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Post by barnabaslives on Sept 7, 2020 3:51:06 GMT
Not to detract from all the well-deserved praise that we give to Mr. Dorney or Mr. Adams or Mr. Platt et al - but who are some Big Finish writers that you think of as under-appreciated?
I went to make a list and I am obviously forgetting some very talented people and probably especially some more recent additions, but I came with Andrew Smith, Alan Flanagan, Roy Gill, David Llewellyn and Nick Briggs (yes, Nick, lol).
Who am I overlooking here? There must be dozens of them, maybe hundreds. :-)
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Post by project37 on Sept 7, 2020 8:12:20 GMT
It's too bad that it wasn't more of a hit, but I think The Worlds of Big Finish was a significant writing accomplishment by David Llewellyn. Other than Dorian, I'd never really gotten into the other characters or their ranges over the years. Still, I was curious and picked it up as part of a Humble Bundle.
I was really impressed by how David Llewellyn effortlessly shifted between styles and voices for each episode - the self-contained stories maintained very distinct tones and moods, and the pacing was great for a casual fan like myself. I got a real sense of the different characters and styles, and even if I wasn't particularly hooked or otherwise invested (I was indifferent to Graceless and Vienna), they still held my attention and didn't wear out their welcome. Amazing work! The overall story was nothing spectacular, but as with old school comic book superhero team-ups, it just needed to be fun and engaging and it did just that. It also encouraged me to go check out some more Dorian Gray (at the time, I only had the first series and the freebies).
Except for Children of Earth, I could never get into Torchwood, but Llewellyn's writing for The Conspiracy (another Humble Bundle purchase) won me over right away with its engaging premise and skillful balance of narrative and full-cast scenes.
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Post by mark687 on Sept 7, 2020 9:38:41 GMT
David Llewellyn and Lisa McMullin spring to mind Futher back Dan Abnett, Caroline Symcox and James Swallow ( seriously i'd recomend Council of Nicaea or Singularly as examples of Modern style but well detailed Historical or a modern Sci-fi thriller in a different setting)
Regards
mark687
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Post by grinch on Sept 7, 2020 9:55:58 GMT
Personally, I think David K Barnes deserves more credit. Admittedly I haven’t had a chance to listen to Divine Intervention yet but his Dalek stories are extremely impressive. I’d go so far as to say they match the calibre of writing we were fortunate to have back in the ‘60s when it came to the Daleks.
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dorney
Big Finish Creative Team
Likes: 3,079
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Post by dorney on Sept 7, 2020 12:04:23 GMT
Odd one to pick - but I’m going to go for Matt Fitton. Yes, he’s one of the big names, but I nonetheless don’t think he gets as much praise as he should.
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Post by masterdoctor on Sept 7, 2020 12:11:11 GMT
Odd one to pick - but I’m going to go for Matt Fitton. Yes, he’s one of the big names, but I nonetheless don’t think he gets as much praise as he should. If I had to guess, it’s probably because we as fans don’t quite grasp how much work the script editor does, especially when they do so many series at once. To be able to set the tone, guide other writers and still keep their individual voices intact is a skill that goes unsung, but is by far one of the most important. And his stories are consistently brilliant, finding the perfect balance between series arc and individual tale.
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lidar2
Castellan
You know, now that you mention it, I actually do rather like Attack of the Cybermen ...
Likes: 5,819
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Post by lidar2 on Sept 7, 2020 12:21:09 GMT
Simon Guerrier
Possibly under appreciated because a lot of his stuff is narrated rather than full-cast drama, or "Chronicles" rather than "Adventures" if you prefer BF's terminology, and because he has written for lower profile ranges like Companion Chronicles, Liberator Chronicles, Graceless, Early Adventures rather than more high profile ranges like 8th Dr, War Master, River, 4DAs, UNIT, etc. But anything he does write is brilliant and I am always left thinking just what a clever writer he is.
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Post by masterdoctor on Sept 7, 2020 12:29:30 GMT
I don’t know about under-appreciated, but perhaps newer writers that haven’t gotten the amount of love that comes with time.
- Tim Foley only came into the Big Finish scene in 2017(released story wise) and when your debut story is The Empty Hand, you soon become a centrepiece in the BF writers crown. In a few more years I think Foley will be up there with Dorney and Fitton in terms of beloved writers.
- David Llewelyn started in 2012 with BF, but I think he really came into play when Torchwood started and he wrote the first episode, The Conspiracy. Since then he has become a reliable writer, but reliably great. Ranges like Torchwood, Gallifrey and even the classic doctors as a whole would be worse off without him.
- Sarah Grochala is perhaps the newest of my picks on this mini list, but from her two contributions so far, I am really excited to see where she goes next. Her Unit tale in The Eighth of March was solid, but her recent Robots episode is the best of the range so far. I immensely look forward to The Hollow Crown
- Lisa McMullin is an absolute gem. Truly up there for me in regards to whose stories I most admire and look forward too. She writes stories that just speak to me, with the perfect balance of fun, themes, plot and characters. She’s versatile to as she started in Survivors, which is bleak personified. Then she worked on giving great female led Doctor Who stories featuring River, Leela, Rose, Unit and Torchwood. She is killing it as she does work on the Eighth Doctor, capturing his voice extremely well, and is writing the Master as if she could see directly into each incarnation’s mind.
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lidar2
Castellan
You know, now that you mention it, I actually do rather like Attack of the Cybermen ...
Likes: 5,819
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Post by lidar2 on Sept 7, 2020 12:30:36 GMT
Not to detract from all the well-deserved praise that we give to Mr. Dorney or Mr. Adams or Mr. Platt et al - but who are some Big Finish writers that you think of as under-appreciated? I went to make a list and I am obviously forgetting some very talented people and probably especially some more recent additions, but I came with Andrew Smith, Alan Flanagan, Roy Gill, David Llewellyn and Nick Briggs (yes, Nick, lol). Who am I overlooking here? There must be dozens of them, maybe hundreds. :-) TBH, I've always thought Marc Platt was over-rated. Very clever guy, great at world building and a truly original thinker when it comes to that, but can be poor at communicating those ideas and making his stories understandable, e.g Ghst light, Time's Crucible, Time Reef. Needs a strong script editor/director to be on the audience's side.
Having said that, when he gets away from the high-concept Sci-Fi and sticks to human drama, e.g Spare Parts, historical stories, he has written some very good stories.
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Post by Audio Watchdog on Sept 7, 2020 13:07:14 GMT
Steve Lyons. Under appreciated for decades now.
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ljwilson
Chancellery Guard
It's tangerine....not orange
Likes: 5,063
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Post by ljwilson on Sept 7, 2020 13:11:03 GMT
Mike Tucker and Justin Richards, they usually deliver a good adventure.
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Post by theillusiveman on Sept 7, 2020 13:16:53 GMT
Steve Lyons i think is a fairly underrated writer i think Blood of The Daleks, Son of The Dragon and Time Apart: Ghost Station are some of the best underrated stories of BF
Gareth Roberts and Clayton Hickman are another writing duo which were underrated sadly they have only written two audios The One Doctor and Bang Bang A Boom and they are some of the best comedic Who Audios i have listened to
Barnaby Edwards- as big fan of Beast of Orlok and really surprised that the story was his only audio written story
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lidar2
Castellan
You know, now that you mention it, I actually do rather like Attack of the Cybermen ...
Likes: 5,819
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Post by lidar2 on Sept 7, 2020 13:22:32 GMT
Barnaby Edwards- as big fan of Beast of Orlok and really surprised that the story was his only audio written story He has done a few for the main range
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2020 14:35:52 GMT
Stewart Sheargold, Gary Hopkins, Steve Gallagher, to name three. Of course, this boils down to personal opinion - I love the stories written by these people and wish there was more. Let's add some more - Caroline Symcox, David K Barnes, Stuart Manning (his work on the Dark Shadows range has been exemplary), Adam Usden, Cody Schell, Aaron Lamont, Marty Ross, Robert Ross ...
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Post by Audio Watchdog on Sept 7, 2020 14:39:54 GMT
Barnaby Edwards- as big fan of Beast of Orlok and really surprised that the story was his only audio written story He has done a few for the main range The Emerald Tiger maybe?
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Post by themeddlingmonk on Sept 7, 2020 14:41:52 GMT
Barnaby Edwards- as big fan of Beast of Orlok and really surprised that the story was his only audio written story He has done a few for the main range He wrote The Emerald Tiger didn’t he? Which seems to be a story that a lot of people consider a modern BF classic.
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Post by muddyviolet on Sept 7, 2020 14:43:56 GMT
Stephen Coles. Great chracter based writter like Spirt from Gallifrey (the closet that range has to a non plot oriented episode). Loved everything he wrote for Gallifrey.
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dorney
Big Finish Creative Team
Likes: 3,079
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Post by dorney on Sept 7, 2020 16:23:12 GMT
Odd one to pick - but I’m going to go for Matt Fitton. Yes, he’s one of the big names, but I nonetheless don’t think he gets as much praise as he should. If I had to guess, it’s probably because we as fans don’t quite grasp how much work the script editor does, especially when they do so many series at once. To be able to set the tone, guide other writers and still keep their individual voices intact is a skill that goes unsung, but is by far one of the most important. And his stories are consistently brilliant, finding the perfect balance between series arc and individual tale. Oh, I’m meaning as a script writer (though as a script editor, he’s magnificent). But the scripts are elegant and perfect.
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Post by karldwilliams on Sept 7, 2020 16:52:46 GMT
There's lots of VERY talented female writers joining the roster who are writing uniformly great and interesting stuff with a new perspective and style; the above-mentioned Lisa McMullin has contributed the most of them and they've been very good to excellent, especially the recent The Lumiat on Missy 2. Helen Goldwyn is another excellent writer of strong character and plot from ATA Girl to Subterfuge as well as other talents in acting and directing duties. A.K. Benedict is another favourite recentish addition whose style I like, not done so much recently as had a baby but I really like MR Shadow Planet and Hunting Ground as well as 11DC The Calendar Man and Rose Tyle: Ghost Machines. Yet to hear her Torchwood's. Gemma Arrowsmith is another recent who springs to mind who's out of the gate strong with Paternoster Gang: Spring-Heeled Jack and Missy: Treason and Plot. Lizzie Hopley yet another very strong starter with Class: The Creeper. Not sure if Roy Gill isunder-appreciated? His stuff seems to be uniformly praised but I'll happily join that praise, nothing but very strong stuff, likewise Chris Chapman, Roland Moore, David K. Barnes, and Jonathan Barnes great writers yet to disappoint. Khan & Salinsky are another fantastic team I don't see mentioned as much as they should be; The Ravelli Conspiracy, Entanglement and Kingdom of Lies. As someone mentioned upthread maybe because two of the three are EAs and the early years stuff doesn't seem to sell as widely? I'd agree with the above poster about Steve Lyons, great to have him back with Ghost Station recently, still got it. Another longer term writer I'd want to highlight whether he's under-appreciated or not is Ian Potter who does some fantastic world-building in his stories, fully formed and visualisable worlds you can believe exist beyond the one story; EAs The Bounty of Ceres and An Ideal World, CCs like The Sleeping City and The Unwinding World, MR Cortex Fire etc. Finally I'd throw in old timer Alan Barnes. I know Zagreus can be marmite, love it or hate it to many but I really enjoy his comedic toned adventure pieces like Heroes of Sontar and Trial of the Valeyard, plus his Fourth Doctor Comic Adaptations. His 4DAs are uniformly good too. Add in Anti-Genesis and his writing the strongest stories in the recent Lucie Miller and Susan's War boxsets and I don't think he gets enough credit. That should do for now!
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Post by tuigirl on Sept 7, 2020 17:25:15 GMT
Since I have been a huge fan of Dan Abnett for the past 20 years, I might be a bit biased naming him...
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