Big Finish releasing 150th DW CD this month

[23skidoo]

Here's a milestone that deserves more play than it's getting. This month, Big Finish releases "Recorded Time", a set of four short audio dramas performed by Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant which will be the 150th Doctor Who release by Big Finish since they won the licence for Doctor Who audios in 1999.

To put that into perspective, the original series, 1963 to 89, plus the TV movie, only produced 156 stories (this counts Trial of a Time Lord as one story). And with Big Finish announcing titles to the end of 2012, plus factoring the many spin-offs like Bernice Summerfield, Gallifrey, Iris Wildthyme, Sarah Jane Smith and Jago & Litefoot, and the fact some releases have multiple stories in them (Recorded Time has three or four separate adventures) -- Big Finish has long passed the total number of TV stories produced to date, even factoring in the revival.

That's quite remarkable. Someone should get hold of Guinness and have them give Big Finish an award for most successful licensed spin-off production ever. Of course, in terms of novels they've got a long way to catch up, but considering they've put out so many stories - multiple seasons of Paul McGann's Doctor (most recently pairing him with actress Sheridan Smith and a new set of stories featuring the Eighth Doctor adventuring with Frankenstein creator Mary Shelley is coming up), many many stories for the Sixth Doctor, adaptations of episodes never produced for TV like Farewell Great Macedon, new versions of the stage plays, lots of cool guest stars including David Warner, Derek Jacobi, Hayley Attwell (of the new Captain America movie) and Alexander Siddig - not to mention some guy named Tennant. Virtually all surviving Doctor Who actors have taken part - including Tom Baker who'se now recording a season of stories with Louise Jameson and Mary Tamm (he was going to record with Lis Sladen too but, well...). The Companion Chronicles giving us new insight into characters like Sara Kingdom and Liz Shaw. It's a real accomplsihment what this little company has managed. And it's come full-circle, of course, with its producer Nick Briggs being involved with the TV show, many writers going on to work for the TV show, and most recently Big Finish helping restore The Reign of Terror for DVD release.

Big Finish gets knocked for the cost of its releases sometimes. And critically, just like the TV series, reviews are all over the board. But regardless of your feelings about them, I think Big Finish has truly done Doctor Who proud.

Alex

 

[Whofan]

Yeah, the audios are expensive-too bad they aren't something one can really rent online, like the DVDs (Although even that is becoming difficult these days with companies pushing streaming and not stocking the discs)

They-and also the original novels-often don't get as much credit as they should for inspiring certain stories and plotlines in the new series (and of course the actors and others you have mentioned). Maybe it's because they're still seen as classic WHO? I kind of see them as the link between classic and new.


I felt they really also redeemed the Doctors from the 80's era and the TV movie, which are often seen as some of the weaker Doctors. Colin in particular does very well.

 

[VDCNI]

Yes that's 150 in the main range so doesn't count the four Paul McGann/Sheridan Smith seasons, the Companion Chronicles or The Lost Stories (and as you mention the various other spin offs) which is quite incredible really. Yes not every one is fantastic but the quality generally is very high.

It's always worth checking for sales on the website - I snapped up most of the first fifty releases recently for a fiver each and having worked my way through most by now only one or two were really disappointing. Also with my interest in TV Who reaching an all time low I opened my first subscription (to the main range and Companion Chronicles) receiving the excellent Robophobia and the fun but slight Tales From The Vault.

Looking forward to the Lost Stories coming back later this year with some 5th Doctor, Tegan & Nyssa stories including Chris (Kinda) Bailey's unused 3rd script for the series.

 

[23skidoo]

Yeah, the audios are expensive-too bad they aren't something one can really rent online, like the DVDs (Although even that is becoming difficult these days with companies pushing streaming and not stocking the discs)

Considering how easy it is to copy CDs, as opposed to DVDs, there's good reason why CDs aren't made available to rent. Back in the late 1980s there was an attempt at creating a CD-rental industry like they had for videos, and it lasted about a year before people realized how stupid it was.

As I understand it most Big Finish releases are available for downloads, so if you just want to listen to the stories as opposed to keeping them long-term, that's an option. Paying the extra for the CDs you get a format that'll be reliable into the future, won't be subject to accidental deletion, and you get goodies like their magazine, etc too. Depending where you are, the BBC occasionally broadcasts them too (I think BBC7 recently aired a trilogy of Fifth Doctor stories). So there are options, fortunately. And occasionally BF will issue a freebie. A couple days ago they made the single-episode story Cuddlesome available for a free download worldwide:

http://www.bigfinish.com/news/Podcast-Cuddlesome-03-August-2011

I felt they really also redeemed the Doctors from the 80's era and the TV movie, which are often seen as some of the weaker Doctors. Colin in particular does very well.

Agreed. And not only Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant, but Bonnie Langford gained renewed respect as Mel due to her work in Big Finish (which is amazing since many felt the character was irredeemable).

In the last year or so Big Finish has tightened its relationship with AudioGO - consider that they're being allowed to do a series of Tom Baker stories at the same time AudioGO continues its Paul Magrs line of stories. I think it's only a matter of time before the leap is finally made and Big Finish gets the rights to do stories featuring characters from the revival era. I doubt we'll ever see Christopher Eccleston do one, but David Tennant already has Big Finish credentials, and we've had Noel Clarke and others from nuWho like Georgia Moffett work for Big Finish too. One obvious idea is to have one of the Doctors pre-Tennant do a series of stories with Fenella Woolgar playing her TV character Agatha Christie (she's also done Big Finish work as other characters) - due to one of the audios or novels establishing that Agatha was once a companion of the Doctor's (a fact glossed over in the Unicorn and the Wasp). I suppose they could do that one now, likewise something with Andy Curran as Vincent van Gogh since those aren't characters owned by the BBC.

But need I say it: Big Finish presents the Further Adventures of Madame Vastra and Jenny. Nuff said!

Alex

 

[VDCNI]

Madame Vastra and Jenny in a crossover with Jago & Litefoot would be fun!

 

[Rarewolf]

As I understand it most Big Finish releases are available for downloads, so if you just want to listen to the stories as opposed to keeping them long-term, that's an option. Paying the extra for the CDs you get a format that'll be reliable into the future, won't be subject to accidental deletion, and you get goodies like their magazine, etc too.

Something I really like about Big Finish, is a download copy comes free with the CD as well. The downloads stay in your online account, you can download them when ever you like.

So I'm getting three CDs a month, but I can hear them as soon as they go live. I'd be less inclinded to just buy a download, I like having something to show for my money - and get signed.

I've got the whole lot - and about 95% is signed.

Vortex Magazine can be downloaded by anyone here -
http://vortexmag.com/ paper copies are nice too though.

AudioGo produce is now availible via Big Finish, though its interesting that their Tom Baker releases won't hit the shops until after Magrs' series 3 is out.

 

[ClayinCA]

Somebody above mentioned the McGann seasons - there were also things like the Excelis plays, the DWM freebies, and subscriber-only specials that don't count as part of the main range. I wonder: if all those stories were added into the mix, would Big Finish be close to 200 stories by now...?

 

[OmahaStar]

Somebody above mentioned the McGann seasons - there were also things like the Excelis plays, the DWM freebies, and subscriber-only specials that don't count as part of the main range. I wonder: if all those stories were added into the mix, would Big Finish be close to 200 stories by now...?

Double that.

*released only*
Doctor Who main line - 150
8th Doctor - 38
Specials - 11
Doctor Who Monthly Magazine - 11
Excelis - 4
Stage Plays - 3
Lost Stories - 14
Unbound - 8
Companion Chronicles - 44
Short Trips - 4
Dalek Empire - 18
Sarah Jane Smith - 9
Gallifrey - 18
UNIT - 4
Iris - 7
Cybermen - 12
Jago and Litefoot - 12

That's 367 released. 3 more if you count something called "Graceless" that Big Finish released last year that takes place in the universe, but apparently without any of the established characters.

Announced and coming soon, not including the main line -
4th Doctor - 14
Lost Stories - 8
Companion Chronicles - 12
Iris - 4
Jago and Litefoot - 8

That means that by June of next year, Big Finish will have released 425 Doctor Who related titles.

 

[Stevil2001]

That's 367 released. 3 more if you count something called "Graceless" that Big Finish released last year that takes place in the universe, but apparently without any of the established characters.

Graceless features Amy and Zara (the former renamed "Abby") from Key 2 Time. If Iris Wildthyme counts, Graceless counts.

 

[Rarewolf]

Benny too presumably.

 

[Winterwind]

I might actually pick this up (it would be my first audio) since one of the stories is penned by a friend of mine.

 

[OmahaStar]

Graceless features Amy and Zara (the former renamed "Abby") from Key 2 Time. If Iris Wildthyme counts, Graceless counts.

Ah, that explains it. For some reason, I was thinking it was some 8th Doctor series, set right after the movie.

So, those ... plus the Benny cds ... That adds 52 just with the ones released, bringing it up to 422 cds released as of August 2011.

Seems to me there are already more hours of audio content than there were in the official DW series combined. Epguides.com says that there were 700 episodes of classic who - Survival episode 4 was the 700th produced. If we give an average of 22 minutes per episode (yes, some were double-length, but it doesn't really change much) that's 15,400 minutes of the original series.

With 437 titles of audio, even giving each one just 60 minutes (and we know the overwhelming majority are double-cds) that's 26,220 minutes.

If we figure there are around 100 episodes of the modern series, at 45 minutes each, that adds 4500 minutes. and 55 episodes of Sarah Jane Adventures (one hour pilot plus 54 regular 22 minute episodes) that's about 1250 minutes ... add those on-screen adventures together, and you still have less than 21200 minutes total.

Way too much looking stuff up, but it boils down to ... Big Finish has produced more content in 150 months than the producers of Doctor Who - and its spin-offs - combined.