Big Finish podcast previews release of Survivors: New Dawn 4 audios

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 Podcast. 2023. ‘Room Survivors’. 24 September. https://www.bigfinish.com/podcasts/v/2023-09-24-room-survivors

Big Finish reveal cover and episode summaries for New Dawn 4 audio

Survivors: New Dawn 4 cover

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.

Vortex magazine previews New Dawn 4 audio release

Preview of Survivors - New Dawn 4 - Vortex #174

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.

Vortex #174 is free to download from the Big Finish site.

Big Finish. 2023. ‘Dawn of An Era’. Vortex, Issue 174, August. pp. 14-16.

Vortex #174, Dawn of a New Era article image.

Discounts on Big Finish Survivors audios in ‘Terry Nation sale’

Survivors series one boxsets - ready for sale!

AS PART OF a ‘celebration’ of Terry Nation-inspired audio content in its catalogue, Big Finish are offering discounts on both single releases and bundles from its Survivors audio drama range.

Discounts are available on titles from the original and the New Dawn series, in a variety of download-only and CD combinations.

The full range of Survivors audio offers is available to browse on the Big Finish site.

These offers expire at 23:59 (UK time) on 06 August 2023. 

Terry Nation Celebration - Big Finish

Ian McCulloch to appear at the Popcorn con in Sheffield in September

Ian McCulloch will appear as a guest at the Popcorn convention in Sheffield on 10 September 2023

IAN MCCULLOCH HAS today been confirmed as a guest at the Popcorn convention in Sheffield on 10 September 2023.

Ian McCulloch starred as Greg Preston in the BBC’s cult post apocalyptic 70’s TV series Survivors and most recently in Big Finish’s popular audio productions of the series. He had leading roles in the Italian horror films Zombie Flesh Eaters AKA Zombi II (1979) by Lucio Fulci, Zombie Holocaust (1980) by Marino Girolami, and Contamination (1980) by Luigi Cozzi. Zombie Flesh Eaters was originally banned in the UK as part of the 1980s campaign against “Video Nasties”. McCulloch has had supporting roles in studio films such as “Where Eagles Dare (1968) with Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood, and Cromwell (1970) with Alec Guinness and Richard Harris. In addition, he has appeared in successful independent films, most notably The Ghoul (1975) with Peter Cushing and John Hurt. Ian has also guest starred in many TV series, including: Colditz (1974), Return of the Saint (1978); Hammer House of Horror’s episode “Witching Time” with Patricia Quinn (1980); The Professionals (1980), episode “Mixed Doubles”, in which he played the physical fitness and close quarters combat instructor of Bodie and Doyle; and as Nilson in the Doctor Who, serial “Warriors of the Deep” with Peter Davison (1984).

Popcorn convention

Also confirmed as Popcorn guests are Sarah Sutton, Peter Davison, Clare Higgins, Kenneth Cranham, Madeline Smith, Patricia Quinn and Michael Carter.

Autographs and photo opportunities can be purchased with all guests appearing on the day.

Popcorn describes itself as:

a pop culture festival that gets its geek on for the world of TV, Film, Comics, Literature, Sci-Fi, Horror, Cosplay & Art all under one roof! As well as Special Guests, Q & A panels, there will be autographsselfiescostume groups, cosplay, a busy marketplace filled with memorabillia & merch!  Meet fellow geeks!

Popcorn 2023

Popcorn takes places at the Magna Science Adventure Centre, Magna Way, Templeborough, Sheffield S60 1FD on Sunday 10 September 2023.

Find out more and buy tickets from the Popcorncon.com site.

Survivors in Starburst writers’ top 100 TV shows

Survivors features in the Starburst writers' top 100 TV shows of all time

IN A POLL of writers for Starburst magazine, the original 1970s’ incarnation of Survivors features in a ‘top 100’ rundown of the best genre TV shows of all time.

Survivors lands just outside the ‘top 50’ shows, ahead of Terry Nation’s celebrated space opera Blake’s 7, and just behind Seth MacFarlane’s scathing animated sitcom Family Guy.

As a regular Starburst contributor, the editor of this site submitted a list of his top 20 shows to the vote, and wrote the summary description of Survivors (and many other entries in the list, including that for Blake’s 7) once all the votes had been tallied and the ranking confirmed.

Starburst magazine #482 is available to buy from discerning newsagents and online through the Starburst shop.

Starburst #482

Reviews of Survivors: New Dawn 3 published

REVIEWS OF ALL three episodes in the Big Finish Survivors audio box set New Dawn 3 have today been published on the Survivors: A World Away site.

Individual reviews of each story in the set, starring Carolyn Seymour and Lucy Fleming are available: The Turning (Part One), The Turning (Part Two) and Samaritans. The review of the first episode concludes:

Big Finish’s Survivors stories have always distinguished themselves by their ability to surprise and to shock… Together with the decline and fall of the New Federal Government, Tate’s fate is a salutory reminder that there are no guarantees that the next generation of survivors will face a brighter future – even as the horrors of the pandemic fade into memory

Survivors: A World Away

Survivors: New Dawn 3 is available to buy on CD now and as a digital download from the Big Finish site.

Survivors: New Dawn 4, which will be released in September, is still available for pre-order as a collector’s edition three-disc CD and digital download combo or as a digital download only.

Big Finish release Survivors: New Dawn 3 audio boxset

BIG FINISH HAVE today (27 April 2023) released the new Survivors audio boxset Survivors: New Dawn 3.

The boxset can be purchased as a CD boxset, as a digital download, or as a CD and download combo, from the Big Finish site.

This third instalment in the New Dawn series follows the continuing struggles of Abby Grant (Carolyn Seymour) and Jenny Richard (Lucy Fleming) fifteen years and more on from The Death.

A fresh type of social and political order has emerged in Britain, but many of those living under the rule of the New Federal Government view it as tyrannical. The authorities’ grip on the country at large is tenous, and protests are growing. Neither Jenny nor Abby can be confident that they, the new administration or its opponents, will survive the reckoning that’s coming.

Food shortages threaten the stability of the New Federal Government. Prime Minister Celia Tate clings to power and Robin Page – once a thorn in her side and now a minister – becomes involved in an uprising to depose her.

Once again, the world is changing and the best Abby and Jenny can hope for is to survive.

Big Finish

Reviews of each of the three episodes in the boxset will be published on this site shortly.

The concluding boxset in the New Dawn series, Survivors: New Dawn 4, will be released this September, and is available for pre-order.

Read the Big Finish press release marking today’s release of Survivors: New Dawn 3.

To coincide with this latest release, Big Finish have also announced temporary price reductions on previous releases in the Survivors audio series. These offers are available until 23:59 (UK time) on 30 April 2023.

Survivors - audio drama - Big Finish sale - April 2023

Big Finish podcast previews Survivors: New Dawn 3

AHEAD OF ITS release on Thursday 27 April, today’s Big Finish podcast (23 April) previews the new Survivors audio boxset Survivors: New Dawn 3.

The podcast includes a sneak-preview of the release’s behind-the-scenes interviews and a fifteen-minute ‘drama-tease’ of the first episode ‘The Turning Part One’ written by boxset director Ken Bentley.

Big Finish. 2023. Podcast – Survivors New Dawn 3, 23 April. https://www.bigfinish.com/podcasts/v/2023-04-23-survivors-new-dawn-3

Survivors: New Dawn 3 is still available to pre-order, as both a collector’s edition three-disc CD and digital download combo or as a digital download only, from the Big Finish site.

Severn Valley Railway launches £1.5m ‘survival fund’ appeal

Severn Valley Railway - Survival Appeal - April 2023

THE SEVERN VALLEY heritage railway service has launched a one-and-a-half-million pound ‘survival fund’ to secure the immediate future of the line which runs between Kidderminster and Bridgnorth.

For fans of Survivors, the Severn Valley Railway (SVR) is significant as one of the iconic filming locations used on the third series. In 1977, BBC Outside Broadcast cameras filmed sequences for the episodes Law of the Jungle, Mad Dog, Bridgehead and Power at the Highley and Hampton Loade stations and in the surrounding areas on and close to the line.

The most recent organised Survivors fan visit to the SVR took place in May 2019, during the Mad Dog 2019 event.

Falling visitor numbers – rising costs

The SVR has been hit hard financially by the impact of the Covid pandemic, by the soaring costs of coal and electricity, and by the experience common to many leisure and tourist attractions in the UK: that visitor numbers have not recovered to pre-pandemic levels, with a resulting loss of revenue.

“Last year, passenger numbers were almost one third lower than pre-Covid,” the SVR confirms. “In 2022 alone, we saw a drop in expected income of £1.5 million. Other heritage railways and local attractions had exactly the same experience. It became obvious that the cost-of-living crisis was really starting to bite.”

In response to the depletion in funding, the SVR announced in February that as many as 18 members of staff would be made redundant, that the early-season timetable would be restricted to fewer operational days, and that other cost savings would be found.

As bank reserves were depleted, overheads have still had to be met. “Our forecast for the coming year and into 2024 shows that we will not have any reserve in the bank,” the company says. “This means we won’t be able to lift ourselves out of the financial difficulties that we currently face.” Hence the need for the ‘survival fund’ appeal.

An Urgent need

“We urgently need to raise £1.5 million to enable the SVR to overcome the current financial crisis and implement longer-term plans for its future,” Managing Director Jonathan ‘Gus’ Dunster explains.

Dunster emphasises that the financial situation that the SVR is wrestling with is acute, and that the success of the ‘survival fund’ is essential. “Without this help, the SVR may not survive into next year,” he warns.

To find out more about the SVR’s plans to address the financial crisis, and stabilise the heritage railway for the future – and to donate to the SVR ‘Survival Fund’, visit the dedicated section of the SVR web site.

Another obvious way to help put cash in the SVR coffers is to arrange a visit to either end of the line and to purchase a ticket to travel to Highley or Hampton Loade stations or to the Country Park Halt.