Nick at 1 Buckingham Place. Photo (c) Rick Davy.
THE
UNMUTUAL WEBSITE
INTERVIEWS
NICK BRIGGS - BIG FINISH AUDIOS - SERIES 2 INTERVIEWS
Nick at 1 Buckingham Place. Photo (c) Rick Davy.
Big Finish, best known for their extensive range of "Doctor Who" audio dramas, are now producing original "Prisoner" audio dramas, with series one released to much acclaim in 2015. Click HERE to read all the news regarding the series.
Nick Briggs,
has been kind enough to spare some time on several occasions to
give a few more details regarding his plans for the series. Click HERE
to read all his previous interviews regarding series 1 of the audio dramas.
Nick's interviews regarding series 2 are reproduced below.
TUW:
It was with interest that we saw news that the second series of The Prisoner
from Big Finish will now be available for the 50th anniversary in 2017, rather
than 2016. When exactly can we expect series two?
NB: Well, originally, we were going to release Volume 2 in January 2017. When
my workload made it clear I wasn’t going to make that, we thought of delaying
it until about March. But I was keen that we would be celebrating the 29th September
2017 50th anniversary, so we thought it best to delay until August. And because
of my delay in writing, the availability of our leading actor became a factor
too. Still, it’s all my fault. So, August 2017 is the release month. It’ll
give listeners time to purchase and have it ready for the anniversary.
TUW: I believe
you can now confirm some episode titles for us?
NB: Yes indeed. Here’s the exclusive news on that front. The first one
of Volume 2 is entitled I Met a Man Today — it’s a very
loose adaptation of Many Happy Returns. Very different from the original.
The second episode is called Project Six and is a very, very re-imagined
adaptation of A, B and C. The third episode is entitled Hammer
into Anvil and is, perhaps not surprisingly, an adaptation of the original
TV series episode of that same name — again, quite a departure from the
original, though. The fourth episode is entitled Living in Harmony,
but has nothing whatsoever to do with the original TV episode of that title.
It’s a completely different story, but the title fitted, and I just couldn’t
resist. It’s in the nature of The Prisoner to play with expectations,
I feel. Anyway, there you are. All storylines are approved by ITV, and I’m
writing scripts almost as we speak — except, of course, I had to stop
to answer these questions!
TUW: There were some really interesting new ideas in the first series,
especially in Your Beautiful Village, can we expect anything as 'totally
new' as that in the new series?
NB: Yes, you can. The overwhelming comment from all those who loved the first
series is that they want more ‘totally new’ things. That’s
one of the reasons why even my adaptations this time are virtually unrecognisable
from the originals, in many ways.
TUW: Are you finding the process of writing for The Prisoner
easier as you go along, as you get used to writing for the characters and scenarios,
or more difficult?
NB: I’m not sure it’s easier. But I had a real blast writing it
last time and I’m really enjoying going further with it. Jamie Anderson,
my script editor, said that every time he read each storyline for this new series,
he felt like he was having some sort of nervous breakdown — they’re
apparently that weird and disturbing.
TUW: What else have Big Finish been up to lately?
NB: That question is so enormous. Loads of stuff. Best limit it to what I’ve
been working on. I’ve been doing music for Survivors, based on
the 1975 Terry Nation post-pandemic series. Also, I’ve been composing
music for The New Counter Measures, our series original set in the
1960s with the troubleshooting team from Remembrance of the Daleks.
It’s now a decade later, so I’ve been doing lots of fun 1970s synth
and electric piano and guitar stuff. I’ve also been working on directing
some Tom Baker stories. We’ve also formulated plans for some great Big
Finish anniversaries. 2018 is our 20th anniversary and 2019 is our 20th anniversary
for Big Finish Doctor Who. Lots of exciting stuff coming up!
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NEW INTERVIEW, MARCH 2017
TUW:
How have the recordings been coming along for season 2?
NB: It’s all been going really well. I feel sad saying it, but I do keep
saying it… These have been three of the happiest days of my life. Such
great performances with great actors. And I’m particularly gratified that
none of them have complained about how utterly bonkers the scripts all seems
to be. My script editor, Jamie Anderson, said he felt like he was having a stroke
when reading them. I’ve gone for the full, mind-bending ‘60s feel!
But yes, three of the four episodes are now ‘in the can’ and post-production
work by Iain Meadows — the genius who worked on the first series! —
is underway.
TUW: In our previous chats, you've announced the episodes for series
2, how have you found adapting 'AB&C', 'Many Happy Returns' and 'Hammer
Into Anvil' for audio? Especially given the first third of the original of 'MHR'
doesn't have any dialogue!
NB: These episodes are so embedded in my psyche, and I’ve watched them
over and over again since 1977… and more recently too! I bought The Prisoner
on itunes, so I can access it any time I need to — on a train, in a car…
wherever! So I swap between studying the original intently for some sequences
and running free with it from memory. All of them sort of turn the original
episodes on their heads in some way. But they retain the central themes. In
my version of Many Happy Returns, Six has still escaped from the Village —
but his relationship with Mrs Butterworth is very different… and she’s
very different. A, B & C now relates far more to the ‘continuity’
of the story that I established in the first box set. And Hammer Into Anvil
gives a much more concrete reason for Number Two’s paranoia. I’ll
say no more on those.
TUW: Anything
you can tell us about your 'all new episode’?
NB: I haven’t finished the script for Living In Harmony — which
only has the same title as the original episode. It doesn’t resemble it
in any other way. I thought that would be fun. The title fits so perfectly for
the episode I have in mind. It’s a bit ‘out of this world’.
The
Unmutual Website would like to thank Nick very much for sparing the time to
share his thoughts regarding the exciting new series. Keep an eye on the main
news page for updates and developments as soon as they are announced.