I’m not sure what I can say about it, as I’ve done
interviews about it for a forthcoming edition of Vortex and (I think) Doctor
Who Magazine, as well as (different) writer’s notes for the box set and CD
editions so anything I write here will be pre-empting that, and
probably repeating myself. The main thing about it is that it was a great thing
to be asked to do, and it was a lovely challenge, to adapt a novel which (even
before this release was announced) people were saying would be impossible to adapt.
That’s what made it interesting and enjoyable to do, to make a story written
very much in the form of a novel work as an audio; while it would be easy and
fun to adapt one of the novels written as novelisations of imaginary TV stories
(such as my own Festival of Death and
Touched by an Angel!), maybe doing
something just because it’s easy and fun isn’t a good enough reason for doing
it.
The response to it has been almost universally favourable,
almost overwhelmingly so in some cases, which is a relief, it would’ve been
awful to have fucked up a Russell T Davies story! One or two people have been a
little annoyed that it’s been ‘toned down’ - I’d argue that it hasn’t, it’s
just that the emphasis of the story has been changed in order to make it work
on audio – while one or two others have worried that it is too dark, too adult.
I’d argue against that too; I’d say that if there is a line, this story is on
the right side of it, even if it is pretty close to it too.
One day I may go into more detail about the process of adaptation (if I can still remember), about which bits were changed from
the novel and why, but today is not that day.
Instead, here are a few quotes/reviews that have been posted
online.
“The absolute best
audio EVER! I loved it, loved it!” – Carefulsilly12, Big Finish forum
“Without a doubt, Damaged
Goods from Big Finish is one of their greatest Doctor Who releases. Funny, dramatic and heartbreaking.” - Kenny
Smith, twitter
“Damaged Goods is
in my opinion the single greatest Doctor Who
story in any format.” – Ed Watkinson, twitter
Beautifully
adapted and acted, this is one of the strongest releases from Big Finish so far
this year.” - Alasdair Stuart, Sci-FiBulletin
“Damaged Goods
might be one of the best BF productions ever.” – DavidJGallagher, Big Finish
forum
“Mix Big Finish with Russell T Davies and added Jonny Morris
and you get the astonishing brilliance of Damaged
Goods. Just perfection.” – Andrea, twitter
“I wholeheartedly recommend this audio adaptation. It’s not
only a great audio on its own, but it’s a lovely piece of Doctor Who history.” – Chris
Swanson, Kasterborous
“Damaged Goods
brought tears to my eyes. One of the best releases ever.” – Xavier Granville, twitter
“I found the audio drama far more appealing [than the
novel]. Big Finish emphasized the interesting parts and made it feel much more
like Doctor Who... The
rejuvenation of the story was quite remarkable!” – bdoob, Big Finish forum
“Doctor Who: Damaged Goods by Russell T Davies is the
best Big Finish CD released in years.” – Alex Fitch, twitter
“This is one of the best two hours of BF I've heard for a
while - possibly ever.” – DavidSpofforth, Big Finish forum
“Congratulations Big Finish on Damaged Goods. Dark, complex, and moving. Absolutely stunning. Best
Doctor Who audio for YEARS!” – Richard Unwin, twitter
“Big Finish reborn... I honestly feel this is one of the
best bits of Doctor Who ever, it's up
there with the greats in any medium. It is everything I ever wanted.” – Apple Sauce,
GallifreyBase
“Damaged Goods is
beyond amazing, I'm floored. Great RTD tale, brilliant performances.” – TAGAP,
twitter
“Absolutely stunning. Best thing Big Finish have done for
years!” – Riccy987, Big Finish forum
“Damaged Goods is
the best audio Big Finish have released over the last year or so. A brilliant
blend of classic and new Who.” – David Weller, twitter
“More than any Big Finish audio I've listened to, I could
SEE everything that was described in here. Now, this may be down to me reading
the book and remembering the descriptions there, but I found it flowed really,
really well.” - reech, Big Finish forum
“Big Finish ‘s version of RTD's Damaged Goods a triumph for all concerned.” – Jonathan Barnes,
twitter
“*Really* enjoyed Big Finish's version of RTD's Damaged Goods. Two or three proper "punch-the-air"
moments. Great adaptation!” – Si Hodges,
twitter
“Damaged Goods was
perfect! I may have let out more than a few 'squees' of delight on a few
occasions too.” – DavidOrSomfink, twitter