BIG FINISH ARE offering discounts of up to 80% on titles from the Survivors audio back catalogue, up until 23:59 on 21 April 2024.
Most of the early series’ boxsets are on offer for less than £10 (CD and download combos), while later sets in the range are significantly reduced in price.
Survivors audiobooks are also included – with the unabridged version of Terry Nation’s 1976 Survivors novel, read by Carolyn Seymour, currently available for less than £5.00.
All these offers are accessible through the Big Finish website.
Comprehensive reviews of each and every release in Big Finish’s Survivors audio range are freely available to read elsewhere on the Survivors: A World Away website.
BIG FINISH PODCAST host Nick Briggs and Benji Clifford recall the release of the third series of original Survivors audio dramas in November 2015 in the latest edition of their show.
The famous discounted title selector – the Randamoid Selectatron – chose Survivors series three as the beneficiary of this week’s 25% price discount deal deal (which expires on 7 April).
Nick Briggs: It’s the Randomoid Selectatron, where we randomly select a Big Finish release and offer you a 25% discount on it… And, as we’ve mentioned before, because the wonderful Jackie Emery is on very deserved leave, she asked me to select early, and yesterday I hit the Randomoid Selectatron button and got Survivors series three.
Benji Clifford: Great taste, great taste.
Nick Briggs: I think that’s one you particularly like, isn’t it?
Benji Clifford: One of my favourite… probably my favourite Big Finish I’ve ever worked on, I think. It means a lot… it means the most, to me, because it was a real test of my abilities as a sound designer. Like, really. I put it as one of my best bits of work, so… It’s just a great story. Great acting, great cast… I got to the exciting thing of getting to listen to your music score on its own… I was very excited about receiving that, genuinely was.
Nick Briggs: That’s because I was unable to actually compose for that one, wasn’t I?
Benji Clifford: Yeah, so I did all the editing in for that one. But it’s a ripping yarn. It’s really good, gritty, graphic… one of our darker releases at Big Finish. Just so good.
Benji Clifford: Yeah, who’s just really fantastic in the role [of Vinnie], and just… really gave it his all. It wasn’t an easy role to do by any means, especially in terms of the content and the subject matter… but he really was brilliant.
Nick Briggs: Great stuff. Well, as I mentioned earlier… it really is worth looking at the whole Survivors range. There’s been some new ones out recently, and they’ve been absolutely superb.
REVIEWS OF ALBION, Fallout and Requiem, the final three episodes of the Survivors: New Dawn audio range have now been published on the Big Finish Survivors section of the Survivors: A World Away site.
With Big Finish indicating that no further Survivors audio releases are currently planned, the release of New Dawn 4 brings to an end Survivors life as an audio drama.
The Survivors: A World Away site has tracked the development of this unique strand of Survivors fiction since the release of the first box set back in 2014.
Over the course of nine years, this site has published synopses and reviews of all 36 episodes in the nine series original run of Survivors audios, of three Survivors audiobooks, and all twelve episodes in the four box sets of the New Dawn series.
As a result of repeated visits to the Big Finish studios, the editor of this site also carried out numerous interviews with cast members (including Carolyn Seymour, Lucy Fleming, Ian McCulloch and Richard Heffer, as well as many new actors joining the series on audio), extracts from many of which have also been published on the site.
Beyond the site itself, the editor has published reviews of the releases for Cultbox (together with the Carolyn Seymour: in Conversation spin-off release), and published regular features and reviews of the series for Starburst, both in print and online.
As the release of Survivors audios begins an indefinite pause, it’s good to be able to reflect that the series ends in such a satisfying and assured way:
Abby and Jenny begin a new phase in their own journey as listeners, many of whom have followed the series from series one released back in 2014, come to the end of theirs. It’s been a remarkable, often unsettling, and always compelling series made by a creative team who have shown time and again their determination to grasp the full dramatic potential of Terry Nation’s inspired original premise.
THE LATEST EPISODE of the TV Club strand of the Strangers in Space podcast (13 October) spends an hour reappraising the impact of Survivors.
Host J R Southall is joined by Jon Arnold, Jim Cameron and Dylan Rees, and reflects on the impact of the series at the time of its original transmission and the legacy of the series nearly five decades on.
Almost fifty years ago a nation huddled around its television sets imagining the oncoming apocalypse and wondering when it might be best to plant corn crops in the devastation that followed; our thoughts on Terry Nation and Terence Dudley’s Survivors
It’s nearly half a century since Terry Nation’s story about the aftermath of a genocidal virus, so how’s it looking in 2023?
THE RANDOMOID SELECTORTRON in this week’s Big Finish podcast (29 October) chose the third series boxset of Survivors audios for its one-week-only special discount offer.
Each week, the podcast hosts Nick Briggs and Benji Clifford use the enigmatic Randomoid Selectortron device to choose a random release from the Big Finish back catalogue.
That release is then made the subject of a seven day discount of 25% on the list price.
To take advantage of this offer, which will expire on 4 November 2023, visit the podcast listing on the Big Finish site, follow the Randomoid Selectotron link and enter the code ‘BUCKUP’ when prompted to purchase the download-only version of this well-reviewedSurvivors audio box set.
In the podcast, Nick and Benji share their memories of working on this 2015 release, with Benji recalling his conversations with Richard Heffer and his work on the sound design, Nick remembering the powerhouse performance by Paul Thornley (as bad boy Vinnie Vincent) and both hosts expressing their undimmed enthusiasm for the world of Survivors on audio.
BIG FINISH HAVE released a short behind-the-scenes video interview with Carolyn Seymour (Abby Grant) and Lucy Fleming (Jenny Richards) reflecting on the legacy of Survivors and the pair’s work on the audio series.
Published today (1 October 2024 – Seymour’s 76th birthday), five days after the release of Survivors: New Dawn 4, the interview sees the two actors describe the impact of the original TV series and their pleasure at being able to revisit and continue on audio the storylines of characters they first played almost 50 years ago.
“It’s always fun working for Big Finish,” says Fleming. “It’s just a joy. We’re really lucky to be doing this.” Seymour agrees. “We have a wonderful team. We just love it. We have such a good time.”
Big Finish have made clear that the release of Survivors: New Dawn 4brings to an end the company’s work on the series – after nine boxsets inspired by the events of the original TV series, the four box set New Dawn imprint and three Survivors audio books.
BIG FINISH HAVE today (26 September 2023) released the new, original Survivors audio box set New Dawn 4 – the final instalment in the New Dawn series.
Survivors: New Dawn 4 is available to buy – on CD, as a digital download or as a combination of both – from the Big Finish site.
As the New Dawn series concludes, Big Finish indicate that the company’s work on the show has reached its endpoint with the release of Survivors‘ “final stories” on audio which “bring Abby and Jenny’s journey to an end.”
This is a clear statement that Big Finish are not planning any further Survivors audio releases (either as full-cast dramas or audio books), either set during the time of the original TV series or in the New Dawn era.
Since the launch of Big Finish’s Survivors audio range in 2014, nine series of original-series-related audios have been released (36 stories in total), four New Dawn boxsets (12 episodes in total) and three Survivors audio books.
Reviews of each of three episodes in the Survivors: New Dawn box set will be published on this site shortly.
Survivors comes to an end
It’s the end of the world as we know it as the Survivors’ final stories are released today from Big Finish Productions.
Since 2014, Big Finish’s audio drama series, Survivors, has been exploring at how humanity would survive in the aftermath of a global pandemic.
Developed from Terry Nation’s 1970s television series, the latest box set in the audio continuation examines the lives of Abby Grant (played by Carolyn Seymour) and Jenny Richards (played by Lucy Fleming), and how life is developing under the New Federal Government.
It’s been a generation since The Death killed over 99% of the population. A new breed of people have grown up free from the trappings of 20th century civilisation, and those still clinging to the past find they must adapt or die.
Survivors: New Dawn 4 is now available to own as a collector’s edition 3-disc CD box set (+ download for just £19.99) or as a digital download only (for just £16.99), exclusively here.
Continuing their journey south, Abby and Jenny venture for the first time to Kent. There they find a strange new world where the mistakes of the past are being repeated in the present, and where life is hard for those without the skills to survive.
With Jenny taken by an unknown enemy, Abby sets out on a desperate search. Her journey leads into dangerous territory. An old friend is on hand to help, but Ruth has worries of her own. Together, Ruth and Abby look into the mystery of sickness around Dungeness. Will they find Jenny before it’s too late?
Abby and Ruth finally come face to face with the strange and elusive people of Kent. They soon find themselves on the wrong side of a bitter conflict which forces them to question everything they thought they knew about life in the new world.
NOTE: Survivors contains adult material and is not suitable for younger listeners.
Co-writer and director Ken Bentley, who has been part of the Survivors range at Big Finish since its first day in studio, admits there’s a degree of pride in the way that it’s grown and developed over the years: “Survivors has been one of my most fulfilling creative experiences and it’s been a real honour to be one of the custodians of these characters and this story world.
“It was always our intention to be true to Terry Nation’s original vision. Back in 1975, the very first episode of Survivors was about Abby and Jenny and it followed their experience of the world breaking down. It was written very much from a female perspective including a number of dramatic moments that are unique to women.
“From the beginning of the audio series we tried to remain true to that vision and one of the most exciting things about working on these final episodes has been the opportunity to bring Abby and Jenny’s journey to an end.
“We probably didn’t fully appreciate at the time what an ambitious odyssey the audio series would turn into, but it’s been hugely satisfying to continue the story of two women surviving against all the odds.”
Survivors: New Dawn 4 is now available to own for just £19.99 (collector’s edition 3-disc CD box set + download) or £16.99 (download only).
All the above prices include the special pre-order discount and are subject to change after general release.
Big Finish is currently operating a digital-first release schedule. The mail-out of collector’s edition CDs may be delayed due to factors beyond our control, but all purchases of this release unlock a digital copy that can be immediately downloaded or played on the Big Finish app from the release date.
TODAY’S BIG FINISH podcast previews this week’s release of the Survivors: New Dawn 4 audio boxset, including a sneak peak of the set’s behind-the-scenes interviews and a free fifteen minute ‘drama tease’ of the opening episode“Albion”.
These latest Survivors audios offer “some of the best writing you’ll ever hear from Big Finish,” says co-host Nicholas Briggs, and feature “beautifully played” performances from Carolyn Seymour (Abby Grant) and Lucy Fleming (Jenny Richards).
“It’s brilliant, isn’t it?”, adds co-host Benji Clifford. “Survivors is fantastic. It’s real drama. It’s got some fantastic actors in it. It’s got some fantastic characters in it. It’s dark and grim but it really showcases the core elements of… the human condition.”
“The scripts are so honest and real,” adds Briggs. “Doing the music is quite an emotionally exhausting – but ultimately nourishing – experience.”
Guest on the podcast, Big Finish magazine Vortex editor Kenny Smith, praises “the sound design on it, the music on it”. He commends it as “a wonderfully dark listen… very cleverly done.”
“The team behind Survivors really get it,” says Clifford. “They just understand what it is that makes this such a special series… I’m so proud of being a part of Survivors and I’m so proud of the team.”
This fourth box set, which brings to a conclusion the New Dawn series, remains available for pre-order until the day of general release.
BIG FINISH HAVE published the cover artwork and the plot summaries for the three episodes of the upcoming audio boxset Survivors: New Dawn 4.
Some fans had concluded that the cover art would be based on the main image used to illustrate the Survivors: New Dawn 4 preview feature in Vortex magazine.
The confirmed cover image for the final release in the New Dawn series is a rural, coastal vista featuring The Old Lighthouse and the nuclear power station at Dungeness.
The episode summaries for the three stories in the boxset are as follows:
Survivors: New Dawn 4
It’s been a generation since The Death killed over 99% of the population. A new breed of people have grown up free from the trappings of 20th century civilisation, and those still clinging to the past find they must adapt or die.
4.1 Albion by Ken Bentley Continuing their journey south, Abby and Jenny venture for the first time to Kent. There they find a strange new world where the mistakes of the past are being repeated in the present, and where life is hard for those without the skills to survive.
4.2 Fallout by Matt Fitton With Jenny taken by an unknown enemy, Abby sets out on a desperate search. Her journey leads into dangerous territory. An old friend is on hand to help, but Ruth has worries of her own. Together, Ruth and Abby look into the mystery of sickness around Dungeness. Will they find Jenny before it’s too late?
4.3 Requiem by Ken Bentley Abby and Ruth finally come face to face with the strange and elusive people of Kent. They soon find themselves on the wrong side of a bitter conflict which forces them to question everything they thought they knew about life in the new world.
Big Finish
Survivors: New Dawn 4, will be released next month (September 2023), and the boxset remains available for pre-order.
UPDATE, 3 SEPTEMBER 2023: Big Finish have now released the first trailer for Survivors: New Dawn 4.
THE NEW EDITION of Big Finish’s Vortex magazine includes a preview of the upcoming Survivors audio boxset New Dawn 4.
The feature includes interview snippets with writer-director Ken Bentley, writer Matt Fitton, and series’ producer Emma Haigh.
It also reveals some new information about the characters who will appear in New Dawn 4 and some of the settings and scenarios that the three stories in the boxset will explore – so the article comes with a ‘mild spoilers’ advisory, for those who prefer to listen to the series with no advance knowledge.
The concluding boxset in the New Dawn series, Survivors: New Dawn 4, will be released next month (September 2023), and remains available for pre-order.
