Big Finish

[neadods]

taraljc has an impassioned post about supporting Big Finish financially Recommended reading.

At Chicago TARDIS, one thing that the Big Finish people pointed out over and over is how close to the wire their work is. They're not getting rich from this - but they are keeping the rich history of Doctor Who alive.

Big Finish is about the love of cult science fiction - not just mining it for money, but exploring and celebrating it. It's not just classic doctors in brand new adventures. It's companions getting the spotlight, building whole new mythos for Gallifrey, the Daleks, Sarah Jane - even about "What if" stories with Doctor Who Unbound. (And that's not even going into what they're doing for Sapphire and Steele or The Tomorrow People.)

Big Finish is about New Who. They might have the rights for the classic Doctors only, but quite a few of the concepts first launched under Big Finish's imprint have made it to the main canon. Wonder why they keep eating Jubilee pizza in Torchwood? It's a nod to the audio "Jubilee," which "Dalek" is loosely based upon. Sarah Jane audios had concepts that show up in the Sarah Jane Adventures. And it's looking like one of the Doctor-Donna adventures is going to be a remake of "Fires of Vulcan."

Most importantly, Big Finish is all about giving people chances. Colin Baker, whose Doctor was so badly used on TV, got the chance to have a companion and stories that made his Doctor shine. Paul McGann, whose Doctor only got one video outing, has had the chance to have whole seasons and story arcs. Even the fans - it's Big Finish that keeps holding contests to let the fans take a crack at writing professionally for Who, and they're generous in their awards. Not a lot of producers would hold open auditions for a story in an anthology. Even fewer would admit that there were so many excellent entries that they'd add a whole new anthology to their schedule to give them all a home.

Big Finish even gave a chance to an eager young actor looking for a way of earning a few extra quid and being a part of his favorite universe. David Tennant did quite a lot of voice work for them.

They need us to give them a chance. To give back to them what they need to keep giving to the fandom. Money. They don't have a lot of it, and they've got salaries to pay. It's simple. They need us to vote with our wallets, or they won't be able to keep it up. They aren't a big company, they don't have the backing of the BBC, they're one of us and need our support.

They do what they can to make it easy. Big Finish titles never go out of print, so it's never too late to order one, or to buy a subscription. Subscriptions come with extra materials, and if you get a big enough sub, you can get another title for free. (Americans can get subscriptions through the authorized resellers Alien Entertainment and Who North America, although I've got mine direct from Big Finish and it's been faster and easier that way.) They're even about to launch a system where you can pay and automatically download so that there's no wait at all.

I will confess, my initial outlay gave them no royalties. (Don't raise your eyebrows; it was a job lot from ebay. Perfectly legal.) But since then, I've gone directly from the source, and I don't regret it for a moment. And I have them *all* - The Doctor Who run, the Unbounds, the Companion Chronicles, and the Eighth Doctor BB7s. (And when I get my Visa paid back down, I'm going to subscribe to the second season of that.)

Besides - 'tis the season. Either the two Christmas-themed Short Trips books or a couple of disks would be fabulous stocking stuffers for a fellow fan, and a subscription would literally be the gift that keeps on giving. Know someone who likes noir? "Chimes of Midnight" is a good stand-alone title. Political intrigue? "Live 34." Something oddball but thought-provoking? "The Natural History of Fear." Classic gothic Who? "Specter of Lanyon Moor." Classic historical Who? "Storm Warning." David Tennant? He's having a blast in the Unbound "Exile" as a Doctor-hating Time Lord, and dribbling very convincingly on himself as Daft Jamie in "Medicinal Purposes." Sheer unadulterated crackfic? Lots to choose from there - "The One Doctor," "Invaders from Mars," "Doctor Who and the Pirates" (for the Gilbert and Sullivan fans) and you can't beat the buggering history gets in my personal favorite, "The Kingmaker."

And if you want a jump on next season, "Fires of Vulcan" is a one-shot too.

Comments

[doyle_sb4.livejournal.com]

Very late to the party, but just wanted to say thanks for this post - it was in the back of my mind today when I was looking to buy The Girl Who Wasn't There, and poked me into getting it direct from BF (and they were offering a Five/Nyssa story with it to subscribers and, well, I had to have that, so I've got a subscription now...)