Richard Heffer in online short ‘A Walk in the Woods’

Those enjoying Richard Heffer’s (Jimmy Garland, Survivors series one) performance in series three of the Big Finish Survivors audio adventures, might like to check out the short online film A Walk in the Woods, created as part of the Virgin Media Shorts project by Cambridge Film Works in 2013, in which Heffer has a co-starring role.
 

 
Richard Heffer - Cambridge Film Works - A Walk in the Woods

Writer Simon Clark discusses Survivors series three episode Contact

Author, scriptwriter and long-time Survivors enthusiast Simon Clark discusses the writing of third series Big Finish Survivors episode Contact in a brand new interview. Clark recalls the time he visited the studio to listen to the actors at work.

I have to put on record what how terrific it was to be there at the recording. It is marvellous, heart-warming, and it’s hard to put into words the emotion that filled me when I sat there in the studio and heard the actors bring my script to life in such a vivid and powerful way.

Big Finish - Survivors - series three - Simon Clark

Big Finish confirm titles and writers for Survivors series four audio adventures

Scheduled for release in June 2016, Big Finish have today (2 December) confirmed the episode titles, summaries and scriptwriters for the four episodes of the fourth series of Survivors audio adventures.

Based on Terry Nation’s cult post-apocalyptic drama, Survivors: Series 4 presents a quartet of new stories from the world of the original television programme.

After the harrowing events of Survivors: Series 3, the new series finds Greg (Ian McCulloch) and Jenny (Lucy Fleming) out on the road, reaching out to other survivors on behalf of the Whitecross Community. Their journey will bring them back into contact with Jackie (Louise Jameson) and Molly (Fiona Sheehan) – and a new community headed by Theo, an inspirational leader played by Ramon Tikaram (UNIT: The New Series, The Prisoner, Happy Valley).

‘I’m delighted that the first three series met with such acclaim,’ says producer David Richardson, ‘and I’m very excited by the new story lines that script editor Matt Fitton and his team of writers have been spinning. There are plenty of shocking twists and turns yet to come…’

Survivors: Series 4 comprises four full-cast dramas, and also features bonus behind-the-scenes interviews with cast and crew.

4.1 The Old Ways by Ken Bentley

The Government has plans for a national state of emergency. But when Evelyn Piper and her colleagues shelter in the Tartarus bunker, they discover no amount of planning can prepare for the reality of the Death…

4.2 For the Good of the Cause by Louise Jameson

One old friend calls on Greg and Jenny to look after another. Together, they visit a utopian community where the inspirational Theo seems to have founded the perfect way of life…

4.3 Collision by Christopher Hatherall

When the old world collides with the new, casualties are unavoidable. While Greg and Theo work together for the future, Jenny tries to save lives – with the help of a troubled young man called Michael…

4.4 Forgive and Forget by Matt Fitton

As long-buried crimes surface, resentment and recrimination threaten to destroy the peace of the Foundation. Jenny, Jackie and Molly have their own trials to bear, and Greg confronts the truth of this new world head on. For some, nothing will ever be the same…

Survivors: Series 4 is due for release in June 2016, with Series 5 following in November 2016. Both series can be pre-ordered today for just £25 each on CD, or £20 to download. And remember, when you choose to buy this release on CD directly from Big Finish, you will also unlock instant access to a digital copy for download.

Survivors - audio book of Terry Nation's novel

Zoë Tapper (Survivors, 2008) joins the cast of new original series Survivors audios from Big Finish

Ian McCulloch, Zoe Tapper, Lucy Fleming - Survivors - Series 4 - Big Finish

Big Finish have today (2 December 2015) revealed that Zoë Tapper, who played the role of doctor Anya Raczynski in both series of the BBC’s TV remake of Survivors in 2008-2010 will be joining the cast of series four of Big Finish’s new Survivors audio adventures, set in the time and place of the original 1975 TV series.

Tapper will be taking on the role of new character government official Evelyn Piper “who listeners will first encounter in a flashback to the beginnings of the plague that decimated the globe”. At the time of the making of the first series of the Survivors remake, Tapper conceded that she was not particularly aware of the original TV incarnation of Survivors, but is delighted at being given the opportunity to return to the context of the original series and join new and original stories set in the world first devised by dramatist Terry Nation.

Recording on series four of Big Finish’s Survivors audio adventures will take place early in 2016, with the fourth series scheduled for release in June 2016 (with series five following in November 2016).

Series three of the Big Finish Survivors audios was released earlier this month, and was greeted with an immediately positive critical reception, and is available to buy in both CD and digital download formats. Series one and series two, and an unabridged audiobook of Terry Nation’s 1976 Survivors novel, are all available for purchase from Big Finish. The award-nominated first series opening episode Revelation is available as a free download from the Big Finish site.

Zoe Tapper - Survivors - BBC - 2008

Richard Heffer and Carolyn Seymour discuss being reunited for Survivors audios

In two exclusive new interviews, Richard Heffer (Jimmy Garland) and Carolyn Seymour (Abby Grant) discuss turning the clock back forty years to return to their shared Survivors storyline in series three of the new Survivors audio adventures from Big Finish.

Says Seymour of finding more and more of the original Survivors cast being reunited for the Big Finish audio dramas:

it’s wonderful to meet everybody who was in the series before – the original group. A lot of the acting peers in my age group have gone. So seeing the ones that are still alive, and connecting like we did – because we were so close – is heaven.

Heffer suggests that the character of Jimmy Garland has remained:

a person who was always in the back of my head. He was very like the character in The Mad Death. Obviously he was posher, and one of the things he represented in Survivors was that sort of paternalistic view of things from an earlier era. It was a really interesting part, and one of the sort of roles that did, I suppose, often come my way.

Richard Heffer and Carolyn Seymour - series three - Big Finish - Survivors

Paul Thornley reflects on the character of John ‘Vinnie’ Vincent

In a new and exclusive interview recorded at the Big Finish studios, Paul Thornley discusses his role as the chilling and ‘rage fuelled’ Vinnie Vincent, in series three of the Survivors audio adventures. Says Thornley of the character of Vinnie, the would-be governor of post-apocalyptic Britain:

He thinks of himself as a ‘great thinker’, and as an astute mind. He sees Abby as the same. He sees something in her, and he can’t quite understand why she can’t see it in him. “The two of us – we could be great together!” – he reckons.

Paul Thornley reflects on the character of John 'Vinnie' Vincent

Chase Masterson and Andrew French discuss Big Finish’s Survivors third series

In original interviews, recorded in the Big Finish studios earlier this year, Chase Masterson and Andrew French discuss their work on the third series of Survivors audio adventures from Big Finish. Says Masterson of the plight facing the character of Maddie Price:

one day in the future any of us could wake up and wish that we had back exactly the life we have today. And I think it’s a great lesson to take from the series: being grateful about what we have.

Andrew French says of the moral texture of the latest series of Survivors:

I think these stories are quite moral. If you were in this situation, what kind of leadership would you want? Would you want someone who would kill anybody else as long as you were safe? I think most people would probably say “yes”, in the final analysis. But what does that make you? I think that these are incredibly moral tales.

Chase Masterson - Big Finish - Survivors audio adventures - series three

John Banks discusses his work on series three of Big Finish audios

In a new and exclusive in-studio interview, John Banks discusses his work as journalist Daniel Connor in the third series of Survivors audio adventures from Big Finish. In the interview he reflects:

I talked with producer David Richardson about the character for quite a long time actually before even I saw a script, and the whole idea of him. We got very excited. David was already very excited with the notion of the series. When he told me about it I immediately latched onto it. I knew the TV series. And it was such an exciting thing to be involved with.

John Banks - Big Finish - Survivors audio adventures - series three

Cast discuss Survivors series three audio adventures in Big Finish’s Vortex

The new edition of Big Finish’s house magazine Vortex (No 81, November 2015) includes an two-page interview with actor John Banks (Daniel Connor) discussing his work on the third series of Survivors audio adventures. The issue also features some brief comments from Miranda Raison (who plays the role of Janet the new series of Survivors), who admits that: “Survivors was surprisingly dark”; and a photo showing Carolyn Seymour (Abby Grant) with fellow cast members of the new Jago, Litefoot & Strax story “The Haunting” (in which Seymour appears).

Survivors - Series 3 - Big Finish - Vortex - 81

Earlier this week Big Finish released the much-anticipated third series of Survivors audio adventures! The new four-part series is available to buy in both digital download and CD formats.

Survivors series three DVD studio day – ten years ago today

It is exactly ten years ago to-the-day (4 August 2005) that Tristan de Vere Cole, Peter Jefferies, Lucy Fleming, Morris Perry and Stephen Dudley were reunited at a studio in central London to record the ‘special features’ for the Survivors series three DVD release.

De Vere Cole and Perry recorded a memorable episode commentary for the classic Mad Dog, while Fleming and Jefferies watched and discussed Law of the Jungle. All five attendees recorded interviews for the series three ‘making of’ documentary New World Rising; while Stephen Dudley provided an extra interview reflecting on his work on series one (which was included as an ‘Easter Egg’ on the DVD release).

To mark the decennial anniversary of this event, we’re publishing a set of never-before-seen behind-the-scenes photos from the day.

A gallery of previously-published photos from the day is available on the main Survivors: A World Away site.

Survivors directors Tristan de Vere Cole and Peter Jefferies at the Survivors series three DVD studio day, August 4 2005
Survivors directors Tristan de Vere Cole and Peter Jefferies at the Survivors series three DVD studio day, August 4 2005

Survivors director Tristan de Vere Cole and Morris Perry at the Survivors series three DVD studio day, August 4 2005
Survivors director Tristan de Vere Cole and Morris Perry at the Survivors series three DVD studio day, August 4 2005

The participants break for lunch at the Survivors series three DVD studio day, August 4 2005
Participants break for lunch at the Survivors series three DVD studio day, August 4 2005

Raising a toast at the Survivors series three DVD studio day, August 4 2005
Raising a toast at the Survivors series three DVD studio day, August 4 2005

Director Tristan de Vere Cole on set at the Survivors series three DVD studio day, August 4 2005
Director Tristan de Vere Cole on set at the Survivors series three DVD studio day, August 4 2005