjoy - but (since they already produce more than I can afford the time or money to listen to) if they continue to put out Doctor Who of the quality of Ravenous 4 or keep creating spin-offs as rich and complex as The Master of Callous they will be keeping me happy...
|
|
|
Post by whiskeybrewer on Oct 15, 2019 13:40:33 GMT
It could be why they are branching out into things like Star Cops and Space 1999. To have replacements when certain sad things come around
and some long running ranges and stories come to an end.
Who knows
|
|
|
Post by BHTvsTFC on Oct 15, 2019 16:57:01 GMT
I always hope Eccleston would be open to doing other roles with Big Finish and Capaldi for that matter. At a previous comic con they were both very sniffy about Big Finish which I think is a bit rich after they were both selling their autographs for £95/£75 respectively. Not exactly on the higher ground there chaps.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2019 19:30:38 GMT
It could be why they are branching out into things like Star Cops and Space 1999. To have replacements when certain sad things come around and some long running ranges and stories come to an end. It makes sense for any business to not put all their eggs in to one basket. I don't have a problem with Big Finish trying out various licences. Survivors, Dorian Gray & Dark Shadows have turned out to be excellent additions to the BF catalogue, so there's nothing wrong with a bit of variety. For me it's all the new series Doctor Who spin-off ranges that seem to have diluted the quality of their Doctor Who product. Some of those ranges are average at best and seem to be produced just because they can. Of course, we are all different and ranges that I dislike might be deemed all-time classics by others, but I'd rather see the focus on quality before quantity going forward. So if BF want to trim the fat, it's fine by me.
|
|
|
Post by BHTvsTFC on Oct 15, 2019 20:10:54 GMT
It makes sense for any business to not put all their eggs in to one basket. I don't have a problem with Big Finish trying out various licences. Survivors, Dorian Gray & Dark Shadows have turned out to be excellent additions to the BF catalogue, so there's nothing wrong with a bit of variety. For me it's all the new series Doctor Who spin-off ranges that seem to have diluted the quality of their Doctor Who product. Some of those ranges are average at best and seem to be produced just because they can. Of course, we are all different and ranges that I dislike might be deemed all-time classics by others, but I'd rather see the focus on quality before quantity going forward. So if BF want to trim the fat, it's fine by me. Yes, it's a strange thing isn't it. The announcement of the War Master made me groan, but I can't find any fault in the releases so far. Paternoster looks like it has the potential to be very entertaining although I imagine it will go down the usual route of including other Doctor Who elements - my main gripe with expanded universes in general is they don't often expand although Big Finish do a better job than most. I actually have a soft spot for Tales from New Earth, but I do see the problem with the new who stuff and that is fundamentally the lack of Eccleston, Simm, Bleach, Smith, Gillan, Coleman, Capaldi and Mackie. Why does Torchwood succeed? Because they have all of the original actors reprising their roles enough to make the odd side step viable. Big Finish originally had access to Davison, Baker, McCoy and eventually McGann, and the spin offs dovetailed from that. With New Who it is the other way round and, no matter the quality, the Doctor Chronicles will always be lacking their Doctors, and the spin offs their relevant Doctors as well. Passing fans will want River Song with Tennant and Smith, UNIT with Smith and Capaldi, John Simm as the Master instead of Derek Jacobi, a set of New Doctors, New Monsters, etc! If we can't have that we have to settle but how many are prepared to do that? As a New Adventures fan I am happy to accept that Big Finish struggle with full cast audios for various reasons but am happy that they have never totally abandoned the era. But I am just the one person. Personally, again, I am actually quite happy with Big Finish these days, especially compared the 'same old, same old' output of a few years ago, when they kept using the same writers over and over and over. I like that they are trying new ranges, giving new writers a go, giving diversity a go - I hope they do more of the originals, and the classics. I am looking forward to the Survivors Chronicles (if that happens) - like the New Adventures Big Finish never really give up on a range - The Omega Factor still gets the occasional release to give me some listening pleasure. You can't please everyone and there is the occasional new range announced that doesn't appeal, but I don't begrudge any range being successful because it keeps the company going, and makes new announcements possibly. I really hope that Helen Goldwyn is really excited about new Tomorrow People audios in that tweet btw!
|
|