Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2018 12:43:41 GMT
My brother may be interested in getting into some of these audio dramas. (He's very into podcasts, so used to the audio format.) His favourite podcasts are Myths and Legends (mythpodcast.com) and Fictional (fictional.fm). So I plan to give him some of the Classics.*
Assuming he may already have listened to a podcast abridging them, what are everyone's recommendations in the Classics range? The H.G. Wells range (considered separately)? Similar ranges, like The Confessions of Dorian Gray? Not only how good they are, but also how well adapted.
Both of us prefer our Sherlock Holmes stories to be grounded, not containing fantastical elements. So I'll be giving him The Reification of Hans Gerber.
*He also enjoys YouTube videos that delve far too deeply into films and games -- the meanings behind small details. For example, what is it trying to say by referencing this mythological element?
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Post by Digi on Aug 29, 2018 13:45:43 GMT
I think their Classics range has an absolutely stellar ratio. My opinions...
Excellent: Cicero Dracula The First Men in the Moon Hamlet The Invisible Man The Picture of Dorian Gray The Shape of Things to Come The Time Machine
Good but not excellent: Frankenstein The Island of Doctor Moreau The Martian Invasion of Earth Treasure Island
Skip it: Phantom of the Opera The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
I haven’t heard much of Sherlock Holmes so I don’t feel it would be fair for me to weigh in on that.
And the Dorian Gray range is wonderful too, but I’m not sure it quite counts as Classics, since it’s new original stories.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2018 13:53:04 GMT
Sherlock- definitely Hound of the Baskervilles it is better than the BBC version in many many ways and I love the BBC one Don’t skip Phantom of the Opera -I loved it. Cicero-skip it it is all hype. Dracula was well done but Naxos has an excellent version with Heathcote Williams . Frankenstein- I liked that also. Hamlet was excellent. I loved all of the Classic HG WELLS adaptations.
But as you can see it all boils down to personal taste and he won’t know what he enjoys till he tries them and even if he thinks something isn’t to his taste there are other ways to regret spending and hour or two than with a Big Finish Adaptation.
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lidar2
Castellan
You know, now that you mention it, I actually do rather like Attack of the Cybermen ...
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Post by lidar2 on Aug 29, 2018 13:57:17 GMT
Invisible Man is the best of the HG Wells
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Post by Digi on Aug 29, 2018 14:15:30 GMT
Cicero-skip it it is all hype. By definition, it shouldn’t be possible to have a wrong opinion, but...here we are
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2018 18:00:12 GMT
Skip it: Phantom of the Opera The Wonderful Wizard of Oz I wouldn't skip The Phantom of the Opera at all, it's brilliant!
The Invisible Man, Dracula, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Treasure Island and The Picture of Dorian Gray are all very good classic adaptations too and they all would be on my 'highly recommended' list.
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Post by Audio Watchdog on Aug 29, 2018 18:09:28 GMT
Skip it: Phantom of the Opera The Wonderful Wizard of Oz I wouldn't skip The Phantom of the Opera at all, it's brilliant!
The Invisible Man, Dracula, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Treasure Island and The Picture of Dorian Gray are all very good classic adaptations too and they all would be on my 'highly recommended' list.
Agreed. Phantom of the Opera is fantastic.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2018 18:16:04 GMT
Skip it: Phantom of the Opera The Wonderful Wizard of Oz I wouldn't skip The Phantom of the Opera at all, it's brilliant!
The Invisible Man, Dracula, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Treasure Island and The Picture of Dorian Gray are all very good classic adaptations too and they all would be on my 'highly recommended' list.
Cannot believe i left off Picture of Dorian Gray-so i will add it too lol
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Post by Audio Watchdog on Aug 29, 2018 18:28:56 GMT
The Sherlock Holmes range is very, very good across the board. I really enjoyed the Dracula adaptation but wasn't the biggest fan of the Frankenstein one. I think the best H.G. Wells adaptation was The Shape Of Things To Come.
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ljwilson
Chancellery Guard
It's tangerine....not orange
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Post by ljwilson on Aug 29, 2018 20:15:44 GMT
The Ordeals of Sherlock Holmes - 4 cases, 4 decades, and a brilliant box set.
The only BF box set that I have listened to in one sitting.
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Post by Ela on Aug 29, 2018 22:59:33 GMT
I loved Cicero.
I've enjoyed all the Sherlock Holmes I've listened to thus far.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2018 23:05:32 GMT
It looks like the only release everyone's not so keen on is Frankenstein. Otherwise, there's recommendations for everything...
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Post by Ela on Aug 29, 2018 23:09:26 GMT
I haven't listened to Frankenstein, yet, to be honest. I bought it in a sale and haven't gotten around to it. I listened to a free sample of Dracula and it wasn't my thing, even though it's well done.
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Post by glutamodo on Aug 30, 2018 0:21:49 GMT
I thought Cicero was very good. But I knew nothing of that story beforehand.
Dracula, I'd read the original many years ago, and thought BF covered it pretty well. Now Frankenstein, I had not, but thought it was decent. Same with Dorian, I actually knew almost nothing about it beforehand. The series that sprung from Dorian I thought was better than book adaptation. Phantom of the Opera - I remember that I listened to it, but I don't remember anything about it now. I guess I'd have to re-listen to generate a response.
Holmes: I read the original series when I was teenager, the encyclopedia sized Annotated Edition that the local library had (later, I bought a copy of that 2-volume set and still have it) but that doesn't mean I automatically hate it when people do something else with the franchise. Those first two titles by BF with Roger Llewellyn were certainly different, but solid. Then it shifts over to Briggs...
Now, I still listen every week to re-runs of Imagination Theatre online and they often have 20 minute Holmes radio plays and I never tire of them, John Patrick Lowrie is excellent as Holmes and Larry Albert is good as Watson. BF is kind of the flip side of that. They have an excellent Watson with Richard Earl, while Briggs is good as Holmes (and I've always been able to accept his voice roles on their own terms and not think about the podcast dude, but I'm not sure if everyone is able to do this)
I still haven't gotten around to listening to War of the Worlds. I was waiting for the Sherwood Sound version to come out so held off on Briggs' version. After I listened to Sherwood's (which was great) I thought I'd wait a bit and then do the BF version.
I have listened to all the other HG Wells adaptations from BF and thought they all were good.
Now the turd in the punch bowl for me was The Wizard of Oz, I did know that title, the original book, very well beforehand, and did not care for what BF did with it. Admittedly, my opinion was also influenced by the fact that I own a much better audio dramatization of it, which was probably the first audio drama I ever bought. But other people had a similar opinion of it, without my baggage... so I think it's safe to say it's not very good.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2018 4:46:41 GMT
It looks like the only release everyone's not so keen on is Frankenstein. Otherwise, there's recommendations for everything... No I did like Frankensteinit strayed a little from the source material but was still good
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shutupbanks
Castellan
There’s a horror movie called Alien? That’s really offensive. No wonder everyone keeps invading you.
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Post by shutupbanks on Aug 30, 2018 9:22:41 GMT
I've enjoyed most of the Classics that I've heard. Treasure Island was a hoot; Cicero was excellent (the 1-hour production, that is: I haven't heard the series); King Lear is fantastic; Frankenstein I mostly liked, and the bits of Sherlock Holmes I've listened to have been very good. I haven't heard all the H. G. Wells but those that I have were very good.
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