Eccleston joins Big Finish (no, really)

[DS9Continuing]

So will they get Piper too, or will it be pre-"Rose"?

There is certainly a theory that Nine had plenty of adventures before meeting Rose, although given how important Rose was to him as a new full-time companion, that strongly implies that if he did have pre-Rose adventures, it would be with a bunch of one-off characters in the companion role rather than one continuing companion. Which would mean lots of Nine-with-random stories.

But Billie Piper, Camille Coduri, John Barrowman and Bruno Langley are all doing BF already as their TV characters, so there's no reason there couldn't be stories with Nine set during season 1. Get Noel Clarke in and it would be the full set.

But then it's always been my belief that Nine was the one who first met Vastra and Jenny *, and the Paternoster Gang also have their own BF range, so this is the perfect chance to see that meeting and fill in that bit of backstory.

Combination of all three, throw in River because she gets bloody everywhere, plenty for twelve stories to cover.

Spoiler: Nine meets Vastra - story idea

When 12 appeared in "Deep Breath", Vastra said "Well then, here we go again." This was a Brigadier reference but it also indicates that Vastra has witnessed if not an actual regeneration then at least the aftermath of one before. The only regenerations of which we didn't see the aftermath on screen (and thus that Vastra could be present at) are Eight->War, and War->Nine. Since I also believe that the supposed "time lock" surrounding the Time War was really more about the War Doctor than it was the war itself (hence why no-one ever heard of the War Doctor and later regenerations could treat him as a secret), and it is reasonable to suspect that the War Doctor never came to Earth or else the war itself would have, then that only leaves a post-regen Ninth Doctor to be the one who met Vastra. His post-war trauma would mesh well with her assuming-she-is-being-attacked-by-subway-builders trauma, and they could heal each other while she meets Jenny and falls in love.

.

 

[Brendan Moody]

I don’t think BF would be tremendously likely to employ Bruno Langley at this point (for those who don’t know, he was accused of and pled guilty to a sexual assault subsequent to working with BF, and no longer works as an actor in any case), but otherwise yeah, I imagine they’ll want to bring in as much of the series 1 recurring cast as possible.

 

[DS9Continuing]

But then it's always been my belief that Nine was the one who first met Vastra and Jenny *, and the Paternoster Gang also have their own BF range, so this is the perfect chance to see that meeting and fill in that bit of backstory.

Quoting myself because I just discovered that this is in fact already established in one of the comics, although it was only described post facto, so the actual events can still be portrayed in an audio.

.

 

[JD]

Just saw the Eccleston news, and it's pretty exciting that he's coming back.
I was hoping maybe he'd be part of Time Lord Victorious, but it sounds like he's coming in to late to be part of that.

 

[Relayer1]

Just saw the Eccleston news, and it's pretty exciting that he's coming back.
I was hoping maybe he'd be part of Time Lord Victorious, but it sounds like he's coming in to late to be part of that.

Maybe time for a surprise cameo or a special release. They could probably produce something with a pretty short turnaround.

 

[StCoop]

What a strange world to be living in where Eccleston is doing 12 new Doctor Who stories but Capaldi hasn't done any. As a card-carrying fan I'd have thought he'd have been much easier to persuade.

 

[Captaindemotion]

What a strange world to be living in where Eccleston is doing 12 new Doctor Who stories but Capaldi hasn't done any. As a card-carrying fan I'd have thought he'd have been much easier to persuade.

Do they not generally leave it a while before inviting the last incumbent to make one?

 

[Relayer1]

Do they not generally leave it a while before inviting the last incumbent to make one?

Yeah, Smith's not done any either.

I don't know if it's contractually mandated how long, a gentleman's agreement or simply availability.

I don't think they were allowed to use the new show's Doctors at all for quite a while.

 

[Brendan Moody]

For a while the new series was a separate license from the classic series, but at some point (I believe it was when Capaldi came in) it switched to being one license for the current Doctor and associated elements, and one license for all past Doctors and associated elements. Capaldi-era stuff began being used pretty rapidly after he left the role-- Missy's appearance in one of the River Song sets was recorded in March 2018 or possibly November 2017.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Quoting myself because I just discovered that this is in fact already established in one of the comics, although it was only described post facto, so the actual events can still be portrayed in an audio..

It's not, actually. The Lost Dimension leaves the impression that the ninth Doctor is the one who saved Madama Vastra, but it's not clear that she's familiar with the ninth Doctor's form (ie., the presence of the TARDIS is a dead giveaway that he's the Doctor) and Madame Vastra tells Rose that she's used the the Doctor having companions. Doctors plural meeting Vastra out of order is not out of the question, of course, and The Lost Dimension is vague enough that it can be read any way at all.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

This is absolutely shocking and also great news.

Nine with the Paternoster gang would be really cool and would get around the idea that Rose was his first serious companion.

 

[StCoop]

It's pretty amusing reading American website's coverage of the news. I know it hasn't existed over there since the 1950s or so, but is audio drama really that difficult a concept to grasp?

Saw it recently with the 'Sandman' adaption as well. "It's like a podcast only people are acting in it", was one description.

 

[Christopher]

It's pretty amusing reading American website's coverage of the news. I know it hasn't existed over there since the 1950s or so, but is audio drama really that difficult a concept to grasp?

It's rare, not extinct. We had the NPR Star Wars radio adaptations in the late '70s and early '80s. And GraphicAudio has been doing fully dramatized audiobooks for quite a few years, including adaptations of two of my novels. They're sort of a hybrid of audiobooks and audio plays, with full casts and sound effects and such, but with the prose narration also included as in an audiobook.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

Naturally, the big party-pooper to this whole thing has been Elizabeth Sandifer, whose grievance over the James Dreyfus situation has carried over everything else for me. Personally, I like her and find her views really interesting, but come on. Wait a day or two.

 

[StCoop]

Naturally, the big party-pooper to this whole thing has been Elizabeth Sandifer, whose grievance over the James Dreyfus situation has carried over everything else for me.

That's someone I put on the Ian Levine list of people who think their opinions are far more important then they actually are.

And BF dumped Dreyfus pretty sharp as well once his views were publicised.

 

[Relayer1]

I'm trying to figure out which Doctor I'd love for 9 to do a story with and while 10 is tempting, I'd love to see him work with McCoy or McGann at some point.

McGann.

 

[JD]

It's pretty amusing reading American website's coverage of the news. I know it hasn't existed over there since the 1950s or so, but is audio drama really that difficult a concept to grasp?

Saw it recently with the 'Sandman' adaption as well. "It's like a podcast only people are acting in it", was one description.

It's rare, not extinct. We had the NPR Star Wars radio adaptations in the late '70s and early '80s. And GraphicAudio has been doing fully dramatized audiobooks for quite a few years, including adaptations of two of my novels. They're sort of a hybrid of audiobooks and audio plays, with full casts and sound effects and such, but with the prose narration also included as in an audiobook.

They are starting to make a bit of a comeback in the US now, with dramatic podcasts.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

It's pretty amusing reading American website's coverage of the news. I know it hasn't existed over there since the 1950s or so, but is audio drama really that difficult a concept to grasp?

Saw it recently with the 'Sandman' adaption as well. "It's like a podcast only people are acting in it", was one description.

I guess it depends on the coverage. io9 has been covering Big Finish news for several years at least so they're quite familiar with the format.

Naturally, the big party-pooper to this whole thing has been Elizabeth Sandifer, whose grievance over the James Dreyfus situation has carried over everything else for me. Personally, I like her and find her views really interesting, but come on. Wait a day or two.

...who?!

No, don't tell me.

 

[Caretaker]

Even TV Guide is reporting on this.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

It's pretty amusing reading American website's coverage of the news. I know it hasn't existed over there since the 1950s or so, but is audio drama really that difficult a concept to grasp?

Saw it recently with the 'Sandman' adaption as well. "It's like a podcast only people are acting in it", was one description.

With the exception of the Star Wars adaptations, and even those were a long time ago, you either have to be very old to remember when audio drama was a thing (as a programming format, it died out in the early 1960s as television became ascendant) or you can hear old programs on retro programming blocks (ie., The Big Broadcast in the Washington area Sunday nights) that stress the retro-ness of the thing. Audio drama, as an active thing, is well outside the realm of experience of most Americans. It's tied firmly to long ago in the cultural memory.

This makes me wonder. What if the BBC and Big Finish created a syndication package of Big Finish backlist for broadcast through PRX to American radio stations? Would anyone bite? They'd have to price the package low -- and could, since the production costs have already been covered -- essentially giving it away. It would be interesting, to say the least.

Naturally, the big party-pooper to this whole thing has been Elizabeth Sandifer, whose grievance over the James Dreyfus situation has carried over everything else for me. Personally, I like her and find her views really interesting, but come on. Wait a day or two.

Sandifer's issues with Big Finish are much wider than James Dreyfus. She doesn't like who they commission to write (Big Finish is too cliquish and should be bringing in new talent, particularly non-white-male talent, all the time is her argument) nor the constant churn of old monsters and familiar concepts (in other words, it can be weirder). On the first, she doesn't understand how media tie-ins work, let alone media companies in general; Big Finish turns to the same writers because there's an existing relationship, the writer can produce clean scripts on time with a minimal fuss, the writer can accept licensee notes without complaint, and the writer will accept the pittance Big Finish offers. On the second, Big Finish knows who's buying their product and what they want better than she does, and Big Finish produces that product for them because the audience will buy it. Her argument with Big Finish is that it's not the platonic ideal of what she wants Big Finish to be in her head while ignoring all the reasons Big Finish is what it is as unimportant.