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Post by Audio Watchdog on Oct 9, 2015 8:08:08 GMT
I think so yes. We have had Bloodlust and five out of six releases of the enhanced audio book range and everything has been great to really great. The range has moved from strength to strength and I feel like release for release, it is the best, and most consistent, range Big Finish releases. Thoughts? Comments?
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Post by omega on Oct 9, 2015 8:53:12 GMT
I agree. Even when there's the rare story that doesn't quite get you thinking it's amazing there's still an interesting hook to keep you listening. The world of Dark Shadows hasn't been mined for stories as often as Doctor Who has (it's easy to go through stories and identify elements that have been used in previous episodes), so the stories we do get are often a lot more original and thus more compelling. It's easier to get invested in the characters because you know that they'll be back yet not so often that it becomes harder for writers to find an original hook to explore them with (one problem I'm having with Nyssa in the Doctor Who stories is that she's increasingly being characterised as a generic, albeit cleverer, companion because she's been in so many releases the past five years or so). There are also so many untold stories that are only hinted at (we've never heard what exactly Amy has gotten up to with Professor Stokes for example).
There's also the strength that the stories can be intimate two handers (many of the early ones) or full cast dramas (lots of the recent ones). Both styles are pulled off excellently and the mini-season approach, like with 2013's stories leading into Beyond the Grave, allows a seamless mix of both. It gives it a soap opera feel, with other storylines flitting in the background and explored in their own story. Of course Bloodlust is a perfect example of soap opera being done on audio.
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Post by david on Oct 9, 2015 13:20:41 GMT
From releases like the DS ones and Dorian especially - it seems BF can do dark, unsettling stories really well. I'd love more ranges in that field.
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Post by Trace on Oct 10, 2015 2:25:05 GMT
I agree--I think it's the combination of soap opera and darkness that makes this range so compelling and Big Finish does it so well. It's why Dorian Gray and Survivors are also both consistently outstanding.
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Post by Polar Bear on Oct 10, 2015 13:20:26 GMT
It's certainly been astonishingly consistent since it hit its stride, somewhere in the teens.
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Post by Audio Watchdog on Oct 11, 2015 1:06:14 GMT
It's certainly been astonishingly consistent since it hit its stride, somewhere in the teens. Yeah, once they started to open up things a little more the range really started moving from strength to strength. Bloodlust forward has been consistently fantastic.
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Post by omega on Oct 11, 2015 1:19:22 GMT
It's certainly been astonishingly consistent since it hit its stride, somewhere in the teens. Yeah, once they started to open up things a little more the range really started moving from strength to strength. Bloodlust forward has been consistently fantastic. Maybe because that's when they started to expand beyond just doing the Companion Chronicle-equse style of using a framing device of telling a story to eliminate the need to hire more than two actors (and use characters whose actors had died or were unavailable). The stride was well and truly hit in 2013 when they did the Beyond the Grave mini-season, planting scenes relating to that final story in the first five. Then came Bloodlust, which hit it out of the park (and probably into a window at Collinwood, where Angelique then cursed them). The early stories did delve more into the TV continuity than the later ones did, but that was probably because there wasn't much audio continuity to use and Big Finish were just starting out, so were pandering more to already fans than trying to attract new listeners. I'm listening to the 2014 stories now, and they're great at using and developing the audio mythos, being more accessible than the ones that rely on TV continuity.
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Post by Audio Watchdog on Oct 11, 2015 1:38:56 GMT
Yeah, once they started to open up things a little more the range really started moving from strength to strength. Bloodlust forward has been consistently fantastic. Maybe because that's when they started to expand beyond just doing the Companion Chronicle-equse style of using a framing device of telling a story to eliminate the need to hire more than two actors (and use characters whose actors had died or were unavailable). The stride was well and truly hit in 2013 when they did the Beyond the Grave mini-season, planting scenes relating to that final story in the first five. Then came Bloodlust, which hit it out of the park (and probably into a window at Collinwood, where Angelique then cursed them). The early stories did delve more into the TV continuity than the later ones did, but that was probably because there wasn't much audio continuity to use and Big Finish were just starting out, so were pandering more to already fans than trying to attract new listeners. I'm listening to the 2014 stories now, and they're great at using and developing the audio mythos, being more accessible than the ones that rely on TV continuity. Oh agree 100% Once the audios started developing the Big Finish continuity, things took a major uptick. The line went from consistently good to consistently great.
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Post by seeley on Nov 1, 2015 23:45:39 GMT
I'm newer to the range, but of the five I've listened to, three (the Last Stop, House by the Sea, and Beyond the Grave) have really blown me away. The Death Mask was unremarkable, albeit inoffensive, and the Blind Painter was a rare misfire from Jonathan Morris (who doesn't seem to have written for the range again,) which seriously made me doubt the acting talent of Nicola Bryant (whom I generally enjoy, in BF DW releases.)
So yeah, if the three I enjoyed are any indication, there's something special there. If nothing else, it's nice to have intelligent fantasy-horror, unfettered by the technobabble and extra-terrestrials one tends to find in Doctor Who.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2018 19:24:57 GMT
I think it is an under appreciated range that others really should explore.I did and have and am loving every minute. i like experimenting with things i may not like, if you had told me as a teenager i would enjoy John leCarre i would have laughed. Audio drama is so beautiful it opens up your mind expands the imagination in a society that gets spoon fed visually. DARK SHADOWS needs a stronger presence in vortex especially those afraid because of its vast tv history but Doctor Who has a far greater history but that doesn’t stop it getting new fans.So come on Big Finish promote it more. and for anyone new to it i honestly think start at Bloodlust and you will be hooked or I hope you will so pull up a chair ,pour a little of your favourite tipple put your feet up turn whatever method you use to listen to dramas and enjoy.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2018 17:59:02 GMT
I only have i think 5 more to listen to and buy.I have been holding off for a while as winter will soon be upon us and Dark Shadows is best served cold and wet and windy 😝 That gives them plenty of time for a Bloodline update
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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2018 16:33:37 GMT
So finished Haunted Refrain and its another good story So i can honestly say this is the only range where i have not had any disappointments at all so i only have a few left between now and Christmas and prepared for what comes next.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2018 16:36:43 GMT
What has taken me so long to contribute to this thread? Possibly I was trying to think of something more original than 'yes.' And time hasn't helped. So I'll just go with that, although possibly with an added exclamation mark.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2018 16:38:47 GMT
What has taken me so long to contribute to this thread? Possibly I was trying to think of something more original than 'yes.' And time hasn't helped. So I'll just go with that, although possibly with an added exclamation mark. Glad you agree and yes is suffice
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