Brought to the screen by showrunner (and lead script writer) Adrian Hodges, the programme was a 're-imagining' of the classic end-of-the-world drama Survivors, devised by Terry Nation shown on BBC1 between 1975 and 1977, and drew its initial inspiration from Nation's 1976 Survivors novel.
Both series of the new Survivors are also available for purchase through iTunes.
The cancelled show attracted renewed audience interest in the US, when both series one and series two of Survivors were licenced by the Netflix, Amazon Instant Video and Hulu service streaming services.
In the UK, in 2012, the BT Vision service began to offer both series for streaming download, as part of its range of TV channel packages and on a pay-per-episode basis.
In July 2013, audio-drama publishers Big Finish announced that they would be producing collections of new audio dramas based on the original (1975-1977) Survivors. The first series of new Survivors audio adventures was released (on CD and as a digital download) in June 2014.
An audio-book of the 1976 Survivors novel (on which the 2008-2010 remake of Survivors is based), voiced by Carolyn Seymour (who played Abby Grant in the 1975 TV series) was released by Big Finish productions in December 2014.
In April 2015, series four and series five of these new Big Finish Survivors audio adventures were commissioned, for release in June 2016 and November 2016. Series six, seven and eight were released by the close of 2018, with the final ninth series being released in June 2019.
I was looking for it on Netflix today, where I had already watched it twice, and it was gone. This really was one of the best TV shows for me; still sad they cancelled it. Can't afford the DVDs but may buy them anyway!
I suspect like many fans of the original series I was a little disappointed in this series at the time of airing. It was 'good' but a bit 'too different'. By the end I was a fan and of course devastated when it was canned. I have since re-watched it 2 or 3 times and am now of the opinion this was a masterpiece of TV. Yes, it was promoted […]
Television companies make these great series, The Tripods, Survivors, Utopia, then decide to cancel and leave us hanging in mid air. Personally I feel let down, cheated perhaps, and this kind of action certainly destroys loyalty to the BBC, Channel 4 or whoever it is. They could at least have the decency and respect for their viewers to draw the story to som […]
08/09/2018 I just watched series 1 on Wednesday 05/09/2018 on DVD box set and I enjoyed it so much as I wanted to see this remake as I watched the original series back in the 70s and I surf the net for any more seasons of the remake as I enjoyed it so much and I found season 2 on DVD set and bought it right away I only just finished watching the whole 2nd se […]
I Loved the 1970 s series, But felt they should of made 1 more to see what would of Happened to them, then they made a Remake watched , Loved it then after 2 series they cancelled that as well, Gutted there were at Least 2 series Left before it Ran its course, been 10 years jimmy the Hat
So angry they cancelled survivors and left everybody hanging on a cliff edge we would like to see more series made so we can enjoy it more and find out what happens.
would really like to see the series continue.For some reason the thing won't get out of my head. I think it might be because I watched the original at an impressionable age of around 12yrs. Loved it then and love it now......
Omg just watched series 1 and 2 of Survivors only to discover they cancelled any more plans for a 3rd series...Basically the BBC left us in limbo land ! Angry isn't the word! Never knew about it back in 2008 but 10 yrs on what a fantastic series but gutted that's it!!!
Survivors was trying to be like its Seventies Predecessor but it failed miserably as the Terry Nation original was so gripping I loved it fourty years ago and have it on Dvd. The modern version failed as it cant work its sad but Remakes don't work normally its sad but I feel that its Cancellation was bound to happen but it should have had a final episod […]
A NEW eBOOK published today by the Divergent Wordsmiths team, celebrating twenty years of creative audio work by Big Finish, includes a chapter on the company’s acclaimed nine series of original Survivors adventures. Written by Rich Cross, the editor of the Survivors: A World Away site, the short chapter recounts the development, release and reception … Read […]
DENIS LILL IS out and about “treading the boards” once more in a national touring production of The Lady Vanishes, a new adaptation of the classic 1938 Alfred Hitchcock big-screen thriller. Very appropriately, this latest live version has been brought to the stage by the Classic Thriller Theatre Company. Lill plays the role of Charters, … Read More → The pos […]
MY REVIEW OF the ninth and final series of the current run of Big Finish’s original full-cast Survivors audios has now been published on the Cultbox site. The review concludes: There’s still great potential here, as the UK begins to emerge from the dark ages of The Death, for more stories set in this uniquely … Read More → The post Cultbox publishes review o […]
REVIEWS OF EACH of the four episodes of the final series of Big Finish’s full-cast Survivors audios have now been published on the S:AWA Big Finish mini-site. The Farm (Jane Slavin)Living under the rule of the Protectorate can be hard, even more so when your true purpose is hidden from you… Hearts and Mines (Christopher … Read More → The post Each episode of […]
THE NINTH AND concluding series of full-cast original Survivors audios has been released by Big Finish today. The fourth episode final series is available to buy (in both CD and download formats) from the Big Finish website. To celebrate the nine series’ achievement, Big Finish are offering discounts on several of the earlier series – … Read More → The post […]
THE NINTH AND final series of the current run of full-cast Survivors audio dramas will be released by Big Finish tomorrow (25 June 2019). The four episodes of series nine are available to pre-order in both download and CD formats, direct from the Big Finish web site. The first fifteen minutes of opening episode “The … Read More → The post Survivors series ni […]
IN THE LATEST issue of Big Finish’s free-to-download full-colour magazine Vortex, the Bookclub feature turns the clock back to June 2014 and revisits the release of the first series boxset of original Survivors audios. As a selected Bookclub title, the first four episodes of Survivors are currently (June 2019) on offer to purchase as a … Read More → The post […]
THE NETWORK ON AIR site has published a well-crafted appreciation of the screen career of Sydney Tafler, an actor who memorably appeared as Manny, the morally-dubious settlement leader, in the well-regarded two-part series two Survivors story Lights of London. In the modern world of drama production, it is commonplace for actors to move back and … Read More […]
LUCY FLEMING AND Simon Williams completed the New York run of their spoken-word production Posting Letter to the Moon earlier this week. The three week run at 59E59 Theatres was the first overseas tour for the show which offers “a romantic, funny, and touching portrait of life during the early 1940s featuring readings of wartime … Read More → The post Postin […]
IN 1975, THE year that the first series of Survivors was shown on the BBC, Carolyn Seymour (Abby Grant) appeared alongside Alastair Simm and Jeremy Brett in the powerful one-hour drama The Prodigal Daughter. Produced by Anglia Television and screened on the ITV network, The Prodigal Daughter sees Seymour take on the role of a … Read More → The post Carolyn S […]
In response to a YouTube video Tweet from fan Steve Smallwood [ https://twitter.com/stebullmiester ], Survivors (2008-2010) cast members Phillip Rhys (Al Sadiq), Julie Graham (Abby Grant), Robyn Addison (Sarah Bowyer), Max Beesley (Tom Price), Zoe Tapper (Anya Raczynski) and locations manager Andy Morgan briefly discussed the enticing possibility (however remote, at present) of a return for the show for a third series.
Based on the original series of Survivors (1975-1977), this first set of new audio adventures will compromise four stories, featuring new characters and several of the leading characters from the original series.
The tortuous story of the long-running plan to revive and remake Survivors‘ creator Terry Nation’s space drama Blake’s 7 has taken yet another turn this week.
In April 2013 it was announced that FremantleMedia International would produce a 13-episode series remake of Blake’s 7 to be broadcast of the cable channel SyFy. This was to be a ‘re-imagining’ of the original (1978-81) show.
On Thursday 15 August, the Financial Times, BBC News and Digital Spy all reported that these plans had been shelved. Instead it was announced that the revival of Blake’s 7 would now be funded by Microsoft, with the series airing on the Xbox Live service. The London-based Motion Picture Capital company was reported to have taken over responsibility for the show’s development.
Digital Spy suggests the development is “part of Microsoft’s ambition to reposition Xbox as an ‘entertainment hub’, and to directly compete with other online subscription services.”
However, a Freemantle spokesman told BBC News that it was “not aware of any deal” with Microsoft, while both Microsoft and Motion Picture Capital declined to comment. Rights owner Andrew Mark Sewell told BBC News: “When we have news to report, we’ll let everyone know.” It seems clear that position remains far from settled.
Blake’s 7 was the show that Terry Nation created shortly after his departure from the original Survivors at the end of series one in 1975. Later in his career, Nation sought to get an American network to revive Blake’s 7, as he also (unsuccessfully) attempted to do with Survivors.
A number of actors from the original Survivors (1975-1977) appeared at the Memorabilia event in Birmingham on 19-20 November.
Those scheduled to appear were:
* Ian McCulloch (Greg Preston, S1-S3)
* Myra Frances (Anne Tranter, S1)
* James Cosmo (Lenny Carter, The Chosen, S2)
* Roger Lloyd Pack (Wally, Lights of London S2)
* Philip Madoc (Max Kershaw, The Chosen, S2)
Roger Lloyd Pack is unique is being the only actor from the original series of Survivors to appear in the revival of the series. Lloyd Pack appeared as villainous truck driver Billy Stringer in episodes three and four of series two of the new Survivors.
No specific Survivors panel or event had been arranged, and the appearance of such a large number of Survivors alumni (all of whom have a large number of other genre credentials to their name) seems to have been entirely co-incidental.
British actor George Baker (who memorably played the guest-starring role of union president Arthur Wormley in Genesis, the second episode of the original Survivors) has died aged 80 after a short illness (7 October 2011).
Baker enjoyed a long and varied career on the big and small screen, and in the latter part of his career became best known for playing the lead role in the Ruth Rendell Inspector Wexford detective series.
Genesis was written by series creator Terry Nation, and the character of Wormley appears in the 1976 Survivors novel which Nation also wrote. In the 2008-10 remake of Survivors (developed from Nation’s novel) the character of Wormley was reinvented in the guise of junior government minister Samantha Willis (played by Nikki-Amuka Bird) who appeared as a recurring character in both series.
Obituaries for Baker appear in The Guardian and other newspapers, and on the BBC News site.
In response to repeated enquiries the BBC has added an FAQ (Frequently Asked Question) to its website: Will there be a third series of Survivors?, to which the current (4 March 2010) answer is:
It has not been confirmed at present whether there will be a third series.
As soon as the BBC has confirmed its intentions in respect of Survivors series three, news will be posted here.
The BBC have not, as yet (22:20 UK time, Tuesday 23 February 2010), confirmed whether or not there will be a third series of Survivors. As soon as that information is made available, it will be publicised here.
*** EXCLUSIVE *** Pennant Roberts, who directed numerous episodes of the first and second series of the original Survivors – including the classic opening episode The Fourth Horseman – shares with this blog his initial reaction to viewing the first two episodes of the remake:
“on the whole I enjoyed watching the first episode. Remakes often have a chequered history, but writer Adrian Hodges never permitted his audience to lose the plot. Terry Nation’s storyline was faithfully reproduced, even some of his actual lines recycled. The timing of the remake appears perfect. We find ourselves challenging ‘difficult times’ once more, as Gordon Brown is so fond of saying. What a relief! Things could be far, far worse for us all.
I didn’t enjoy the second episode as much, because it contained more of Terry Nation’s bish-bash-bosh philosophising, which thankfully I was able to avoid first time around. Nevertheless, I’ll be watching the new series to the bittersweet end.”
The four-page full-colour guide to the original Survivors (authored by the editor of this blog) which first appeared in the April 2008 of SciFiNow, has been republished in Volume One of the SciFiNow – Timewarp collection, which is now available in newsagents. The 256-page ‘special’ [ISBN: 978-1-906078-19-5] retails for £9.99.
The five-page feature on the the new series, which appears in the current issue of SciFiNow (Issue 21) (also written by this blog’s editor), will be available in shops until 27 November (cover price, £4.00).
In its news section, issue 230 of TV Zone magazine reports on the BBC’s announcement of the main cast for the new series of Survivors. The piece is illustrated with individual publicity shots of each cast member (though not in their new series roles) overlayed (in five cases) with thumbnails of the same character from the original series.
The piece also includes a one line quotation from Julie Graham, picked up at the press conference for the BBC’s Bonekickers – a series which The Guardian described as “mind-bogglingly dreadful… Makes Scooby Do look like State of Play.”
In the quotation, Graham reveals that she has no memories of watching the original Survivors, but acknowledges that its premise was “prescient” and that she is “excited” about the upcoming remake.
Following the publication of the announcement in the Media Guardian on 10 July 2006 of the forthcoming revival of Survivors by the BBC, the story was picked up by SFX magazine No. 147, dated September 2006
The full text of the story was as follows:
Survivors Returns. Probably.
The BBC is in talks to resurrect another ’70s SF show, Survivors. The brainchild of Terry Nation, Survivors lasted three series from 1975 and focused on a post apocalyptic world peopled by survivors of a devastating plague.
It is understood that the BBC wants to make a new series of six hour-long episodes. The project’s being overseen by Beeb producer Sue Hogg. But a deal has yet to be finalised and the BBC is still in negotiations with Nation’s estate.
Although Nation owns the rights to the series, he left after season one, going on to create Blake’s 7.
SFX, No. 147, September 2006.
The Media Guardian story was also covered in Dreamwatch magazine.
Following the publication of the announcement in the Media Guardian on 10 July 2006 of the forthcoming revival of Survivors by the BBC, the story was picked up by Dreamwatch magazine No. 144, dated September 2006.
The full text of the story was as follows:
Survivors Emerge? Terry Nation’s post-apocalyptic drama eyed for revival by BBC
Cult 1970s’ science fiction show Survivors may be poised to return to TV, with the BBC confirming that it has plans to revive the post-apocalyptic drama.
Survivors was devised by Doctor Who writer Terry Nation, who would later create the BBC space opera Blake’s 7. Running for 38 episodes from 1975 to 1977 the BBC production saw a genetically engineered virus kill 95 per cent of the world’s population. Lucy Fleming, Carolyn Seymour and Ian McCulloch starred as some of the remaining survivors, struggling to maintain humanity.
Creator Terry Nation died from emphysema in 1997. The BBC has now confirmed that it is in talks with his his estate about the possibility of buying the rights to Survivors. This follows the BBC’s successful negotiations with the Nation estate for the use of his villainous creations the Daleks in its hit Doctor Who revival.
The new Survivors project is being developed within the BBC, with the proposed six-episode serial overseen by The Last Train and My Family and Other Animals producer Sue Hogg.
Dreamwatch, No. 144, September 2006
The Media Guardian story was also covered in SFX magazine.
Confirmation that a new series of Survivors was to be made by the BBC came in a story published in Media Guardian on 10 July 2006.
The full-text of the story was as follows:
BBC set to revive 70s sci-fi show
First came Doctor Who, now the BBC is considering reviving another cult science fiction show from the man who invented the Daleks: Terry Nation’s Survivors.
The BBC has confirmed it is in talks with the estate of Mr Nation, a co-creator of Doctor Who, about buying the rights to his 1975 series centred on a post-apocalyptic world peopled by survivors from a devastating plague.
The BBC is understood to be hoping to make a new series of six 60- minute episodes.
The project is being overseen by inhouse BBC executive producer Sue Hogg and is one of a handful of Doctor Who-related dramas being planned by the corporation.
One imminent drama is Torchwood, based on the fictional alien research centre in Doctor Who, which is currently being filmed.
The BBC is not yet at the casting stage for the Survivors series, which would be dependent on the agreement of the Terry Nation estate.
The original drama was seen through the eyes of two characters – Jenny Richards, a young working woman, and Abby Grant, a middle-class corporate wife living a privileged existence in a nearby commuter village. The women were played by Lucy Fleming and Carolyn Seymour respectively.
The original programme ran for three series and 38 episodes, although Mr Nation left after the first series.
He followed up Survivors with his next BBC sci-fi creation, Blake’s 7, about a ragtag group of criminals on the run from the sinister Terran Federation in a stolen alien spaceship.
Mr Nation, who also invented the Daleks, is regarded as one of the creators of Doctor Who in the early 60s alongside then BBC head of drama Sydney Newman.
The estate of Mr Nation, who died from emphysema in 1997, also jointly owns the copyright to the likeness and characters of the Daleks with the BBC.
A screengrab of the original online story, 10 July 2006
The news was quickly picked up by the sci-fi genre press, including Dreamwatch and SFX.
