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BIG FINISH has taken the classic TV series and given it a new lease of life, adapting lost episodes and now the fondly-remembered comic strips. We find out what we can expect from the second volume…

Back in 1961, ABC Television began broadcasting a spy-fi series called The Avengers, focusing on the adventures of Dr David Keel (Ian Hendry) and his mysterious government agent John Steed (Patrick Macnee). After the first series, the show’s emphasis moved to Steed and his many female assistants. In the late 1970s, the show was revived as The New Avengers, with Steed once more the focus.

Back to those original episodes, and like many other series all the videotapes were wiped, and all that remains is three stories on 16mm recordings. That situation remained unchanged until 2014…

When Big Finish announced they would be bringing back the original Avengers on audio, it was one of those ideas obvious once somebody else has thought of it. The stories were unfamiliar to many but even then the casting was fascinating and in six box sets (so far), Anthony Howell (Keel) and Julian Wadham (Steed) have impressed and entertained in equal measure. Fans quickly wondered what next? Would Big Finish carry on with later series? Would Cathy Gale, Emma Peel, Tara King or even Purdey and Gambit be coming to audio? Would Big Finish be allowed to write some original stories still set in that first Keel and Steed season?

Those questions remain unanswered. However, this year we have been treated to adaptations of a set of Steed and Mrs Peel comic strips that were first published in Diana magazine in 1966 – 67. This also gave us an answer – Olivia Poulet is Emma Peel. We caught up with writer Paul Morris to discuss his work on the series. First, he explained it was co-writer Simon Barnard who’d been the big fan of the show: “Simon has been a big fan as long as I’ve known him, and I think you can see that in almost everything he writes. I must admit, though, that I hadn’t seen The Avengers in any form before the BBC4 repeats of the Mrs Peel-era about ten years ago. After that I pretty much worked my way backwards, ending with the Big Finish adaptations of the Dr Keel episodes. I was always intrigued by how the series shifted so much in tone in such a relatively short time and going through those changes in reverse just made it even stranger. I recommend it!”

The first box sets were all adaptations of TV scripts; whereas Diana being a comic strip presents a different challenge. It turns out that wasn’t a problem: “Neither of us have worked with that comic strips before – unless you count Simon’s adaptation of the first Scarifyers story into a comic book, but that was going the other direction! To be honest, the fact that we were adapting a comic strip wasn’t all that important. We were simply using the storyline as the starting point for our script, so it wasn’t that different from being given a detailed brief by a script editor, or one of us enlarging on a sketchy outline from the other. What was helpful was that the illustrations were vivid enough to give us a sense of the stories’ atmosphere – always a good starting point.”

With only a short run of comic strips available, there will be only two sets of adaptations. This again raises the question of original stories. Paul is very keen on this idea (and not just the Mrs Peel era), as he explains: “We’d be very keen to work on any more Avengers that Big Finish can throw at us, whether it’s original stories or more adaptations, and whichever team they like. Everyone involved thought it was a crying shame that our new Steed and Mrs Peel might not get any outings beyond these eight Diana adaptations, though. It felt like we were just getting started. The New Avengers would be an interesting dynamic. Updating our style to give it a seventies feel could be fun!”

Julian Wadham has been playing Steed for Big Finish for some time, whereas Olivia Poulet is a more recent recruit. Paul was in the studio for the recording of one of their stories and noticed the dynamic between Wadham and Poulet: “One thing I was particularly impressed by was how seemingly effortless their interaction was. They slipped seamlessly into the rhythm of the dialogue, often nailing it on the first take. If there are no more Steed and Peel adventures to come, the end of that double-act might be the greatest loss of all.”

Let’s hope that’s not the case and fans continue to enjoy the pairing of Steed and Peel as they recreate the 1960s. Paul offers the following thoughts as to why they remain so popular: “The Avengers always existed slightly outside any single, easily definable genre. But I think there’s something timeless about the Steed and Peel-era in particular that means its appeal never fades. The Swinging Sixties trappings are just superficial; what gives it its heart is the fact that our two heroes enjoy their work, and that enjoyment is infectious.”

The second (and final) set is out now. You can read our review here.

The cast of the cult classic movie The Warriors will make their way to the UK for a special Warriors celebration event at Edgbaston Stadium in Birmingham, April 1st and 2nd, 2017. In the 1979 movie, inspired in part by Greek history, a peace meeting uniting New York City gangs turns sour when the charismatic gang leader who called the truce is suddenly murdered. With Coney Island troupe The Warriors wrongly blamed, all hell breaks loose and the group must fight their way home, with rival gangs and the police in pursuit. From legendary Hollywood director Walter Hill (48 Hours, Bullet to the Head) the film would go on to become a surprise hit and one of his best-loved films. The UK Conclave will be the first Warriors conclave event in the UK. The lovingly crafted event will feature exhibits, panels, cosplay, stalls and a variety of other fun elements and surprises. To celebrate this ‘must see’ fan event, we present some of the most fascinating facts surrounding this timeless cult classic…

1. The Warriors is loosely based on Anabasis, a historic tale of Greek mercenaries isolated behind Persian enemy lines who had to fight their way home.

2. The original novel by Sol Yurick, written 14 years earlier, challenged the romanticised view of street gangs from films like West Side Story, based on his experience as a New York City welfare department worker.

3. Due to gang violence at many screenings, Paramount completely removed advertising from radio and television and severely reduced print ads. 200 US cinemas even added security personnel.

4. Earning a positive response from younger audiences, by its sixth week the film had grossed over $16 million in box office receipts.

5. The film featured many real gang members and the iconic opening showing Cyrus’ speech utilised over 1000 extras. 6. Actor David Patrick Kelly improvised Luther’s famous ‘come out to play’ taunt, one of the film’s most well-known lines.

7. For a publicity photo, The Warriors gang logo was painted on a building, inadvertently over a real gang’s tag. The gang didn’t take lightly to this, so the producers paid them to appear in the film.

8. The bat-wielding Baseball Furies gang was created by combining director Walter Hill’s love of baseball and the style of makeup used by the band KISS.

9. Surprisingly, US President Ronald Reagan was a fan of the film. He even phoned lead actor Michael Beck to tell him he screened it at Camp David, the President’s country retreat.

10. Rockstar’s eponymous hit video game adaptation, featuring most of the original cast, celebrated its 10th-anniversary last year. Players could relive the classic storyline while learning how each character first joined the gang.

11. The movie has been referenced throughout pop culture, in TV series like The Simpsons, Bob’s Burgers, Black Dynamite and Luke Cage and in music such as Twisted Sister’s ‘Come Out and Play’, Biohazard’s ‘Wrong Side of the Tracks’ and the entire theme of popular new Madrid-based Heavy Metal band, Lizzies.

12. It was recently announced that The Russo Brothers (Captain America franchise) will collaborate with Paramount Television and Hulu for a re-imagined TV adaptation.

The Warriors come out to play at Edgbaston Stadium, Birmingham on April 1st & 2nd, 2017.

Tickets and Official Pages: http://www.ukconclave.com www.facebook.com/UKConclave www.twitter.com/UKConclave.

Once again, it’s the Christmas roundup of naughty or nice movies as we anticipate the arrival of the Doctor Who Christmas Special and of course, Jolly ol’ Saint Nick.

 

TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT (1980)

Director David Hess. Stars Jennifer Runyon, Forrest Swanson, Jennifer Gentile.

Sorority girls smuggle in boys in their finishing school for a night of debauchery and are quickly put on the naughty list as a psycho Santa administers their lumps of coal dispensing with the bad kids in various ways such as a helicopter propeller, skull cracking and an axe me no questions delivery that includes a twist ending. Script by the star of The Incredible Melting Man, Alex Rebar.

 

THE LEMON DROP KID (1951)

Director Sidney Lanfield and Frank Tashlin. Stars Bob Hope, Marilyn Maxwell, Fred Clark.

When con man, the Lemon Drop Kid (Hope) makes the wrong choice on a horse race bet with the girlfriend (Maxwell) of a gangster (Clark), he has until Christmas Day to come up with $10,000 or meet a grisly end. Figuring that people will spread their Christmas cheer, he cons charity organisations dressing thugs up like Santa to swindle them out of their money while poking jabs at Orson Welles and Bing Crosby. Hope is at his funniest in this and the duet with Maxwell singing Silver Bells is terrific. A little trivia here; Silver Bells was originally written as ‘Tinkle Bells,’ but, when the wife of the songwriter told her husband what ‘tinkle’ actually meant, she suggested him to change the first word to ‘silver’ and that’s what we know today. A Christmas classic!

 

THE CHEATERS AKA THE CASTAWAY (1945)

Directed by Joseph Kane. Stars Joseph Schildkraut, Billie Burke (Glinda the Good Witch), Eugene Pallette.

An ultra-rare movie, but worth seeking out. When a greedy, snobbish, rich family adopts an out-of-work actor at Christmas who tried to commit suicide, they believe they can impress their other shallow friends in doing a good deed. Through his unpredictable actions and sage advice, the ubiquitous, Mr. M (Schildkraut) teaches them a lesson in morality in his amazing performance.

 

‘R XMAS (2001)

Director Abel Ferrara. Stars Drea de Matteo (The Sopranos), Lillo Brancato, Ice-T.

When a New York drug dealer is kidnapped (Brancato) his wife (Matteo) his wife must come up with the money and drugs to free him before Christmas or he sleeps with the fishes. This is one dark movie where everyone, including the cops are bad guys.

It’s a Christmas version of David Lynch’s Blue Velvet meets Italian Giallo. Director Ferrara captures the hidden, underbelly of crime and grittiness against the holiday season and delivers the goods.

 

SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT 1-5

Various directors. Stars Linnea Quigley, Charles Dierkop,

Richard Beemer, Bill Mosley, Mickey Rooney.

“Santa’s watching. Santa’s creeping. Now you’re nodding. Now you’re sleeping. Were you good for mom and dad? Santa knows if you’ve been bad!” What can one say about a psychotic Santa Clause that strangles people with Christmas tree lights, decapitates ones on the naughty list and slices and dices his way through people’s hearts, so-to-speak. Creepy and scary at times, this is the only serial killer Santa series ever made though the final instalment veers away from the first

four with Rooney as Joe Petto and his son, Pino who make killer toys to do their evil bidding. File this one under ‘strange-o.’

It’s a Friday night at GSP studios near York, and Steven Ogg has almost finished his first week on the Solis shoot.

The tale of Troy Holloway, an emotionally broken man on a collision course with the sun, is the sort of lean, mean sci-fi adventure that should grab genre fans and those who love tales of survival.

Even if fantasy movies leave you colder than a T-1000 covered in liquid nitrogen, based on Ogg’s performance alone on day one of filming, this may convert new fans while pushing the Canadian star into the big leagues.

The movie, written for him by Brit writer/director Carl Strathie, may boast impressive production design by Moon’s Tony Noble, but there’s no danger of it stealing the show from its leading, and only man.

For someone weaned on classic, gritty sci-fi movies like Alien and Outland, it’s a privilege to be the first journalist allowed on set. And naturally it’s a treat to see the magic come alive as the breakout star of GTA V, and more recently Westworld and The Walking Dead, gives the performance of his life.

I grabbed a few minutes with him after a long day, and though Steven might not have been attracted by the sci-fi element, he loved the fact his character was so complex.

Watching a scene unfold with Holloway trying to fix a tech problem reminded me why Ogg was such a compelling sight. (By coincidence I’d recently watched a Walking Dead scene in which he stole the show, and had spent months loving his turn as mo-capped Trevor in GTA V).

“There’s things that would be the easy choice,” he explains. “So I’m like ’How do I take this (scene) that looks simple and add layers; add flavours to it so it’s not one simple flavour?’”

On day one, I watched Steven ‘floating’ through a frozen tube, which looked exhausting. I won’t explain how he was apparently levitating but it was a stunning sight.

I wondered how physically demanding the shoot had been in the first few days.

“So far, because this week we’ve just been doing that (tube floating), which is good because it’s a baptism by fire,” explains Steven. “I’m going to be sitting in a chair a lot (for part of the shoot). Which is great because it’s exciting to do this kind of stuff. Flying around on wires, and crawling through that , which is fun.”

He adds: “You get little aches, and you use muscles… It doesn’t matter how fit you are or how much in shape you think you are, when you put your body in different positions all day on and off…” he exhales, summing up the literally breathtaking nature of the role.

Steven looks as lean as a marathon runner, but it’s clear the shoot can take its toll mentally as well as physically.

“I probably had a 10-minute window yesterday where nothing could be right with me. Like ‘This is rubbing on my leg; the earpiece is falling out; I am sitting here and nobody is telling me anything. What’s going on?!’ And that little moment… not even 10 minutes; maybe three minutes where everything is falling apart within, and then you take a deep breath and go ’This is SO cool!’ And being grateful, and just appreciating, and everyone here is so great,” he enthuses. “Yeah, you get a little achy, but so f****** what? You’re making a movie, in a spaceship!”

Ogg dominates the film so he has to carry every scene.

“Some projects you might be only working for three or four days on and then have three or four days off. This isn’t that. This is just me, which again is part of the excitement. It’s all about me. If it sucks, it’s because I’m sucking. I have the ability to make it better or worse depending on my job; how well I do it.”

For Carl Strathie, Solis is proof you don’t need to spend years at film school to get a feature off the ground. Just some good ideas and a refusal to settle for a nine to five job.

“I wanted to be a film director from (when I was) a kid,” he explains during a break. “But when I was making stupid films with my friends I was always like: ‘Make it more serious’.”

Watching documentaries like the making of The Lord of the Rings movies inspired Carl to graduate onto bigger projects.

“I thought ‘Peter Jackson didn’t go to film school; we now have digital (film cameras). What if I save up and just make films?’”

So he and Charlette Kilby became a two person film unit, making eight short movies.

“She was producing and I was writing and directing,” he explains. “She was always my first A.D. and sound, and I was cameraman.”

With each film they attracted more people, so it went from just Carl and Charlette in 2008 to many of the crew that are with them today.

Like fashion, film styles tend to go in 30-year cycles, so little wonder the clunky throwback feel of films like Alien and Aliens feels right for Solis in 2016-17.

I like the fact the sets are physical. For example, if you push a button it lights up.

“Yeah, we went down the more rudimentary route rather than the glitzy sci-fi,” explains Carl. “Like Prometheus, with the touch screens; it’s great and it looks good and it’s probably accurate, but I prefer the clunky… as if the film is made in the ‘80s.”

It’s still early days on the shoot, but it’s clear Ogg is too formidable a personality to be overshadowed by the impressive hardware surrounding him.

There’s obviously still plenty of work to do, but Strathie is so chilled on his debut feature it’s hard to believe he’s making such a complex movie with one of Hollywood’s hottest rising stars.

Then again, after three years of trying to get the film off the ground, it’s clear this is the fun bit. He’s already planned every minute of screen time on paper and with a team of designers. The storyboards alone would make a great coffee table book.

Holloway’s destination might be a raging inferno, but star and crew are cooler than Neptune. As you’ve probably gathered, we can’t wait to see the result.
Header photo by Bart Sienkiewicz

Looking for a decent dose of all-American juvenilia whilst waiting for the next Hangover movie? Then consider checking out Paramount’s latest seasonal offering, Office Christmas Party.

 

This movie struck our multiplexes earlier this month, and with a pretty good cast including the likes of Jennifer Aniston and T.J. Miller, it aims to be another classic Christmas comedy alongside the likes of Scrooged and Elf.

However, in order to do this, the film needs to find a cinema audience who find the concept of sitting on a photocopier hilariously funny.

That’s not to say that Office Christmas Party is completely without merit, but if you’re in the mood for something other than drinking clichés and sexual innuendo, then perhaps give this a miss and check out some other cinema or even games releases this December.

Whilst the likes of The Hangover managed to blend adult and juvenile humour to great effect, many reviewers have noted that Office Christmas Party is just too formulaic to be anything other than a film that you absent-mindedly watch whilst you digest your festive meal.

It’s a shame as the cast seem to be trying to inject the dull script with a bit of sparkle. Kate McInnon’s on great form after her successful outing in this summer’s Ghostbusters revamp, and Jason Bateman is perfect for this kind of adult comedy that’s just generic enough to achieve some respectable box office figures.

However, Office Christmas Party faces tough competition this Christmas with the likes of Star Wars: Rogue One, Fantastic Beasts, and Jennifer Lawrence’s sci-fi treat Passengers all offering some solid holiday diversion.

Even the gaming world seems to be stepping it up for December with Dead Rising 4 and Watch Dogs 2 joining forces with Mr Smith Casino’s Starburst slots game to put stars in your eyes and eclipse the cinematic competition.

Maybe that’s why Office Christmas Party is doing all it can to keep the promotional bandwagon running through the run-up to Christmas. One of the movie’s stars, T.J. Miller, even managed to get himself arrested in a way that was pretty true to his anarchic Clay Vanstone character in the movie.

So whilst Office Christmas Party may never get to reach the lofty Christmas classic realms of Home Alone or even get an online gaming adaptation, it still provides yet another way to avoid watching the usual festive trash on television.

ISSUE 432 – OUT NOW!

This month, we get assemble all the pieces together ready for THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE and look ahead to 2017 with our exhaustive preview of all the films and TV shows to come. Not only that, there’s the countdown of our writers’ Top 40 FILMS OF THE YEAR.

We also look forward to M. Night Shyamalan’s SPLIT, THE LAST DRAGONSLAYER, and meet up with Renton and co. in T2: TRAINSPOTTING. We also find some ghostly goings-on in WE ARE STILL HERE.

In our regular features, the independent filmmakers behind the brilliant Santa slasher GOOD TIDINGS reveal all.

Plus all your favourite COLUMNS, NEWS, REVIEWS and much MORE from the worlds of SCI-FI, HORROR and FANTASY!

AVAILABLE IN PRINT(HERE) & DIGITAL (HERE)

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Find your local STARBURST stockist HERE, or buy direct from us HERE. For our digital edition (available to read on your iOS, Android, Amazon, Windows 8, Samsung and/or Huawei device – all for just £1.99), visit MAGZTER DIGITAL NEWSSTAND.

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The gaming world is evolving every day. If we scroll back just a few years, the likes of Ridge Racer and Tekken that once looked amazing, now feel decidedly ancient. Although nostalgia and core gaming values keep the classics alive, there’s no doubt that the latest quirks are what players really love.

Whenever an innovation hits the market, people often flock to it en masse and in recent years the movement has been towards a more realistic gaming experience. Virtual reality is now starting to give gamers a glimpse into the future thanks to products like Oculus Rift, Samsung and Sony’s PlayStation VR. But that doesn’t mean that the bread and butter isn’t still important. Webcam technology in gaming is still important for instance. On a basic level, novelty games like YouFight! and Ball Strike can be found on MIT’s Scratch website. Although most of the games are more of a software programming project than a full-scale game. But the fact you can fight with a Mortal Kombat character and kick balls by linking your desktop and webcam is extremely entertaining.

A New Way to Size Up Your Opponents

Taking this idea a step further and adding a certain amount of polish is the iGaming industry. Software developers like NetEnt and Microgaming have invested their time in live-dealer technology. Combining webcams, RFID chips and casino software, these companies have managed to usher in a new wave of online gaming. Today, bettors can play everything from roulette to blackjack to webcam poker face to face against their opponents from the comfort of their own homes. Instead of linking players and dealers through a series of webcams, they allow competing players to join a special “webcam” table – where players can see everyone else’s face. Anyone who’s ever played poker IRL will know that there’s a lot of information to be gleaned from an opponent’s facial expression.

Maybe it’s a subtle smile or an unwitting frown; whatever it is, skilled poker players can pick up on subtle expressions that can help uncover the strength of a player’s hand. Naturally, since the advent of online poker in the late nineties, the ability to spot tells has been lost (as you can’t see your opponent). However, thanks to webcam poker, players now have the best of both worlds. In addition to having the speed and efficiency of the virtual game, players can still see live images of those around them. And some companies have taken this a step further by incorporating 360 video with gaming to create an immersive poker experience. A video that uses multiple cameras overlapping their fields of vision is used to achieve this.

Greater Interaction Results in Greater Entertainment
 

So, why are these extra additions so important for gamers? In a word: interaction. Part of the reason experts are predicting that the virtual reality industry will be worth $120billion by 2020 is that players want a more engaging experience. Online gaming fits nicely into this niche because it connects real people across a virtual space. Beyond this, the introduction of a webcam essentially puts the players at the heart of the game and, therefore, an integral part of the action.
 

The demise of a once-flourishing production company is hardly a point for celebration, especially when the company in question was once one of the great powerhouses of global cinema. Shaw Brothers was the Hong Kong Production Company, responsible for most of the city-state’s exported film produce over a thirty year period, tallying up a whopping 1000 films over that time. The number of films isn’t that important to be fair, it’s the quality of those features, and the many talents that company heads Runme, Runje, and Runde Shaw nurtured over that tenure.

As BIG FINISH unleash Series Five of SURVIVORS, we catch up with the creative team to find out what we can expect…

Since Survivors first resurfaced in the world of audio adventures in 2014, Big Finish has ensured that those who survived The Death have faced a torrid time: suffering at the hands of deluded settlement leaders, blood-crazed cannibals, bigoted bully-boys and a self-serving hippy charlatan. In the storylines of Series Five, released this November, there’s no let-up in sight for those battling to secure humanity’s future.

“One of the things that I wanted to do with Survivors was unleash a second wave of the plague,” explains producer David Richardson. “We’ve now got these decimated communities that have only just started to rebuild. What would be the scariest thing that could happen? I thought that that would be a plague coming back and people starting to die all over again. So that’s the very grim scenario we have in this latest box set.”

Script editor Matt Fitton suggests that it’s not hard to imagine how survivors might react to such a new threat. “Everyone gets caught up in a kind of fear and panic about a second outbreak and what it might do to their newly-established society, just taking its first steps into the future,” he says.

Two years on from the pandemic, there’s even more at stake. “People are well organised enough to try to contain things themselves and to keep everyone safe; apart from the ones who don’t know about it yet,” explains Fitton. “And then there’s this rogue element; those who are carrying it from place to place without realising it.” The actions of these newly-infected survivors put everything in jeopardy once again.

“The person who becomes the main carrier is someone who’s very capable and who finds themselves in a position of authority,” Fitton reveals. “But once they realise what’s going on, they can’t quite let go of that status. They feel that they should be able to do something about it. They can’t just give up. But that puts other people in danger, and we see the course of action that other communities feel driven to take in response.”

As the series’ heroes are forced to confront this latest terrible threat, Big Finish’s writers have had to tread carefully through the already established Survivors’ canon. The timeline of the audio adventures has progressed through each box set, and the events of Series Five are set in the latter months of the TV show’s second series. Ian McCulloch (Greg) remains impressed by Big Finish’s attentiveness when crafting each new set of stories. “It’s great that they consider it all very seriously,” he says, “and have made sure that everything matches the storyline of the television series.”

The most recent Survivors box sets have alternated the focus between Abby (played by Carolyn Seymour), a character not seen in the second or third series of Survivors on TV, and Greg and Jenny (played by Lucy Fleming). But Big Finish were keen to find a way to reunite the show’s three leads once more. “We actually missed having Carolyn and Lucy and Ian together in the studio,” Richardson admits. “And they missed being together too. But the timeline of series doesn’t allow for them to all to find each other again.”

“What we decided to do was to bring the actors together, but ensure that their characters never meet,” he reveals. “And I think that that has led to some very powerful scenes in these episodes; where they’re caught up in same events, and are very close to each other geographically, but never actually meet. Which, of course, in a scenario where there’s no communication system, is exactly what would happen.” 

During a short break in recording, Seymour confirms that the trio of characters “just keep missing each other. It’s heart-breaking, really, and it keeps happening.” She continues to relish the chance to re-inhabit the character of Abby. “I love it,” she beams. “I don’t know how they wrote her so well, really. I just identified immediately. I just become her and it’s as simple as that. Big Finish is the most fabulous company to work for. I love coming in.”

Fleming confirms that all three actors are revelling in the working reunion. “None of us have really changed at all,” she reflects. “The characteristics that you remember of people in the past – Ian’s humour and Carolyn’s strength. Nothing changes – we just look a bit older. 

Driven by the need to discover the fate of her son Peter, a quest that is “still paramount”, says Seymour, Abby is once again able to be a lone crusader. “She didn’t have time to do it in the original series” Seymour continues, “she was too busy taking care of people that she was responsible for. With this one, she has time. She has no binding commitments.”

The fifth series sees the return of recurring characters ex-civil servant Evelyn Piper (played by Zoë Tapper) and the emotionally-scarred Hannah (voiced by Fiona Sheehan). Tapper played the role of doctor Anya Raczynski in the BBC’s 2008 TV remake of Survivors, and her involvement provides a link between all three incarnations of the series. “It actually came about because Zoë was in working with John Hurt on The War Doctor series,” explains Richardson. “The affection that she clearly holds for Survivors is one of the reasons that made her want to do it.”

Joining the expanding ensemble for this series are Doctor Who regulars Neve McIntosh and Richard Hope. McIntosh takes on the pivotal role of Carol Baker, head of the Maythorne community and an important catalyst in accelerating the spread of the new virus.

These latest episodes also bring to the fore the ‘Whitecross’ community, the centre of operations in Series Two of the TV series, and explore efforts to reconnect the first electricity supplies; one of the central themes of the third TV series. But with the new virus threatening everything and everyone, the finale of the audio Series Five shows how merciless its impact can be. Despite the death toll, with Series Six and Seven now confirmed, Big Finish’s Survivors series is itself clearly in rude and vibrant health.

The original series’ leads are full of ideas for future storylines. “I wouldn’t mind seeing some environmental themes in there,” Seymour suggests. “Having someone looking at how the long-term use of pesticides destroys the viability of land.” Fleming is hopeful of balancing adventures stories with more reflective moments. “I think it will be important to include some of the more philosophical questions that we came up with in the TV stories, as well as all of the all-action stuff,” she says. For McCulloch, there’s more dramatic mileage in the medical challenges the survivors face, wondering, “What on earth would you do when health care has reverted to a medieval level?”

All three of them are eager to continue and to see their characters’ stories evolve and intertwine with the new protagonists introduced by Big Finish. “Abby could go on for ever,” Seymour insists. “Even until I’m 93 and I get wheeled into the studio in my bathrobe and slippers.” Now, there’s a survivor talking…

Series Five of Big Finish’s SURVIVORS audio adventures is released in November.

ISSUE 431 – OUT NOW!

This month, we get excited about the imminent arrival of ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY, look forward to A MONSTER CALLS, LA LA LAND, and ASSASSIN’S CREED, plus the eagerly-awaited PASSENGERS.

We also dig up some zombie Nazis in DEAD SNOW 2: RED VS. DEAD and speculate on what the DOCTOR WHO Christmas Special will bring.

In our regular features, independent filmmaker KATE SHENTON tells us all about her award-winning film EGOMANIAC.

Plus all your favourite COLUMNS, NEWS, REVIEWS and much MORE from the worlds of SCI-FI, HORROR and FANTASY!

AVAILABLE IN PRINT(HERE) & DIGITAL (HERE)

SHARE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW OR ON TWITTER @STARBURST_MAG

Find your local STARBURST stockist HERE, or buy direct from us HERE. For our digital edition (available to read on your iOS, Android, Amazon, Windows 8, Samsung and/or Huawei device – all for just £1.99), visit MAGZTER DIGITAL NEWSSTAND.

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