Jeremiah Bourne in Time the First Doctor Adventures the Time War 2 the Classic Television Series from the Sixties Returns On
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
ISSUE: 112 • JUNE 2018 WWW.BIGFINISH.COM DOCTOR WHO THE TIME WAR 2 DOCTOR WHO BIG FINISH ORIGINALS THE FIRST JEREMIAH DOCTOR BOURNE IN TIME ADVENTURES THE CLASSIC TELEVISION SERIES FROM THE SIXTIES RETURNS ON AUDIO! We make great full-cast audio dramas and audiobooks that are available to buy on CD and/or download WE LOVE STORIES! SUBSCRIBERS Our audio productions are based GET MORE! on much-loved TV series like Doctor If you subscribe, depending Who, Torchwood, Dark Shadows, on the range you subscribe to, Blake’s 7, The Avengers, The Prisoner, you get free audiobooks, PDFs The Omega Factor, Terrahawks, of scripts, extra behind-the- Captain Scarlet and Survivors, as scenes material, a bonus release, well as classics such as HG Wells, downloadable audio readings of Shakespeare, Sherlock Holmes, The new short stories and discounts. Phantom of the Opera and Dorian Gray, plus original creations such as Secure online ordering and details Graceless, Charlotte Pollard and The of all our products can be found at: Adventures of Bernice Summerfield. www.bigfinish.com WWW.BIGFINISH.COM @ BIGFINISH THEBIGFINISH VORTEX MAGAZINE • PAGE 2 EDITORIAL ISSUE 112 • JUNE 2018 ACK IN the mists of time very quickly taken by how (OK, it was December down-to-earth he was, and B 2014!), through my then before too long the conversation day job, I was invited down to turned to Big Finish. London for the press screening And my word, Frank is a of the Doctor Who television real and proper fan! He knows special Last Christmas. his stuff. This isn’t someone Various people connected to who’s heard a couple of plays the show were invited along, and half-remembered them. and I was able to have a long He is a real enthusiast. Managing Editor: Jason Haigh-Ellery chat with Andrew Cartmel – So, for this issue, it was a Executive Producer: Nicholas Briggs mainly about our cats rather pleasure to speak with Frank Senior Producer: David Richardson than Doctor Who. Steven once again, discussing his Editor: Kenny Smith Moffat, Peter Capaldi and Jenna new Big Finish starring role in Design: Mark Plastow Coleman were there too… along Callan, playing Lonely. I’ve only Copy Editor: Stephanie Hornett with a guest star of note from ever seen a couple of episodes The Big Finish Team: Peter’s first series. And there on video, but it was a series my Ian Atkins, Sue Cowley, Emily de Fraine, was Frank Skinner, standing parents always loved (mainly Hannah Peel, Paul Spragg on his own. So, ever the bold because of Russell Hunter, the Marketing: Kris Griffin and journalist, I went up and said original Lonely, I reckon). Paddy Freeland hello to him, and we started Frank’s also a big fan of BFP Administration: Cheryl Bly, Brenda Smith, Alison Taylor chatting (about football, I Vortex, which was lovely to Publisher: Big Finish Productions Ltd. will be honest, discussing hear – I’m relieved to know West Bromwich Albion and it won’t be heading to Room Aberdeen in particular). I was 101 anytime soon! COMINGSOON INFAMY OF THE VINYL! IG FINISH is going on from Saturday, 16 June. the record again – and HMV will be stocking a strictly B this time it’s with the limited pressing of Infamy of Tenth Doctor. Following on the Zaross on yellow 180GM from the recent news that heavyweight vinyl. This will be Energy of the Daleks is being available in participating stores released as a vinyl edition for only, limited to 750 units. Sainsburys, Big Finish has A spokesperson from HMV Writer John Dorney adds: “I’m teamed up for another exclusive says: “We’re delighted to delighted to see Infamy of the deal, this time with high street welcome Doctor Who back on Zaross on vinyl, especially in retailer HMV. vinyl in time for Father’s Day. It’s HMV. I’ve still got my Gran’s old Doctor Who: Infamy of the just what the Doctor ordered!” His Master’s Voice record player Zaross, starring David Tennant As well as David and Billie, in my house. Quite a prized bit of and Billie Piper, will be available Camille Coduri also features in furniture, which has such a store for the first time on vinyl record Infamy of the Zaross as Jackie Tyler. of memories for me…” VORTEX MAGAZINE • PAGE 3 Kenny Smith prepares for the return of a British TV classic on audio… THE SHOTS… HRILLERS AND spy Originally created by James James Mitchell, and we got stories have been hugely Mitchell, Callan is now back on talking. And what enjoyable T popular fare with book audio with Big Finish. Adapted conversations they were! We just readers, TV viewers and cinema from James’s Sunday Express clicked, I think, in our shared goers for well over half a century. short stories by his son Peter passion for his father’s work. James Bond’s quips and the Mitchell, four new adventures “Nicholas Briggs, myself and lighter side of international will expand the themes explored Peter met for lunch next to crime fighting inThe Man from in the television show. London Waterloo one day, and U.N.C.L.E. became a staple of the Succeeding Woodward as Peter kindly agreed to the idea 1960s, but in 1967 the darker the title character is Ben Miles, of us doing audio adaptations of side of the genre took centre who starred in Steven Moffat’s his father’s Callan short stories. I stage in ITV’s Callan which Coupling, while his sidekick thought they’d be perfect – they starred Edward Woodward. Lonely, originally played by were just the right length to Having similar responsibilities Russell Hunter, is brought expand into 50 minute episodes. to an MI5 operative, David to life by Frank Skinner. “We agreed that Peter would Callan took a darker approach Producer David Richardson write the adaptations himself to espionage using the most explains: “Actually the idea of – after warning him that being ruthless and lethal techniques doing Callan was brought to a first time writer at Big Finish to get the job done. Four series us by Robert Fairclough, who can involve lots of painful were produced on television had written a guide to the notes, rewrites, more notes, between 1967 and 1972, plus TV series. He put us in touch more rewrites – and yet the a cinema film released in 1974 with Peter Mitchell, who was scripts came in and were very and a return to TV in 1981. the son of the series’ creator polished. I think a couple of VORTEX MAGAZINE • PAGE 4 SPIES AND THRILLERS CALLAN know that he had an apartment in Spain and most of the short stories were written while he was on holiday there. So I imagined him sitting on his balcony soaking up the sun – pen in hand. I felt extraordinarily close to him during the entire process.” Developing short stories into full dramas was something that Peter found tough to do, and explains: “It was a bit of a challenge. Each drama had to be 60 minutes but some of the stories were much shorter than that. I tried to keep any additional material totally in keeping with the twists and turns of a typical Callan plot. “What made life much easier was the fact that my dad had a range of regular, well-defined Above (l–r): Ben Miles and Frank Skinner characters that were always waiting in the wings to add of the Callan TV series – The texture as well as sub-plots. This Callan File. Rob suggested that gave me plenty of options. I shared Big Finish might be interested them with David and John and in looking at a Callan project. we agreed a way forward. I was Producer David Richardson very pleased with the result and and I got in touch and we had I hope Callan fans will agree. lunch with executive producer “I was thrilled that Big Finish Nick Briggs. We had a good old wanted to develop Callan for chat about the possibilities and audio, but I was over the moon “I was keen to do it and thought if I said no, I would never hear from Big Finish again!” FRANK SKINNER them needed fleshing out a little agreed to examine the short to be invited to write them. I to hit the right length, but they stories for potential adaptation. had absolutely no hesitation were stunning pieces of work. “I wasn’t really familiar with in agreeing to do them – it Peter hit the ground running, the work of Big Finish so David was a total pleasure and it and then did a marathon!” sent me some existing dramas – was a new experience for me. Peter has adapted File on a Doctor Who and The Avengers. I had a ball doing them.” Deadly Shot, File on a Classy Club, I’d never written for audio before File on an Awesome Amateur – my experience is in television HE CHARACTER of Lonely and File on a Harassed Hunter, and print – but David and script became as well-known as and says: “I encountered Big editor John Dorney were very T the show’s leading man, Finish through a good mate of patient and supportive with me. with the small-time thief with mine. Rob Fairclough is a big “It was a wonderful experience. body odour problems making Doctor Who fan who also (along I read and re-read the stories and Russell Hunter into a TV star. Now, with Mike Kenwood) wrote the found myself listening to my the character is being portrayed by definitive tome on the making dad’s voice while I was doing it.