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Post by Bazoolium on Apr 7, 2017 6:36:51 GMT
We have threads praising individual stories and I think we need a more general one. I was unsure what to think when BF first said they had the Torchwood licence. I had liked a lot of Torchwood, but some of it was legitimately terrible.
I am so happy that what we've had so far has been dramatic, clever, character focused stuff. This is the best Torchwood has ever been and I hope it sticks around for a long time.
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Post by kimalysong on Apr 7, 2017 12:11:06 GMT
Yes considering I wasn't even a fan of Torchwood until I started listening to the audios I would agree it is brilliant. I also love how character focused it is. I know some people prefer full cast (and of course those have also been great, especially Outbreak) but I think the focus on only 1 or 2 characters per audio has been a genius move and has made me get to know and care about the characters before I even delved into the TV series (which I am now watching and enjoy but my heart still belongs to the audio range).
Note: I actually told Gareth and Naoko that I got into Torchwood via Big Finish. Gareth said that was a bit backwards although he was very sweet when I told him. Naoko was jokingly a little upset. I just wanted to point out to them that the audios made a new fan and I was really glad they decided to go back to these characters and do the audios. I am not sure if I made my point really clear though. But you can tell they enjoy doing them.
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Post by OneTen on Apr 7, 2017 12:19:28 GMT
I know some people prefer full cast I wanted full cast before these started. (I'd really enjoyed some of the R4 episodes, and also wanted to hear the Series 5 they teased us with.) But actually as it's turned out, it's single episode releases that I've enjoyed the most. It was Fall to Earth that showed me how much potential there was for Torchwood in a fully dramatised two-hander, and there have been several others since then that, as you say, really excel due to their character focus. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2017 12:41:13 GMT
I concur with the above. I love these audios. They haven't yet tempted me to watch the complete television run (I've only seen a few episodes), but I'm a lot closer to doing that than before Big Finish started telling Torchwood stories.
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Post by muckypup on Apr 7, 2017 13:21:52 GMT
Yep.....in fact I have enjoyed torchwood more than any other range last year.
I was dubious about the single releases to begin with but they work a treat, and the smaller cast works to their advantage telling small interment tales that the bigger scales storys only hint at.
I am hoping for some more boxes along the way too.
I for one have had nowhere near enough of this good thing yet.
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ljwilson
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It's tangerine....not orange
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Post by ljwilson on Apr 7, 2017 15:59:51 GMT
I know very little about Torchwood...but the BF audios are brilliant.
I couldn't give a monkeys about TV torchwood, i expect it is a bit pants.
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Post by Bazoolium on Apr 7, 2017 17:35:07 GMT
I am very surprised how many people are saying they hadn't watched much Torchwood before listening to the Audios.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2017 17:53:48 GMT
I am very surprised how many people are saying they hadn't watched much Torchwood before listening to the Audios. So am I - I thought it was just me! I wonder what percentage of the audios' audience is made up from people who were actually fans of the TV show? |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2017 17:58:33 GMT
I've been with Torchwood since 2006 sticking with it often against my better judgement because for every 4 or 5 misjudged clunkers (orgasm aliens...) or direct lifts from Buffy (Adam) there's a wonderful character piece (Random Shoes) or a great take on the characters badly used elsewhere (A Day In The Death, where Owen finally grows up). And as a Sapphire & Steel fan, PJ Hammonds two eps, especially Out Of The Rain, may as well be lost S&S eps. Children Of Earth is where the show really takes leaps forward. It's just wonderful television. On the balance though over 4 series there's more TW I was ambivalent over or plain didn't like than the ones I loved. Step in BF.
They absolutely nail the characters. Ianto in particular finally gets stories and characterisation that justify his cult status. Doing these with limited casts is a great idea, sceptical as some were at first, as we can really explore the minds of characters who were never truly allowed to develop on screen like Tosh or the aforementioned Ianto. Also the benefit of a decade out has allowed all to look at the franchise and take only what works, eliminating what didn't. The nonsensical sexual content which added nothing to inform the characters, gone. The language being heavy just to seem adult, gone. When there's swearing in the audios, it comes from a place that makes sense. "Adult" - as I'm always saying about comic movies - means so much more than broody people swearing and fighting. The TV show - even with some great writers - didn't always get that. The audios almost always have.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2017 18:03:40 GMT
I am very surprised how many people are saying they hadn't watched much Torchwood before listening to the Audios. Yeah, the UK ratings were roughly 5-7million between Series 3 and 4 when it was on BBC1 with 3-4m on BBC2 - it was getting big audiences for post watershed genre TV, so it's had an audience roughly about the same as Capaldi era Who. I guess a lot of the BF audience are buying it as a show of faith in BF rather than because it's TW. |
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Post by barnabaslives on Apr 7, 2017 18:26:57 GMT
I did become a fan of the TV series first but it started about 6 weeks before the first Big Finish release in anticipation of the audio series launch. My wife tried about 3 times to pitch Torchwood to me when it was on the air as she did with Doctor Who but I felt pretty out the loop on DW by then and thought that might get twice as bad with a spin-off. I'm glad it finally worked out that I got to go back to the beginning with New Who and catch Captain Jack's debut and get to know him better, I was keen to watch Torchwood after that.
I really liked the show but I love what Big Finish have done with the characters, they've been making fantastic use of the format. I'm sure I very much agree with any and all of the kind words for BF Torchwood already expressed in this thread.
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Post by Bazoolium on Apr 7, 2017 18:28:07 GMT
Yeah, the UK ratings were roughly 5-7million between Series 3 and 4 when it was on BBC1 with 3-4m on BBC2 - it was getting big audiences for post watershed genre TV, so it's had an audience roughly about the same as Capaldi era Who. I guess a lot of the BF audience are buying it as a show of faith in BF rather than because it's TW. Maybe this and the New Who stuff isn't pulling in the sales we all hoped. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2017 18:40:01 GMT
I did become a fan of the TV series first but it started about 6 weeks before the first Big Finish release in anticipation of the audio series launch. My wife tried about 3 times to pitch Torchwood to me when it was on the air as she did with Doctor Who but I felt pretty out the loop on DW by then and thought that might get twice as bad with a spin-off. I'm glad it finally worked out that I got to go back to the beginning with New Who and catch Captain Jack's debut and get to know him better, I was keen to watch Torchwood after that. I really liked the show but I love what Big Finish have done with the characters, they've been making fantastic use of the format. I'm sure I very much agree with any and all of the kind words for BF Torchwood already expressed in this thread. Since the Captain Jack on DW seems an almost entirely different one to the Torchwood Jack I don't think you need have bothered going back to Doctor Who to get to know him.  He goes from happy-go-lucky flirtbot in DW to maudlin, angry brood-machine in TW. Sometimes he's just...not Jack in Torchwood depending on who's writing. BF, again, manage to make the character feel much more one and the same even in adult stories like Broken, he never feels too far from the Jack we saw in 2005 in the "kids" show. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2017 18:43:09 GMT
Yeah, the UK ratings were roughly 5-7million between Series 3 and 4 when it was on BBC1 with 3-4m on BBC2 - it was getting big audiences for post watershed genre TV, so it's had an audience roughly about the same as Capaldi era Who. I guess a lot of the BF audience are buying it as a show of faith in BF rather than because it's TW. Maybe this and the New Who stuff isn't pulling in the sales we all hoped. I'm sure it's doing fine or we wouldn't be getting more after the initial 12. There are plenty of Big Finish fans, many on here, who get into the audios of shows they haven't seen or have little interest in seeing but they trust BF enough I guess. My numbers, of course, were UK-centric. Not sure how much headroom Torchwood ever made abroad. It certainly bombed for Starz in Season 4 despite doing really well for the BBC given it's friday night slot. |
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Post by Ela on Apr 7, 2017 19:34:23 GMT
I'm a huge fan of Torchwood, starting with the TV series and was so glad Big Finish started making Torchwood audios, cause it meant I could get more Torchwood. Here's hoping for many more to come!
Been listening to some of the BBC radio Torchwood stories, too. Great stuff.
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Post by charlesuirdhein on Apr 10, 2017 0:41:08 GMT
Yes. BF are getting it right. Adult without being a teen's notion of "adult".
Anyone know if TW is on that Britbox thing?
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Post by elkawho on Apr 11, 2017 12:49:28 GMT
Yes. BF are getting it right. Adult without being a teen's notion of "adult". Anyone know if TW is on that Britbox thing? No, it's not. It seems like Britbox only had Classic Who. Nothing related to the New Series of Doctor Who. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2017 13:26:33 GMT
Wellp, you've all convinced me. I'll buy one of the Torchwood releases.
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Post by kimalysong on Apr 11, 2017 14:13:41 GMT
Wellp, you've all convinced me. I'll buy one of the Torchwood releases. If I can make a recommendation to see the strength of the range I highly recommend Guy Adam's More Than This |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2017 14:25:46 GMT
Broken is the highpoint of the range so far for me, but Fall To Earth, One Rule, The Victorian Age and Zone 10 have all been among my fave BF of the past few years and another handful not far behind. What times we live in when Torchwood is consistently good. 2006 this is not! |
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He goes from happy-go-lucky flirtbot in DW to maudlin, angry brood-machine in TW. Sometimes he's just...not Jack in Torchwood depending on who's writing. BF, again, manage to make the character feel much more one and the same even in adult stories like Broken, he never feels too far from the Jack we saw in 2005 in the "kids" show. 
