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Post by Alastair on Apr 30, 2022 14:43:13 GMT
I do love the open-endedness of that Stranded ending. Isn’t it fun to be in this small time window where the gap is nothing but possibility and speculation?
I have the feeling (not based on any hard evidence, just the direction of the wind) that in the spirit of Big Finish’s range relaunches, we may get Option 3 - an entirely new start for Eight and his next companion/s, with the implicit promise of returning to the trio in due course.
My personal preference, though, is that they do right by Helen: pick up with her post-Liv and give her chance to really find herself as a person. I feel like she’s still has a big personal journey ahead of her, still searching for what she wants and needs, so I’m far less comfortable leaving her here than any other companions with endings not yet written (Flip and Constance, older Peri, older Mel; mostly fairly self-assured people it’s just fun to imagine still “out there”).
As much as I want Liv around forever, I’m not sure her decision to return — a gradual and internal process — is something we necessarily need to hear. Not to say the right writer couldn’t do great things with it.
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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 May 5, 2022 9:33:38 GMT
Late to the party here, as I like to do my first listen to a new release of the CD version, not the DL. Don’t ask why, I just do. A lot of the points I would make have already been made and the debates have heated up and then cooled down weeks ago.
[Housekeeping announcement first – this is going to be a longish post so I am typing on Word and will copy it into the thread. But the Autocorrect on Word keeps substituting in American spellings – so apologies if elements of this are not in the Queen’s English.]
In a way its hard to comment on this box set because as well as being a box set in its own right, it serves as a book end not just to Stranded, but also to the whole era of 16-part-epics for the 8th Dr and maybe even to the era that began with Blood of the Daleks all those years ago.
I think there is an element with Stranded of “be careful what you wish for . . . “. After the time and space spanning epics that were Dark Eyes, Doom Coalition and Ravenous, it was refreshing to have a change of pace and scale and I think the 8DA range needed it. Just imagine the sort of “fed-up-with-16-part-all-of-time-and-space-epics” threads there would have been on this forum and others if the follow up to Ravenous had been more of the same. So full marks to BF for recognising that change was needed and to having the guts to try something different. And on the whole, I think they succeeded. A change is as good as a rest as the saying goes and if I had to sum up my feelings about Stranded in one word it would be refreshing. The soap opera – ish set up, the large ensemble cast, the sci fi elements taking a back seat at times, even the colourful covers. However, the other side of the coin is that it can come across as anti-climactic or underwhelming. I don’t think the Stranded concept could have sustained another 4 boxsets, but I think it worked well and served as nice coda to this whole era of the 8th Dr’s travels. The key to enjoying Stranded for me is to accept it for what it is, not bemoan what it isn’t.
In terms of the individual episodes, all 4 were good and enjoyable – all well written, acted and sound designed. At times it started to feel like we were veering into Samuel Beckett territory, but we never went very far down that road. I was tempted to dismiss Colin’s casting as yet another BF gimmick but, given that 8 meets the Curator and they didn’t want to take away from 11’s meeting with the Curator onscreen, it made sense for the Curator to be wearing a different face when he meets 8.
I think with Robin, and his need for more attention from his Dad, they could have tapped into something quite powerful, like the DS9 episode The Visitor, but they shied away from it and didn’t really make too much of that theme.
The 2 issues that seem to have generated the most heated discussion are the decision to bring in Covid in the final episode and the handling of Liv’s departure, or non-departure as the case may be. I think in fairness to BF it was fairly well signposted that Covid was coming in the final episode in the blurb, the announcements, and Vortex, etc. At the same time, I don’t think it’s reasonable for BF to assume everyone reads these and even if they do, it’s a bit late now to forewarn someone who had bought the bundle back in early 2020 before anyone had heard of covid. I personally like that they grounded Stranded in reality as I prefer Who to be as grounded in the real world as practicable, but I can see how it would be perhaps too close to home for anyone who had lost someone close due to Covid.
I am in 2 minds about it. I can see from the posts here how it has upset some listeners, and speaking personally, I was glad I listened alone out of earshot of my wife, whose mother died (alone) due to covid in January 2021. So although, I personally did not lose anyone close, I have had a front row seat view on someone who has. My wife and one of her sisters were allowed to stand outside her mother’s room in the hospital, wearing masks and gowns and watch as their mother slipped away. I had spent the day at home trying to comfort / distract my 8 and 9 year old children as their Granny died and I had to break the news to them when the expected phone call came from my wife. Although I did shed a few tears, I can’t claim to have lost anyone as close to me personally as some other forum members, but I do get where they are coming as much as anyone can who didn’t experience the same loss. I don’t think BF were wrong to tackle the whole issue, and it shouldn’t be taboo. After all, WW2 films must be painful for those who lost loved ones in that conflict, yet we can still produce them and nobody objects. Soap operas handle very difficult subjects that resonate for some viewers and affect them deeply, yet as I understand it the writers/actors to do a lot of research to ensure they handle it appropriately. I don’t know what research went into the final episode, but I just feel BF were maybe a little too superficial about it and got a bit out of their depth. Perhaps, and this is just a thought, if the story had made more of Tony’s loss and subsequent grief, it could have been a more cathartic experience for the listener and maybe better received. Instead it felt a bit glossed over. Dorney wrote Absent Friends and said in the extras how it was affected by his father’s death, so he clearly gets it where grief is concerned (not everyone does, if they are fortunate enough not to have experienced it in their life so far) so I am a little surprised at this story. But that’s just my opinion. Overall, on the basis that I wasn't really too affected by the issues it raised, I enjoyed the episode and its approach to handling the real 2020 and thought it worked well as a time out from the normal adventures. To use a second Star Trek comparison, it reminded me of the TNG episode Family.
Best Year Ever was a seriously tactless title. I wonder if the original pre-covid plan for the final episode was a happy year of Liv and Tania living an idyllic life building up to the gut punch of Liv’s departure, and they came up with the title for that episode. Then when covid forced a rewrite, they liked the title and kept it. But that’s pure speculation on my part. It would however be interesting to hear at some point what the original pre covid plan was for Stranded.
The other issue is Liv’s (non)departure. I didn’t like that – it felt like BF wanting to have their cake and eat it, or sitting on the fence unable to decide what to do. For all the talk beforehand about the “risks” they were taking this was the most low-risk, keep-all-options-open, cop-out ending they could have gone for. Whatever emotional punch the episode may have packed on first unspoilered listen, it will fall flat on relistens when you know how it is going to end. It’s as if they didn’t have the guts to take a decision, so they tried to be clever and give us both options. I also didn’t like the implication that Liv treats Tania as a second best fallback option, which undermined the idea of Liv finding true love, and doesn’t say much for Liv as a person either. I don’t understand why BF did it, after all there are gaps between some of the episodes in Doom Coalition and Ravenous that BF could use for any future Further Adventures type release if they wanted more 8/Liv/Helen and that would have been the better option imho. I think for the next couple of years there is more mileage in 8/Helen travelling together, maybe with a new companion joining after a few episodes, than more 8/Liv/Helen.
I probably have said more about the negatives than the positives and that is not fair as I enjoyed the set overall and, subject to the caveat that it might be distressing for some listeners, would recommend it to any Who fan as a good and refreshing, if different, set of stories.
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Post by Ela on May 20, 2022 3:22:02 GMT
I just finished listening to this, still digesting what I think of it all.
I am well aware of the controversy about including Covid in the last story, and I totally understand why some people objected to having a story that dealt with Covid.
I personally don't have a strong objection to it in the story, I just think it was unnecessary. It didn't add anything to the story, didn't enhance it and, frankly, it just turned me off. The story lines about the lock down and how they coped with it were just boring and painful to listen to. I didn't need a reprisal of people cheering and clanging pans or whatever, really I didn't.
Interesting conversations that added to the overall story took place during the lock down scenes, to be sure, but you didn't need a lock down to have those conversations.
I suspect that maybe when this story was written and planned out they thought Covid would be over by the time the box set was released. It is far from over, and I'd just as soon not listen to stories about what we all went through and what some of us, I dare say, are still going through as a result of this pandemic. I hope Big Finish will reconsider including stories like this in the near future. Contrary to what the cast said in the behind the scenes, I don't think we needed this to remember what it was (is) like. Historicals are one thing, but it's too soon for this, in my opinion.
Not wanting to re-open this can of worms, but did want to express my opinion.
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Post by mrperson on Jun 1, 2022 15:00:31 GMT
I think I must have missed how Robin got an extended lifespan and/or more. The Robin at the end... that's an older Robin who still sounds like teenage Robin, yes? Courtesy of "Mr. Bird", himself a really really older Robin that now doesn't come to exist, the Doctor et. al. having failed to prevent it all on their own? And Older-But-Not-Bird-Robin is now going to basically play himself as a teenager (while being part of a Divine Intervention 'takeover') through life until...
....until what? People notice the guy just isn't aging normally? Ok, I guess. It did at least tie up the whole mess, and I do admit I liked this set more than some of the others.
I've also been reading through the thread, which I avoided until I finally got around to listening to this. The people I lost were lost before COVID, but I fully understand the reaction of those who lost people during COVID. And BF wasn't going to do it. What an awful thing to go back on. And what an awful subject for an argument on this forum.
Doctor Who is supposed to be an escape, BF perhaps even moreso given just how niche it is. It can visit the horrors of WWI or Cromwell slaughtering the Irish because we weren't there ourselves. We're removed. They shouldn't have touched something like this. It's not like there's some rule saying the Doctor can only visit contemporary Earth. Quite the opposite.
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Post by Ela on Jun 8, 2022 22:56:08 GMT
I've also been reading through the thread, which I avoided until I finally got around to listening to this. The people I lost were lost before COVID, but I fully understand the reaction of those who lost people during COVID. And BF wasn't going to do it. What an awful thing to go back on. And what an awful subject for an argument on this forum. Doctor Who is supposed to be an escape, BF perhaps even moreso given just how niche it is. It can visit the horrors of WWI or Cromwell slaughtering the Irish because we weren't there ourselves. We're removed. They shouldn't have touched something like this. It's not like there's some rule saying the Doctor can only visit contemporary Earth. Quite the opposite. Yeah, I agree. As I said, I expect they thought Covid would be "over" by the time this came out. But it really isn't. And it's not a historical for us, it's real life. I just think Big Finish made a poor choice in this case. I don't really want to re-open the subject, but I wanted to acknowledge your remarks.
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Post by Timelord007 on Jun 9, 2022 0:57:53 GMT
I've also been reading through the thread, which I avoided until I finally got around to listening to this. The people I lost were lost before COVID, but I fully understand the reaction of those who lost people during COVID. And BF wasn't going to do it. What an awful thing to go back on. And what an awful subject for an argument on this forum. Doctor Who is supposed to be an escape, BF perhaps even moreso given just how niche it is. It can visit the horrors of WWI or Cromwell slaughtering the Irish because we weren't there ourselves. We're removed. They shouldn't have touched something like this. It's not like there's some rule saying the Doctor can only visit contemporary Earth. Quite the opposite. Yeah, I agree. As I said, I expect they thought Covid would be "over" by the time this came out. But it really isn't. And it's not a historical for us, it's real life. I just think Big Finish made a poor choice in this case. I don't really want to re-open the subject, but I wanted to acknowledge your remarks. 18 months on & my heart still breaks thinking my dad died alone in a hospital & i think every day how terrified he must of felt not being around his family & i was very ill with Covid at the same time. The anger i still feel inside hasn't gone away & i found incorporating Covid i s a very disrespectful choice to those who lost loved ones in the pandemic. I e-mail vortex & left a message saying please include a disclaimer warning on there webpage that this box set features the Covid pandemic which some may find distressing but it fallen on deaf ears. Have to admit i lost respect for Big Finish.
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Post by relativetime on Nov 20, 2022 3:41:17 GMT
I've only just gotten around to listening to this set and I know it's really, really late, but I just have to vent somewhere. Overall, I liked it right up until Best Year Ever. Yeah, I didn’t like this one. It bothered me quite a lot actually. More than I think any Big Finish script ever has. I'm going to include the rest in spoilers because I know it's a triggering discussion for a lot of people. Apologies in advance - my thoughts are a little messy and scattered.
Okay, don’t get me wrong, it’s not necessarily a bad story; in fact, I thought it was very well written, as you would expect from a John Dorney script. It just happens to be the worst possible way to approach a "Doctor Who does 2020" storyline you could think of.
2020 was worse than lockdowns and having to stay in doors all day and toilet paper shortages and COVID. From an American perspective, it was some of the worst police brutality in years, people losing their jobs in the thousands or being told to work “like normal” at risk to their own safety. It was politicians supporting conspiracy theories and fake miracle drugs while dragging their feet to offer people any sort of aid. That’s not even getting into the election, which a great many dangerous people refuse to even accept as legitimate. People weren’t just grumpily complicit about lockdowns here, they actively ignored them and made things even worse. And 2021 was just more of the same. Worse in many regards, actually, just six days in.
I think to truly capture what 2020 was and 2021, you have to understand it wasn’t just one of these things by itself. It was all of these things happening, often connected, one after another, all at the same time, all year. Instead it feels crass and gross taking what was for millions of people one of the worst periods in their lives and just turning into a kitchen-sink soap opera conflict. It’s unintentionally downplaying everything. Besides actual real life issues they have to deal with their fantasy time travel problems and their fantasy evil organization problems and it just feels incredibly tone deaf.
So, all of this is to say, this story was extremely, extremely hard for me to listen to. I had to stop many, many times throughout just to calm myself down. I felt unwell listening to it actually. I don’t know if things were like this for John Dorney and everyone outside of the US. I can’t expect him or anyone else to capture what that year felt like for every single person. But to me at least it feels like it’s unintentionally indifferent towards the most difficult and horrible periods I can remember in my life and it’s all too fresh and far, far too complicated emotionally and realistically to even approach right now.
Minor note, but the offhand comment about Tiger King toward the beginning also really made me especially mad. Of course the script doesn't say "Tiger King" explicitly, but that's very clearly what the script was referencing. it’s just kind of in poor taste to me to make comments like “yeah, she definitely killed her husband” when it’s REAL LIVING HUMAN BEINGS and the documentary has since fallen under criticism for misleading viewers to think that way and downplaying the actual real life crimes and abuse perpetrated by said Tiger King. It’s grossly irresponsible and I expected better from Doctor Who than this. I don't expect anyone to get the reference years from now or anything, but I don't think that excuses it.
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Post by tuigirl on Nov 20, 2022 10:04:36 GMT
I've only just gotten around to listening to this set and I know it's really, really late, but I just have to vent somewhere. Overall, I liked it right up until Best Year Ever. Yeah, I didn’t like this one. It bothered me quite a lot actually. More than I think any Big Finish script ever has. I'm going to include the rest in spoilers because I know it's a triggering discussion for a lot of people. Apologies in advance - my thoughts are a little messy and scattered.
Okay, don’t get me wrong, it’s not necessarily a bad story; in fact, I thought it was very well written, as you would expect from a John Dorney script. It just happens to be the worst possible way to approach a "Doctor Who does 2020" storyline you could think of.
2020 was worse than lockdowns and having to stay in doors all day and toilet paper shortages and COVID. From an American perspective, it was some of the worst police brutality in years, people losing their jobs in the thousands or being told to work “like normal” at risk to their own safety. It was politicians supporting conspiracy theories and fake miracle drugs while dragging their feet to offer people any sort of aid. That’s not even getting into the election, which a great many dangerous people refuse to even accept as legitimate. People weren’t just grumpily complicit about lockdowns here, they actively ignored them and made things even worse. And 2021 was just more of the same. Worse in many regards, actually, just six days in.
I think to truly capture what 2020 was and 2021, you have to understand it wasn’t just one of these things by itself. It was all of these things happening, often connected, one after another, all at the same time, all year. Instead it feels crass and gross taking what was for millions of people one of the worst periods in their lives and just turning into a kitchen-sink soap opera conflict. It’s unintentionally downplaying everything. Besides actual real life issues they have to deal with their fantasy time travel problems and their fantasy evil organization problems and it just feels incredibly tone deaf.
So, all of this is to say, this story was extremely, extremely hard for me to listen to. I had to stop many, many times throughout just to calm myself down. I felt unwell listening to it actually. I don’t know if things were like this for John Dorney and everyone outside of the US. I can’t expect him or anyone else to capture what that year felt like for every single person. But to me at least it feels like it’s unintentionally indifferent towards the most difficult and horrible periods I can remember in my life and it’s all too fresh and far, far too complicated emotionally and realistically to even approach right now.
Minor note, but the offhand comment about Tiger King toward the beginning also really made me especially mad. Of course the script doesn't say "Tiger King" explicitly, but that's very clearly what the script was referencing. it’s just kind of in poor taste to me to make comments like “yeah, she definitely killed her husband” when it’s REAL LIVING HUMAN BEINGS and the documentary has since fallen under criticism for misleading viewers to think that way and downplaying the actual real life crimes and abuse perpetrated by said Tiger King. It’s grossly irresponsible and I expected better from Doctor Who than this. I don't expect anyone to get the reference years from now or anything, but I don't think that excuses it. Good analysis. Points well made and this is the reason why this release really needs a disclaimer. Because for some people, this story is very very hard. I cannot understand why BF refuses to include one.
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Nov 20, 2022 10:14:36 GMT
I've only just gotten around to listening to this set and I know it's really, really late, but I just have to vent somewhere. Overall, I liked it right up until Best Year Ever. Yeah, I didn’t like this one. It bothered me quite a lot actually. More than I think any Big Finish script ever has. I'm going to include the rest in spoilers because I know it's a triggering discussion for a lot of people. Apologies in advance - my thoughts are a little messy and scattered.
Okay, don’t get me wrong, it’s not necessarily a bad story; in fact, I thought it was very well written, as you would expect from a John Dorney script. It just happens to be the worst possible way to approach a "Doctor Who does 2020" storyline you could think of.
2020 was worse than lockdowns and having to stay in doors all day and toilet paper shortages and COVID. From an American perspective, it was some of the worst police brutality in years, people losing their jobs in the thousands or being told to work “like normal” at risk to their own safety. It was politicians supporting conspiracy theories and fake miracle drugs while dragging their feet to offer people any sort of aid. That’s not even getting into the election, which a great many dangerous people refuse to even accept as legitimate. People weren’t just grumpily complicit about lockdowns here, they actively ignored them and made things even worse. And 2021 was just more of the same. Worse in many regards, actually, just six days in.
I think to truly capture what 2020 was and 2021, you have to understand it wasn’t just one of these things by itself. It was all of these things happening, often connected, one after another, all at the same time, all year. Instead it feels crass and gross taking what was for millions of people one of the worst periods in their lives and just turning into a kitchen-sink soap opera conflict. It’s unintentionally downplaying everything. Besides actual real life issues they have to deal with their fantasy time travel problems and their fantasy evil organization problems and it just feels incredibly tone deaf.
So, all of this is to say, this story was extremely, extremely hard for me to listen to. I had to stop many, many times throughout just to calm myself down. I felt unwell listening to it actually. I don’t know if things were like this for John Dorney and everyone outside of the US. I can’t expect him or anyone else to capture what that year felt like for every single person. But to me at least it feels like it’s unintentionally indifferent towards the most difficult and horrible periods I can remember in my life and it’s all too fresh and far, far too complicated emotionally and realistically to even approach right now.
Minor note, but the offhand comment about Tiger King toward the beginning also really made me especially mad. Of course the script doesn't say "Tiger King" explicitly, but that's very clearly what the script was referencing. it’s just kind of in poor taste to me to make comments like “yeah, she definitely killed her husband” when it’s REAL LIVING HUMAN BEINGS and the documentary has since fallen under criticism for misleading viewers to think that way and downplaying the actual real life crimes and abuse perpetrated by said Tiger King. It’s grossly irresponsible and I expected better from Doctor Who than this. I don't expect anyone to get the reference years from now or anything, but I don't think that excuses it. Good analysis. Points well made and this is the reason why this release really needs a disclaimer. Because for some people, this story is very very hard. I cannot understand why BF refuses to include one. I know for a fact there has been a fair few people who have emailed BF requesting a Disclaimer..
;(
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Post by tuigirl on Nov 20, 2022 10:20:05 GMT
Good analysis. Points well made and this is the reason why this release really needs a disclaimer. Because for some people, this story is very very hard. I cannot understand why BF refuses to include one. I know for a fact there has been a fair few people who have emailed BF requesting a Disclaimer..
;(
Yeah, I know, I personally had not too much problems with the story, but I can see why other people suffer for it. It cannot be that hard to show some empathy.
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Post by relativetime on Nov 20, 2022 17:42:50 GMT
I've only just gotten around to listening to this set and I know it's really, really late, but I just have to vent somewhere. Overall, I liked it right up until Best Year Ever. Yeah, I didn’t like this one. It bothered me quite a lot actually. More than I think any Big Finish script ever has. I'm going to include the rest in spoilers because I know it's a triggering discussion for a lot of people. Apologies in advance - my thoughts are a little messy and scattered.
Okay, don’t get me wrong, it’s not necessarily a bad story; in fact, I thought it was very well written, as you would expect from a John Dorney script. It just happens to be the worst possible way to approach a "Doctor Who does 2020" storyline you could think of.
2020 was worse than lockdowns and having to stay in doors all day and toilet paper shortages and COVID. From an American perspective, it was some of the worst police brutality in years, people losing their jobs in the thousands or being told to work “like normal” at risk to their own safety. It was politicians supporting conspiracy theories and fake miracle drugs while dragging their feet to offer people any sort of aid. That’s not even getting into the election, which a great many dangerous people refuse to even accept as legitimate. People weren’t just grumpily complicit about lockdowns here, they actively ignored them and made things even worse. And 2021 was just more of the same. Worse in many regards, actually, just six days in.
I think to truly capture what 2020 was and 2021, you have to understand it wasn’t just one of these things by itself. It was all of these things happening, often connected, one after another, all at the same time, all year. Instead it feels crass and gross taking what was for millions of people one of the worst periods in their lives and just turning into a kitchen-sink soap opera conflict. It’s unintentionally downplaying everything. Besides actual real life issues they have to deal with their fantasy time travel problems and their fantasy evil organization problems and it just feels incredibly tone deaf.
So, all of this is to say, this story was extremely, extremely hard for me to listen to. I had to stop many, many times throughout just to calm myself down. I felt unwell listening to it actually. I don’t know if things were like this for John Dorney and everyone outside of the US. I can’t expect him or anyone else to capture what that year felt like for every single person. But to me at least it feels like it’s unintentionally indifferent towards the most difficult and horrible periods I can remember in my life and it’s all too fresh and far, far too complicated emotionally and realistically to even approach right now.
Minor note, but the offhand comment about Tiger King toward the beginning also really made me especially mad. Of course the script doesn't say "Tiger King" explicitly, but that's very clearly what the script was referencing. it’s just kind of in poor taste to me to make comments like “yeah, she definitely killed her husband” when it’s REAL LIVING HUMAN BEINGS and the documentary has since fallen under criticism for misleading viewers to think that way and downplaying the actual real life crimes and abuse perpetrated by said Tiger King. It’s grossly irresponsible and I expected better from Doctor Who than this. I don't expect anyone to get the reference years from now or anything, but I don't think that excuses it. Good analysis. Points well made and this is the reason why this release really needs a disclaimer. Because for some people, this story is very very hard. I cannot understand why BF refuses to include one. A disclaimer would go a long way in helping, I agree. It actually seems so off to me that they didn’t include one in the first place. I mean it’s not so hard for them to include a warning at the beginning of every Torchwood audio, so why not here?. I just really think everyone involved here really, really miscalculated this story and what kind of impact it would have on some members of their audience.
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Post by martinw8686 on Nov 20, 2022 23:41:19 GMT
Good analysis. Points well made and this is the reason why this release really needs a disclaimer. Because for some people, this story is very very hard. I cannot understand why BF refuses to include one. A disclaimer would go a long way in helping, I agree. It actually seems so off to me that they didn’t include one in the first place. I mean it’s not so hard for them to include a warning at the beginning of every Torchwood audio, so why not here?. I just really think everyone involved here really, really miscalculated this story and what kind of impact it would have on some members of their audience. Sorry to hear Best Year Ever has been triggering and a hard listen for some, a disclaimer sounds reasonable given the unprecedented times we've been living through. I imagine John Dorney only ever had the best of intentions in writing the story. I'm British myself and I often use humour and story telling as a way of coping with challenging situations. I was fortunate not to loose anyone to COVID but my son is severely disabled and my Wife and I were very worried throughout the pandemic, I worked in a psychiatric hospital during 2020/21 and had a nervous breakdown due to the stressful nature of the role. I would probably say the pandemic was the worst period of my life by far, it might sound messed up but my Wife and I often use gallows humour as a way to diffuse the tension we both feel from life's various struggles. I think this is true of many people in Britain, I imagine many British writers feel that by telling stories based on challenging times it can be an outlet for the darker things the world throws at us. I'm not trying to invalidate anyone who found this story too much, just offering my perspective on why this story may affect listeners differently
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Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2022 0:23:05 GMT
A disclaimer would go a long way in helping, I agree. It actually seems so off to me that they didn’t include one in the first place. I mean it’s not so hard for them to include a warning at the beginning of every Torchwood audio, so why not here?. I just really think everyone involved here really, really miscalculated this story and what kind of impact it would have on some members of their audience. Sorry to hear Best Year Ever has been triggering and a hard listen for some, a disclaimer sounds reasonable given the unprecedented times we've been living through. I imagine John Dorney only ever had the best of intentions in writing the story. I'm British myself and I often use humour and story telling as a way of coping with challenging situations. I was fortunate not to loose anyone to COVID but my son is severely disabled and my Wife and I were very worried throughout the pandemic, I worked in a psychiatric hospital during 2020/21 and had a nervous breakdown due to the stressful nature of the role. I would probably say the pandemic was the worst period of my life by far, it might sound messed up but my Wife and I often use gallows humour as a way to diffuse the tension we both feel from life's various struggles. I think this is true of many people in Britain, I imagine many British writers feel that by telling stories based on challenging times it can be an outlet for the darker things the world throws at us. I'm not trying to invalidate anyone who found this story too much, just offering my perspective on why this story may affect listeners differently100% fair and a valid, terrific post. But as someone who lost my twin to COVID, a carer, BF said from the outset "Stranded is not OUR 2020, we all need escapism" etc. It was there from the outset that they were very much treating this is a fictional 2020 just as aliens have never killed a US President on live TV a la Series 3 on TV but Barack Obama exists so some lines are blurred. BF got out in front of it by saying it would not be a reflection of the hell of the past few years. They lied. Then the same company who used to send me signed Christmas cards...wouldn't answer emails on the subject. That was when I stopped caring about them, they make the product I want but the people involved who not only did that but then stuck their head in the sand? Nothing to me. Even the line about 2021 being much better was SO crass I couldn't believe no-one stepped in to say "But we know it got a lot worse...". Not just tone deaf but an insult and frankly I lost some respect even for the actors who absolutely have the pull to say "not saying that". They gonna fire Paul McGann? Lose Nicola Walker, one of the best known actors in the UK?
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Post by relativetime on Nov 21, 2022 0:37:21 GMT
A disclaimer would go a long way in helping, I agree. It actually seems so off to me that they didn’t include one in the first place. I mean it’s not so hard for them to include a warning at the beginning of every Torchwood audio, so why not here?. I just really think everyone involved here really, really miscalculated this story and what kind of impact it would have on some members of their audience. Sorry to hear Best Year Ever has been triggering and a hard listen for some, a disclaimer sounds reasonable given the unprecedented times we've been living through. I imagine John Dorney only ever had the best of intentions in writing the story.I'm British myself and I often use humour and story telling as a way of coping with challenging situations. I was fortunate not to loose anyone to COVID but my son is severely disabled and my Wife and I were very worried throughout the pandemic, I worked in a psychiatric hospital during 2020/21 and had a nervous breakdown due to the stressful nature of the role. I would probably say the pandemic was the worst period of my life by far, it might sound messed up but my Wife and I often use gallows humour as a way to diffuse the tension we both feel from life's various struggles. I think this is true of many people in Britain, I imagine many British writers feel that by telling stories based on challenging times it can be an outlet for the darker things the world throws at us. I'm not trying to invalidate anyone who found this story too much, just offering my perspective on why this story may affect listeners differently I believe he did too. I do hope I didn’t come across as though I was attacking John Dorney or thought he intended for this story to be triggering. If it did, I really do apologize. It’s just this story and the way it was told that I have problems with. I’m glad it didn’t affect you the same way though.
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Post by martinw8686 on Nov 21, 2022 1:43:04 GMT
Sorry to hear Best Year Ever has been triggering and a hard listen for some, a disclaimer sounds reasonable given the unprecedented times we've been living through. I imagine John Dorney only ever had the best of intentions in writing the story.I'm British myself and I often use humour and story telling as a way of coping with challenging situations. I was fortunate not to loose anyone to COVID but my son is severely disabled and my Wife and I were very worried throughout the pandemic, I worked in a psychiatric hospital during 2020/21 and had a nervous breakdown due to the stressful nature of the role. I would probably say the pandemic was the worst period of my life by far, it might sound messed up but my Wife and I often use gallows humour as a way to diffuse the tension we both feel from life's various struggles. I think this is true of many people in Britain, I imagine many British writers feel that by telling stories based on challenging times it can be an outlet for the darker things the world throws at us. I'm not trying to invalidate anyone who found this story too much, just offering my perspective on why this story may affect listeners differently I believe he did too. I do hope I didn’t come across as though I was attacking John Dorney or thought he intended for this story to be triggering. If it did, I really do apologize. It’s just this story and the way it was told that I have problems with. I’m glad it didn’t affect you the same way though. You didn't come across like you were attacking John Dorney, you have every right to be troubled by the production and to share your concerns and how it made you and others feel. I do believe drama is a good platform to explore the times we live in and if done with sensitivity and respect it can be very helpful. Maybe with Stranded 4 this has come too soon or been for some trivialised. For some the pandemic was mostly experienced via the news on television and their lives were merely inconvenienced rather than torn apart, it's important that we discuss how the episode made us feel and for Big Finish to reflect on the reactions of those upset by the episode. I hope that the majority of fan concern that has been sent to Big Finish is given a considerate response, it's easy to let emotions rise when dealing with triggering issues but I believe that when feelings are expressed in a genuine, reasonable and polite manner the least that should be offered in return is validation, empathy and kindness. My heart is with all those affected by the pandemic.
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Nov 21, 2022 1:50:45 GMT
I believe he did too. I do hope I didn’t come across as though I was attacking John Dorney or thought he intended for this story to be triggering. If it did, I really do apologize. It’s just this story and the way it was told that I have problems with. I’m glad it didn’t affect you the same way though. You didn't come across like you were attacking John Dorney, you have every right to be troubled by the production and to share your concerns and how it made you and others feel. I do believe drama is a good platform to explore the times we live in and if done with sensitivity and respect it can be very helpful. Maybe with Stranded 4 this has come too soon or been for some trivialised. For some the pandemic was mostly experienced via the news on television and their lives were merely inconvenienced rather than torn apart, it's important that we discuss how the episode made us feel and for Big Finish to reflect on the reactions of those upset by the episode. I hope that the majority of fan concern that has been sent to Big Finish is given a considerate response, it's easy to let emotions rise when dealing with triggering issues but I believe that when feelings are expressed in a genuine, reasonable and polite manner the least that should be offered in return is validation, empathy and kindness. My heart is with all those affected by the pandemic. Wonderfully said ^
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Post by timleschild on Nov 21, 2022 10:48:42 GMT
Some interesting opinions & I agree that sometimes drama or fiction in general can deal with real world issues. BUT. BF said that this is not the 2020 we were all going through. Then they changed their mind. Another example of them being LIARS.
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Post by Audio Watchdog on Nov 21, 2022 14:50:57 GMT
Months later and people are still trying to justify or excuse Big Finish’s actions and their blatant disregard for the trauma it caused among some of its listening audience. Completely tone-deaf continues to sum up everything about this. The absolute minimum they could do is attaching a warning to the set but even that appears to be a bridge too far. Like David, Stranded 4 was my big break from Big Finish.
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Post by Timelord007 on Nov 21, 2022 16:48:39 GMT
Months later and people are still trying to justify or excuse Big Finish’s actions and their blatant disregard for the trauma it caused among some of its listening audience. Completely tone-deaf continues to sum up everything about this. The absolute minimum they could do is attaching a warning to the set but even that appears to be a bridge too far. Like David, Stranded 4 was my big break from Big Finish. Emailed BF 4 times about a disclaimer warning, no reply nothing, have to admit I lost lot respect for Mr Briggs.
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Post by timleschild on Nov 21, 2022 17:04:57 GMT
Months later and people are still trying to justify or excuse Big Finish’s actions and their blatant disregard for the trauma it caused among some of its listening audience. Completely tone-deaf continues to sum up everything about this. The absolute minimum they could do is attaching a warning to the set but even that appears to be a bridge too far. Like David, Stranded 4 was my big break from Big Finish. Emailed BF 4 times about a disclaimer warning, no reply nothing, have to admit I lost lot respect for Mr Briggs. Yeah doing it was bad enough, failing to acknowledge how triggering it is for some of us. Unacceptable. I imagine Briggs would claim its not his fault.
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