Dark Shadows: New Audio Dramas from Big Finish

No clothespin needed for Blood Dance either. Lisa Richards is back, and hopefully to stay. Her character is much more interesting than either version of Sabrina. I won't discuss whether she's good, evil or in between, I'll just say she's no pushover as Sabrina was. I hope that's not considered a spoiler; I don't consider it one. The mood created by the music fits the period. I've always been in the camp that favored new music, peppered with some of Cobert's stuff. These are part of a new series. Most shows don't use the same score when a show is revived.  I really don't have much more to say about it at this point.  I was listening with the critical English teacher mode disengaged. First time through, I try to just go with the story and not think about it too much. I don't see how Quentin fans could go wrong with this one. If you're not a fan Selby, well, then you might have a problem...but I don't think there are too many of those out there in the Dark Shadows Nation.

I thought Echos of Insanity was horrible. Every track was redundant. Willie goes on and on about his past with Jason and sounds like a raving lunatic. And how is it that every bar in Singapore is equipped with Blue Whale jukebox music? Very sloppy, folks. Research, people.

I also did not care for Echos of Insanity OR Final Judgment (both written by the same author). The author turned Josette into this vain character and it was not true to how she was on the show. It was just HORRIBLE. It was also predictable in who was going to win. *rolls eyes* Very disappointing. I probably won't be listening to any other audios from that particular writer in the future.

Big Finish were in studio in New York City last week to record The Doll House, July's Dramatic Reading. The new story stars Marie Wallace as Jenny Collins and Terrayne Crawford as Beth Chavez.

For more information and to see photos from the recording, visit the official Dark Shadows Audio Dramas Group on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=48155129132

The story can be pre-ordered from the Big Finish website:
http://www.bigfinish.com/14-Dark-Shadows-The-Doll-House-Audiobook

I'm looking forward to this!  It's been great to have characters like Gregory Trask and Carl Collilns come back to life. I never thought we'd hear them again. Now we can look forward to Jenny and Beth! It's great they way you've been filling in beteween the lines of the original stories!

I am so glad they involved Terry. She wrote me a sweet note today after I commented on the pic of her and Marie in the studio.  It simply made my day.

I have a question about 'The Wicked And the Dead:'

[spoiler] Was that actually Carl?  Did Carl Collins somehow fuse with this demonic incarnation of "vengeance" or is it simply a demon pretending to be Carl?  He claims at one point to actually be Carl "and so much more" or something like that.  I was a bit confused.  That said, it was a lot of fun listening to the voices of John Karlen and Jerry Lacy.  [/spoiler]

~Penny~

Big Finish's Summer Sale is now on, offering great discounts on selected Dark Shadows titles. The sale runs until June 30, so check it out:

http://www.bigfinish.com/Big-Finish-Summer-Sale

The latest issue of Big Finish's Vortex magazine is out, featuring a special behind the scenes look at Jonathan Frid's Dark Shadows! Download it for free at http://www.vortexmag.com/

So far I've bought every release that's come out and loved them all! (Save one that I merely enjoyed) I cannot wait for the Doll House to come out, foaming at the bit for it.

The number of releases this year is both staggering and awesome. I want to thank everyone for their involvement in them because they really are a treat and I hope the series continues well into the future!

Now if only I could think of a storyline to submit.....

I am tremendously late to the party and  I have no idea if RETURN TO COLLINWOOD was associated with BIG FINISH because I got it somewhere else and haven't read linear notes or anything. However I listened to it yesterday and I loved it.  I admit that I cried during the [spoiler] reading of the will.[/spoiler] as Nancy B. did a wonderful job and I truly felt like I watching (in my head) a new DS episode.  I also listened to The House of Despair which was wonderful, thrilling and very suspenseful and I can't wait to here the last three parts!! John Karlen (sorry David Selby you know I love) sounds just like he did in his 30's! It's amazing!  I really enjoyed the first part of the series. The third CD I listened to blew all of the rest of them out of the water for me that is! Curse of Pharaoh was simply amazing as Nancy B. and Marie W. turned in amazing performance's!  I have not familiarized my self with who wrote the script but KUDOS!  I am a huge fan of the Leviathan episodes and boy did this tie up loose ends and create an amazing back story for the whole thing!!!  I absolutely looooooooooooooved COTP! It was off the chain! Since we already know what the characters look like it's quite easy to close ones eyes and step back into the world of Dark Shadows. Thank you to BIG FINISH for bringing this classic back to life and thank you for including the beloved Revival cast. If it wasn't for the Revival series this boy wouldn't be here. Please continue to use them and anyone from the WB effort as well.  I personally think it's brilliant to include anyone involved in any form of Dark Shadows past.  I look forward to listening to everything all the other audio drama's and the rest to be released!

Taeylor -- I wrote Curse of the Pharaoh. Of the ones I've written, that one was probably the most fun to do. Really glad you enjoyed it.

Taeylor, Mark Rainey also wrote Path of Fate. While I loved both titles, I favor Path for two reasons. First, Quentin and Angelique are two of my favorites.  Second, it feels more like an audio drama because Selby and Parker assume 2 roles. Both of their secondary characters have SFX to disguise their voices. It sounds ALMOST as if you have 4 actors reading instead of 2. If you listen closely, you can tell it's them, but you have to strain to hear the similarities. Again both were fantastic works and equally well written. I just think Path of Fate lends itself more readily to the format.

Well I have  yet to listen to Path of Fate so I will reserve my opinion for now.  I am huge fan of Nancy so I am sure that helped me love COTP!  AWESOME JOB MARK!   You did a superb job my friend!

I listened to The Book of Temptation last night and boy was it a lot of fun.  This was a great story with superb acting and very suspenseful drama. 

I also listened to The Path of Fate which is another great effort of the part of Cousin Mark Rainey!  Good job Mark.  I still enjoyed Curse of the Pharaoh best out of the two but we all have our differing opinions of what appeals to each of us the most.   

I am planning on listening to The Christmas Presence tonight and will let everyone know what I think of that one. 
I wish that Big Finish could find an actress who could play Julia and sound enough like Grayson to pull it off.  It would be such a treat to the fans to be able to bring more of the original character's back to life even though Grayson and so many others are no longer with us!

I do like the new music in the Big Finish productions and it seems like some of the old music (besides the theme) has been mixed into a few.  Although I would like to hear more of the original music incorporated.  However, this may have to do with licensing fees for Robert Cobert’s music.  I have no idea how all that works.

The audio dramas are such a treat for fans and such an amazing way to keep the original Dark Shadows alive.  A big thanks to Big Finish for their efforts!!

i also can't wait until i hear these. i'm a HUGE David Warner fan as well. 1st thing i ever saw him in was in if ya can believe it he he. "TMNT 2: The Secret of the Ooze"  in (1991)  i had never heard of him before that. & seeing in that role just made me want to see his other work. & i think Alec Newman is also doing an amazing job as well. it's to bad that the updated version didn't get picked up. he would have made a great Barnabas. as i said in another post i haven't seen the pilot yet.


anyways, only thing i've ever seen him in actually is "Dune" & he was amazing in that. anyways i've rambled on long enough he he.