Big Finish Torchwood

[TJ Sinclair]

How's BF doing with Torchwood so far? I haven't had a chance to hear it yet. I enjoyed the BBC radio dramas immensely. Are they living up to that mark?

I want to go through some of the pre- and post-Miracle Day audiobooks before jumping in, though it seems BF's stories are "fluctuating" between points in the series.

 

[Guy Gardener]

1st one with jack was okay.

2nd one with Ianto was fucking stellar.

3rd one with Gwen and Reese needed a punch in the nose.



Listening to number four tonight, but dear god look at the cover, wowser!

 

[TJ Sinclair]

Thanks for the insight. Since Ianto is my favorite Torchwood character, I'm glad I can look forward to his!

Now if only we can get a consistent "current" storyline for Jack and co...

 

[Guy Gardener]

Gwen's story is set after Miracle Day, not sure about Jacks, but Ianto's Story was back from when he was still a Teaboy in season one, and Yvonne still has Ianto as her Teaboy, since of course, she died in season 2 of nuWho. Point is that all four stories are at least tangentially in conflict with the same nemesis to connect the episodes over all, even if the the story telling is splayed temporally.

The Yvonne episode is quite good, but then, as always, evil is very sexy.

 

[TJ Sinclair]

Gwen's story is set after Miracle Day, not sure about Jacks, but Ianto's Story was back from when he was still a Teaboy in season one, and Yvonne still has Ianto as her Teaboy, since of course, she died in season 2 of nuWho. Point is that all four stories are at least tangentially in conflict with the same nemesis to connect the episodes over all, even if the the story telling is splayed temporally.

The Yvonne episode is quite good, but then, as always, evil is very sexy.

The placing of Jack's story is "troublesome," from what I've read, because the writer said in an interview that it was "early in the series," but it makes references to Jack being away from the team, etc, so the best placing for it is early season 2, say after "Sleeper" or "To the Last Man."

I certainly enjoy having stories from varying periods in the show, it lets us get Ianto now and again, and hopefully Tosh, Owen and maybe even Suzie at some point, but I really would like to continue the overall story past M-Day, I want to know what Jack's been up to. Perhaps they could give us an in-universe reason for why he wasn't present during A Good Man Goes to War. Jack must have been up to something important for Eleven not have him at Demons Run.

In the meantime, I hope BF plan on working Martha (and maybe Mickey) into a few stories set after they left with Jack following The Stolen Earth / Journey's End. Heck, throw in Alonso for Jack stories between CoE and M-Day, too, because I need more Russell Tovey in my life.

Some Victorian- and Edwardian-era Torchwood would be nice as well, possibly crossing over with Jago & Litefoot and/or the Paternoster Gang. No reason to make that a separate series, just do a "times past" episode now and then.

 

[NightJim]

All awesome ideas. I thought about the times past one too, but hadn't thought about J&L.

I know there's a second Gwen episode planned which pushes the post-MD time even further, with a special, blink and you'll miss it guest star, which I think could be Martha, though still no Jack in current continuity. I wonder if that's a BBC stipulation, or just how Big Finish are structuring things.

 

[shapeshifter]

I liked TW very much but $8 single episode downloads or $15 CD's.

Makes paying $6 per month for Trek on CBSAA seem like a real bargain.

 

[TJ Sinclair]

with a special, blink and you'll miss it guest star, which I think could be Martha

Yeah, since I heard that yesterday, I've been hoping it will be Martha.

 

[Pindar]

I liked TW very much but $8 single episode downloads or $15 CD's.

Makes paying $6 per month for Trek on CBSAA seem like a real bargain.

It works out at $12 a download here in the UK.

 

[shapeshifter]

Yikes!

I've never Big Finished any show before - are they big budget productions, with multiple players, sound effects and score, or are they similar to Trek audio books with single narrator and little else?

 

[Guy Gardener]

Yes.

(Both, and hybrids, depending on the range of Who you're after.)

 

[ATimson]

I've never Big Finished any show before - are they big budget productions, with multiple players, sound effects and score, or are they similar to Trek audio books with single narrator and little else?

Generally very much the former. (There are some ranges, like the Companion Chronicles and the first two seasons of Stargate - which are one- or two-handers, though with sound effects and score.)

 

[shapeshifter]

I've never Big Finished any show before - are they big budget productions, with multiple players, sound effects and score, or are they similar to Trek audio books with single narrator and little else?

Yes.

(Both, and hybrids, depending on the range of Who you're after.)

Generally very much the former. (There are some ranges, like the Companion Chronicles and the first two seasons of Stargate - which are one- or two-handers, though with sound effects and score.)

So, a crap shoot. Ok, I know what I am going to do. Thank you, both.

 

[TJ Sinclair]

I've never Big Finished any show before - are they big budget productions, with multiple players, sound effects and score, or are they similar to Trek audio books with single narrator and little else?

Yes.

(Both, and hybrids, depending on the range of Who you're after.)

Generally very much the former. (There are some ranges, like the Companion Chronicles and the first two seasons of Stargate - which are one- or two-handers, though with sound effects and score.)

So, a crap shoot. Ok, I know what I am going to do. Thank you, both.

Not really a crap shoot. The main range (the monthly series of releases) are full cast audio dramas, as are almost all of the other spin-offs. Even their adaptations of Doctor Who novels are turned into full dramas. So, the main ones you'd be listening to are full cast.

Really, it's just the Companion Chronicles that's told "audiobook style," mainly as it was a means to feature doctors whose actors had passed on, told by one of their surviving companions' actors.

Most of their non-DW series are also full cast, with the Stargate releases being an exception.

So, not really a crap shoot. More like only one thing you want to avoid, if you don't like single-reader stories.

 

[Marc]

Most of their non-DW series are also full cast, with the Stargate releases being an exception.

And possibly the Liberator Chronicles which are part of the Blake's 7 range - though they feature 2 actors instead of one - not quite full cast but more then audiobook.

 

[TJ Sinclair]

Hmm, just gotta get through Long Time Dead, Mr. Invincible and The Exodus Code, and then I'll be "caught up," and can start on the Big Finish series.