Audiobooks note

[Stevil2001]

The Doctor Who ones work well because you only have a cast of 2-3 regulars to accommodate, plus guest stars. A Star Trek show would have to pare down the cast significantly, which would result in a very different kind of story than we're used to. (Even the Stargate audios couldn't manage to include a complete team of four.)

Yeah, the full cast Stargates have a lot of "Well, Cam and Sam are busy... elsewhere... with things." (Though that they couldn't do a full field team is a little disappointing-- BF does have four-member TARDIS teams sometimes.)

I think of all the televison shows, DS9 would work best on audio-- it's got the set-up where it's the easiest for not all characters to have to be doing the same thing at the same time, since they don't all hang out on the bridge together all day long.

 

[James Swallow]

Yeah, the full cast Stargates have a lot of "Well, Cam and Sam are busy... elsewhere... with things." (Though that they couldn't do a full field team is a little disappointing-- BF does have four-member TARDIS teams sometimes.)

There's a simple reason for that: getting Doctor Who actors living/working in the UK where BF production is based is a lot cheaper than getting Stargate actors from North America. As such, the Stargate audio dramas were written the way they were because of those production constraints.

 

[Stevil2001]

There's a simple reason for that: getting Doctor Who actors living/working in the UK where BF production is based is a lot cheaper than getting Stargate actors from North America. As such, the Stargate audio dramas were written the way they were because of those production constraints.

Oh, I didn't even think about the logistical components to it all. I should say I did enjoy Series Three (especially the Baal set), but there were definitely times the seams showed a little bit. But yeah, I'm sure there was little-to-no way around it.

 

[Christopher]

There's a simple reason for that: getting Doctor Who actors living/working in the UK where BF production is based is a lot cheaper than getting Stargate actors from North America. As such, the Stargate audio dramas were written the way they were because of those production constraints.

Is there a reason the audio can't be recorded in Vancouver or somewhere? In Star Trek: TAS, the scripts were sent out to the actors wherever they were at the time, and they just went to the nearest studio to record them and literally mailed in their parts. Although that did mean their performances weren't very well-directed and the audio quality was uneven.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

So long as I remain sighted, I have no interest in audiobooks.

What I want to see (hear?) are more original audio plays.

 

[James Swallow]

Oh, I didn't even think about the logistical components to it all. I should say I did enjoy Series Three (especially the Baal set), but there were definitely times the seams showed a little bit. But yeah, I'm sure there was little-to-no way around it.

Hey, thanks. I feel like we did a good job with what we had to work with, and I'm proud of how the last series of the Stargate audios turned out. And to be honest, I've always felt that big casts don't work well on audio, unless you're doing something serialized that can run for a while so every character gets a bit of time in the spotlight.

Is there a reason the audio can't be recorded in Vancouver or somewhere? In Star Trek: TAS, the scripts were sent out to the actors wherever they were at the time, and they just went to the nearest studio to record them and literally mailed in their parts. Although that did mean their performances weren't very well-directed and the audio quality was uneven.

Actually, some of the Stargate actor performances were recorded "down the line" from off-site studios in Canada, but it's not an ideal solution - as you rightly say, the performance can suffer from the actors not being in the room with their co-stars.

But with Big Finish specifically, the main reason they don't often do that sort of thing (and this speaks to Stevil2001's comment too) is cost. In my experience, producing radio/audio dramas in North America to a professional standard (even in part) is just more expensive than it is in the UK, and off-site recording doesn't really make it appreciably cheaper.

 

[borgboy]

So long as I remain sighted, I have no interest in audiobooks.

What I want to see (hear?) are more original audio plays.

I read print books when I'm able to sit down and relax, but audiobooks are great for driving, walking my dogs, cooking, etc. Counting my work commute I can usually get a couple of hours of listening in a day.

 

[Dukhat]

So long as I remain sighted, I have no interest in audiobooks.

What I want to see (hear?) are more original audio plays.

Are you being tongue-in-cheek or serious? I only ask because I'm an audiobook narrator for the blind & physically handicapped. If you have macular degeneration, I'd love to chat with you.

 

[retroenzo]

I read print books when I'm able to sit down and relax, but audiobooks are great for driving, walking my dogs, cooking, etc. Counting my work commute I can usually get a couple of hours of listening in a day.

That's exactly what I'm doing now. I have books I read at home but I'm currently working my way through the Discworld during the daily commute to work.

 

[Smitty]

Dukhat, wow that is wonderful! I hope that means you are legally allowed to narrate those books that otherwise do not have a audible/audiobook option? Sounds intriguing.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

If you have macular degeneration, I'd love to chat with you.

No, no macular degeneration (I had a grandmother who suffered from it), nor cataracts (both parents had cataract surgery), nor any other immediate threat to my sight. I simply prefer to read print books, and would much rather have Pocket focus its spoken-word-audio-for-the-sighted efforts on original audio plays (e.g., Transformations), particularly stories that would not be as effective as print books or would not be practical as filmed episodes.

 

[Dukhat]

Dukhat, wow that is wonderful! I hope that means you are legally allowed to narrate those books that otherwise do not have a audible/audiobook option? Sounds intriguing.

That's correct; we're a contractor for the Library of Congress; they have the audiobooks for the blind program and we do the recording. Because the finished product can only be accessed by the blind community, we can record pretty much anything.