|
Post by Audio Watchdog on Jun 29, 2020 19:54:11 GMT
You deal with life as it is, not how you wish it were.
Writer, Rob Valentine said: “The Lovecraft Invasion is my way of combining two of my favourite things – Doctor Who and the works of H. P. Lovecraft – whilst simultaneously attempting to grapple with the problem of loving Lovecraft's stories but not his racism. As the Doctor, Constance and Flip struggle to separate the author from his work, hopefully so will the listener....that is a good thing to read. Valentine's tension with Lovecraft the man & his fiction is a real one, something I struggle with as well, and I'm glad that it was being acknowledged up front. I would love to know what the discussions were that lead to this delay. Granted, it isn't anyone's business except BF & the BBC but I would still like to know what the issues are.
|
|
|
Post by grinch on Jun 29, 2020 20:01:37 GMT
You deal with life as it is, not how you wish it were.
Writer, Rob Valentine said: “The Lovecraft Invasion is my way of combining two of my favourite things – Doctor Who and the works of H. P. Lovecraft – whilst simultaneously attempting to grapple with the problem of loving Lovecraft's stories but not his racism. As the Doctor, Constance and Flip struggle to separate the author from his work, hopefully so will the listener....that is a good thing to read. Valentine's tension with Lovecraft the man & his fiction is a real one, something I struggle with as well, and I'm glad that it was being acknowledged up front. I would love to know what the discussions were that lead to this delay. Granted, it isn't anyone's business except BF & the BBC but I would still like to know what the issues are.
His attitudes towards how to portray Lovecraft were what I found most intriguing about this release. I’d almost suggest it’s the approach you should take when it comes to adapting very questionable and controversial historical figures. I almost wonder if, like some of you have suggested, they might have had to edit some of the story to have the Doctor and Co further condemn Lovecraft’s views or make him seem less appealing towards the audience or downright more villainous. (Would have said sympathetic but that wouldn’t have been the right word to use.) It’s all speculation at this point but it’s interesting to think about. For all we know, there could have been some error with the music tracks or distorted voice recordings necessitating re recording although that seems unlikely.
|
|
|
Post by antartiks on Jun 29, 2020 20:11:14 GMT
Isn't it the first time since the very beginnings of Big Finish as a company that we won't have a MR episode at all for a specific month ? In the very, very early days there wasn't a main range story every month - the three 1999 releases came out in July, October and November. I think there may have been one other case of an MR story missing its scheduled month due to a production delay but can't remember which one... Yeah, I read that somewhere. I discovered Big Finish in 2016 and as far as I can remember, this is the first time I'm witnessing this. Oh well.
|
|
|
Post by Audio Watchdog on Jun 29, 2020 20:22:04 GMT
You deal with life as it is, not how you wish it were.
Writer, Rob Valentine said: “The Lovecraft Invasion is my way of combining two of my favourite things – Doctor Who and the works of H. P. Lovecraft – whilst simultaneously attempting to grapple with the problem of loving Lovecraft's stories but not his racism. As the Doctor, Constance and Flip struggle to separate the author from his work, hopefully so will the listener....that is a good thing to read. Valentine's tension with Lovecraft the man & his fiction is a real one, something I struggle with as well, and I'm glad that it was being acknowledged up front. I would love to know what the discussions were that lead to this delay. Granted, it isn't anyone's business except BF & the BBC but I would still like to know what the issues are.
His attitudes towards how to portray Lovecraft were what I found most intriguing about this release. I’d almost suggest it’s the approach you should take when it comes to adapting very questionable and controversial historical figures. I almost wonder if, like some of you have suggested, they might have had to edit some of the story to have the Doctor and Co further condemn Lovecraft’s views or make him seem less appealing towards the audience or downright more villainous. (Would have said sympathetic but that wouldn’t have been the right word to use.) It’s all speculation at this point but it’s interesting to think about. For all we know, there could have been some error with the music tracks or distorted voice recordings necessitating re recording although that seems unlikely. It could be. We do know the first fifteen minutes were previewed on the podcast a couple of weeks ago when Nick either implied or said he thought it would be out the following week. This is awfully late in the game for something to get pulled for quality control issues. Still, you’re right we don’t know. We probably won’t be told. As mentioned above, it really isn’t anyone’s business except for BF and BBC licensing. The silence around the delay and lack of detail given to the announcement only encourages this kind of speculation though.
|
|
|
Post by johnhurtdoctor on Jun 29, 2020 20:24:35 GMT
I seem to remember earlier this month they tweeted an ad for it with a tag line about discovering a great writer having poor views (of words to that effect). This was just as the JK Rowling storm was starting and Big Finish got some comments in response suggesting now wasn’t really the time (probably a scheduled tweet anyway) so they deleted it. I wonder if fear of a backlash has led to some reviewing of it. Yes still on the Main site www.bigfinish.com/news/v/doctor-who-meets-h-p-lovecraftEdit They've removed it from the What's New pages altogether. Regards mark687 BF rewriting their history again.
|
|
|
Post by barnabaslives on Jun 29, 2020 20:39:57 GMT
I seem to remember earlier this month they tweeted an ad for it with a tag line about discovering a great writer having poor views (of words to that effect). This was just as the JK Rowling storm was starting and Big Finish got some comments in response suggesting now wasn’t really the time (probably a scheduled tweet anyway) so they deleted it. I wonder if fear of a backlash has led to some reviewing of it. Who knows? The BBC has a pony in this race at least as much as BF, I presume. Even if the BBC had merely thought there should be a warning on the cover and/or at the start of the audio if it came out now, that might be CDs already pressed that would probably have to scrapped and re-done. I really don't care to give BF a hard time about it, I imagine they're in a tough spot either way - in fact, this story might not make for the best escapism right at the moment either - but I imagine enough of us are disappointed enough (it kind of sounds like it) that we could really use some GOOD news right about now.
|
|
|
Post by shallacatop on Jun 29, 2020 20:42:46 GMT
The whole thing is utterly bizarre. They could’ve quietly released it tomorrow alongside some good news about an unannounced release, or delayed it a fortnight ago. It’s just another poor bit of PR from Big Finish; they really need to stop and think about how they approach these things.
It’s not as if they haven’t mentioned the story addressing Lovecraft’s racism, or how the TARDIS team separate the art from the artist. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a little clumsily handled, like Scorched Earth and it’s portrayal of the Nazis and the Resistance, and that would’ve ended up being the talking point.
|
|
|
Post by number13 on Jun 29, 2020 20:46:53 GMT
Ah yes, a production delay of course and they spotted it on the 29th of the month of release, well ahead of time then (since we know Time is relative.)
That explains it entirely to my satisfaction - and I'm very hard to take in.
Only yesterday I invested in some property on Thoros Beta, Mr. Sil is such an honest chap. This afternoon I bought a used vehicle from Drax Capsule Dealers ('one careful owner mate, OK maybe quite a few faces but only the one owner') and I've just taken up the travel offer of a lifetime from this nice old man with a big laugh and a dead crow on his head. And look - he gave me this lovely crystal too. Oh yes, you can't fool me...
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2020 20:51:18 GMT
I have a lot of love for Big Finish but have to say I don’t think this has been handled well at all.
If it wasn’t for this forum, I genuinely wouldn’t have seen the announcement, tucked away as it was at the bottom of a generic news page. The vague, not-very-believable reason given leaves a bad taste too. It seems like an attempt to bury any discourse on the matter and doesn’t feel like customers have been respected here.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2020 21:19:07 GMT
I have a lot of love for Big Finish but have to say I don’t think this has been handled well at all. Handling negative-ish news is not something that the Big Finish PR team excel at unfortunately, telling it as it is is something they do their best to avoid! However, it is what it is, so we'll get The Lovecraft Invasion at a later date. It's a pity but the world isn't going to end because it got delayed.
|
|
|
Post by Audio Watchdog on Jun 29, 2020 21:20:46 GMT
"Boss, the forums are livid over the handling of this." "Really?" "Oh yeah." "Well, I guess there is only one thing to do." "Make a 10th Doctor announcement?" "You know me so well."
|
|
|
Post by polly on Jun 29, 2020 21:58:28 GMT
Ah yes, another timely, informative announcement from Big Finish.
|
|
|
Post by Audio Watchdog on Jun 30, 2020 1:39:07 GMT
How weird to look at the What's New page for June and not see a Main Range release. I guess it is kind of a preview of coming attractions though.
|
|
|
Post by fingersmash on Jun 30, 2020 2:33:20 GMT
I have a lot of love for Big Finish but have to say I don’t think this has been handled well at all. Handling negative-ish news is not something that the Big Finish PR team excel at unfortunately, telling it as it is is something they do their best to avoid! However, it is what it is, so we'll get The Lovecraft Invasion at a later date. It's a pity but the world isn't going to end because it got delayed. Seriously though. I honestly think they should have been transparent here. Something in the area of "we're delaying this because this is a story that doesn't need to be told in this way right now"
|
|
|
Post by pawntake on Jun 30, 2020 7:22:55 GMT
The brutal truth is probably"Sorry we cannot release this.BBC have put a block on it!!!"
|
|
|
Post by johnhurtdoctor on Jun 30, 2020 8:27:39 GMT
The brutal truth is probably"Sorry we cannot release this.BBC have put a block on it!!!" Theory number 43 lol
|
|
lidar2
Castellan
You know, now that you mention it, I actually do rather like Attack of the Cybermen ...
Likes: 5,789
|
Post by lidar2 on Jun 30, 2020 8:42:50 GMT
Well, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. This is BF's default bad-news-handling strategy. Total stony silence, letting the speculation run wild, then as low-key an announcement as possible. Too little, too late. So yes, I think we all agree the announcement/PR has been badly handled.
Maybe it was the BBC put a block on it - after all, if there is any controversy some of the mud might stick to the BBC's Doctor Who brand as well as to BF. Maybe discussions between BF and the BBC went on right up to the last minute and that was the reason for the delayed announcement, maybe they are recording new material to strengthen the anti-racist message. I guess we'll find out the truth in a couple of years' time when somebody lets it slip at a convention.
For now it's just frustrating. I like to wait until I have a whole trilogy and then binge listen, so that puts a hold on the previous 2 MR release for me. Not the end of the world though.
Here's the question I'd like answered - will it EVER be released or will it end up as BF's very own Shada? Will it going from "short delay", to "coming soon but we're all very busy and no one has the time", to "don't know, must email Sue Cowley about that", to "no date set" and end up "Sorry, MR has ended so nowhere in our schedule we can fit it in". If that is the case, I just hope it wasn't a "book-end" story - Flip or Constance's departure tying up loose ends before the MR ends - or something with a significance in their ongoing arc.
Sorry, this post is a bit disjointed, just a collection of random thoughts as they occur.
|
|
lidar2
Castellan
You know, now that you mention it, I actually do rather like Attack of the Cybermen ...
Likes: 5,789
|
Post by lidar2 on Jun 30, 2020 8:45:29 GMT
Handling negative-ish news is not something that the Big Finish PR team excel at unfortunately, telling it as it is is something they do their best to avoid! However, it is what it is, so we'll get The Lovecraft Invasion at a later date. It's a pity but the world isn't going to end because it got delayed. Seriously though. I honestly think they should have been transparent here. Something in the area of "we're delaying this because this is a story that doesn't need to be told in this way right now" Spot on. It's hard to disagree.
|
|
|
Post by grinch on Jun 30, 2020 9:23:08 GMT
Thinking about it, I’m not sure if they’ll go as far as to record new material but I could see them putting perhaps a disclaimer at the beginning of the piece. Then quietly releasing it down the line to little to no fanfare.
It’s a shame as it was one of the stories I was looking forward to the most but hey, these things happen don’t they? Almost wonder if Big Finish is regretting even trying to tackle Lovecraft in the first place now.
|
|
|
Post by stcoop on Jun 30, 2020 9:38:48 GMT
I've been surprised (in a good way) that no one is really taking issue with the delay itself. Just with BF's usual utter inability to deal with bad news in any sort of competent manner. Good for us.
|
|