Why no other franchise?

This is something I got to thinking about the other day. I wonder, why not other sci-fi franchise for audio dramas? YOu never hear of anyone doing SG-1, Star Trek, etc...you get the point audio dramas. I wonder why SW draws in so many audio drame makers?

 

Good point. It would be nice to see other genres reach into the audio world, but it seems Star Wars is probably just the most popular. I'd venture to say there probably is a Trek audio drama out there somewhere. It will probably just take some serious searching.

 

After we're finished with SMUGGLER'S RUN and the possible sequel trilogy, we hope to do a SHADOW audio drama, bringing my dreams of doing an audio drama full circle. A STAR TREK audio drama would be interesting, though, either with or without the original characters.

 

SpaceHunter a fan produced Shadow drama would be sweet. You do it, I'll D/L in nothing flat, I love the Shadow. Maybe that's way people are drawn more towards SW than any other series? Star Wars has more of that classic sci-fi feel than most of the other big name franchises. In a way it's a compliment to how good the universe is in that it can transcend (sic) media types.

I know this is a unusual question but it was one that popped in my head the other day when I was listening to the radio on the way home from work.

 

Yeah, I'd love to do a SHADOW. It ignited my interest in radio dramas ten years ago when the first set of tapes were released. And because there's quite a few STAR WARS fan audios, I'd probably have no trouble assembling a small on-line cast to help make it happen. I'm sure I could find a girl on-line to play Margo. You can't do THE SHADOW without Margo. I always thought it would be cool to do a radio drama version of the feature film, but I don't think I'd have the energy to pull off something that big.

 

I'd thought of doing Star Wars fan audio some time ago, but decided to work with fan films instead. I can't speak for everyone, but my inspiration was the original radio dramas. I think the erason I see SW fan audio as natural is because that format was already used as an official SW storytelling medium.

-Paul

 

For us, it was a question of doing something different than what everyone else was doing at the time. That and the lack of ability to pull off a movie. It just kind of happened.

As for others, I suppose there's a perception that it is easier than doing a movie. And in many ways, it is. Why there's no Star Trek, I'm not sure. I guess nobody's really thought of it. We had the original NPR series to inspire us. I'm not sure if Gene Roddenberry every thought of it or not.

Keith

 

I think the key is "you never hear of..."

It's the same reason that you see so few fan films for other franchises, relative to Star Wars. Star Wars has slowly formed a dedicated fan film community, with major visibility. Other franchises lack that, and that's probably a big reason why they don't self-propagate as SW does.

 

Actually, Doctor Who has an ongoing official audio drama series as well as spin-off and fan works.

 

Except an official audio drama spin-off isn't a fan audio work...

 

I recognize that. The original question asked about audio dramas in general, and since I know of a franchise for which there are official, semi-official, and fan audios, I mentioned it. But believe me, there's a long history of Who fan audio dramas. [In fact, the companies that make the official and the spinoff audios evolved from fan outfits.]

 

Believe it or not, I've never even heard one episode of Dr. Who.

Keith

 

I never even knew what DR. WHO was until about two or three years ago.

 

Ditto. But that's because it hasn't propogated to America very well. I'd love to know what it's all about someday.

Chris

 

I've sure heard the name a lot though. So can anyone tell me what it's generally about? Dr. Who that is?

Keith

 

The one-sentence version: The Doctor is an alien who travels around the universe in a machine that can go anywhere in time or space, and along the way, he takes one or more companions.

The original television series ran on the BBC for 26 seasons from 1963 to 1989. When it started, the Doctor was an ill-tempered old man. When he left the show three years in, the producers decided that, since he's a mysterious alien - at this point neither his race nor his homeworld had even been named - they could say he has the power to change his appearance and personality. So they got an actor bore no resemblance to the original to play the second Doctor as a sort of "cosmic hobo." And that set the pattern.

During the series run, there were seven Doctors. [An eighth debuted in a 1996 TV movie that aired in the US on Fox, and the ninth will be introduced in an online audio drama this fall.] The most recognizable, especially to American fans, is the fourth, who had a wide-brimmed hat, a really long scarf, and an appreciation for jelly babies. [Though there'd been an earlier attempt at syndication, the show only really got a foothold in the US when it began airing on PBS stations in the late 70s, so the fourth Doctor was the first one most American fans ever saw.]

Since the show ended, the franchise has continued in lines of original novels - for most of the 90s, there were two new ones a month - and audios (both commercial and online).

Anyway, that's a short answer.