The Big Finish Thread – News and Reviews

Topic

[Ben]

Why? Because Big Finish do a crapload of cool stuff. And they really get the people in their stuff. For instance, who likes – or knew- that Mark Gatiss has played a version of the Master. And that, for their fourth War Master collection, starring Sir Derek Jacobi, that’s who the War Master is tangling with? Now you do.
The other reason is I’ve been buying but haven’t gotten around to listening to it all, so need something to encourage that – this should help.

• This topic was modified 5 years, 2 months ago by Ben.

Replies

I am disappointed that Sam Kisgart appears to have been replaced by someone called Gattis. Sam, I’m sure will have worked with Sir Derek before and could have regaled us with tales in the behind the scenes.

I love that the Christmas Doctor Who release is called Blood on Santa’s Claws.

Big news:

https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/john-simm-s-master-joins-his-other-selves-for-doctor-who-masterful

Coming in January 2021, marking the 50th anniversary of the Master’s first appearance in Doctor Who, Masterful is a deluxe limited edition 8-disc audio adventure.

In his Big Finish debut, actor John Simm will reprise the role of the Master, as originally played on television from 2007 (and, most recently, in World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls, opposite Peter Capaldi).

Doctor Who: Masterful, written by James Goss, is a three-hour epic adventure that will also feature actors Geoffrey Beevers, Mark Gatiss, Derek Jacobi, Alex MacQueen, Milo Parker and Eric Roberts as previous incarnations of the evil Time Lord. Plus, of course, no reunion of Masters would be complete without Missy, the most recent incarnation, as played by Michelle Gomez.

John Simm said, “It’s a real honour to play this character: the nemesis of the Doctor. He’s everything the Doctor is but he’s evil. And it’s been great recording with Big Finish. You don’t get bored, it’s fantastic. It’s fun. It went really quickly. And I got to work with Derek Jacobi.”

Producer, David Richardson, added, “It was all Jason Haigh-Ellery’s idea. ‘We should do a special for the 50th anniversary of the Master in 2021,’ he said, and I leapt at the chance to produce it. James Goss was the perfect choice as writer -we knew he’d offer something as entertaining as it was dark, as imaginative as it was thrilling -and he hasn’t let us down!”

“But my first port of call was securing the talents of our Masters (and Missy) – many of them had worked for us before, but for John Simm this was his Big Finish debut. They say never meet your heroes, but they’re wrong. I had one of the best days of my life in studio with Sir Derek Jacobi and John Simm, towering actors and simply two of the warmest, loveliest human beings you could ever hope to spend time with. This may be a line-up of pure, unadulterated evil – but behind every sinister smile there’s a lovely actor we’re blessed to work with!”

Big Finish statement on the coronavirus, I like their products a lot but this is also a smart move:

https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/big-finish-production-update

“Due to the recent news about the spread of the virus, Big Finish has taken the decision to temporarily suspend the in-studio recording of audio dramas. 

Speaking about the precaution to pause recording sessions, Chairman of the production company, Jason Haigh-Ellery, said: “We have always worked considerably in advance – indeed some of our series have recordings dates that are up to four years in advance of their release date.  So we are lucky enough to have many productions already ‘in the can’.   

“Subsequently, pausing recordings will cause minimal disruption to this year’s releases.  

“The majority of Big Finish’s staff are freelance and work from home and so are fully able to continue to work remotely, whether writing productions for when we re-open the studios, or editing and sound designing those productions already recorded.  

“However, the safety of our actors is of paramount importance and, given the advice by public health experts to limit the risk of transmitting the virus, we have taken the decision to suspended our recording schedule in consultation with the studios that we use on a regular basis.   

“We will obviously continue to review all productions on a case-by-case basis and take further expert advice where necessary.  ”

 

1 user thanked author for this post.

Todd

Amid too many companies being utter crapbags, it’s good to see Big Finish being a responsible company:
https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/big-finish-moves-to-digital-first-release-schedule

Company chairman, Jason Haigh-Ellery said: “As previously reported, we took the precaution of pausing in-studio recordings last week, and are now working with our producers, directors and actors to record future releases remotely in home studios. Some of these sessions are already in progress.

“The majority of Big Finish staff are freelance and are fully capable of working from home. You may have also seen a number of regular Big Finish actors posting images of their home studios on social media.

“However, in order to protect the health of our warehouse staff, we have now asked them to stay at home for as long as the coronavirus situation continues. All our staff will be paid during this period.

“This means that Big Finish releases will move to a digital-first schedule in the short term. Any orders taken for previously-released collector’s edition CDs and box sets, up to and including 23:59 on Tuesday 24 March will be posted out before the warehouse closes. After this, digital sales will continue as normal, with digital downloads being immediately accessible over the coming weeks.

“All orders for Big Finish audio dramas unlock a digital download on the website. This is true whether customers place orders for physical or digital editions. Big Finish listeners can always access all their purchased stories from the website or the Big Finish app, which is free to download on Google Play and Apple Store.

“All physical orders will be fulfilled, but you will have to wait longer for your CDs to arrive, particularly if you are overseas.”

Big Finish creative director, Nicholas Briggs, added: “Together with these schedule tweaks, we’re developing plans for all sorts of exciting new productions — and, of course, the whole team is working hard on bringing the many productions already ‘in the can’ to our listeners.

“Although we all recognise the seriousness of the current world situation, our enthusiasm and creativity is unbowed in the face of it.”

This bit is the best part of it – “All orders for Big Finish audio dramas unlock a digital download on the website. This is true whether customers place orders for physical or digital editions.”

They’ve tweaked their release schedule too.

Dean’s Tank Inc are also really smart at targetting their advertisements to reach their potential customers.

3 users thanked author for this post.

Dave, Ben, Martin Smith

Great! I need a pair of 50 gallon tanks set-up in Eagan like yesterday. But I don’t want any of that Elkhart crap. Are you my guys?

That’s strangest spam I’ve seen in a long time.

Usually it’s stuff about making $10,000 a day working at home, or how to get an eleven-inch penis that plays ringtones and ejaculates gift cards.

 

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Todd, Ben

This isn’t spam, he’s going to help me meet my petrol storage needs in Eagan and the surrounding metropolitan area!

2 users thanked author for this post.

DavidM, Todd

btw  is Dean Stank related to Tony Stank?

1 user thanked author for this post.

DavidM

Dean’s Tank:

2 users thanked author for this post.

Ben, Todd