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Billowy Coat, King of Pain
Home | Big Finish Productions
Discover the latest audio dramas, collections, and exclusive releases from Big Finish Productions. The home of Doctor Who, Torchwood, and original audio stories.
Those of us who are Whovians may be aware of a certain company called Big Finish who has been making Doctor Who, Torchwood, Dark Shadows, etc... canon audio adventures for two decades.
Well, they either just trolled the Jossverse hard, or the fact that Anthony Stewart Head, Juliet Landau, James Marsters and apparently Amber Benson have all recorded for them (not to mention the notable franchise crossover cast already present on screen and Russell T Davies being open about the influences of BOTH BtVS/AtS on his revival) has put the Jossverse in their franchise crosshairs. They've been trying for quite a long time to not just be the Doctor Who company, so this would be a huge coup for them.
Could we see perhaps a Companion Chronicles-style (which allows narration and character introspection) roll-out of willing cast members with episodes set during various points through the shows (as well as flashbacks for our immortals) or could we perhaps eventually get a real continuation with the full casts?
I certainly trust the Big Finish writer stable with putting out a product that respects the characters and actors in a way that some of us feel burned about, given all the talk of recast reboots, comics that wipe out continuity and comics that trashed beloved characters. I'm certain there are piles of Whedonites in the writer stable and likely a whole lot of DW actors who might be cameoing (just as they do in Dark Shadows). Watchers' Council, anyone? LOL. Even a Tales of the Slayers/Vampires line (with occasional familiar voices) could be kind of cool. It also spares us some of the dodgier tendencies of Joss Whedon where he sometimes doesn't feel truly invested anymore in his old creations. Big Finish does nostalgia and might be more willing to do a project that appeals more to the diehard fanbase (ones that pay closer attention to characterization and continuity ahead of shoehorning things that don't quite make in-universe sense into jarring topical messages).
Big Finish also has a significant track record of taking characters/actors who were perhaps not treated well in their original eras (or who are often overlooked) and giving them more deserving material. Even significant and well-loved guest characters who might not have much in the way of screen time or focus will sometimes get their own spinoffs or character pieces to flesh them out!
Interestingly, they seem to be tying this in very specifically with AtS' 20th anniversary and specifically showed the AtS cast (which is definitely an interesting/unusual choice over making it about BtVS). If ever there was a golden opportunity, it would be getting the license and telling the story immediately from the closing seconds of Not Fade Away. And the actors don't have to worry about how old they are, given Big Finish has a stable of icons that includes significant octogenarian and even nonagenarians playing roles they began over 50 years ago in some cases.
Admittedly, they've been dipping into the idea of recasts for dead cast members more and more (sort of started with Frazer Hines pulling double voice duties on both Patrick Troughton and Jamie--and doing it so well they stopped giving him redundant narration bits in his own accent saying that the Doctor is speaking!), which is sadly something the Jossverse might have to grapple with (Glenn Quinn and Andy Hallett, most notably, but there are also others like Robin Sachs if something like a young/old Ripper project happened). The Firefly property would also have the same situation.
Big Finish is good stuff. Getting the BtVS/AtS licenses would be STUNNING for this company. And they have a list of actors they already have on their payroll whom I'm sure are the ones talking it up (Juliet Landau has actually reacted to this tweet and James Marsters has a big TW release about to drop). I've actually been thinking about it long before I saw this tweet, especially given the inroads the company already has. I would gladly trade in the comics for Big Finish audios any day. And please disregard that failed continuity. PLEASE.
It might take a while to get David Boreanaz and Sarah Michelle Gellar on board, but David has been shocking the fandom lately with AtS' 20th anniversary news (not to mention casting Kirsty Swanson in SEAL Team just recently and commenting to her on the Buffy/Angel factor!) and his unexpected BtVS reunion show (fandom has been fibbing for years about whether or not he cares just because he doesn't make a living off of conventions). Gellar used to be the impossible one for voice-over work (she was the one and only to be recast for videogames and the cartoon), but she, too, seems to have warmed up to the franchise.
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