The Dramatic Readings releases are a secondary range to keep Dark Shadows moving along for Big Finish between the full-cast seasons. Series two is currently being written, and will resolve the cliffhanger we left The Rage Beneath on, fear not. The logistics of coordinating our overseas cast for the full-cast recording blocks - and we're trying to make series two as big and ambitious as we possibly can - made the idea of doing some simpler, character-led releases in the meantime an attractive one.
The "talking book" format - and I hate them being called that, because they aren't books - allows us to tell some more character-heavy stories and to feature some of the characters played by cast members no longer with us. And it allows us to do some offbeat stuff, like getting Alec Newman onboard. Ever since Big Finish got the license to do Dark Shadows, I'd hoped we'd get Alec to do something for us, and he's utterly brilliant. I'm bound to say that, obviously, but really, he is.
So those are the reasons. Some logistical, some creative, but I think we've found already just how well this format works for Dark Shadows, and we've got high hopes for these stories.
Hope that clears things up.
