Big Finish confirms Survivors audios series four and five

Audio-drama company Big Finish has confirmed (24 April 2015) that – due to the great success of the first releases in its new Survivors audio range – a further two series of adventures have been commissioned for release in 2016.

This amazing news means that a total of (at least) twenty new Survivors audio adventures will be released by Big Finish between 2014 and 2016.

Series three will focus on the adventures of Abby Grant – and see the return of Jimmy Garland (introduced in the series one TV episode “Garland’s War”, and last seen in the first series finale “A Beginning”); and feature a return trip to the dangerous streets of London.

Big Finish are delighted to announce that there will be more of the much acclaimed Survivors range in 2016…

Survivors – Big Finish’s award-nominated audio version of the classic 1970s BBC1 series – has been confirmed for two further releases beyond this November’s release of Survivors – Series 3.

Producer David Richardson spoke about the news: ‘As I write this, we’re prepping to go into studio for Series 3 (Abby Grant and Jimmy Garland, and a deadly voyage into London…) and signing off edits for the very dark, disturbing Series 2. But plates are spinning for Series 4 – our writers are all attached and coming up with the storylines – and we know where we are going with Series 5. How wonderful that Survivors has become such a success for Big Finish – and what a tribute to Terry Nation’s original idea, and the wonderful cast of actors.’

Survivors – Series 4 will be out in June 2016, followed by Survivors – Series 5 in November 2016. All four coming releases are currently available at special pre-order prices on CD and Download, with all CD customers getting immediate access to a download upon release, exclusive to Big Finish website purchases.

The next release in the range is Survivors – Series 2 in June, with more details and a trailer on the link above, while Survivors – Series 1, and star Carolyn Seymour’s evocative reading of the Survivors by Terry Nation novel are both also available.

Big Finish - Survivors series two - front cover
Big Finish – Survivors series two – front cover
Big Finish - Survivors - series one - cover design
Big Finish – Survivors – series one – cover design
Survivors - Terry Nation - Big Finish - audiobook
Survivors – Terry Nation – Big Finish – audiobook

Survivors – The Fourth Horseman – broadcast forty years ago today

Today (16 April 2015) is the fortieth anniversary of the original broadcast of “The Fourth Horseman” (the opening episode of the first series of Survivors). The first ever episode of Survivors was shown at 20:10 on Wednesday 16 April 1975 on BBC 1, and was seen by just over 7m viewers. “The Fourth Horseman” was written by Survivors‘ creator Terry Nation, directed by Pennant Roberts, and introduced the characters of Abby Grant (Carolyn Seymour) and Jenny Richards (Lucy Fleming) – the character of Greg Preston (Ian McCulloch) was introduced in the second episode (“Genesis”).

In The End of the World? The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to Survivors, the authors introduce their review of the episode as follows:

“The Fourth Horseman” must rank as one of Terry Nation’s finest single scripts, and sets an incredibly high standard for the drama that will follow. The opening episode of a new drama series imposes multiple challenges for the television writer: the series’ premise must be established; key characters introduced; and audience interest in the fate of the programme’s central characters secured. In the case of Survivors, Nation is required to achieve all that, whilst at the same time evoking a plausible picture of a global catastrophe using only the personal experiences of a few disparate individuals. In doing so, as Anthony Brown observed in DWB in 1993, he ‘avoids all the clichés of disaster fiction.’

The Fourth Horseman - titles

The Fourth Horseman - Abby Grant

The Fourth Horseman - Jenny Richards