|
|
Post by escalus5 on May 22, 2017 14:50:34 GMT
Like aztec, I would have purchased any of the EDAs if they had been adapted (and in general they may have sold better because of McGann's involvement). A few years ago I read some of the EDAs and, although they are well-plotted, I was not at all impressed with the technical aspects of the writing. Audio adaptations would have avoided the problem of lousy prose.
|
|
|
|
Post by TinDogPodcast on May 22, 2017 14:54:25 GMT
Right... it was me who asked about Lungbarrow on the podcast...
Yes I know they won't make more... but... McCoy and drudgers...
I'd have loved it.
|
|
|
|
Post by elkawho on May 22, 2017 18:09:20 GMT
It could also be that the customers' buying habits for this range are so very different than most ranges. I'm a BF fan who is not very familiar with the novels. I haven't read most of them, so when it came to the novel adaptations I would pick and choose what sounded good. This is very different from how I normally buy Big Finish, which is following a specific range. So for me, while most ranges are usually all in or all out, the Novel Adaptations were not as sure a thing.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on May 22, 2017 18:12:22 GMT
The novel adaptations had two additional expenses that other ranges wouldn't have incurred: paying the original author, and bigger casts (The Well-Mannered War has 14 credited actors!)
|
|
|
|
Post by charlesuirdhein on May 22, 2017 19:09:49 GMT
I liked the adaptations, but they had 2 problems for me: 2) BF should have looked to integrate the stories into their continuity, listening to these stories felt jarring as they contradicted things "I know" to be true (talking only as a well listened BF customer). That for me was an issue. Only 4's stories fell outside this gap I felt. Though excluding the factors of payments for rights and so on it may have been another reason the EDAs weren't done, because why would BF effectively seek to over write 17 years of their own EDAs? Especially with 8 steaming ahead in great new stories towards the Time War? I'm not really talking about canon either, just competing with yourself is never a good idea. |
|
|
|
Post by Bazoolium on May 22, 2017 19:28:05 GMT
I hope it would be possible to put Chris and Roz in the main range
|
|
|
|
Post by sherlock on May 22, 2017 19:35:36 GMT
2) BF should have looked to integrate the stories into their continuity, listening to these stories felt jarring as they contradicted things "I know" to be true (talking only as a well listened BF customer). I thought they did integrate them? Love and War has a fleeting reference to Ace's brother from The Rapture and the prelude even casts the same actress as Death from Master. Equally fairly small yet significant changes were made to Damaged Goods that integrated it to even New Who. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on May 22, 2017 21:38:46 GMT
Given that the BBC has started doing audio readings of its old books, it might be the BBC wouldn't allow Big Finish to adapt BBC books to avoid conflict. I suspect the adaptations simply cost more than standard Big Finish productions to make (rights to original authors being one such cost not encountered by standard releases) and thus slightly less sales than standard productions (due to the fact they are slightly more niche in audience than other Big Finishes) probably ate into its profitability. True, but then again they were also doing audiobooks of Human Nature (with Lisa Bowerman) and The Scales of Injustice (with Dan Starkey) as well... Hmm... Well, let's look at it this way... The Bernice Summerfield audio range lived on quite a lot longer than anyone was expecting (hell, without Benny we wouldn't have had Big Finish's Doctor Who), but up until very recently, there were only two stories in the main range that featured her with the Doctor -- The Shadow of the Scourge and The Dark Flame. Probably for the same reason that there are only two Frobisher stories: it's not the characters' native medium. I think the Benny Summerfield range got a leg-up with the post-Doctor New Adventures from Oh, No It Isn't! onwards. That and the sheer multifaceted flexibility of the character herself. 1) They should not have watered them down, I know the BBC would be unlikely to approve some stuff, but in the main part of what made these stories great stories was the dark content. One of the things I'll miss is that they never got the opportunity to do a trilogy with Sanctuary, Human Nature and Original Sin. I'd have loved to hear Lisa Bowerman tackle Benny's doomed romance with Guy de Carnac and Sylvester McCoy playing a Doctor who, as much as he'd want to, simply cannot relate to her on such a level. Actually, was I one of the few people who thought Zebulon Pryce from Original Sin was a bit cartoonish in his audio adaptation? He struck me as one of those characters who is dangerously and uncomfortably rational rather than on the point of an apoplectic fit. I remember squirming in my seat reading the scene between him and the Doctor just before they enter hyperspace because he actually had a really good point. That and Pryce made a shiv that he was going to use to gouge out the Doctor's eyes if he didn't make a good argument. He's genuinely terrified and overwrought. In print, it still remains one of my favourite scenes for the Seventh Doctor (what makes him any different than Pryce?), but it's definitely not child-friendly. Kids would likely love it (because it's not for them, it's for grownups), but doing it in full would certainly give their parents pause. As much as I did enjoy the range, I would rather have new tales. Well, the upshot of it now is that I believe there's a demand for further Chris/Roz stories. The Novel Adaptations have had a difficult life, but they may just have given us a new companion duo to play around with. Maybe. It'd be interesting to see Big Finish have a go at them for a trilogy or something similar, they were the companion team when the New Adventures became a bit... Well, what people accuse it of nowadays really. Stories that largely featured the Doctor on the periphery. |
|
|
|
Post by sherlock on May 23, 2017 1:28:34 GMT
Given that the BBC has started doing audio readings of its old books, it might be the BBC wouldn't allow Big Finish to adapt BBC books to avoid conflict. I suspect the adaptations simply cost more than standard Big Finish productions to make (rights to original authors being one such cost not encountered by standard releases) and thus slightly less sales than standard productions (due to the fact they are slightly more niche in audience than other Big Finishes) probably ate into its profitability. True, but then again they were also doing audiobooks of Human Nature (with Lisa Bowerman) and The Scales of Injustice (with Dan Starkey) as well... Hmm... Those two books were re-printed under the BBC label though, Human Nature as part of the 50th anniversary reprints and Scales as part of a follow-up 'Monsters' re-printing. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on May 23, 2017 2:28:09 GMT
True, but then again they were also doing audiobooks of Human Nature (with Lisa Bowerman) and The Scales of Injustice (with Dan Starkey) as well... Hmm... Those two books were re-printed under the BBC label though, Human Nature as part of the 50th anniversary reprints and Scales as part of a follow-up 'Monsters' re-printing. Another very good point. I wonder if it's done on an author-by-author basis rather than range-by-range. If that's the case, were the EDAs just not considered amongst the authors they did contact? I'd have loved to see, erm, hear Lance Parkin do an adaptation of Father Time. |
|
|
|
Post by bohnny on May 23, 2017 5:19:32 GMT
I bought them all (of course), but to be honest I never really saw the point of the range. I'd rather BF spent the time it has on new stories.
The adaptations themselves were fine, but because of the limits of a two or even three cd story they always felt like bits were missing - the 'plot' was there, but all the surrounding colour, which is often what makes a book, was largely missing.
|
|
|
|
Post by TinDogPodcast on May 23, 2017 5:56:52 GMT
I just hope rOz and chris end up in new stories. Maybe in the main range.
|
|
|
|
Post by chrism1999 on May 23, 2017 11:04:09 GMT
I actually really enjoyed the range on the whole. I only read a couple of the NAs and MAs when they came out, and never in any particular order, just picking up whatever the local libraries had available, so I don't have the super nostalgic affection for them as a whole that some have. But the adaptations we got ranged from perfectly serviceable (The Highest Science is never going to top my list of favourite BF releases, but it's a reasonable way to spend a 2ish hour train journey) to absolute standouts in Cold Fusion and Damaged Goods.
Not really having a favourite (other than Romance of Crime, and we got that fairly early on) I think meant I was able to just appreciate them as, for me at least, new stories from BF that perhaps came with some more preknowledge than normal because of my vague recollections of the series but were otherwise new adventures, rather than waiting for them to release my favourites and wondering how they'd fare against my nostalgic remembrances of reading them nigh on 20 years ago now.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on May 23, 2017 11:45:57 GMT
I'm pretty sure they've still got *loads* of the limited edition booksets. Would be interested to know exactly how many they've sold.
|
|
|
|
Post by whiskeybrewer on May 23, 2017 11:47:46 GMT
I'm pretty sure they've still got *loads* of the limited edition booksets. Would be interested to know exactly how many they've sold. Does remind me I do need to get the Romance/English Bookset on CD and the download of the Mannered/Damaged one (That'll be for the extended Documentary) |
|
mbt66
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 3,081 
|
Post by mbt66 on May 23, 2017 19:23:37 GMT
I'm pretty sure they've still got *loads* of the limited edition booksets. Would be interested to know exactly how many they've sold. Does remind me I do need to get the Romance/English Bookset on CD and the download of the Mannered/Damaged one (That'll be for the extended Documentary) I don't want to moan about it (again), but Big Finishes decision to package Mannered/Damaged together was incredibly annoying and lost them the limited edition sales for me. In fact I think it annoyed me so much it may well have put me off the novel range. |
|
|
|
Post by Audio Watchdog on May 23, 2017 19:47:12 GMT
I am glad that with the exception of The 10th Doctor Adventures releases the "deluxe" and "limited edition" box set era seems to be done at Big Finish.
|
|
|
|
Post by barnabaslives on May 23, 2017 20:00:58 GMT
I've been wondering if people who'd read the novels might have had difficulty prioritizing stories they were already familiar with. I think the Novel Adaptations were a great range and a wonderful bonus on top of other releases, but I've noticed how I had trouble prioritizing Big Finish's version of Shada - somehow the stupendous pairing of the Eight Doctor with Romana tries to be overshadowed by my already owning a DVD by that name.
I might almost agree with others that the Novel Adaptations aren't as good as the stories Big Finish come up with, but I think it might really be that they were good stories that occasionally felt a little like novels, whereas Big Finish excel at writing specifically for the dynamics of audios.
What I completely don't understand though, is if this very enjoyable range wasn't staying afloat, why they'd consider comic adaptions. I've not a clue on that one.
|
|
mbt66
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 3,081
|
Post by mbt66 on May 23, 2017 21:14:18 GMT
Well they never used the Sixth Doctor in the novel adaptations.
Perhaps the comic adaptations will allow them to use a well loved (on audio at least) Doctor.
Plus if they did use the book format special edition it would offer a great opportunity to reproduce key scenes from the comic as well as including some character art. They might even have plans to do a comic reprint like they did with The Avengers?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on May 25, 2017 5:56:30 GMT
Personally I think one of the biggest issues was lack of variety. With all but three releases being Seventh Doctor stories, I think they just limited their appeal too much. Perhaps if they branched out more with other Doctors like Eight and Six, who have novels worthy of adaptation, then by casting the net wider they would have drawn more people to the range overall, and providing that they liked what they heard, would have had greater chance of selling them novel adaptations with other Doctors that they may not have otherwise considered picking up.
The other issue I suspect is that there seems to be a lot of crossover between Doctor Who novel readers and Big Finish buyers, perhaps even higher than expected, and so if the choice is between buying a brand new story, or an adaptation of one which they are already familiar with, then most folks would probably choose the former, rather than the latter. After all, few can afford to buy everything from Big Finish that they'd like, so even for some who were interested they just may not have made the priorities list.
|
|
