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Post by shallacatop on Dec 2, 2019 22:12:01 GMT
There’s brief articles on Blood on Santa’s Claw and Dark Universe in this months Vortex for those interested. They don’t say a great deal, but it sounds like the Doctor and Peri are joined by Joe, who’s apparently Peri’s boyfriend.
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Post by mark687 on Dec 2, 2019 22:15:42 GMT
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Post by slithe on Dec 3, 2019 19:57:45 GMT
So, 2019 is rapidly coming to an end. We know the first two releases of 2020. Be interesting to see what the 3rd McCoy release is (assuming they go for this format) and when we will hear more about the plans for the MR (and the new Sixie/Constance/Flip stories).
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Post by antartiks on Dec 3, 2019 21:09:33 GMT
I assume the third episode concluding the trilogy will be the one featuring Ian McNeice as Churchill, it was mentioned a while ago by Fitton during the YouTube livestream celebrating their 20th anniversary.
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Post by constonks on Dec 3, 2019 21:19:27 GMT
I assume the third episode concluding the trilogy will be the one featuring Ian McNeice as Churchill, it was mentioned a while ago by Fitton during the YouTube livestream celebrating their 20th anniversary. I wonder if he'll have a companion for that one. I know I'd love to see Benny meet Churchill...
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Post by antartiks on Dec 3, 2019 21:51:27 GMT
I assume the third episode concluding the trilogy will be the one featuring Ian McNeice as Churchill, it was mentioned a while ago by Fitton during the YouTube livestream celebrating their 20th anniversary. I wonder if he'll have a companion for that one. I know I'd love to see Benny meet Churchill... As much as I'd absolutely love that too, Seven seems to be flying solo for his upcoming trilogy. I mean, do you count Ace as a companion for Dark Universe ? I'm not sure.
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Post by constonks on Dec 4, 2019 2:10:37 GMT
I wonder if he'll have a companion for that one. I know I'd love to see Benny meet Churchill... As much as I'd absolutely love that too, Seven seems to be flying solo for his upcoming trilogy. I mean, do you count Ace as a companion for Dark Universe ? I'm not sure. She's not, that's true, but the trilogy also seems to be darting around the Seventh Doctor's timeline judging by the covers - one with the TV Movie outfit, the other with the Classic Series look. And Dark Universe is supposed to be one of the Seventh Doctor's last adventures... So who knows when the third one will be set (if there even is a third one).
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Post by antartiks on Dec 4, 2019 14:48:14 GMT
As much as I'd absolutely love that too, Seven seems to be flying solo for his upcoming trilogy. I mean, do you count Ace as a companion for Dark Universe ? I'm not sure. She's not, that's true, but the trilogy also seems to be darting around the Seventh Doctor's timeline judging by the covers - one with the TV Movie outfit, the other with the Classic Series look. And Dark Universe is supposed to be one of the Seventh Doctor's last adventures... So who knows when the third one will be set (if there even is a third one). True, that's a possibility too. Either way we'll just have to wait to find out now. Not for too long I hope, I'd like to know asap wether I want to preorder the entire trilogy or spend my money on other things.
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Post by slithe on Dec 4, 2019 20:36:35 GMT
I assume the third episode concluding the trilogy will be the one featuring Ian McNeice as Churchill, it was mentioned a while ago by Fitton during the YouTube livestream celebrating their 20th anniversary. Seventh meeting Churchill could be really good. Would BF be brave enough to go for the Churchill that often gets discussed publicly - i.e. not the 'hero' of WWII version? Seventh meeting Churchill with regards to his less finest hours would be very, very interesting - e.g. using the army to put down strikers in Wales/Glasgow, his views on the Empire and/or general ineptness after 1951 would be a different approach. The Seventh Doctor would be the best placed incarnation to meet this iteration of Churchill as he would not fall for the heroic status of the man. McCoy doing one of his more darker speeches here would be a great piece of drama. Would BF do it though? Would also be interesting to see Roz and Chris return at some point...
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Post by antartiks on Dec 4, 2019 22:10:31 GMT
I assume the third episode concluding the trilogy will be the one featuring Ian McNeice as Churchill, it was mentioned a while ago by Fitton during the YouTube livestream celebrating their 20th anniversary. Seventh meeting Churchill could be really good. Would BF be brave enough to go for the Churchill that often gets discussed publicly - i.e. not the 'hero' of WWII version? Seventh meeting Churchill with regards to his less finest hours would be very, very interesting - e.g. using the army to put down strikers in Wales/Glasgow, his views on the Empire and/or general ineptness after 1951 would be a different approach. The Seventh Doctor would be the best placed incarnation to meet this iteration of Churchill as he would not fall for the heroic status of the man. McCoy doing one of his more darker speeches here would be a great piece of drama. Would BF do it though? Would also be interesting to see Roz and Chris return at some point... I agree with you, Seven would be the best incarnation to explore Churchill's "dark side." I guess Chris and Roz will return in a second volume of the New Adventures ? I got the impression the first one was popular enough. I enjoyed it quite a bit so I would most probably buy a new box set if there was one.
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Post by constonks on Dec 4, 2019 22:28:14 GMT
(...) Would also be interesting to see Roz and Chris return at some point... I agree with you, Seven would be the best incarnation to explore Churchill's "dark side." I guess Chris and Roz will return in a second volume of the New Adventures ? I got the impression the first one was popular enough. I enjoyed it quite a bit so I would most probably buy a new box set if there was one. Which could also feasibly be where a darker Churchill story could fit...
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lidar2
Castellan
You know, now that you mention it, I actually do rather like Attack of the Cybermen ...
Likes: 5,786
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Post by lidar2 on Jan 7, 2020 12:23:21 GMT
Just looking at the BF website. There are only details of the next 2 MR releases, this month's and next month's. Is that all we know? Have BF ever been this close to the wire in announcing details of future MR releases before? Is this confirmation that the powers that be at BF have lost interest in the Main Range?
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Post by axelotl38 on Jan 7, 2020 12:41:49 GMT
Just looking at the BF website. There are only details of the next 2 MR releases, this month's and next month's. Is that all we know? Have BF ever been this close to the wire in announcing details of future MR releases before? Is this confirmation that the powers that be at BF have lost interest in the Main Range? BF have mentioned that minimising the time between announcement and release is a marketing strategy. Certainly it's not a sign of lost faith (plus even if they have lost faith, i fail to see how that'd indicate delayed announcement times.
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Post by Digi on Jan 7, 2020 12:49:32 GMT
Also gives them a much freer hand to make modifications and tweaks before a public announcement commits them to anything (hello James Dreyfuss).
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Post by themeddlingmonk on Jan 7, 2020 13:23:38 GMT
We know that March’s release is called Subterfuge from Vortex.
I imagine it’s the Seven/Churchill story that was mentioned. Especially as it was teased around the same time as Rasmus was teased to appear in the Main Range.
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lidar2
Castellan
You know, now that you mention it, I actually do rather like Attack of the Cybermen ...
Likes: 5,786
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Post by lidar2 on Jan 7, 2020 14:36:56 GMT
Just looking at the BF website. There are only details of the next 2 MR releases, this month's and next month's. Is that all we know? Have BF ever been this close to the wire in announcing details of future MR releases before? Is this confirmation that the powers that be at BF have lost interest in the Main Range? BF have mentioned that minimising the time between announcement and release is a marketing strategy. Certainly it's not a sign of lost faith (plus even if they have lost faith, i fail to see how that'd indicate delayed announcement times. Lack of announcements suggests a degree of neglect and/or de-prioritising, which in turn suggests a loss of interest. Even the way the MR has been split by Doctor between different production teams could mean no one wanted to take on the job of producing the whole thing.
However if what you say is correct, and there is a deliberate strategy of cutting the time between announcement and release, then my supposition was wrong. I can see how they may want to do that for box sets which are one-off events, but if they want me to part with my hard-earned pennies for a 6 or 12 month subscription, then they will have a better chance of getting their hands on my money if they entice me with a little bit of info on (at least some of) the releases to which I would be subscribing.
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Post by Digi on Jan 7, 2020 14:50:50 GMT
BF have mentioned that minimising the time between announcement and release is a marketing strategy. Certainly it's not a sign of lost faith (plus even if they have lost faith, i fail to see how that'd indicate delayed announcement times. Lack of announcements suggests a degree of neglect and/or de-prioritising, which in turn suggests a loss of interest. Even the way the MR has been split by Doctor between different production teams could mean no one wanted to take on the job of producing the whole thing.
However if what you say is correct, and there is a deliberate strategy of cutting the time between announcement and release, then my supposition was wrong. I can see how they may want to do that for box sets which are one-off events, but if they want me to part with my hard-earned pennies for a 6 or 12 month subscription, then they will have a better chance of getting their hands on my money if they entice me with a little bit of info on (at least some of) the releases to which I would be subscribing.
I don't feel that any part of that holds water.
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lidar2
Castellan
You know, now that you mention it, I actually do rather like Attack of the Cybermen ...
Likes: 5,786
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Post by lidar2 on Jan 7, 2020 15:08:41 GMT
Lack of announcements suggests a degree of neglect and/or de-prioritising, which in turn suggests a loss of interest. Even the way the MR has been split by Doctor between different production teams could mean no one wanted to take on the job of producing the whole thing.
However if what you say is correct, and there is a deliberate strategy of cutting the time between announcement and release, then my supposition was wrong. I can see how they may want to do that for box sets which are one-off events, but if they want me to part with my hard-earned pennies for a 6 or 12 month subscription, then they will have a better chance of getting their hands on my money if they entice me with a little bit of info on (at least some of) the releases to which I would be subscribing.
I don't feel that any part of that holds water. Fair enough, it's all speculation. However I do think the MR has been taken for granted for a long time now and has been the poor relation while box sets are where all the action is. I even remember comments along these lines being made on the old forum (not by me) which would have been over 4 years ago. The way Nick spoke about it a couple of podcasts back, he wasn't exactly gushing with enthusiasm. I'm paraphrasing what he said, but it seemed to be "It is what it is and it has gotten to be that way for reasons of history, etc, but there's no real objective justification for the way it is, so we're looking at changing it" which is not exactly a ringing endorsement.
I don't think anyone at BF is opposed to regular releases with Docs 5/6/7 but at the same time, going by what Nick said, I don't think there is any really strong attachment to the Main Range as a distinct Range with its 13 releases per year, subscriptions of 6 or 12 consecutive releases, model either.
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Post by slithe on Jan 7, 2020 19:33:51 GMT
We shall see... However, I can remember in early August that we did know an awful lot about the releases until February (December being the exception), which was further ahead than we usually knew. It could be that BF confirm everything in a large 'one-off' post when most of the pieces are in place/ settled and sorted out.
On a plus, we certainly know that the MR releases are going up to next year, so the range is 'sorted' to a certain extent for a while yet. Even with a move to box-sets or something different, I would still imagine that we would get a series of releases per Doctor. The MR is likely to be a popular range and will draw a lot of custom, so they will need to avoid throwing the baby out with the bathwater. If there are any significant changes at this stage, the move may be towards a more digital format than a CD-based release system (as was the original model back in 1999). It might be that you get 1 single release of 4 stories per Doctor in one go, at quarterly points rather than a single stand-alone release each month. I have nothing against that per se, if it leads to greater depth and good story-telling...
I do think that *some* change is needed. With over 20 years of MR stories, the BF era is really extending the adventures of 5/6/7 (and 8) significantly beyond their TV-eras. There is a limit to how much more material could be mined from the current approach, so a refresh in approach might be welcome. A box-set approach might also lead to a different style of story-telling and a new direction - even some of the better releases this year (e.g. Emissary of the Daleks) have been re-treads of familiar themes. There is also the new series to consider - has the delay in release info been due to the fact that BF might have releases that clash/overlap - if so, some changes might be needed or swaps.
Just my two-penneth worth. I've been with BF since 1999 and The Sirens of Time and feel protective of the MR, but, as with everything, it will need to evolve.
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Post by polly on Jan 7, 2020 22:03:59 GMT
I can see the appeal in a shorter window between announcement to release. It may lead to more impulse purchases if excited customers can get their hands on the product right away, or close to.
I do think there is a lack of interest/prestige for the MR in the last few years, certainly, but I'm not convinced the new announcement strategy is a symptom of that - nor the individual producers for each Doctor. In fact, with regard to the latter, I thought it was a step toward renewed care for the range. I don't think that quite transpired, but it's a good idea nonetheless.
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