Rob Morris
Big Finish Creative Team
Avoiding this place for a while as it's become somewhat toxic.
Likes: 781
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Post by Rob Morris on Jul 13, 2016 23:13:45 GMT
Yes, but not for quite some time. All the UK cast were people demonstrably 'current'/'recent'.
Who DID play him the last time, prior to B&F? Did I miss something in my cast lists? Was it not Sarah Sutton in the Devil Cat?
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Post by Trace on Jul 13, 2016 23:39:30 GMT
Scott Haran's Gifford was far more interesting than Craig Slocum's Noah Gifford btw. Truer words were never spoken! Scott Haran has it ALL over CS.
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Post by omega on Jul 13, 2016 23:41:32 GMT
Scott Haran's Gifford was far more interesting than Craig Slocum's Noah Gifford btw. Truer words were never spoken! Scott Haran has it ALL over CS. I wouldn't let anyone shoot Lamech Gifford, while Victoria killing Noah is easily the best thing she's done all show.
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Post by Trace on Jul 13, 2016 23:45:43 GMT
Who DID play him the last time, prior to B&F? Did I miss something in my cast lists? Was it not Sarah Sutton in the Devil Cat? Hmmmm....I don't recall that, and also don't have it on my character/cast list! However, I do recall that the Dark Lord does appear in that audio. Guess that calls for a quick update! As for Andrew Collins, he is called only "the Dark Spirit" in Angelique's Descent....so from that we really can't be sure it's the "Dark Lord" we've come to know. Just as it's never explained whether "the Dark Lord" is Satan or Diabolos or another big guy downstairs. Satan appears in The Last Stop, under a different name...(no spoiler here), and Diabolos is mentioned in The Path of Fate. And in both cases, the "Dark Lord" is not referenced.
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bobod
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 2,759
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Post by bobod on Jul 15, 2016 7:36:16 GMT
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Post by anothermanicmondas on Jul 16, 2016 20:03:06 GMT
random thoughts on Blood and Fire (Note while I have listened to almost all of the Big Finish releases I have not seen a single episode of the TV series - so please understand if I make any errors)
Interesting to note that the focus of this story is on Angelique and Laura - two supernatural women with tendancies to marry into the Collins family and come back from the dead. (My only previous experience with Laura was in "The Doll House")
After listening to audiobooks 45-50 and noting how each focusses on different character(s) the most significant absence was Lara Parker/Angelique - so this feels like the completion of that set
Given how Angelique's interference worked out - I wonder if this is what the Dark Lord truly wanted/expected and had simply lied to her setting her up for a failure that he could use against her (such deceit and manipulation seems a part of his nature).
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Post by gljohnson17 on Jul 18, 2016 21:27:33 GMT
Finally staring this... just the first mp3 track... so it's starting from the end of Bloodlust. Yaaa.
So looking forward to it but with so many new characters.. at least I think there are ... should I have a reminder sheet nearby when listening..
I jumped to the end of the thread so I have not read any other comments
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Post by Trace on Jul 19, 2016 1:53:18 GMT
Finally staring this... just the first mp3 track... so it's starting from the end of Bloodlust. Yaaa. So looking forward to it but with so many new characters.. at least I think there are ... should I have a reminder sheet nearby when listening.. I jumped to the end of the thread so I have not read any other comments I think you'll find that you didn't need the reminder sheet, right? It's so well-done, you quickly get to know everyone.
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Post by barnabaslives on Jul 19, 2016 2:08:53 GMT
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Post by gljohnson17 on Jul 19, 2016 5:50:45 GMT
Finally staring this... just the first mp3 track... so it's starting from the end of Bloodlust. Yaaa. So looking forward to it but with so many new characters.. at least I think there are ... should I have a reminder sheet nearby when listening.. I jumped to the end of the thread so I have not read any other comments I think you'll find that you didn't need the reminder sheet, right? It's so well-done, you quickly get to know everyone. Saving it for another day...
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2016 1:02:33 GMT
What a wonderful, tragic tale. Big Finish introduce to us newbies another exciting aspect of the Dark Shadows tapestry.
I do wish we had a new teaser for Bloodline, though.
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Post by barnabaslives on Jul 27, 2016 5:05:17 GMT
You know, I really must pay Roy Gill another compliment here for being such a great story teller that he gets away with seemingly giving an origin to Laura as we know her in Blood & Fire. I think Roy Gill and Joanna Going had to be the perfect writer and performer to not only make that succeed so well but to make it seem so very natural and effortless in addition.
That has to represent a huge challenge in that Laura is probably one of those characters that I don't necessarily want to have an origin, I'd probably rather imagine that the further you go back in Collins history, there she is, and that she's been around since before the pyramids were built, and so on. As with Rob Morris' momentous Barnabas & Julia story, it seems like it would be only too easy to write something that may not go over so well with more finicky fans like myself, but instead it's made to look only too easy to write something that's very rewarding to fans of even long standing, and both readily give the listener the sense that the writers share the audience's love of the series.
Still, Blood & Fire might provide that Laura may not have been the first Phoenix to perch in the Collins family tree, which seems like a very intriguing possibility to imagine...
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roygill
Big Finish Creative Team
Likes: 78
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Post by roygill on Jul 27, 2016 8:17:36 GMT
I think Laura the Phoenix's tragedy - much like the Collins' family tragedy - is that she's doomed to repeat certain patterns of behaviour (at least that's what I was trying to suggest...). I *was* a little nervous at creating an origin story for her, in so much as I worried the fans might not accept it. But I think it was a necessary story to tell, if she was going to be a satisfying part of Blood & Fire - both to make it a suitable event story, and to allow her to parallel and mirror Angelique. I liked the notion of who might be seen as the "hero" or "villain" in that pairing shifting all the way through... Of course, as you say, there's *still* nothing to prevent you imagining that the phoenix haunted the Collins long before the Laura of Blood & Fire did... What form did she take on previous incarnations? There's presumably a reason this Laura saw the bird and met Malachi Sands. Perhaps she's *always* Laura - or *a* Laura, at least - incarnation after incarnation, generation after generation...? I was certainly hoping to open up possibilities - not close them down. One thing that really appealed to me when I was reading up on phoenix mythology was the use of the phoenix as a symbol of longevity - it features as such on some coins from the Roman Empire. {Spoiler} That's what led me to the idea of the story ending with a spectre of the phoenix bird over Collins House - and this pointing the way forward to the generations of Collins yet to come (starting with Barnabas!). In so many ways, Laura seemed the ideal character to me for the 50th. If you take a listen to the podcast with me and Rob recorded last year you'll hear I've been after using the character for quite a while - certainly before Blood & Fire was on the cards. I'm still thrilled we were able to bring her back - and by Joanna Going's frankly brilliant performance.
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Post by omega on Jul 27, 2016 8:39:44 GMT
I think Laura the Phoenix's tragedy - much like the Collins' family tragedy - is that she's doomed to repeat certain patterns of behaviour (at least that's what I was trying to suggest...). I *was* a little nervous at creating an origin story for her, in so much as I worried the fans might not accept it. But I think it was a necessary story to tell, if she was going to be a satisfying part of Blood & Fire - both to make it a suitable event story, and to allow her to parallel and mirror Angelique. I liked the notion of who might be seen as the "hero" or "villain" in that pairing shifting all the way through... Of course, as you say, there's *still* nothing to prevent you imagining that the phoenix haunted the Collins long before the Laura of Blood & Fire did... What form did she take on previous incarnations? There's presumably a reason this Laura saw the bird and met Malachi Sands. Perhaps she's *always* Laura - or *a* Laura, at least - incarnation after incarnation, generation after generation...? I was certainly hoping to open up possibilities - not close them down. One thing that really appealed to me when I was reading up on phoenix mythology was the use of the phoenix as a symbol of longevity - it features as such on some coins from the Roman Empire. {Spoiler} That's what led me to the idea of the story ending with a spectre of the phoenix bird over Collins House - and this pointing the way forward to the generations of Collins yet to come (starting with Barnabas!). In so many ways, Laura seemed the ideal character to me for the 50th. If you take a listen to the podcast with me and Rob recorded last year you'll hear I've been after using the character for quite a while - certainly before Blood & Fire was on the cards. I'm still thrilled we were able to bring her back - and by Joanna Going's frankly brilliant performance. Can you please write the story where Roger and Laura meet? It seems Roger has the worst luck with women, but as Blood and Fire shows it isn't as straightforward as one might assume.
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bobod
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 2,759
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Post by bobod on Jul 27, 2016 9:32:27 GMT
I think Laura the Phoenix's tragedy - much like the Collins' family tragedy - is that she's doomed to repeat certain patterns of behaviour (at least that's what I was trying to suggest...). I *was* a little nervous at creating an origin story for her, in so much as I worried the fans might not accept it. But I think it was a necessary story to tell, if she was going to be a satisfying part of Blood & Fire - both to make it a suitable event story, and to allow her to parallel and mirror Angelique. I liked the notion of who might be seen as the "hero" or "villain" in that pairing shifting all the way through... Of course, as you say, there's *still* nothing to prevent you imagining that the phoenix haunted the Collins long before the Laura of Blood & Fire did... What form did she take on previous incarnations? There's presumably a reason this Laura saw the bird and met Malachi Sands. Perhaps she's *always* Laura - or *a* Laura, at least - incarnation after incarnation, generation after generation...? I was certainly hoping to open up possibilities - not close them down. One thing that really appealed to me when I was reading up on phoenix mythology was the use of the phoenix as a symbol of longevity - it features as such on some coins from the Roman Empire. {Spoiler} That's what led me to the idea of the story ending with a spectre of the phoenix bird over Collins House - and this pointing the way forward to the generations of Collins yet to come (starting with Barnabas!). In so many ways, Laura seemed the ideal character to me for the 50th. If you take a listen to the podcast with me and Rob recorded last year you'll hear I've been after using the character for quite a while - certainly before Blood & Fire was on the cards. I'm still thrilled we were able to bring her back - and by Joanna Going's frankly brilliant performance. Can you please write the story where Roger and Laura meet? It seems Roger has the worst luck with women, but as Blood and Fire shows it isn't as straightforward as one might assume. It can't help but think it's telling that both women Roger married (that I know of so far - I'm on episode 816) are supernatural creatures... Roger don't exactly strike me as the marrying kind... they must have both literally enchanted him.
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roygill
Big Finish Creative Team
Likes: 78
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Post by roygill on Jul 27, 2016 9:36:02 GMT
There are some interesting Laura-shaped gaps in Collins history, aren't there? Especially if they could be told in a way which is surprising, rather than just joining the dots... (That looks like a hint - but it really isn't! More an observation.)
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bobod
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 2,759
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Post by bobod on Jul 27, 2016 9:43:40 GMT
There were a few requests at the Festival for a story of Quentin and Laura's time in Egypt. But, as you say, it's a matter of finding something interesting/surprising to do and not just dramatizing the events as we already know they happened.
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Post by Zagreus on Aug 6, 2016 18:43:28 GMT
You know, it occurs to me, looking over my chronology notes, that the post-Bloodlust "season", including this, is all about romantic relationships.
Panic is about the burgeoning relationship between Quentin and his new wife-to-be. The Curse of Shurafa is about the relationship between Barnabas and Julia. In the Twinkling of an Eye is about the relationship between Jessica and her old husband as well as the relationship between Jackie and the stranger. Deliver Us From Evil is about the relationships between Cyrus and Sabrina and between Alfie and Danielle. Tainted Love is about the relationship between Amy and David and the rather, er, tainted relationship of Hallie and David. And Red All Over is in part about the relationship between Maggie and Joe.
and finally, this is about the relationship between Laura and Joshua, and between Abigail and her lover.
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bobod
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 2,759
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Post by bobod on Aug 10, 2016 13:17:49 GMT
An exclusive deleted scene from Blood & Fire has gone up on Soundcloud.
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roygill
Big Finish Creative Team
Likes: 78
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Post by roygill on Aug 10, 2016 13:24:24 GMT
An exclusive deleted scene from Blood & Fire has gone up on Soundcloud. For those interested, it's from episode one and originally went between the scene between Angelique and Mrs Summers, and the scene where Angelique meets Laura by the harbour. We trimmed a few scenes in editing, but this was the only one we cut completely - it's really just a fun cameo, and not essential to the plot!
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