Ian McCulloch discusses his career on screen at Uni-Versal festival, Aberdeen

IAN McCULLOCH (GREG Preston) will take part in an ‘in conversation’ session at the upcoming Uni-Versal 22 mini-festival hosted by the University of Aberdeen on 5 March 2022.

With this strand of Uni-Versal focusing on the history of film, McCulloch will be reflecting, in particular, on his post-Survivors work on three Italian cult horror movies. Pre-publicity for the event summarises his screen career as follows:

Ian McCulloch is a Scottish actor best known for his performance as Greg Preston in Survivors (1975). In the 1970s and 80s, McCulloch found himself in classics of Italian horror, playing Peter West, the lead male character in Lucio Fulci’s notorious Zombie Flesh Eaters (1979) and also displaying his thespian skills in Luigi Cozzi’s iconic splatter template Contamination (1980).

UNI-Versal Film: In Conversation with Ian McCulloch (Zombie Flesh Eaters)
Room KCF8, King’s College, Aberdeen AB24 3FX
Saturday 5 March 2022 – 20:00-22:30

Tickets: £5.00-£8.00
Tickets became available to purchase online from 10:00 on 1 February 2022.

The session is part of a programme of events that includes Screenwriting with Sergio Casci, Shaken Not Stirred – Bond: Past, Present & Future and a panel discussion on Driving Diversity in the Arts.

UPDATE – 1 FEBRUARY 2022: Organisers have now confirmed that the event will include a screening of the most well-regarded of McCulloch’s three Italian horror movies Zombie Flesh Eaters. As a result, the runtime of the event has now been extended to 22:30.

Uni-Versal - Dark Nights - Ian McCulloch - Zombie Flesh Eaters screening - 5 March 2022

A Silver Archive study of Survivors third series’ classic Mad Dog

PUBLISHED THIS FEBRUARY, a new entry in the Obverse Books’ Silver Archive series turns the spotlight on the classic third series Survivors episode Mad Dog.

Written by the author of the Survivors: A World Away site, the book places this exemplarly series three adventure story in the context of its times and within the evolution of Survivors own narrative. It examines the resonance that the spectre of rabies had for TV audiences of the time, and explores the different themes and ideas that find expression in the script for Mad Dog and through its on-screen realisation.

‘Saliva only has to make contact with the skin. Rabies doesn’t even need a scratch. If it’s in the bloodstream, it’s too late.’

Mad Dog (1977) is a standout instalment of the third and final series of the BBC’s post-apocalyptic series Survivors. A touchstone in the series’ switch to a tougher, bleaker sensibility, the episode is rightly remembered for its portrayal of rabies and its gripping chase sequences. But it’s also a story offering fascinating insights into the wider human predicament, which dramatize the tension between optimism and cynicism and between altruism and self-interest. Above all, it’s a story that foregrounds the complex relationship between humanity and the natural world in a fictional post-pandemic Britain.

Published 17 February 2022.
Pages: 168
ISBN: 9781913456221
Author: Rich Cross

In an exclusive interview for the site, the author reveals the inspiration behind the book, describes the research and writing process, and outlines some of the new book’s key themes.

The Obverse Books’ Silver Archive entry Survivors: Mad Dog is available to pre-order ahead of its publication day from the Obverse Books site.

The illustration is a detail from the cover design by Cody Schell @kodiakschell

Rich Cross. 2022. Survivors: Mad Dog. Obverse Books (Silver Archive), ISBN: 9781913456221, pp.168. https://obversebooks.co.uk/product/sa07-survivors-mad-dog/

Reviews of new Survivors audios now available

Survivors: New Dawn 1 - cover

REVIEWS OF THE new Big Finish Survivors audios New Dawn 1 and Ghosts and Demons have now been published on the Survivors: A World Away site.

Individual reviews of each of the three episodes in the first boxset of New Dawn 1, starring Carolyn Seymour, Lucy Fleming and Louise Jameson, are available: Tethered, My Generation and Behind You.

The first series of New Dawn retains the core sense of jeopardy that made the original post-Death context of Survivors so compelling. Yet it does in a way that is original and genuinely exhilarating. Imagining how the country might have moved on more than two decades after the pandemic provides Survivors with a new ‘what if’ premise that crackles with potential

Also published is a review of the new audiobook Ghosts and Demons, written by Ethan Milsea and narrated by Carolyn Seymour.

Survivors: Ghosts and Demons - cover

Ghosts and Demons is a fantastic addition to the audio literature of Survivors. Author Ethan Milsea uses the cautionary tale of the predatory Tommy as a means to explore the different fears and nightmares that haunt those who have experienced the trauma of The Death and survived. This story, which locks itself in to the first TV series’ timeline, delivers admirably on what can often be an elusive ambition: to be both in-keeping with the existing dramatic terrain and to break open new and fertile ground.

Survivors: New Dawn 1 is available to buy, in both CD and digital download formats, from the Big Finish site.

Survivors: Ghosts & Demons is now available to purchase as a digital download .

Survivors: New Dawn 2 will be released in February 2022 and is also available for pre-order. Both releases can be purchased, in both formats, as part of a Big Finish bundle.