readers across the casts

[Listener]

I realize EA uses the authors it knows, but I suggest breaking up the readings a bit.  Mur Lafferty reads PP and PC... Maia Whitaker reads PC and EP.  Ben Phillips reads PC and PP.  And so on.  It seems "boring" in a way... no matter how good the reading is, I wonder if I didn't just hear this story a day or two ago.  I can't really get into the new story because I'm still thinking of the old reader.

I would suggest giving at least one week's distance between reusing a reader.

IE:

w/o 5/26: Steve, Ben, Mur
w/o 6/2:  Maia, Cheyenne, Alasdair
w/o 6/9:  Steve, Dani, George
w/o 6/16:  Ben, Cheyenne, Rachel

And so on.

Just a thought...

(PS: Steve is kind of an exception because he reads a lot of EP stories, and to a lesser extent Ben.  No offense to Ben, but his readings to me sound more similar than Steve's because of his delivery -- Ben's delivery is often much more low-key than Steve's, so I mentally get lost in Ben's readings more often than Steve's.)

[goatkeeper]

I think there's something magical when the right reader is paired with the right story.  I really like Steve's narrating style and it's very flexible so it works great as the "standard voice." I get the impression that Steve doesn't pick at random or stick to a schedule of other readers, he goes by who's voice pops in his head when he's reading the story from slush.

[birdless]

Doesn't bother me, either way. It's bound to lend itself to some convenience to Steve and crew, and, to me at least, it doesn't sacrifice quality.

[Windup]

This doesn't bother me at all.  I think Steve does a good job of matching voices to stories, and hearing a limited range of voice talent doesn't really bother me, either.  For me, there's almost none of the mental "crossover" from story to story that you mentioned.  Obviously, it's different for you.

About the only comment I'd make on readers concerns Maia and Mur. Their voice quality and delivery "work" for me over a very wide range of material.  I think I could listen to either one of them read the phone book, and I'd find it mesmerizing. 

[stePH]

Considering that an overwhelming percentage of library audiobooks I've listened to have been read by one George Guidall, I don't mind if some voices are heard more often than others on the podcasts.  All I ask is that their reading is at least as good as my own amateur reading of Cyteen (that's setting the bar fairly low.

[Russell Nash]

To me it's all like seeing different actors in different roles.  If it's a good actor, it's not a problem.  If it's someone like Keanu Reeves, I only think of Ted.*



* he was Ted right.  I don't feel like going to IMDB.

[stePH]

To me it's all like seeing different actors in different roles.  If it's a good actor, it's not a problem.  If it's someone like Keanu Reeves, I only think of Ted.*



* he was Ted right.  I don't feel like going to IMDB.

Yes, he was Ted.  That and his role in River's Edge were probably his best work.

[Tango Alpha Delta]

To me it's all like seeing different actors in different roles.  If it's a good actor, it's not a problem.  If it's someone like Keanu Reeves, I only think of Ted.*



* he was Ted right.  I don't feel like going to IMDB.

Yes, he was Ted.  That and his role in River's Edge were probably his best work.

Oh, goodie.  He's still working.    # The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) (filming) .... Klaatu

And for Russell's sake... Teds I have seen (and sometimes not regretted):

# A Scanner Darkly (2006) .... Bob Arctor
# Constantine (2005) .... John Constantine
# Something's Gotta Give (2003) .... Julian Mercer
# The Matrix Revolutions (2003) .... Neo
# The Matrix Reloaded (2003) .... Neo
# The Matrix (1999) .... Neo
# The Devil's Advocate (1997) .... Kevin Lomax
# A Walk in the Clouds (1995) .... Paul Sutton
# Johnny Mnemonic (1995) .... Johnny Mnemonic
# Speed (1994/I) .... Officer Jack Traven
# Little Buddha (1993) .... Siddhartha
# Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993) .... Julian Gitche
# Much Ado About Nothing (1993) .... Don John
# Dracula (1992) .... Jonathan Harker
# Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991) .... Ted Logan / Evil Ted
# Point Break (1991) .... FBI Special Agent John 'Johnny' Utah
# Parenthood (1989) .... Tod Higgins
# Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989) .... Ted Logan

[Ocicat]

They're remaking The Day the Earth Stood Still?!?  With Keanu Reeves?

I think a little piece of me just died.

[CGFxColONeill]

To me it's all like seeing different actors in different roles.  If it's a good actor, it's not a problem.  If it's someone like Keanu Reeves, I only think of Ted.*



* he was Ted right.  I don't feel like going to IMDB.

When you brought that up I was thinking of the conversations I have had along those lines
John Wayne being the obvious example he always looks/sounds like John Wayne no matter what his name happens to be in a movie
whereas someone like Johnny Depp is more able to become a character ( ie POTC and what ever the remake of the Willy Wonka movie is called)

Steve does voices like Johnny Depp does acting ( at least the 2 or 3 characters I have seen him act lol)
great job Steve and thanks

[stePH]

When you brought that up I was thinking of the conversations I have had along those lines
John Wayne being the obvious example he always looks/sounds like John Wayne no matter what his name happens to be in a movie
whereas someone like Johnny Depp is more able to become a character ( ie POTC and what ever the remake of the Willy Wonka movie is called)

Actually, it was not a "remake", but a second adaptation of the book by Roald Dahl, and (unlike the previous film) had exactly the same title as the book.  But Depp is just as you say.

Not to derail the thread further, but I'm also partial to Gary Oldman and the spectrum of characters he plays (usually villains).

[Listener]

I think there's something magical when the right reader is paired with the right story. 

Okay, I'll allow that, but then I might personally schedule the stories differently (Hugo Month notwithstanding) so the readers are spaced out a bit.

Just one person's opinion.

[Russell Nash]

To me it's all like seeing different actors in different roles.  If it's a good actor, it's not a problem.  If it's someone like Keanu Reeves, I only think of Ted.*



* he was Ted right.  I don't feel like going to IMDB.

Yes, he was Ted.  That and his role in River's Edge were probably his best work.

Oh, goodie.  He's still working.    # The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) (filming) .... Klaatu

And for Russell's sake... Teds I have seen (and sometimes not regretted):

# A Scanner Darkly (2006) .... Bob Arctor
# Constantine (2005) .... John Constantine
# Something's Gotta Give (2003) .... Julian Mercer
# The Matrix Revolutions (2003) .... Neo
# The Matrix Reloaded (2003) .... Neo
# The Matrix (1999) .... Neo
# The Devil's Advocate (1997) .... Kevin Lomax
# A Walk in the Clouds (1995) .... Paul Sutton
# Johnny Mnemonic (1995) .... Johnny Mnemonic
# Speed (1994/I) .... Officer Jack Traven
# Little Buddha (1993) .... Siddhartha
# Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993) .... Julian Gitche
# Much Ado About Nothing (1993) .... Don John
# Dracula (1992) .... Jonathan Harker
# Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991) .... Ted Logan / Evil Ted
# Point Break (1991) .... FBI Special Agent John 'Johnny' Utah
# Parenthood (1989) .... Tod Higgins
# Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989) .... Ted Logan

I didn't say he doesn't get into good films, but normally the films are good despite of him.  The same with Tom Cruise.  If I see either one of them in a movie ad, it will be a hell of a lot harder for someone to get me to see the film.

[stePH]

And for Russell's sake... Teds I have seen (and sometimes not regretted):

...
# Much Ado About Nothing (1993) .... Don John

The one weak link in the cast of that film.  I so want to bitchslap Kenneth Branaugh for that.