March 24th, 2022 11 comments

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Big Finish UNIT: Brave New World: Seabird One

Available to order from www.bigfinish.com

Meet the 1990s UNIT team led by Brigadier Winifred Bambera in the hotly-anticipated Brave New World full-cast audio dramas from Big Finish Productions, set to begin in June 2022.

Alongside the legendary Angela Bruce, Seabird One stars Yemisi Oyinloye (Emmerdale, Cold Feet) as Dr Louise Rix, a no-nonsense scientific advisor butting heads with Bambera. Trying to keep the peace is Sergeant Jean-Paul Savarin, voiced by Alex Jordan (Everything I Know About Love, Unforgotten).

In a trio of adventures, a supernatural mystery unfolds, technology expands rapidly and in a Green Death-inspired story written by Big Finish newcomer Alison Winter, an experiment to cheat nature goes awry.

UNIT: Brave New World: Seabird One is now available to pre-order as a collector’s edition CD box set (+ download for just £19.99) or a digital download (for just £16.99, exclusively from www.bigfinish.com.

The spectacular cast also includes Silas Carson (the voice of Doctor Who’s The Ood) as Dr Winston Grange, Liz Sutherland-Lim (BBC’s The Canterville Ghost) as Dame Lydia Kingsley, and Wilf Scolding (The One, Game of Thrones) as both Roman Krojač and Professor Ian Fenning.

The Cold War is over, the Millennium is fast approaching, and Brigadier Winifred Bambera is the new head of UNIT. But in this shadowy, unpredictable world of deadly threats and hidden enemies, Bambera and her new team – Sergeant Jean-Paul Savarin and Dr Louise Rix – will need to prove their mettle. The stakes are higher than ever.

The three action-packed adventures in this box set are as follows:

Rogue State by Robert Valentine

• In the war-torn republic of Valge Maja, Brigadier Bambera is hot on the trail of arms-dealing terrorist, Roman Krojač, when she’s ordered back to Geneva. Her old sponsor, Dame Lydia Kingsley, offers her a job as the new head of UNIT. Reluctant to accept, she nevertheless teams up with sarcastic UNIT officer Sgt. Jean-Paul Savarin to prevent a monstrous Soviet-era weapon from falling into Krojač’s hands.

Time Flies by Alison Winter

• Bambera and Savarin are summoned to a secretive genetic research facility by Dr Louise Rix, UNIT’s rebellious new scientific adviser. Two scientists have vanished in mysterious circumstances, and despite the assurances of the sinister Dr Grange, UNIT suspects there’s something very wrong with the centre’s caterpillar population. Can they survive the fruits of Dr Grange’s experiments? And will Savarin survive Bambera and Rix’s rocky new relationship?

Dark Side of the Moon by Alfie Shaw

• A new British space station, the Britannia, is due to be launched at the end of the week, but Bambera, Rix and Savarin fear that some kind of psychic entity is trying to sabotage it. Is it really the spirit of Helena McNamara, deceased astronaut and old friend of Rix? And does it speak the truth when it warns that something terrible is waiting for humanity on the dark side of the moon?

Angela Bruce said: “When we start this series, Bambera has been on her own. She’s lost Ancelyn but now she’s got these two young people who are keeping her going. Savarin and Rix actually understand her. They have a great energy and that’s what Bambera needs around her. She realises she needs new blood. Together they make a strong body of people.”

Producer Emily Cook added: “I can’t praise our trio enough. Angela Bruce, Yemisi Oyinloye and Alex Jordan as Bambera, Rix and Savarin make a formidable team. What’s lovely is that throughout the course of these first three stories, these characters grow in strength as they work together – and it was the same watching the actors record in studio. They bonded brilliantly, and I think this really comes across in the final product. I can’t wait for fans to meet Bambera’s new UNIT team!”

UNIT: Brave New World: Seabird One is now available to pre-order for just £19.99 (as a collector’s edition CD + download) or £16.99 (download only), exclusively from the Big Finish website.

Big Finish listeners can save money by buying Brave New World volume 1 and 2 together in a bundle for just £38 (CD + download) or £33 (download only).

All the above prices include the special pre-order discount and are subject to change after general release

Big Finish is currently operating a digital-first release schedule. The mail-out of collector’s edition CDs may be delayed due to factors beyond our control, but all purchases of this release unlock a digital copy that can be immediately downloaded or played on the Big Finish app from the release date.

Categorised under: Big Finish, CD, spin-offs