new radio version of Neverwhere that started airing yesterday on BBC Radio 4+. If the fact that it's, well, Neverwhere isn't interesting to you in and of itself, one or more of the cast might be, as it includes James McAvoy, Natalie Dormer, Benedict Cumberbatch, Anthony Stewart Head, Bernard Cribbins, Romola Garai, Yasmin Paige, and Christopher freakin Lee. (A full cast listing may be found on the page for each ep.)
The BBC website can occasionally be confusing, so I'll point out that you can listen live online as it airs or stream the episodes via iPlayer, which is not geolocked for radio content the way it is for video.
It appears that only the first episode will be available for download, as the Drama of the Week podcast for March 22-29. For those who, like me, prefer to listen to such things in the car or other locations where online streaming isn't practical:I used to be able to simply play the stream and record in Audacity, but after fiddling with all the settings in Audacity (and Sony SoundForge) as well as my system sound settings, I can't seem to convince it to do that anymore. IDEK. I've been looking around for a usable utility, and am currently experimenting with HiDownload, which is not the most user-friendly thing on the planet but which has a fully-functional 30-day free trial. Thus far I've succeeded in downloading it as an AVI, which I didn't realize had actually happened until I was in the middle of the current attempt to download it as an mp3. So if that ends up not working for whatever reason (it's taking a long time, but I'm sure that's a matter of conversion), I'll just convert from the AVI.
If anyone has something they use (Win7 or XP) and like, I'm definitely open to suggestions! I've gotten in the habit of occasionally just grabbing a random radio drama to listen to because it's something US radio just doesn't do anymore, but BBC Radio never stopped doing so they do it very well. And it's free!
Edit:
hildy recommended Radio Downloader, which is indeed markedly more user-friendly. The link in her comment is for the 32-bit version; the developer's main page lists both that and the 64-bit I just used with easy success (once I scrolled down past the inexplicable empty bulleted list of programs).
Also of note: The first minute of the first episode, as of when I downloaded it, is the tail end of the previous program. Don't panic. :-)
For those who haven't already heard, there's a The BBC website can occasionally be confusing, so I'll point out that you can listen live online as it airs or stream the episodes via iPlayer, which is not geolocked for radio content the way it is for video.
It appears that only the first episode will be available for download, as the Drama of the Week podcast for March 22-29. For those who, like me, prefer to listen to such things in the car or other locations where online streaming isn't practical:
If anyone has something they use (Win7 or XP) and like, I'm definitely open to suggestions!
Edit:
Also of note: The first minute of the first episode, as of when I downloaded it, is the tail end of the previous program. Don't panic. :-)
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Comments
I love audio dramas. I'm way behind on listening to them. US Radio may not do them anymore, but there's a ton of online groups with ongoing shows, depending on your genre of preference from original to fanworks. I do promo work for Pendant Audio and we do a variety of original material. We just finished the Scottish play for our Shakespeare production and moving on to Much Ado.
I've barely scratched the surface of what's online audio-drama-wise, partly because I really just listen in the car or if I'm sewing, and I haven't been sewing lately. Anything else I do involves too much text to be able to pay attention.
So thank you for saving me the time and effort of further experimentation!
Wikipedia tells me that the novelisation exists in three iterations: (1) original, pure UK, (2) second, adapted for US, (3) current, an amalgam of the previous two. Do you happen to know (off the top of your head) whether Gaiman has expressed an opinion on which one people should read, if they have a choice?
Much of the story is built on a framework of(That's too strong a statement.) It's riddled with references and puns based on various layers of history and particularly Tube station names (past and present), so if the US edition fiddled with that, I'd have to frown upon it. But that's pure speculation about what might be different between the editions.(Icon chosen, btw, as my only Gaiman-related one. I neglected to mention in that recent comment that he wrote "The Doctor's Wife." I don't know if your PBS Doctor Who airings have gotten up to it. He's also written another episode scheduled for later in the current season.)
Edited at 2013-03-17 08:46 pm (UTC)
Unfortunately, not on PBS. My main PBS station is (lucky me!) one of the best-funded in the country, but what with the Great Recession and the success of the series, it couldn't afford to continue bringing us Doctor Who after season two (or was it three?). I bought or borrowed DVDs for a few seasons, and then, two seasons ago, switched to buying the streaming on Amazon. The timing coordinates with the US airings on BBC America, and they used to cost $.99/episode (although I'm positive it'll be $1.98 this season).
However, at present, I'm a season behind, even though I own the episodes. I don't want to say goodbye to Amy and Rory! So I've been dragging my feet something fierce, knowing that's ahead. :-)
Understandable. Luckily, it's easy and convenient to put things off these days, and there's plenty of good stuff with which to fill the interim! :-)