Survivors: A World Away – news – Page 21 – The classic 1975-1977 post-apocalyptic BBC TV series Survivors

Carolyn Seymour guest stars in new Big Finish podcast

Carolyn Seymour (Abby Grant, Survivors) guest stars in a new Big Finish podcast released on 30 October.

Nick Briggs and Benji Clifford present a special Hallowe’en podcast, with all the latest news from the audio world of Big Finish Productions. Carolyn Seymour, Abby Grant from Survivors, is the guest star!

This is also a special, trailer-packed podcast, so listen out for some great audio teasers. Here’s a handy list of timings so you can locate your favourite bits…

05:06 The Big Finish News. Packed with trailers! And Benji makes an owl noise, allegedly. There’s also some spooky lighting. Great on audio.

20.35 Listeners’ Emails. You can contact us at podcast@bigfinish.com. WARNING! This edition features socks.

45:27 The Guest Star Interview. Carolyn Seymour, famous for Survivors, has a cosy chat with Nick. Highly recommended, naturally.

52:00 The Randomoid Selectortron. And ‘Ram’ is on fine form, choosing something rather appropriate.

58:50 The Latest Releases. A quick round-up.

01:01:45 The Prisoner. The latest instalment of our serialization of Departure and Arrival, the first episode of our acclaimed re-imagining of the 1960s TV classic. With Celia Imrie as Number Two.

You can download this podcast for free or stream it below. Go on, treat yourself…

“The Death – it’s come back…” Trailer for series five of Big Finish’s Survivors audios

BIG FINISH HAVE released the first trailer for the fifth series of Survivors audio adventures, due for release next month and available for pre-order from the Big Finish web site.

Synopsis

It begins with just a few people falling ill. Another flu virus that spreads around the globe. And then the reports begin that people are dying…

When most of the world’s population is wiped out, a handful of survivors are left to pick up the pieces.

Cities become graveyards. Technology becomes largely obsolete. Mankind must start again. But viruses are survivors too…

5.1 The Second Coming by Andrew Smith

Millions died when the plague swept the globe. Such a thing couldn’t possibly happen again – or could it?

When Abby Grant and Evelyn Piper both arrive at Carol Baker’s Maythorne community, a chain of events is set in motion that could unleash a new wave of death across the country.

5.2 New Blood by Christopher Hatherall

Danger surrounds Whitecross when a simple border dispute exposes deadly tensions between those who live side by side.

Greg Preston and Jenny Richards soon find themselves fighting for their lives, as people in the grip of a terrible new fear turn to the old ways to protect themselves…

5.3 Angel of Death by Simon Clark

Emerging from a quarantined Whitecross, Greg and Jenny discover that the danger they glimpsed at Springton is far from over.

Meanwhile, as isolated communities find themselves exposed to a disease they know nothing about, Abby joins a desperate race to save lives.

5.4 Come the Horsemen by Andrew Smith

In times of crisis, rumour and fear run rife across the decimated landscape of Britain. Evelyn and Abby experience the lethal effects of this panic first hand.

At such times the worst of humanity is exposed. Can Greg and Jenny find the best in those around them? Or is there no way to avoid the coming of the horsemen?

Starburst preview of series five of Big Finish’s Survivors audio adventures

An illustrated two-page preview of series five of Big Finish’s Survivors audio adventures appears in the new issue of Starburst magazine (No 430, November 2016). Written by the author of this web site, the features includes commentary from stars Carolyn Seymour, Ian McCulloch and Lucy Fleming, producer David Richardson and script editor Matt Fitton.

Due for release in November 2016, series five of Survivors audios is available for pre-order on the Big Finish web site; where digital download and CD copies of the previous four series, and the audio-rook reading of Terry Nation’s 1976 Survivors novel, are also available for purchase.

Rich Cross. 2016. ‘The Fourth Horseman Returns’, Starburst, No 430, November, pp.60-61.

The Night of the Triffids on BBC Radio Four Extra

BBC Radio Four Extra is currently broadcasting Simon Clark’s impressive audio adaptation of his 2001 The Night of the Triffids novel, the sequel to John Wyndham’s The Day of the Triffids, produced by Big Finish in 2014.

Split into five episodes, the final installment will be transmitted on 6 July with all episodes available on the iPlayer (in the UK) until 29 July.

Back in July 2014, Simon spoke to the S:AWA site about his work on the new audio version of his book. Since then, he has written his first script for the Big Finish Survivors range, penning the episode Contact for series two.

Now, why would BBC Radio Four Extra not want to consider broadcasting the very wonderful first few series of Survivors audio adventures too…

Individual episode reviews for Survivors Big Finish series four published

Individual episode reviews for each installment of series four of Big Finish’s Survivors audio adventures have now been added to our Survivors: Big Finish mini-site. There you’ll find in-depth plot summaries and reviews of:

“The Old Ways” – Ken Bentley
“For the Good of the Cause” – Louise Jameson
“Collision” – Christopher Hatherall
“Forgive and Forget” – Matt Fitton

Lucy Fleming appears in Eastenders and The Archers

Lucy Fleming appeared as Judge Evelyn Heap in BBC One soap Eastenders (31 May 2015), an episode viewable (in the UK) on the BBC iPlayer until 30 June 2016.

In May, Fleming also appeared (alongside her husband Simon Williams) in and episode of BBC Radio 4’s The Archers (6 May 2016) playing Miranda Elliott (while Williams voiced Justin Elliott).

Starburst review of Big Finish Survivors series four

My review of series four of Big Finish’s Survivors audio adventures appears in the online edition of Starburst magazine. It concludes:

Intelligent, literate and superbly scripted and performed, this is post-apocalyptic drama of the highest possible calibre. Determined to avoid the predictable tropes of that genre, it invites its listeners to navigate a moral minefield in a way that few other dramas of this type would attempt. This comes recommended without reservation.

Big Finish commit to series six and seven of Survivors audio dramas

Audio-drama specialists Big Finish have announced a commitment to produce a further two series of original Survivors audio adventures, based in the time and place of Terry Nation’s original 1970s TV show.

Series six will be released in June 2017, with series seven following in November 2017.

The announcements follows the release, earlier this month, of the critically-acclaimed fourth series of Survivors audios. Recording of series five has already completed, and is scheduled for release in November 2016.

All four series released to date, along with the audio-book version of Terry Nation’s 1976 Survivors novel, are available to buy from the Big Finish site. Series five, series six and series seven are available for pre-order.

Big Finish Survivors series four audios released today!

Big Finish have today (9 June 2016) released the fourth series of original Survivors audio dramas. Series four serves up four new stories from writers Ken Bentley, Louise Jameson, Christopher Hatherall and Matt Fitton, and features, amongst a full cast, Ian McCulloch (Greg Preston), Lucy Fleming (Jenny Richards), Louise Jameson (Jackie Burchall), Zoë Tapper (Evelyn Piper) and Ramon Tikaram (Theo).

Listen to the series four trailer:

Survivors series four audios – Vortex 88 feature

The imminent release of the fourth series of original Big Finish Survivors audio adventures is covered in a four-page, full-colour feature in the latest issue of the free-to-download Vortex magazine (No 88). In the article, script editor and script writer Matt Fitton reflects:

Survivors is one of the hardest things to do, because it is rooted in the real world and deals with tough issues. You get to ask very moral questions. At the same time, it’s also one of the most rewarding series to work on. It’s always a thrill to go back to the world of Survivors

Kenny Smith. 2016. ‘Begin Again’, Vortex, No 88, pp.12-15. https://www.bigfinish.com/vortex/v/88