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Post by acousticwolf on Jan 7, 2016 10:52:31 GMT
Part three Your Beautiful Village done. It certainly wasn't what I was expecting from the plot summary, but to be honest I'm not sure what I was expecting. I thought the soundscape was superbly done and best listened to in the dark through headphones to get a full "visual" of what is happening to 6 (if that makes sense). It has a gritty harshness that reminds me of Survivors combined with a psychological tenseness that echoes Countermeasures (bordering on The Omega Factor). It's much deeper and goes further than the TV series, but it still fits well and I could see this appearing as a later TV story if the series had continued. My main issue with the TV series was that there wasn't much continuity of storylines, this shows what could have happened as they got more desperate to break No. 6. I agree with Kastoniago's comments that Mark Elstob's portrayal is more emotional that McGoohan ... more aggressive and much more vulnerable. I'm not sure I like the vulnerability but if this story had been set later on in the series, I could see it working (even with the "Smeagol" thing that went on at one point) I think Nick has done a great job with this story and shows what a great writer he can be (think Dalek Empire rather than Return to Telos). You have to think of this story as a continuation, rather than a story that could be slotted into the TV series. A couple of niggles, but overall I think it worked very well and I would like to see more of the same in future boxsets. I miss the opening credits ( Who are you...?), but I did go to sleep with Jamie Robertson's theme in my head . Next up The Chimes of Big Ben ...
Cheers Tony EDIT: Chimes of Big Ben returns in the similar style of the first two parts, very much in keeping with the TV story but with slight changes . Again, I thought it was very good and fits well in the collection. By Hook or By Crook is a standard behind the scenes disc rather than a proper documentary. The additional extra download (available only to purchasers from Big Finish) contains interviews with Ian Meadows (Sound Production) and Jamie Robertson (Music) - To be honest I found this to be of more interest than the docu-diary. I don't know how Prisoner Aficionados feel, but I really enjoyed it and I am very glad I bought it in the end. I am kind of expecting Nick to announce The Prisoner Volume 02 on BF Day 8. If so, I hope the download is priced more sensibly than this one because it is a very, very good boxset
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Tony Jones
Chancellery Guard
Professor Chronotis
Still rockin' along!
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Post by Tony Jones on Jan 7, 2016 15:11:32 GMT
I did think Your Beautiful Village was where this came to life, nice to read others got a lot out of it.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2016 15:25:53 GMT
I have just listened to 'Departure and Arrival', having never encountered The Prisoner before in any form. I really, really enjoyed it. It captures that crisp, snappy 60's atmosphere, complete with an almost psychedelic heightened sense of reality, but has a very modern feel to it too. The performances are suitably eccentric, but nothing too OTT. The sound design, as always, is terrific and lends itself very nicely to the unravelling of the continually unnerving story.
I've been wary of Nick Briggs' writing over the past few years, if I'm honest, partly because he writes so much. But really, I couldn't fault a moment of The War Doctor boxset, and so far, I can't fault a moment of this.
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Post by ryan on Jan 9, 2016 11:58:06 GMT
Hoping Volume 2 is mainly original stories. I thought Your Beautiful Village was the real highlight. Nicholas Briggs is a master at writing suspense and disorientation. It felt so fresh and unpredictable compared to the others.
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Post by icecreamdf on Jan 10, 2016 21:02:47 GMT
I loved this boxset, a lot more than I was expecting to. Unlike the TV remake, it really felt like the Prisoner. My only complaint is that I knew how most of the stories would end, since I've seen the original, but BF definitely added their own twists to the classic stories. I can't wait till the next boxset comes out.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2016 21:56:22 GMT
I have just finished the box-set and loved every minute. Poor old Number Six, he suffers greatly in this, one way or another, and Mark Elstob plays it all brilliantly. Sardonic and pathetically trying to rise above a situation that is more powerful than him, Number Six is not an easy character to sympathise with, but his imprisonment is relentless, and very well conveyed on audio. I love Rover's occasional appearances too, a constant unspecific danger that never goes away. The world of The Prisoner is something I'm really glad I stepped into and I really hope Big Finish gets to do more.
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Post by mark687 on Jan 17, 2016 12:24:19 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2016 12:48:07 GMT
That's a pretty awesome trailer
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Post by acousticwolf on Jan 18, 2016 20:29:00 GMT
My copy of the boxset finally arrived today - number 476 and It looks stunning, every inch a deluxe set ... Now that it's here and volume 2 has been announced at a much better price, I think I'll probably keep it rather than selling.
Cheers
Tony
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2016 21:15:53 GMT
Woah, the BF.com exclusive extras include 2hours and 10mins of Jamie's score? That's fantastic. I had no iea it would e that much till I downloaded my copy.
They should really be promoting that more in the publicity. "Order from us and you'll get over 2 hours of music specially compose for this release". A BF musical CD is usually about a tenner to 15 quid anyway so I'd really be "selling" that as a big factor rather than just say "music tracks for each episode" which I assumed would be more like the short music suites we get on most Doctor Who releases. This is pretty much 2 extra discs free for ordering with BF. Add that to the further documentary disc and hey - this is more an 8 discer!
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Post by The Matt on Jan 19, 2016 11:30:35 GMT
Well i have heard the first episode and i am very impressed. So much better than i thought it would be. I love that No.6 is just being blunt as hell all over the village. I also like his 60's reaction to modern technology. Really looking forward to the rest of the stories. Mark Elstob is excellent as well. He is like a cross between Patrick McGoohan and Paul Darrow!!!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2016 21:41:01 GMT
Has anyone else listened to the download BF.com exclusive extra documentary yet?
There's an interview with Jamie Robertson about composing the theme and it's really interesting. He plays 3 or 4 alternate versions he had in mind for it before Nick was happy with the finished one.
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Post by acousticwolf on Jan 22, 2016 9:18:30 GMT
Has anyone else listened to the download BF.com exclusive extra documentary yet? There's an interview with Jamie Robertson about composing the theme and it's really interesting. He plays 3 or 4 alternate versions he had in mind for it before Nick was happy with the finished one. I think I preferred the extra interviews more than the behind the scenes "documentary" - very interesting listening to them talking about the score and incidental music. Cheers Tony
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Post by The Matt on Jan 23, 2016 12:04:03 GMT
I've now finished the while of the Prisoner and thought it was chock full of awesome!! A definite 9/10 for me. Definitely going to be getting Volume 2. Mark Elstob was a revelation. One of the best performances on audio I've heard in a long time
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Post by anothermanicmondas on Jan 23, 2016 17:36:47 GMT
My copy arrived 173 Due to the amount of numbers in the series I feel an urge to play my "Every number is special" game (for the second time) and, explain, in terms relevant to the subject, why my number is so special. I can't think of anything for 173, but the rules allow me to split it. For example I could say the final episode (17) was the 3rd to feature Leo McKern or that (excluding Patrick MacGoohan) 17 actors played number 2 on TV, and 3 episodes featured a returning number 2 but I'd rather split it into 1 and 73 73 was the numerical part of the protagonists codename (ZN73?, or ZM73?) 1 is the mysterious top man of the village and, according to Fallout, {Spoiler} the evil side of the protagonist
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2016 6:08:02 GMT
A week later (2 weeks after ordering) and still nothing arrived. If it's not here by the weekend I'm just going with the download. I was looking forward to this on my big speakers but I really can't wait much longer.
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Post by grazey on Jan 31, 2016 13:55:56 GMT
Just been listening to this. I was worried with the amount of hype it wasn't going to live up to it. Am happy to report that it not only lives up to it but it also surpassed it. Really great set. It's faithful to the original but with enough differences that it doesn't simply a feel like a retread. Loved episode 3 the most as it felt like it was something completely new and different. Even though I was in 2 minds of the reimagining I totally didn't mind the retelling of 1 2 and 4 and I'd totally be up for more and I wouldn't say no to them eventually doing their own versions of all 17 episodes if they mix it up with new episodes as well. If I was going to pick 3 stories to adapt for series 2 I would go for a b and c, hammer and anvil (both Nick Briggs wishes) and free for all along with an original story somewhere in the set
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Post by Sir Wearer of Hats on Jan 31, 2016 21:24:53 GMT
I'd like a story where the Prisoner has to be Number 2 to another guest of the Village. And seconded on Hammer and An il, it's a glorious story, one of the Prisoner's rare victories,
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Post by mark687 on Feb 10, 2016 9:28:22 GMT
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Post by nottenst on Mar 25, 2016 14:50:45 GMT
I was going back and forth whether to order it (and which version). When Nick Briggs was announced as a guest at ReGeneration Who 2 (which was less than an hour away), I decided I would get the hard copy. I listened to it during the few days before the convention and then driving to and back from the convention. I expressed my enjoyment of it to him in person and was able to get him to sign my copy. I did not expect the stories to flow from one into the next, which was an extra treat. I agree with most of the positive comments by previous posters. I have the DVD set of the series, but it has been some time since I watched it. I watched it in the 70s when it was broadcast on PBS in the US. From his recent notes it looks like he will be doing one new story along with 3 reimaginings of old stories in the second set. At one of his appearances I asked him whether he was going to Fall Out or beyond. He said he has not planned the end of the audio series yet.
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