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.
THE CLOSING EPISODE of series six of Gone Fishing, with Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse, returned its two stars to the Monsal Valley (the key filming location for the third series Survivors episode Mad Dog), revisiting the same stretch of the River Wye where the pair filmed the show’s first ever episode.
The episode, first shown on the BBC earlier this month, included shots of the Monsal Viaduct, and the footbridge close to Netherdale Farm, as well as many evocative aerial shots across the valley.
Paul and Bob return to the Peak District, this time with Ted, where they filmed their first episode of Gone Fishing back in 2017. Will the memories of that first trip come flooding back?
They start by fishing the Wye at Haddon Hall, hoping to catch chub, rainbow trout and wild brown trout, before moving on to the Derwent. As they cast, they recall memories of that first trip and look at how they’ve changed over the last six years.
BBC
The episode is available to stream or download for offline viewing (for UK viewers) from the BBC’s iPlayer service for 11 months (until October 2024).
Gone Fishing. 2023. Series 6, Episode, 6. BBC. First broadcast 8 October.
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.
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.
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 autographs, selfies, costume groups, cosplay, a busy marketplace filled with memorabillia & merch! Meet fellow geeks!
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.
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.
