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Post by number13 on Sept 9, 2019 12:21:11 GMT
According to a user at Gallifrey Base, Ian McNiece mentioned at Vworpcon that he was going to record with Sylvester McCoy this week, and apparently was going to maybe work with Tim Treloar sometime in the future (and met him for the first time that day). (McNiece wasn't 100% certain on Treloar, but he seemed to think so). Maybe we can look forward to some Classic Doctors in a new Churchill Years set? Oh I do hope so: Classic Doctors, Classic Churchill. Or just maybe (and better still imo) a WWII story for the 3DAs.
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Post by cwm on Sept 9, 2019 15:49:49 GMT
What would be the point of having a Churchill Years set with classic Doctors? The whole point of the Churchill Years was to tell stories with new series Doctors who aren't yet available.
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Post by themeddlingmonk on Sept 9, 2019 15:55:20 GMT
What would be the point of having a Churchill Years set with classic Doctors? The whole point of the Churchill Years was to tell stories with new series Doctors who aren't yet available. The whole point of the Churchill years was to tell stories with Churchill.
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Post by Digi on Sept 18, 2019 12:54:17 GMT
If it's going to have an expanded cast, maybe we'll see a little bit more integration of the ranges.
The War Master range is coming to an end, but by all accounts Derek Jacobi has had a ball working with BF, and Scott and co. working with him. Having him turn up as a regular or semi-regular in another range's 16-episode set would be a good way to keep him involved for a few years.
Or perhaps Gallifrey? Maybe our Time War speculation to date has been wrong, or interpretation of the Doctor's entry into it has been wrong, and the Gallifrey: Time War sets already released have been happening in parallel with Ravenous? Perhaps the expanded cast could include Romana and Narvin, in their exile that we'll be seeing in the next GTW set.
Or even more out there - what about Benny? Her and the Unbound Doctor have a great chemistry, and it might be interesting to see how the two of them bounce off of Eight and [whoever survives Ravenous].
Lots and lots of possibilities for range cross-pollination! And that's without even trying to dream up new characters....
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Post by newt5996 on Oct 5, 2019 4:11:24 GMT
Or more comic adaptations? That would be my bet. If I were to hazard a guess I’d say a new set of Comic Adaptations would include ‘The Dogs of Doom’ and ‘City of the Damned’ I'd prefer an announcement with 4 and 6 because we've all been asking for the Big Talking Bird for years and Robert Jezek has worked for Big Finish recently.
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Post by tuigirl on Oct 13, 2019 19:54:23 GMT
Apparently Jason dropped some big hints at Time lash Con
Well, not sure when he dropped those "big" hints. This is what I took away:
He definitely said in the panel that they are restructuring and that they will cut back the number of releases, because they cannot sustain the amount of releases of recent times anymore.
No definite info on the main range.
As for the info concerning Class- they are thinking about doing more.
However, since most things take 2 years to see the light of day, nothing is going to happen Class-wise in the next 2 years.
He also said that they are still working through the pricing re-structure especially for overseas downloads, however, it will most likely take another couple of months until we hear more (this is what he told me personally).
There is also a release featuring an older Susan meeting David Bradley (I am not sure if we know about this already? Carole Ann Ford was very excited about this and let the information slip out).
BIGGEST announcement- they have already started working on the 60th anniversary special!!!! It will be another epic. They started this early because it will be a nightmare to get all these actors organized.
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Post by inchmix on Oct 14, 2019 3:08:01 GMT
Apparently Jason dropped some big hints at Time lash Con
Well, not sure when he dropped those "big" hints. This is what I took away:
He definitely said in the panel that they are restructuring and that they will cut back the number of releases, because they cannot sustain the amount of releases of recent times anymore.
No definite info on the main range.
As for the info concerning Class- they are thinking about doing more.
However, since most things take 2 years to see the light of day, nothing is going to happen Class-wise in the next 2 years.
He also said that they are still working through the pricing re-structure especially for overseas downloads, however, it will most likely take another couple of months until we hear more (this is what he told me personally).
There is also a release featuring an older Susan meeting David Bradley (I am not sure if we know about this already? Carole Ann Ford was very excited about this and let the information slip out).
BIGGEST announcement- they have already started working on the 60th anniversary special!!!! It will be another epic. They started this early because it will be a nightmare to get all these actors organized.
Less is more i think. BF have been producing too much. So cutting back the releases might be good thing to maintain the quality. Otherwise big finish fatigue for writers and us listeners will kick in
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Post by axelotl38 on Oct 14, 2019 5:03:34 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.
Oh no no, I 100% agree. Facts are facts, the Doctors (and companions) aren't young, and whilst we have been blessed with a Tom Baker who will never die, it really isn't unrealistic to assume that in the next 10 years....well anything could happen. I've been saying for ages that Big Finish need to start banking the other Doctor's as well and was kinda surprised they didn't seem to be, small aberrations aside. Maybe not to the extent that Tom is, but certainly more than doing all of their recordings only one year ahead (record a Main Range trilogy, release it seven months later) etc. So I'm glad that it seems they (may) be moving forward with that.
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Post by number13 on Oct 14, 2019 9:21:24 GMT
Cheers to cwm, Mark and tuigirl for keeping us all updated - so much info to take in (isn't this forum the Menoptera's knees? ) EDIT: Hope that travels well! "Bee's knees" = the very best possible. No idea why but it does! )
Highlights for me were: more Liz Shaw (and thus more 3DAs beyond announced Vol 6, yaaay!), more MacQueen Master, maybe Vicki and Steven in the 1DAs (yes please, what a great team they are), maybe more magnificent mellifluousness from the great Mr Jago, more classic series Lost Stories (begin speculating on which!), lots more Tom recorded and even that slight hint of Jo+Missy meeting up is a wow! possibility for me
Most shocking fact: Benny was almost cancelled after 20 years! But saved by the linkup with the Warner Doctor. Well, for whatever reason they did it, it's an inspired combination and I'd urge everyone to try the latest New Benny 5 set as an easy way in to the Benny range. No previous knowledge required and four very enjoyable stories. #SaveBenny !!
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Post by xlozdob on Oct 14, 2019 10:02:10 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.
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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
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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
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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).
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Deleted
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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...😳 Though with my luck I'll already have them all...🤦♂️
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lidar2
Castellan
You know, now that you mention it, I actually do rather like Attack of the Cybermen ...
Likes: 5,845
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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
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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.
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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.
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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. 😋 **All of this is off the top of my head. I may have missed some...😳
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lidar2
Castellan
You know, now that you mention it, I actually do rather like Attack of the Cybermen ...
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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 £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 £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 £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.
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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.
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