Stargate Audiobooks!

[ancientalliance]

Each one of these CDs will feature a main or guest cast actor from Stargate SG-1 or Stargate Atlantis.

Well that's cryptic...

[Bullwinkle]

I really can't wait for these to come out! I'm a big fan of audios/audio books in general, and that only came about through exposure to Big Finish's Doctor Who plays that have been coming out for the last few years ....

I never expected them to pick up a license like Stargate, but I'm so glad they have - these audios are going to rock! Now I can listen to new Stargate and keep myself entertained while travelling to work on the morning train.

- Chris

[morjana]

SG1/SGA - Outpost Gallifrey: Big Finish Launching Download Service Feb 1:

From Outpost Gallifrey:

http://forums.scifi.com/index.php?sh...&#entry4767191

(Please follow the link for the complete article.)

January 18, 2008 • Posted By Jarrod Cooper

Big Finish Productions has announced the launch of a new download service launching on February 1st. With this service, listeners will be able to purchase and instantly download the audio of their choice as an mp3 file to their computer.

This includes the Doctor Who, Bernice Summerfield, Sapphire and Steel, and the forthcoming Stargate series.

**snippage**

Jason also addressed the impact that this change will have on foreign fans. ‘We have always done our best to keep the prices as low as possible for foreign customers,’ continues Haigh-Ellery. ‘Unfortunately though, the poor exchange rate with America, Australia and other countries has made this difficult. Now though, by offering downloadable versions of our plays, we can dramatically reduce the price as there is no extra expenditure on postage, packing and materials. We’re sure that this will be good news for our foreign customers’.

**snippage**

<><><><>

The current line up of SG1/SGA Audio Dramas (these are audio dramas, not books read-a-loud):


April 30 SG-1 Gift of the gods Sally Malcolm Read by Michael Shanks

May 30 SGA Necessary evil Sharon Gosling read by Torri Higginson

June 30 SG-1 Shell game James Swallow read by Claudia Black and Michael Shanks

July 30 SGA Perchance to dream Sally Malcolm read by Paul McGillion

August 30 SG-1 Pathogen Sharon Gosling read by Teryl Rothery

September 20 SGA No title yet James Swallow read by David Nykl

[Ebeneezer_Goode]

Are these considered canon?

[morjana]

Are these considered canon?

No.

Very few fandoms - I know there are some - but the vast majority of fandoms do NOT consider anything that is NOT presented on the screen/TV as canon.

Fanon, maybe.

Morjana

[JMSwallow]

Just FYI, Big Finish put out a press release about the plans for their new website and downloadable content on Friday, including the Stargate audios; I'm cut-and-pasting it here from Outpost Gallifrey's Doctor Who news page...

***

Big Finish Productions has announced the launch of a new download service launching on February 1st. With this service, listeners will be able to purchase and instantly download the audio of their choice as an mp3 file to their computer. This includes the Doctor Who, Bernice Summerfield, Sapphire and Steel, and the forthcoming Stargate series.

‘Listening habits have changed dramatically over the last ten years,’ says Company Director, Jason Haigh-Ellery. ‘More and more people are choosing to buy their music and audio online and listen to it either on their computer or on mp3 players like the iPod. We are delighted to be able to make Big Finish’s productions available in this new way’.

Jason also addressed the impact that this change will have on foreign fans. ‘We have always done our best to keep the prices as low as possible for foreign customers,’ continues Haigh-Ellery. ‘Unfortunately though, the poor exchange rate with America, Australia and other countries has made this difficult. Now though, by offering downloadable versions of our plays, we can dramatically reduce the price as there is no extra expenditure on postage, packing and materials. We’re sure that this will be good news for our foreign customers’.

With the launch of the new website at BigFinish.com on February 1st, fans will be able to sample individual episodes for a small cost. The remainder of the play will be available for simply paying the remainder of the balance. Although not available at launch, a subscription service will be introduced where customers can purchase several plays in advance of their release at a discounted rate. In addition to the plays themselves, music suites, behind-the-scenes features and copies of the scripts will also be made available for download.

Fans who prefer to continue buying their Big Finish plays on CD need not worry that online downloads will herald the end of the CD versions. All new Big Finish plays will continue to be released on CD simultaneously with the download version. The download versions will be cheaper than the CDs in all territories but CD purchasers will also be entitled to acquire the download version at no extra charge.

‘The new download service is a major step forward for Big Finish,’ says Jason Haigh-Ellery.

[prion]

Are these considered canon?

No. Canon is only what's presented on-screen.

[JMSwallow]

>September 20 SGA No title yet James Swallow

The title of this story is Zero Point.

[Ebeneezer_Goode]

No. Canon is only what's presented on-screen.

+ SG:W

[morjana]

>September 20 SGA No title yet James Swallow

The title of this story is Zero Point.

Thanks for the update, James!

Will the CDs have any extras with them?

Morjana

[JMSwallow]

Thanks for the update, James!

Will the CDs have any extras with them?

Morjana

That hasn't been confirmed yet.

[morjana]

That hasn't been confirmed yet.

Okay, thank you James!

I've already pre-ordered the first two through Amazon.UK.

Looking forward to these audio plays.

Best wishes, Morjana

[LawgSkrak]

I'm a huge fan of the Doctor Who FULL-CAST audios. Never heard the Companions series, so I'm not exactly sure how these SG audios are set up? Can somebody give more details? I don't like audio books at all. If this is set up like Jackson is telling a story to, say General Hammond or something, like he's giving a mission debriefing I will check them out.

Audiobook format however, not touching them.

[Steve Foxon]

I'm a huge fan of the Doctor Who FULL-CAST audios. Never heard the Companions series, so I'm not exactly sure how these SG audios are set up? Can somebody give more details? I don't like audio books at all. If this is set up like Jackson is telling a story to, say General Hammond or something, like he's giving a mission debriefing I will check them out.

Audiobook format however, not touching them.

It's half-way between a short story audiobook, and a full cast audio - sort of. The norm is for the major charactor to narrate a story, and there is normally a reason for the narration. So yes, it might recounting a story to someone else, or maybe writing something in a diary, or recording a video etc.

As the story is told, you get sound effects, which include the background atmospheres of the environment, and certain things that happen in the story that will emphasise what is happening. That is, you don't get all of the sound effects to go with everything, just the major stuff. All of the effects, are quieter in the mix than the normal full-cast play, as they are 'underneath the narrator', with some scene setting stuff occassionally.

There's normally a 2nd more minor actor in the play, that doesn't narrate, but appears in the story itself and you will generally hear them in their environment - at those points, the narrator would switch to the environment as well, if they are speaking with the character.

And finally, there is incidental music to accompany the telling as well, which is used to either emphasise action, or maybe set a mood for the narrator.

It's definitely NOT just an audiobook being read - far from it. But it's not a full cast drama either. My suggestion is give the first one a go and see what you think. I can assure you that 'Gift of the Gods' is a brilliant story, and Michaal Shanks does a wonderful job in the telling of it. As good as anything you'll see on screen.

Hope that helps

Steve.

[Cinc1]

Thanks, Steve - can't wait!

[John W]

Yeah, thanks Steve. It's great to hear from someone who works on the project.

Regarding the sound effects, are they going to be the actual ones from the show (Gate activation, dialling, DHD dialling, staff blasts, rings etc.)? Obviously I'd love them all to be in there as they add a great level of authenticity.

[Steve Foxon]

Yeah, thanks Steve. It's great to hear from someone who works on the project.

No problem, feel free to ask away, and I'll answer anything I can.

Regarding the sound effects, are they going to be the actual ones from the show (Gate activation, dialling, DHD dialling, staff blasts, rings etc.)? Obviously I'd love them all to be in there as they add a great level of authenticity.

Yes

[John W]

Really? That's great to hear. I'm really pleased! Thanks!

As I said earlier in this thread, I have a lot of old Star Trek audiobooks. While they're pretty good, the one thing that a big nerd like me picked-up on was that they only occasionally used the actual sound effects from the TV shows (commbadges, transporters etc.). All the others were totally different generic sounds. It was somewhat off-putting.

[Steve Foxon]

Really? That's great to hear. I'm really pleased! Thanks!

As I said earlier in this thread, I have a lot of old Star Trek audiobooks. While they're pretty good, the one thing that a big nerd like me picked-up on was that they only occasionally used the actual sound effects from the TV shows (commbadges, transporters etc.). All the others were totally different generic sounds. It was somewhat off-putting.

You may find the odd door hear and there that's not exact, and some of the background tones, but nothing that would jolt you out of the universe! I'm a big Stargate fan, and also want it to sound as authentic as possible. Even the incidental music for the first one is very in-keeping with the show (well I think so anyway )

[JMSwallow]

Hi y'all. I had hoped to get along to the Pegasus 3 convention this weekend (which featured Torri Higginson and Paul McGillion, two of our audio series 'voices') but it didn't happen; so instead I'm going to drop some more news in here about the audios...

Regarding extra content, I've now been told that Big Finish intend to include an exclusive interview on each disc. There may be out-takes too, depending on permissions from the actors.

BF also hope to produce a special subscribers-only disc, similar to the premiums made available on the Doctor Who audio range. This will be made available to purchasers who buy a subscription to releases from the Big Finish site.

And I can also say that we're already moving forward with our next set of six releases...