BBV Productions: Difference between revisions

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Several actors appearing in these productions early in their careers went on to achieve further notability, including [[Nicholas Briggs]], [[Mark Gatiss]], and [[Alan Cumming]]. A number of personnel behind-the-scenes and in front of the camera, including Briggs, Gatiss and Cumming, would go on to work on licenced ''Doctor Who'' spinoffs at [[Virgin Books]], [[BBC Books]], and [[Big Finish Productions]], as well as the [[2005]] television revival of ''Doctor Who''.
Several actors appearing in these productions early in their careers went on to achieve further notability, including [[Nicholas Briggs]], [[Mark Gatiss]], and [[Alan Cumming]]. A number of personnel behind-the-scenes and in front of the camera, including Briggs, Gatiss and Cumming, would go on to work on licenced ''Doctor Who'' spinoffs at [[Virgin Books]], [[BBC Books]], and [[Big Finish Productions]], as well as the [[2005]] television revival of ''Doctor Who''.


Despite its foundational role in the 21st century state of ''Doctor Who'' fiction, the legacy of BBV remained a mixed one due to alleged misbehaviour on behalf of Baggs while overseeing the production, principally not paying proper royalties to writers and actors. ([[REF]]: ''[[Downtime – The Lost Years of Doctor Who]]'')
Despite its foundational role in the 21st century state of ''Doctor Who'' fiction, the legacy of BBV remained a mixed one due to alleged misbehaviour on behalf of Baggs while overseeing the production, principally not paying proper royalties to writers and actors.<ref name="downtime"/>


== Format ==
== Format ==
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=== 1998-2000: Doctor Who pastiches on audio ===
=== 1998-2000: Doctor Who pastiches on audio ===
[[File:Cyberon.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Cyberon]]s, among BBV's most enduring "original" creations, but clearly pasticheing the [[Cyberman|Cybermen]], debuted in Season 1 of the ''[[Audio Adventures in Time & Space]]'' before making the jump to live-action a few years down the line]]After the success of the ''[[Auton Trilogy]]'', BBV attempted to secure the rights to the [[Cyberman|Cybermen]] and began production on ''[[Cyberwar (home video)|Cyberwar]]'', a film which would prospectively feature Cybermen hunting characters on a remote island. Some drafts of the story also featured the [[Ice Warrior]]s. Although the film had already been announced, negotiations for the rights to the Cybermen ultimately fell through. While continuing to develop video material, Baggs set [[Nigel Fairs]] to the task of developing a line of audio dramas under the BBV brand, taking the team back to their ''[[Audio Visuals]]'' roots. The first season of BBV's all-purpose audio range, the ''[[Audio Adventures in Time & Space]]'', was mostly given over to ''The Time Travellers'', a series of ''Doctor Who'' pastiches starring [[Sylvester McCoy]] and [[Sophie Aldred]] — who had yet to reprise their actual DWU roles as the [[Seventh Doctor]] and [[Ace]] with [[Big Finish Productions]].
[[File:Cyberon.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Cyberon]]s, among BBV's most enduring "original" creations, but clearly pasticheing the [[Cyberman|Cybermen]], debuted in Season 1 of the ''[[Audio Adventures in Time & Space]]'' before making the jump to live-action a few years down the line]]After the success of the ''[[Auton Trilogy]]'', BBV attempted to secure the rights to the [[Cyberman|Cybermen]] and began production on ''[[Cyberwar (unproduced home video)|Cyberwar]]'', a film which would prospectively feature Cybermen hunting characters on a remote island. Some drafts of the story also featured the [[Ice Warrior]]s. Although the film had already been announced, negotiations for the rights to the Cybermen ultimately fell through. While continuing to develop video material, Baggs set [[Nigel Fairs]] to the task of developing a line of audio dramas under the BBV brand, taking the team back to their ''[[Audio Visuals]]'' roots. The first season of BBV's all-purpose audio range, the ''[[Audio Adventures in Time & Space]]'', was mostly given over to ''The Time Travellers'', a series of ''Doctor Who'' pastiches starring [[Sylvester McCoy]] and [[Sophie Aldred]] — who had yet to reprise their actual DWU roles as the [[Seventh Doctor]] and [[Ace]] with [[Big Finish Productions]].


However, ''Cyber-Hunt'', the seventh and final release in the season, broke the mold. Advertised as the start of a new series entitled ''The Wanderer'', it salvaged story elements from the cancelled ''Cyberwar'' project and starred [[Nicholas Briggs]] as the amnesiac traveller [[Fred]] (who was never referred to as "the Wanderer" in-story). Briggs had previously played the Doctor for unlicenced fan audios made by [[Audio Visuals]]; the ''Wanderer'' stories were a deliberate continuation of that series in all but name, with Fred being written as an amnesiac version of the ''Audio Visuals'' Doctor, with the BBC-copyrighted elements of the "Doctor" character stripped away via the amnesia plot device.<ref name="justyce-briggs">[http://www.justyce.org/nick-briggs-03-april-2000.html Nick Briggs interview, justyce.org, April 2000]</ref>
However, ''Cyber-Hunt'', the seventh and final release in the season, broke the mold. Advertised as the start of a new series entitled ''The Wanderer'', it salvaged story elements from the cancelled ''Cyberwar'' project and starred [[Nicholas Briggs]] as the amnesiac traveller [[Fred]] (who was never referred to as "the Wanderer" in-story). Briggs had previously played the Doctor for unlicenced fan audios made by [[Audio Visuals]]; the ''Wanderer'' stories were a deliberate continuation of that series in all but name, with Fred being written as an amnesiac version of the ''Audio Visuals'' Doctor, with the BBC-copyrighted elements of the "Doctor" character stripped away via the amnesia plot device.<ref name="justyce-briggs">[http://www.justyce.org/nick-briggs-03-april-2000.html Nick Briggs interview, justyce.org, April 2000]</ref>
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[[File:The Shadow Play.jpg|thumb|left|As the ''[[Audio Adventures in Time & Space]]'' wound down in the early 2000s, pride of place was increasingly given to ''[[The Faction Paradox Protocols]]''.]]Season 4 of the ''[[Audio Adventures in Time & Space]]'' was released over a longer periods of time than its predecessors, spanning [[2001 (releases)|2001]] through [[2004 (releases)|2004]]. It opened on the launch of ''[[The Faction Paradox Protocols]]'', the vanguard of of [[Lawrence Miles]]' wider ''[[Faction Paradox (series)|Faction Paradox]]'' franchise, newly spun-off from the [[BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures|''Eighth Doctor Adventures]]. The season continued the ''[[Zygon (series)|Zygon]]'' and ''[[Krynoid (audio series)|Krynoid]]'' series, featured a single release in the new ''[[Rutans (series)|Rutans]]'' series, and also included ''[[The Quality of Mercy (audio story)|The Quality of Mercy]]'', not branded as part of a specific series but which featured the ''[[Virgin New Adventures]]'' character of [[Guy de Carnac]]. There were plans for [[Bring me the Head of Sabalom Glitz (audio story)|a spin-off]] based on [[Sabalom Glitz]], but it and several other projects fell through when BBV announced in [[September (releases)|September]] [[2003 (releases)|2003]] that they would be no longer producing audio stories, with the exception of ''Faction Paradox'' and instead would focus on video releases. By [[December (releases)|December]] [[2005 (releases)|2005]], past audio releases were being deleted from their online catalogue,<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20090225210522/http://www.bbvonline.co.uk/news/script.cgi?&page=1 News] - bbvonline.co.uk (archived)</ref> although they would later be made available once more in [[2021 (releases)|2021]].
[[File:The Shadow Play.jpg|thumb|left|As the ''[[Audio Adventures in Time & Space]]'' wound down in the early 2000s, pride of place was increasingly given to ''[[The Faction Paradox Protocols]]''.]]Season 4 of the ''[[Audio Adventures in Time & Space]]'' was released over a longer periods of time than its predecessors, spanning [[2001 (releases)|2001]] through [[2004 (releases)|2004]]. It opened on the launch of ''[[The Faction Paradox Protocols]]'', the vanguard of of [[Lawrence Miles]]' wider ''[[Faction Paradox (series)|Faction Paradox]]'' franchise, newly spun-off from the [[BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures|''Eighth Doctor Adventures]]. The season continued the ''[[Zygon (series)|Zygon]]'' and ''[[Krynoid (audio series)|Krynoid]]'' series, featured a single release in the new ''[[Rutans (series)|Rutans]]'' series, and also included ''[[The Quality of Mercy (audio story)|The Quality of Mercy]]'', not branded as part of a specific series but which featured the ''[[Virgin New Adventures]]'' character of [[Guy de Carnac]]. There were plans for [[Bring me the Head of Sabalom Glitz (audio story)|a spin-off]] based on [[Sabalom Glitz]], but it and several other projects fell through when BBV announced in [[September (releases)|September]] [[2003 (releases)|2003]] that they would be no longer producing audio stories, with the exception of ''Faction Paradox'' and instead would focus on video releases. By [[December (releases)|December]] [[2005 (releases)|2005]], past audio releases were being deleted from their online catalogue,<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20090225210522/http://www.bbvonline.co.uk/news/script.cgi?&page=1 News] - bbvonline.co.uk (archived)</ref> although they would later be made available once more in [[2021 (releases)|2021]].


Thereafter, BBV ventured into non-fiction, producing documentaries such as ''[[The Doctors: 30 Years of Time Travel and Beyond]]'' and ''[[Bidding Adieu: A Video Diary]]''. In [[2003 (releases)|2003]], much production was done on a new direct-to-video DWU film, ''[[Zygon: When Being You Just Isn't Enough (home video)|Zygon: When Being You Just Isn't Enough]]'', which featured [[Zygon]]s as both protagonists and antagonists, as well as [[Lauren Anderson]], who had previously appeared in ''Cyberon''. However, it was only after additional shooting years later that the film completed and released,<ref>[http://jblum.livejournal.com/107556.html?thread=506148#t506148 Blog comment by Jonathan Blum. 7th September, 2007]</ref> coming out in [[2008 (releases)|2008]]. In an attempt to appeal to a post-''[[Torchwood (series)|Torchwood]]'' market, the final cut of ''Zygon'' featured adult elements, including uncensored nudity and even sex scenes. Upset at this, Baggs's marketing, and the way in which he had in other ways messed with their scripts, the several scriptwriters who had worked on the story, including [[Lance Parkin]] and [[Jonathan Blum]], declined to have their names appear on the finished product. ([[REF]]: ''[[Downtime – The Lost Years of Doctor Who]]'')
Thereafter, BBV ventured into non-fiction, producing documentaries such as ''[[The Doctors: 30 Years of Time Travel and Beyond]]'' and ''[[Bidding Adieu: A Video Diary]]''. In [[2003 (releases)|2003]], much production was done on a new direct-to-video DWU film, ''[[Zygon: When Being You Just Isn't Enough (home video)|Zygon: When Being You Just Isn't Enough]]'', which featured [[Zygon]]s as both protagonists and antagonists, as well as [[Lauren Anderson]], who had previously appeared in ''Cyberon''. However, it was only after additional shooting years later that the film completed and released,<ref>[http://jblum.livejournal.com/107556.html?thread=506148#t506148 Blog comment by Jonathan Blum. 7th September, 2007]</ref> coming out in [[2008 (releases)|2008]]. In an attempt to appeal to a post-''[[Torchwood (series)|Torchwood]]'' market, the final cut of ''Zygon'' featured adult elements, including uncensored nudity and even sex scenes. Upset at this, Baggs's marketing, and the way in which he had in other ways messed with their scripts, the several scriptwriters who had worked on the story, including [[Lance Parkin]] and [[Jonathan Blum]], declined to have their names appear on the finished product.<ref name="downtime">[[REF]]: ''[[Downtime – The Lost Years of Doctor Who]]''<ref/>


=== 2010s: Hiatus ===
=== 2010s: Hiatus ===
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===== Other =====
===== Other =====
* ''[[Cyberwar (home video)|Cyberwar]]'' by [[Nicholas Briggs]] (also called ''Sentinel'' or ''Sword of Orion'' in early drafts)
* ''[[Cyberwar (unproduced home video)|Cyberwar]]'' by [[Nicholas Briggs]] (also called ''Sentinel'' or ''Sword of Orion'' in early drafts)


==== Audio ====
==== Audio ====
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* [https://bbvproductions.co.uk/ Official site]
* [https://bbvproductions.co.uk/ Official site]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20090531071201/http://www.bbvonline.co.uk/script.cgi Former BBV Homepage] (defunct; mirrored at the Internet Archive)
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20090531071201/http://www.bbvonline.co.uk/script.cgi Former BBV Homepage] (defunct; mirrored at the Internet Archive)
{{dwrefguide|bbvaudio.htm|BBV - CD and DVD Releases}}
{{dwrefguide|bbvaudio.htm|BBV - CD and DVD Releases}}


== Footnotes ==
== Footnotes ==
{{reflist|2}}
{{reflist|2}}
{{BBVHV}}
{{BBVHV}}
{{BBV}}
{{BBV}}
[[Category:BBV Productions| ]]
[[Category:BBV Productions| ]]
[[Category:Overview pages]]
[[Category:Overview pages]]
[[Category:Real world production companies]]
[[Category:Real world production companies]]
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