Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2018 8:21:28 GMT
As for this spinoff...well I personally have no interest and I'm surprised BF even considered it, I wasn't a huge fan of Jenny but at least that story was left open ended and fans have been clamouring to see the character return...Lady Christina though? Is there actually going to be an interesting story there? or is this just a gap in the story being filled because the Doctors are busy on other projects... That's not to say I don't wish BF well with this range, and I hope others get some enjoyment out of it. I'm still holding out for a Nardole and his invisible friends boxset myself... That's part of the tease, though - Big Finish know how parts of fandom feel about the character. She's up for reinvention by Big Finish. Knowing Big Finish, I imagine the series developed from something the Big Finish team latched onto during meetings about bringing her back for Last Chance.
|
|
aztec
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 2,849
|
Post by aztec on Mar 18, 2018 8:21:38 GMT
In fairness Big Finish now has access to the New Who and Torchwood licenses and has vastly expanded as a company in the last decade, I had never heard of them until The Night Of The Doctor and I'm seeing more and more interest in them, and audio dramas on other fan sites in recent years, however I do understand some of the issues raised about pricing, audio drama is a niche format yes and won't appeal to everyone, but BF has been going for 20 years (and will hopefully go for another 20+) and its core fanbase won't be around forever, New Who fans tend to be younger with less disposable income and exposure to audio drama, perhaps lowering the prices on some of the more popular ranges though lowering profits in the short run could bring in more money in the long run, so many times I've seen fans write off BF when learning it was audio drama or because of the cost, I think more people would be willing to take a gamble if the stories were slightly cheaper. I know I'd certainly buy more stories if the prices were reduced... The problem is: that there NOT a big company. They can't afford to make the discounts and take the losses bigger companies can. The New Series releases do well, but piracy still hits everything else. And unfortunately the people who pirate the audios are probably the ones who would do it anyway even if the stories were cheap... I'd love to support BF more but I simply can't afford to, and can rarely justify the cost of full price audios, I'd say a solid 90% of the stories I own were bought on sale or pre-order pricing... BF is not a big company no, and they probably have tight profit margins, but if they hope to expand the company and bring in new fans I'm not so sure £25-40 for a boxset of 4-5 CD's is going to bring in new listeners...
|
|
aztec
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 2,849
|
Post by aztec on Mar 18, 2018 8:25:28 GMT
As for this spinoff...well I personally have no interest and I'm surprised BF even considered it, I wasn't a huge fan of Jenny but at least that story was left open ended and fans have been clamouring to see the character return...Lady Christina though? Is there actually going to be an interesting story there? or is this just a gap in the story being filled because the Doctors are busy on other projects... That's not to say I don't wish BF well with this range, and I hope others get some enjoyment out of it. I'm still holding out for a Nardole and his invisible friends boxset myself... That's part of the tease, though - Big Finish know how parts of fandom feel about the character. She's up for reinvention by Big Finish. Knowing Big Finish, I imagine the series developed from something the Big Finish team latched onto during meetings about bringing her back for Last Chance. I'm not doubting BF's ability to expand on/give unpopular characters a new lease of life (looking at you Sixie and Adric) but Christina didn't really strike me as that interesting a character, creating a spinoff based around one supporting character in a divisive episode from nearly 10 years ago seems a risky move this early on in their New Who releases, the New Who Doctors are either busy or unwilling to record more regularly, but I can't help but wonder if BF are over saturating the market to make up for it. I'm certainly not doubting the talent or hardwork that goes into these releases...but I can't help but wonder if there is just too much content being produced nowadays...
|
|
|
Post by omega on Mar 18, 2018 9:08:14 GMT
In a recent podcast Nick said that as a result of Brexit that materials for the CD cases were more expensive. Maybe Brexit has resulted in other costs that we aren't aware of.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2018 9:45:13 GMT
That's part of the tease, though - Big Finish know how parts of fandom feel about the character. She's up for reinvention by Big Finish. Knowing Big Finish, I imagine the series developed from something the Big Finish team latched onto during meetings about bringing her back for Last Chance. I'm not doubting BF's ability to expand on/give unpopular characters a new lease of life (looking at you Sixie and Adric) but Christina didn't really strike me as that interesting a character, creating a spinoff based around one supporting character in a divisive episode from nearly 10 years ago seems a risky move this early on in their New Who releases, the New Who Doctors are either busy or unwilling to record more regularly, but I can't help but wonder if BF are over saturating the market to make up for it. I'm certainly not doubting the talent or hardwork that goes into these releases...but I can't help but wonder if there is just too much content being produced nowadays... Disagree. Big Finish didn't go into the new series licencise for the New Doctors: they knew David Teannet was going to be unavailable for long stretches of time, that Matt Smith was incredibly unlikely and John Hurt was a pipe dream at best, they went in for Torchwood and the the spin-off material. No company would hedge their bets on the unavailability of the New Doctors. John Barrowman's passion for Torchwood was boundless and he'd been eager for any sort of revival for YEARS, and they knew, even if there were difficulties in booking him, that the other UK-based actors involved would have been much easier to book and Jack's a character you can still tell stories with in his absence due to the nature of his character. They knew how popular Kate and Osgood had been embraced by fandom, so they knew fans would be intrested in UNIT. And yes, while yes, there putting out The Churchill Diaries and Chronicles to see if there is an audience for the format, but they were never the lynchpin for their plans for the licencise. As for Christina, I think your going to be surprised come Last Chance Big Finish know that there turning heads
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2018 9:49:18 GMT
In a recent podcast Nick said that as a result of Brexit that materials for the CD cases were more expensive. Maybe Brexit has resulted in other costs that we aren't aware of. I think that's reaching. I think Big Finish probably have a more then steady customer base in downloads, anyway
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2018 9:54:24 GMT
The problem is: that there NOT a big company. They can't afford to make the discounts and take the losses bigger companies can. The New Series releases do well, but piracy still hits everything else. And unfortunately the people who pirate the audios are probably the ones who would do it anyway even if the stories were cheap... I'd love to support BF more but I simply can't afford to, and can rarely justify the cost of full price audios, I'd say a solid 90% of the stories I own were bought on sale or pre-order pricing... BF is not a big company no, and they probably have tight profit margins, but if they hope to expand the company and bring in new fans I'm not so sure £25-40 for a boxset of 4-5 CD's is going to bring in new listeners... I think that's why pre-order pricing lasts as long as it does, though. I think a lot of people are always going to opt for the download, as well.
|
|
|
Post by omega on Mar 18, 2018 10:07:10 GMT
In a recent podcast Nick said that as a result of Brexit that materials for the CD cases were more expensive. Maybe Brexit has resulted in other costs that we aren't aware of. I think that's reaching. I think Big Finish probably have a more then steady customer base in downloads, anyway There could be costs not caused by Brexit. Big Finish are releasing at least a couple of box sets a month now and it seems new ranges are announced two or three times a year. Star Cops and Callan have been announced and it's mid-March, along with the Big Finish Originals releases. That's a lot more recording sessions, along with more ranges to market and release. Just this month there are eight new releases (one 2-disc release, one book, two downloads, one single disc release and four 5 disc box set releases, 9 total) compared to this month five years ago (four 1 disc releases, one 2-disc release and one 5 disc box set release, 6 total) or this month ten years ago (one 1 single disc release and two 2-disc releases, three total). Even accounting for expanded listener base in new listeners and fans of the original works that's still more studio time to book, more actors, more everything really. It's hard to find any negative official feedback (as in official reviews, not on forums like this), it's usually unanimously positive. Just look at the review quotes on product pages. If sales aren't enough then that range might not get another release regardless of positive feedback (just look at the Novel Adaptation range).
|
|
|
Post by omega on Mar 18, 2018 10:10:23 GMT
And unfortunately the people who pirate the audios are probably the ones who would do it anyway even if the stories were cheap... I'd love to support BF more but I simply can't afford to, and can rarely justify the cost of full price audios, I'd say a solid 90% of the stories I own were bought on sale or pre-order pricing... BF is not a big company no, and they probably have tight profit margins, but if they hope to expand the company and bring in new fans I'm not so sure £25-40 for a boxset of 4-5 CD's is going to bring in new listeners... I think that's why pre-order pricing lasts as long as it does, though. I think a lot of people are always going to opt for the download, as well. For me download is about cost and storage, namely the former being lower and the latter being something I don't have any space for. I don't have a CD player, listen on my phone and there aren't many conventions in my country nor do I usually have the funds anyway (some guests can be pricey for autographs and pictures), plus crowds are something I generally try to avoid.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2018 10:27:38 GMT
I think that's reaching. I think Big Finish probably have a more then steady customer base in downloads, anyway There could be costs not caused by Brexit. Big Finish are releasing at least a couple of box sets a month now and it seems new ranges are announced two or three times a year. Star Cops and Callan have been announced and it's mid-March, along with the Big Finish Originals releases. That's a lot more recording sessions, along with more ranges to market and release. Just this month there are eight new releases (one 2-disc release, one book, two downloads, one single disc release and four 5 disc box set releases, 9 total) compared to this month five years ago (four 1 disc releases, one 2-disc release and one 5 disc box set release, 6 total) or this month ten years ago (one 1 single disc release and two 2-disc releases, three total). Even accounting for expanded listener base in new listeners and fans of the original works that's still more studio time to book, more actors, more everything really. It's hard to find any negative official feedback (as in official reviews, not on forums like this), it's usually unanimously positive. Just look at the review quotes on product pages. If sales aren't enough then that range might not get another release regardless of positive feedback (just look at the Novel Adaptation range). I'm not saying Big Finish aren't going to be affected by Brexit - but I think the download customerbase will more then tide them over. I don't really see how relevant Star Cops or Callan are to the discussion, both releases will have less pull then Doctor Who and I'm not saying they won't do well, but you wouldn't use them to prop up a company. Spider-Web wasn't originally planned to be released this month (it's original release date was February). I think the mainline New Series releases do well enough on their own. I think the plan always was to do the more conventional spin-offs and then try something more experimental and off-kilter ( The War Master and Tales of New Earth). I don't really recgonise anything in the New Series announcement other then the same Big Finish ethos to expand the mythos of Doctor Who and surprise their audience with their audacity While we don't know Big Finish plans were pre-Brexit, I'm sure they've planned to account for it since then. I'm not saying it's not important to support them, but I think they'll get through.
|
|
|
Post by fantasticalice on Mar 31, 2018 23:41:06 GMT
I am intrigued by the title "Skin Deep". Presuming this is the Slitheen story, I hope it is the story I have long wanted BF to tell about them - really exploring the whole "impersonate people by murdering and eviscerating them and using their physical remains as a disguise" which is only ever touched on briefly on television. Monsters Inside is the best slitheen story I've ever read. It takes full advantage of them being vicious psychotic monsters with razor sharp claws that can look human. They're an amazing monster when done right. The audiobook by David Thorpe of MI is epic and scary. Sure WW3 did not really use the scare factor but they're really frightening when written well.
|
|
|
Post by fantasticalice on Apr 1, 2018 10:35:01 GMT
Positives: there’s plenty of scope for the writers to work with in regards to Christina as a character. She’s practically a blank slate with only one television story (don’t know if her comic strip appearance will be factored in) she’s appeared in, so there’s very little to contradict. Christina has motive to travel around, good way to explore locations around the Earth. Unlike Vienna she’s not as willing to kill and shouldn’t have the memory issues Vienna keeps encountering. Basically the writers can give her more depth and are free to do it however they want and remain consistent with her portrayal in Planet of the Dead. There’s nothing to prevent stories set before that, playing down the alien element, or at least not making Christina aware of the alien element as being alien. And it’s more characterisation to work with than with Jenny. What people also seem to forget is how good Big Finish are with obscure licences and originals. It's not as much of them having an obscure or one time Character to do a release around; but that they have an interesting concept for a story and found a way it can be in the Doctor Who universe. Jago and Litefoot I think is an amazing example. Two talented, brilliant actors, a great concept for a series, and two charismatic Characters that put it flatly in our Universe. Even with Leela and the Doctor showing up Jago and Litefoot is unique and could have been an original series. But it's so much more wonderful for having those connections. It's why I enjoyed Charley season 1 so much. It was like the other side of the coin for Sarah Jane adventures. Both are brilliant tales of a companion, possibly with self confidence issues, being thrust into a role very much like the man they once traveled with. Lady Christina has a lot going for her as a character. Everything from being aristocracy who Jewel thiefs for fun to being a grey point between say Jenny and Charley and the Derek Jacobi Master. Also from a business standpoint people who enjoy the new adventures of Doctor Whottaker will have their pick of scifi box sets starring strong woman in the Doctor Who universe. I mean for solo heroines we have Benny, Charley, Jenny, Lady Christina, and UNIT is led by Kate and Osgood. And a lot of people enjoy Vienna too. We even have a new series led by a gay character. And oh.of course River. And somehow they manage to make these characters distinct and their adventures drastically different. Benny and River meeting someday would be fun but their adventures are drastically different in scope and dimension. I'm sure I'll take a while before I pick it up but it's really nice to have so many series led by stromg women.
|
|
|
Post by shallacatop on Apr 1, 2018 11:27:38 GMT
I am intrigued by the title "Skin Deep". Presuming this is the Slitheen story, I hope it is the story I have long wanted BF to tell about them - really exploring the whole "impersonate people by murdering and eviscerating them and using their physical remains as a disguise" which is only ever touched on briefly on television. Monsters Inside is the best slitheen story I've ever read. It takes full advantage of them being vicious psychotic monsters with razor sharp claws that can look human. They're an amazing monster when done right. The audiobook by David Thorpe of MI is epic and scary. Sure WW3 did not really use the scare factor but they're really frightening when written well. I think there’s certainly darker layers in Aliens of London / World War Three, and I do think it’s a great script, but the direction plays far too much to the comedic elements. And I think that’s what lets it down. The Slitheen’s later appearances in Boom Town, The Sarah Jane Adventures and in novel form are all much better. I trust Big Finish will do the same.
|
|
|
Post by Digi on Apr 1, 2018 14:23:56 GMT
In a recent podcast Nick said that as a result of Brexit that materials for the CD cases were more expensive. Maybe Brexit has resulted in other costs that we aren't aware of. That burn scent that everyone smells is from my eyes rolling so fast, they hit 88mph and traveled through time.
|
|
|
Post by Audio Watchdog on Apr 1, 2018 14:54:13 GMT
In a recent podcast Nick said that as a result of Brexit that materials for the CD cases were more expensive. Maybe Brexit has resulted in other costs that we aren't aware of. That burn scent that everyone smells is from my eyes rolling so fast, they hit 88mph and traveled through time. I don't understand. If that you not believing what Nick said? Because if so I can probably find one or several pieces I have read since before Brexit and post-Brexit that went into how leaving the EU would effect the UK in ways large & small.
|
|
|
Post by Digi on Apr 1, 2018 16:10:45 GMT
That burn scent that everyone smells is from my eyes rolling so fast, they hit 88mph and traveled through time. I don't understand. If that you not believing what Nick said? Because if so I can probably find one or several pieces I have read since before Brexit and post-Brexit that went into how leaving the EU would effect the UK in ways large & small. I don't disagree that the Brexit business will have lots of impacts. But jewel cases literally cost pennies. Even if the cost of a single jewel case went up a whole dollar apiece, on a run of 1000 $25 discs, that cost is recouped after just 40 sales (or 4% of the entire pressing).
|
|
|
Post by Audio Watchdog on Apr 1, 2018 19:54:22 GMT
I don't understand. If that you not believing what Nick said? Because if so I can probably find one or several pieces I have read since before Brexit and post-Brexit that went into how leaving the EU would effect the UK in ways large & small. I don't disagree that the Brexit business will have lots of impacts. But jewel cases literally cost pennies. Even if the cost of a single jewel case went up a whole dollar apiece, on a run of 1000 $25 discs, that cost is recouped after just 40 sales (or 4% of the entire pressing). We don’t know much about BF’s financials, nor should we, but if Nick says Brexit has impacted the cost of their doing business, we have no reason to doubt him. And if a different jewel case and only one piece of commissioned art is the price we pay for BF holding the line on pricing, well, I’m okay with that.
|
|
|
Post by Digi on Apr 1, 2018 20:07:27 GMT
I don't disagree that the Brexit business will have lots of impacts. But jewel cases literally cost pennies. Even if the cost of a single jewel case went up a whole dollar apiece, on a run of 1000 $25 discs, that cost is recouped after just 40 sales (or 4% of the entire pressing). We don’t know much about BF’s financials, nor should we, but if Nick says Brexit has impacted the cost of their doing business, we have no reason to doubt him. And if a different jewel case and only one piece of commissioned art is the price we pay for BF holding the line on pricing, well, I’m okay with that. I think we're more in agreement here than either of our posts would indicate. There are certainly many financial factors that go into any given release, and I doubt that we could even guess what they all are. It's very possible--even likely--that Brexit has had a financial impact on their business overall. But jewel cases? Come on. That's having a wallet full of hundreds, and complaining that you don't have enough change for the vending machine.
|
|
|
Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Apr 2, 2018 10:27:21 GMT
|
|
|
Post by mark687 on Apr 2, 2018 10:31:27 GMT
It was the leaked one !
Well its serviceable I suppose
Regards
mark687
|
|