Dredd stories adapted for audio

[Bad Andy]

With the news that Big Finish are releasing three new original Judge Dredd audio stories this autumn, there has been a discussion on the Big Finish forums about what storylines would make a good transferral.

I seem to remember the Radio 1 versions  of the Apocalypse War and the Day the Law Died were a bit... well rubbish. But does the board have any suggestions over what storyline they would like to see be given the Big Finish treatment?

[Mike Gloady]

NEW stuff?  Ooooooooh.  

Kinda excited now.

It's tough to work out what pre-existing storylines would work as an audio play (or, for that matter, a novel) as they've already been told in one art form - so if it aint broke, why fix it?

The original audios and novels, for example, were the type of stories that would work BEST in that sort of arena and they allowed the character to have different tales that would never have worked as a comic.  You can't really do the cinematic elements of the comic form or the time-stretching that can occur between panels ANY kind of justice in audio.  Similarly you can't do internal monologue or long wordy debates which are so easy in the novel (and, with application of simple effects and intelligent production, in audio) in the comic form without the pace seeming to slow to a crawl and endless "thought balloons" or "narration bars".  

Obviously these things ARE possible, but not to the same degree.  Each form has it's strengths and weaknesses.  And it's these which dictate the kind of story one tells in a given medium (or which medium a storyline is most suitable for).

I'm not totally against the idea, of course.  Done well, and well-chosen, they could be something exciting and new.  I just have reservations.  As for what tales might suit that transition, hmmmmm.  I'll have to have a think.  What do other boarders say?

[Bad Andy]

I agree with almost everything you say there Mike.

As I posted on the other site

One of the more successful audio plays was the one that happened 'at the end' of Judgement Day, with Dredd and Johnny Alpha getting back to civilisation. If they were to write untold stories 'within' the classic mega-epics (such as missions within the Apocalypse War or locations in the Cursed Earth/Judge Child Quest or something form 'The Pit' era) then they would get a lot of interest.

But make sure they are more 'Pre-Emptive Revenge' than 'Plagues of Necropolis'

[Mike Gloady]

But make sure they are more 'Pre-Emptive Revenge' than 'Plagues of Necropolis'

Quite!

As a means of hanging a story on, that concept has a good chance of appealing to a wide-range of readers - which it needs to if Big Finish are going to make money out of this lot.  I recently picked up "Pre-Emptive Revenge" which was excellent.  

I only now realise something rather interesting about that story that didn't occur until just now (and it would apply just as much to these storylines you suggest set within previous arcs) - they're set outside the "current" Dredd era.  Characters like Batman (for the most obvious example) often revisit their past, with many of my favourite storylines of recent years actually being set during or shortly after Miller's "Year One".  Dredd continuity has always been a straight line for the most part.  When dealing in flashbacks in Dredd, it's usually to events we've already seen in the strip or, more rarely, to events that predate Prog 2 in Dredd's world.  This second type of flashback is most obviously used in "Origins" or Joe's recollection of the lead up to Rico's fall from grace in "Blood Cadets" (collected in "Brothers of The Blood").  In either sense, Joe is usally recounting the events to a listener or listeners in current continuity, events which will have more than a passing relevance to the ongoing storyline.

Starting a storyline with "Mega-City 1, 2096ad" or something similar seems, to me at least, something that I'm glad hasn't been done yet.  Done sparingly and WELL, it could be really exciting grounds for storytelling.  Just look at "Pre-Emptive Revenge", after all.  And that was a direct sequel to a storyline that even it's most ardent supporters would admit was rather flawed and weak both in plotting and execution.  

I'm getting more and more interested in this idea, Bad Andy.

[davidbishop]

There are four Dredd audios coming. As I understand it, they're similar to the Doctor Who Companion Chronicles that Big Finish also produces, with a narrator telling the story like a talking book - but interspersed with dialogue, sound effects and music.

I believe all four are original stories, rather than adaptations of existing Dredd strips. Can't speak for the other three, but my effort - Stranger Than Truth - is designed to make best use of the particular narrative format.

davidbishop

[Proudhuff]

Strangely enough Edinburgh City Libraries still have the first two audio tales ON TAPE!
so I recently listened to them as in-car entertainment, a bit silly, with Maria and Walter, but the worse bit was a constant   tinnitus sound whenever a Judge was on, I think it may have been their chain links but it really grated after a short time...soooo, none of that jangley stuff please?

[davidbishop]

Note to self: avoid the jingle jangle of a thousand lost souls...

[Toni Scandella]

Note to self: avoid the jingle jangle of a thousand lost souls...

I was never really that impressed with the audios to be honest - just not a medium I am used to, i guess.  Maybe I should try them again - after all, I have them all...  The novels, though, I loved - especially yours - in both the Virgin and Black Flame varieties.

[semajmaharg]

I may yet be tempted by the new format, but I was rather disappointed by the last series.

Indeed, I need a bit of convincing that Dredd is right for audio. It is an essentially quite visual comic.

That said, I did enjoy the Strontium Dog audios and I think there are 2000AD strips that would work well with the medium. Caballistics, Inc, Indigo Prime, Durham Red and Anderson, Psi all have strong possibilities and I would love to some day hear that Gordon Rennie Rogue Trooper audio that never got released.