My copy of Shada arrived today

[Steve Mollmann]

Tachyon TV has a pretty swell review.

[Pindar]

Hmm I see from that their is an audio narrated by Lalla Ward, think I might get that.

[Pindar]

I am about an hour into the audio book now. Lalla Ward does an excellent job performing it and Douglas Adams whimsy comes shining through.

Glad I got it.

[23skidoo]

Although I have the book I plan to buy the audio version too. For whatever reason although she does a lot of audio work with Big Finish Lalla hasn't done any Target readings that I'm aware of, so this is quite a rare event (I actually had expected them to get Tom Baker).

I only wish I had time to actually read the darn book, but since I posted about receiving the thing it's been wall-to-wall work and family and I don't see that changing until sometime in May...

Alex

[Sindatur]

So, I have the Tom Baker VHS reconstruction, and the Paul McGann/Lalla Ward Audio Play version. Is there anything different/extra in the Lalla Ward reading the Book version that would convince me to buy it, when I already ahve the other two versions, which I love?

[23skidoo]

Sindatur wrote:

---

So, I have the Tom Baker VHS reconstruction, and the Paul McGann/Lalla Ward Audio Play version. Is there anything different/extra in the Lalla Ward reading the Book version that would convince me to buy it, when I already ahve the other two versions, which I love?

The reconstruction was only part of the story, as you know. The McGann version was a reimagining/retelling which was adapted and changed considerably to allow for the Eighth Doctor. Roberts's novel is a 300+-page expansion of Adams' original story. I think it's a no-brainer, personally, whether you choose the (unabridged, I believe) reading by Ward, or the book itself. This is the whole enchilada as opposed to a taster plate in terms of the Baker reconstruction and a whole different recipe in terms of the McGann version.

Also, this is the first "new" Fourth Doctor novel to be published in about 7 or 8 years and marks a return to publishing novels in general based on pre-revival Doctors which BBC Books had retired back in 2005. That's a major selling feature in and of itself.

Alex

[Pindar]

It is unabridged, 10 cd's totalling about 11 hours.

[23skidoo]

Pindar wrote:

---

It is unabridged, 10 cd's totalling about 11 hours.

So that's another selling feature - 11 hours of Lalla. Not too shabby...

Alex

[Rarewolf]

23skidoo wrote:

---

Lalla hasn't done any Target readings that I'm aware of, so this is quite a rare event (I actually had expected them to get Tom Baker).

Nope that's correct the only Romana 2 Target story done to date is Creature From The Pit, which Tom read.

It would have been good to finally hear Tom read the other lines, but Lalla (and John Leeson) seem to have Shada on the brain.

This is the 4th Shada Lalla has done - the original, the McGann, the Ian Levine animation preceed it, whilst John Leeson clocks up Big Finish, Animation and Book.

Which is equally impressive, considering he didn't play K9 that season!

[CaptainMatt]

Thats right, David Brierly was the voice of K-9 for Season Seventeen and even then he did not appear in every serial.

[Pindar]

23skidoo wrote:

---

So that's another selling feature - 11 hours of Lalla. Not too shabby...

Alex

It also has John Leeson doing K-9

[23skidoo]

CaptainMatt wrote:

---

Thats right, David Brierly was the voice of K-9 for Season Seventeen and even then he did not appear in every serial.

I was reading an article on Shada and JNT tried several times - even after Baker left - to remount it as a special so that the story could be completed. Brierly was contacted about recording new lines as K-9, even though Leeson had come back by this point, for continuity reasons. Sadly, the actor is now deceased, so he wouldn't have been available to do the Shada audio book (he was around back in 2003 when they did the webcast, though, but they used Leeson for that).

Rarewolf wrote:

---

Nope that's correct the only Romana 2 Target story done to date is Creature From The Pit, which Tom read.

I get the feeling they're recording these pretty much in random order - maybe in the order they get the rights or something. With Shada now published all eyes are on whether BBC Books gets the greenlight to do City of Death next, so there might be another chance for Lalla to do that one. (Hopefully there'll be a book and not just an audio as is the case with October's release of Resurrection of the Daleks.) I looked ahead and the next Target fourth Doctor release is Androids of Tara in July and they haven't announced who'll be doing that one (hopefully Mary Tamm since it was very much her story).

Alex

[CaptainMatt]

Well, I just ordered the Shada hardback off e-bay so I am looking forward to that, as I am most assuredly a 4th Doctor-Romana II fan.

[Rarewolf]

23skidoo wrote:

---

[I looked ahead and the next Target fourth Doctor release is Androids of Tara in July and they haven't announced who'll be doing that one (hopefully Mary Tamm since it was very much her story).

Alex

The reader has been announced, it's John Leeson.

Androids Of Tara is a new adaption like Stones Of Blood. I suppose they might try and do Pirate Planet as there is a rough Key To Time theme going, in the near randomness of it.

Armageddon Factor was a thin book though. Be cool if Bob Baker could do a new adaption.

The producer of the Shada book revealed he is very keen to work with Lalla again.

It's not to do with rights, its just what ever order they feel like doing them in. Just counting the on my CD cabinet there's already passed 40 of them, so it could hit the 1/3 point next year.

[23skidoo]

^ I sort of wish they'd stop doing the remakes. I happened to like the original Dicks adaptation, and I honestly didn't like the new version of Stones of Blood and stopped listening about an hour in (mind you that was partly because I didn't care for the reading, which was done by one of the guest stars rather than someone like Tamm or Leeson). The idea of the audios was to make the original Targets available again. And while BBC Books is reprinting some of them, it'll probably be 2030 before they get around to reprinting the Key to Time books!

I sort of feel sorry for Terrance Dicks because these are his works being replaced. And while granted there are some Dicks novelisations which are so short they almost qualify as novellas rather than as novels (indeed some of the Quick Reads releases of recent years are longer), and as such could stand to be redone (Image of the Fendahl comes to mind) I never thought the Key to Time books were given short shrift. When they get around to doing an audio of Ribos Operation they better use the original text otherwise fans of the late Ian Marter will be plenty pissed.

Alex