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Post by jasonward on Aug 9, 2017 13:14:21 GMT
Yep, it has been talked about quite a lot in the past, some don't mind it, but others, me included, really dislike it.
Apparently BF do it so that they can schedule the actors easier, perhaps also to keep costs down, but that's a reason for having a recording schedule, it really is not a reason for a release schedule, if they can record Tom Bakers stories many seasons ahead of release, they can do it with other Doctors too.
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Post by denyer97 on Aug 9, 2017 13:16:40 GMT
I agree to some extent. While I'd enjoy variety and a different TARDIS team every month, I'd like to see a trilogy maybe once a year featuring an overarching story, even something as simplistic as the overarching story being Older Peri on the TARDIS in The Widows Assasin/Masters of Earth/The Rani Elite, or something more intertwined like the Persuasion/Starlight Robbery/Daleks Among Us Trilogy.
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Post by kimalysong on Aug 9, 2017 13:25:47 GMT
My favorite MR trilogy of the year is probably the special one where there is a story each for the 5th Doctor, 6th Doctor, 7th Doctor. I always look forward to what that trilogy is going to be.
As for the rest it really depends on the type of story and who the companion is. Pure historicals for example always excite me.
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aztec
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Post by aztec on Aug 9, 2017 14:09:37 GMT
I'm not a MR subscriber and other than the McGann stories I dip in and out of the ranges depending what goes on sale so the trilogy format hasn't bothered me as much as it may some others, I can see why BF do it (easier for scheduling, may keep costs down and allows the script editors/producers to more tightly plot/pace ongoing character arcs) but I do sometimes feel like stories are being made to fit arcs rather than vice versa i.e one of the good things about the earlier Monthly Range stories was the variety of tardis teams and eras being explored you could go from Evelyn and 6 one month to 5 and Peri the next than 7 Ace and Hex etc the next two, it all felt relatively stand alone and kept the range more fresh and exciting i.m.o, tardis teams were allowed to have a breather and not feel overused, the ongoing arcs of some of the companions feel a bit daunting and confusing to someone who hasn't followed the range from the start. The trilogy format has some advantages but I also liked the variation of a more loose release schedule. As jasonward says above it's a good reason for a recording schedule but shouldn't necessarily have a baring on a release schedule, taking into account budgets ans scheduling I'm surprised BF isn't doing a Tom Baker with the other classic Doctors and 'banking' more stories while they can. Then again, not all MR listeners listen to all the Doctors and some may prefer the convenience of knowing who and when to expect certain teams in 3 story blocks. It also raises the question, have any of the tardis teams been overused? A quick glance at the list shows Nyssa has appeared in almost every 5th Doctor story since Peri/Erimem was phased out, and Ace's list of appearances grows ever longer, both are great and popular characters...but why not make more use of under explored companions such as Mary, Mel, Raine, Chris and Roz, Benny or Frobisher? Why not create a new companion for the 5th Doctor? and we've had very few male companion...it's also been nearly a decade since the 5/Peri arc ended, and I'd like to hear 8 reunite with Charley some day (maybe even some flashback stories with C'Rizz)
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Post by mark687 on Aug 9, 2017 15:58:50 GMT
I wouldn't mind an overarching trilogy, but some of these months trilogies don'es have a common theme sometimes, just the same TARDIS crew combination. And yes, they have to schedule recordings (and when Mark Strickson is on the UK I imagine they record all their Turlough stories on the same week) but they could release in a different order See I'm the opposite I don't mind if its same TARDIS Team but in standalone stories or if the Arc in solved in I or 2 trilogy's, when you get to 5 trilogy's released over 5 years to resolve the principal Arc point (example Older Nyysa) its a bit wearing.
Regards
mark687
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Post by Digi on Aug 9, 2017 16:08:17 GMT
I don't know if I'm tired of it exactly, but I do appreciate when they shake things up a bit.
More than anything else I find I miss the long ongoing stories like Ace/Hex pairing and its evolution into the black/white Tardis--plotlines that spool out over a long run of stories rather than just being one-offs or trilogies.
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Post by Audio Watchdog on Aug 9, 2017 16:15:59 GMT
Any longstanding format should always be played with. For instance, I would not mind a trilogy that is made up of 12 twenty-five/thirty minute episodes. Or a 6 part story told over six discs. Or taking a three episode "season" and using the same Doctor with three different TARDIS teams. And of course the main requirement is that it is well written, produced & performed audio drama. I'm curious to see if Guy Adams taking over for Alan Barnes for several months gives us some different style Main Range stories. Sometimes all a format needs is an injection of new blood and/or a fresh set of eyes.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2017 18:36:14 GMT
I love the trilogies! Sometimes they are linked, sometimes not. They are like micro-series of Doctor Who. However, that isn't to say the format cannot be played with, as Audio Watchdog suggests above. The recent 2X2 format worked well, partly because they were such strong tales and also because they were linked stories that also stood up fairly well as standalones (I was never very keen of the 3 episodes plus 1 that we had). But yes, maybe an eight-parter followed by a four-parter - or even a flipping great 12-parter - would be good once in a while.
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Post by relativetime on Aug 9, 2017 19:04:38 GMT
I'm not really bothered by the trilogies all that much, honestly. As @paz said above, I like having a "season" for each Doctor every year. And while I do wish they would use different or less-used TARDIS teams more often, I can understand why that's not necessarily a feasible option - I've heard Mark Strickson isn't easy to schedule due to other commitments. Still, I'm game for some format/formula shakeups - just as long as I get my four Sixth Doctor releases a year, I'll be happy.
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Post by constonks on Aug 9, 2017 20:55:18 GMT
I don't know if I'm tired of it exactly, but I do appreciate when they shake things up a bit. More than anything else I find I miss the long ongoing stories like Ace/Hex pairing and its evolution into the black/white Tardis--plotlines that spool out over a long run of stories rather than just being one-offs or trilogies. Yeah, I basically came here to say exactly this. The Sixth Doctor always feels like he has an ongoing arc because he travels with original companions more than most. But even that's mostly character development for the companion between stand-alone stories. But then again, Big Finish has free reign to do whatever they want with Ace and Mel, and that seems like a collection of standalone stories as much as, say, a Tegan and Turlough trilogy might. I know I definitely get more excited for original companion teams and story arcs, rather than "three unconnected stories that fit seamlessly between Serial X and Serial Y", even if some of the stand-alones have been top notch in the past (the Nyssa-Tegan trilogy last year being a rare standalone trilogy three-hitter). It might be interesting to see a year of 5-6-7 (x4) and a bonus release at Christmas, regardless of what companions we get each release (sometimes we might get two Peri and two Flip-Constance, sometimes we might get three Ace-Mel and one Raine). Also, one thing they HAVE done right this year is avoided doing another three solo stories in a single year. It works sometimes, but no-companion stories need to be a little rarer IMO (especially if CDNM is a regular feature now). EDIT:Got looking at the list of releases and I've just realised that 2008 did exactly what I'm talking about: The 5-6-7 order is repeated from January to November, with the thirteenth release being a Colin Baker story. Fifth: 1 Peri/Erimem, 3 Nyssa/Brewster Sixth: 1 Evelyn, 4 Charley Seventh: 2 Ace/Hex, 2 Solo BUT shortly after that, 2010 gave us four strong trilogies in a year. so who knows what works!!
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melkur
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Post by melkur on Aug 9, 2017 21:16:49 GMT
I'm also not sure if I'm "tired" of the trilogy format, but I think I certainly would like a little bit of variety in it (be it a series of standalone releases or the Fourth or Eighth Doctors having a "stint" in the range)...
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Post by Audio Watchdog on Aug 9, 2017 21:22:34 GMT
And the other thing I'd like to see, I think I have mentioned before, is for that odd ball single release to maybe be used as a fourth installment to really open a story up and make it kind of an event.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2017 21:38:34 GMT
Tired is probably not the right word for it... There are instances where it kind of falls over itself trying to fit its own structure. I enjoy the interconnected nature of some trilogies like Patient Zero, Paper Cuts and Blue Forgotten Planet, but there are a few situations where it feels as though we've received or lost an entire story essentially to fit the format (it was early days, but Key 2 Time feels almost unnaturally short). I don't mind how it's distributed in blocks, but I think it works far better when they're treated as standalone releases. Each significant in their own way.
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Post by christmastrenzalore on Aug 9, 2017 21:39:59 GMT
I don't mind them using trilogies and a set team if it makes scheduling easier. I think the main thing that bothers me about Trilogies is when they have a half-hearted go at a mini-arc, and it ends up feeling a bit shoe-horned in or overly telegraphed. Even when the individual stories are good, it makes things feel a slightly damp squib with the obligatory arc book-ends.
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Post by mrperson on Aug 9, 2017 23:22:36 GMT
I can't say that. There have been many phenomenal ones.
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Post by Bazoolium on Aug 9, 2017 23:35:11 GMT
The 5th Doctor Espace Trilogy is great. There was some unnessasary plot points that connect the stories. The three stories takign place in the small universe works as linking narrative in itself. {Spoiler} Tegan beging kidnapped at the end of Equilibrium felt esspessialy forced. I think it says a lot that one of the best trilogies in recent years was the Nyssa/Tegan triology, that had no link beyond that particualr TRADIS team.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2017 5:42:21 GMT
Personally I don't think of them as trilogies. They're just blocks of three stories, some of which feature the TARDIS crew. In that way they're more of a mini-season.
It would be like calling Sylvester McCoy's seasons tetralogies.
Now rarely there are true trilogies. I think the most recent was The Two Masters trilogy, so I don't think the format is being overused.
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Post by Timelord007 on Aug 10, 2017 7:14:11 GMT
If it's a linked trilogy i like those & think they work well, if it's a non-trilogy then there's no reason to release them back to back.
Despite having there own series i really would like the Fourth & Eighth Doctor's back in the main monthly range or better yet together in a trilogy of stories.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2017 10:51:42 GMT
If it's a linked trilogy i like those & think they work well, if it's a non-trilogy then there's no reason to release them back to back. Despite having there own series i really would like the Fourth & Eighth Doctor's back in the main monthly range or better yet together in a trilogy of stories. I like them being released back to back. You can listen to one episode a week and it's like reliving that era.
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Post by chrism1999 on Aug 10, 2017 11:07:33 GMT
The issue with having Tom and Paul back in the MR, instead of or in addition to their own side ranges, is that will necessarily lead to less releases from Peter, Colin and Sylvester.
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