'Making of' and Guidebooks

By Rich Cross   Last updated on 23 December 2020, 14:00:19

Details of the two key guides to Survivors


Covers of two unofficial guidebooks to Survivors

 TWO GUIDEBOOKS TO the series have been published to date, the first appearing in 1995 and the second ten years later.

In 1995, Kevin Marshall self-published a 500-copy print run of The Making of Terry Nation's Survivors - the product of an extensive period of self-funded research. Comprising short introductory guides to each of the show's three series, the main component of the book was a set of original interviews with the cast and behind-the-scenes creative team. These were supplemented by a series of descriptive reviews of all 38 episodes of Survivors, and a collection of behind-the-scenes photos. Long out-of-print, this title is highly sought after by fans of the series and now changes hands at prices that reflect its collectability.

In December 2005, The End of the World?: The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to Survivors, written by Rich Cross and Andy Priestner, was published by Telos. Fully-illustrated by dozens or rare and never-before-seen behind-the-scenes photos, the book provides detailed production essays on the making of each of Survivors' three series; summaries and reviews of all 38 episodes; guides to the programme's characters and its filming locations; analysis of efforts to revive the programme; discussion of the show's influence on the post-apocalyptic genre on the big and small screen; and much more besides. The book includes a Foreword by series one and two director Pennant Roberts.

After being reprinted twice, the title went out-of-print in early 2012. Work to publish an updated edition of the book was abandoned when Classic TV Press cancelled the project.


Cite this web page
27 July 2024202131 January

 Cross, R. (2021). ''Making of' and Guidebooks,' [online] Survivors: A World Away, 31 January. Available at: https://www.survivors-mad-dog.org.uk/a-world-away/Basics_Guidebooks.php. Accessed on: 27 July 2024.

 
   

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Terry Nation's Survivors

 Survivors is a 38-episode, three series British post-apocalyptic TV series, created by Terry Nation, and first shown on BBC 1 between 1975 and 1977

 Two Survivors novel were published in the UK, USA and Italy in the seventies: Terry Nation's part-novelisation of the first TV series Survivors was published in 1976; with John Eyers' original follow-up Genesis of a Hero appearing the following year

 A 12-episode, two series remake of Survivors was broadcast on BBC One between 2008 and 2010

 A 36-episode, nine series run of new and original Survivors audio adventures, set in the time and place of the original programme, were released by Big Finish between 2014 and 2019

 Terry Nation's Survivors novel was released as an audiobook, voiced by Carolyn Seymour, in 2014

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 A sequel to Genesis of a Hero, entitled Survivors: Salvation, was published in February 2021

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