Sci-Fi Bulletin: Exploring the Universes of SF, Fantasy, Horror and Spy-fi!

From the Human Frontier to a haunted village, a new series of Big Finish Originals will be catering to all tastes.

Big Finish Productions, pioneers in audio drama, started life in 1998. Growing from being virtually a cottage industry, it has blossomed into one of the biggest publishers of audio drama in the UK, releasing an ever widening range of great audio plays.

The company’s policy has always been to get the best writers, directors and actors and to deliver an immersive audio experience, packed with epic sound design and music. And for its 20th anniversary, Big Finish has decided to celebrate that talent by creating Big Finish Originals, a brand new range of original audio dramas. Here’s the line-up…

April 2018: ATA Girl, created by Louise Jameson (Doctor Who, Bergerac, Tenko) and produced by Helen Goldwyn. The story of the World War Two women aviators of the Air Transport Auxiliary — pioneers of equality. They braved many of the same ordeals as their male counterparts, paving the way for equal pay.

May 2018: Cicero, devised by Scott Handcock and written by David Llewellyn. Starring Samuel Barnett (star of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency on Netflix) as the real life historical character Marcus Tullius Cicero, investigating dark deeds in Ancient Rome. The first episode, Though Scoundrels Are Discovered, was released as a pilot episode in February 2017 to great acclaim. A further five episodes are to follow.

July 2018: Jeremiah Bourne in Time, created and written by Nigel Planer (The Young Ones, The Comic Strip, Filthy Rich & Catflap) and directed by prolific Big Finish writer/actor/director Barnaby Edwards. It’s a time travel tale with a twist. Nigel explains: “Jeremiah Bourne in Time is a very personal take on how I see the world. I’ve been working on it since about 1857 and I think it’s just about ready to share!” Nigel also features in the production, with Sebastian Armesto (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Tudors, Pirates of the Caribbean) starring in the titular role.

September 2018: Shilling and Sixpence Investigate, created by Nigel Fairs and directed by Samuel Clemens (son of TV legend Brian Clemens). A murder mystery, set in 1939, as war in Europe gets ever nearer. David Warner (Titanic, The Omen, Time After Time) and Celia Imrie (Bridget Jones’s Diary, Calendar Girls, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) head an all-star cast.

October 2018: Blind Terror, written by Guy Adams and produced by the team behind Big Finish’s Dorian Gray range. A terrifying, gothic horror tale for Halloween, starring Eve Myles (Torchwood, Broadchurch, Victoria) as recently widowed Kathryn Ellis. She becomes the new housekeeper at Hodder Hall, keen to embark on a bright new future… only, her past won’t let her go just yet, and the ghosts that stalk the village threaten to cut her future short.

June 2019: Transference, created by Big Finish’s senior producer David Richardson and co-written by former police officer Andrew Smith and award-winning Big Finish writer John Dorney. A disturbing crime thriller with a difference. Expect some exciting news about the star casting soon!

August 2019: The Human Frontier, created by award-winning Big Finish writer/director Nicholas Briggs. An epic science fiction series about exploration, not just of space, but of the human condition. A tale of conflicting visions for humankind’s future.

According to Briggs: “All of the titles are entirely new franchises created exclusively for Big Finish Productions by our best creative minds — and even me! These new dramas span several genres, from crime thrillers and historical drama, to horror and science fiction — so there’s something for everyone. We’re reaching out to new audiences, but there’ll be plenty too for all those loyal listeners who continue to give us their invaluable support.

“We’re as passionate about what we’re doing as they are about listening to it. For me, personally, this is the most exciting time and I can’t help but feel a great deal of pride at witnessing all the top-notch, talented people we have working for us. Let the celebrations begin!”

Big Finish Chairman and co-executive producer, Jason Haigh-Ellery added “Big Finish has always created new drama, but this is the first time we have designed a schedule of completely original drama — and I’m really excited to see what listeners to Big Finish will think of them.  It’s an eclectic mix, from girls doing more than their bit in WWII in ATA Girl to seeking out new worlds in the sci-fi drama The Human Frontier. Good stories have always been at the heart of Big Finish – and I hope our listeners will agree that we have created new and  exciting series which will truly be original in our Big Finish Originals range.”

All of the Big Finish Originals will be available on download exclusively from http://www.bigfinish.com

To celebrate the new releases, until Monday 22 January these seven new titles in the Originals range will be available for an exclusive pre-order deal of £99 in an Originals bundle. After this date the bundle price will increase to £120. Each release is also available as an individual download.