{"podcast":{"title":"General Witchfinders: The British Horror Podcast","slug":"general-witchfinders-the-british-horror-podcast-3516772","podcast_index_feed_id":3516772,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/5fd77337c08ac45a2c50d003","website_url":"http://www.generalwitchfinders.com","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/5fd77337c08ac45a2c50d003/1772694982754-eb0af34b-8742-48c8-a3e1-0d3fc0433f39.jpeg","author":"Ross Cleaver, Jon Pountney, James Randall","episode_count":82,"summary":"General Witchfinders: The British Horror Podcast Welcome to General Witchfinders, a podcast dedicated to the dark heart of British horror and classic Hammer horror films – officially selected for permanent preservation in the British Library’s National Sound Archive. If you are passionate about British horror cinema, Hammer films, classic folk horror, Nigel Kneale’s Quatermass, and the chilling legacy of British supernatural television, this is the podcast for you. Hosted by lifelong friends Ross, Jon, and James, General Witchfinders dives deep into the world of British horror, gothic cinema, and unsettling archive television. We explore everything from Hammer horror’s blood-drenched vampire classics – starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing – to the eerie landscapes of The Wicker Man, Tigon’s The Creeping Flesh, and Amicus anthology films. Whether it is cinematic British horror icons like Dracula AD 1972 and The Curse of Frankenstein, modern independent UK folk horror like Possum and In The Earth, or sci-fi horror thrillers like Event Horizon and The Medusa Touch, we unearth the films that shaped the genre. We cover the definitive British sci-fi horror of Nigel Kneale – includ…","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/general-witchfinders-the-british-horror-podcast-3516772"},"episode":{"title":"59: Terry Nation's Survivors: The Fourth Horseman (1975) – BBC – Writer Terry Nation – Lucy Fleming, Ian McCulloch & Talfryn Thomas","slug":"59-terry-nation-s-survivors-the-fourth-horseman-1975-bbc-writer-terry-nation-lucy-fleming-ian-mcculloch-talfryn-thomas","published_at":"2025-07-11T23:01:34+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/general-witchfinders-the-british-horror-podcast-3516772/59-terry-nation-s-survivors-the-fourth-horseman-1975-bbc-writer-terry-nation-lucy-fleming-ian-mcculloch-talfryn-thomas","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/general-witchfinders-the-british-horror-podcast-3516772","url":"http://www.generalwitchfinders.com/","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/5fd77337c08ac45a2c50d003/e/6849f8c344a17fa6a198295f/media.mp3","summary":"In this episode of General Witchfinders , we revisit one of the most unsettling and prophetic dramas ever broadcast by the BBC – Survivors (1975), created by Terry Nation , the man behind the Daleks and Blake’s 7 . Specifically, we’re talking about The Fourth Horseman , the chilling first episode of this 1970s British post-apocalyptic classic . 💀 Trigger warning / content note : this episode contains discussion of global pandemics, mass death, and social collapse. If the subject feels a little too close to home after recent years, we completely understand if you choose to skip this one. Survivors imagines a world where a man-made virus, accidentally released by a scientist, spreads globally via air travel. Within weeks, nearly the entire population is dead. Society collapses, infrastructure crumbles, and the few who remain must fend for themselves in a near-empty Britain. This isn’t zombie apocalypse stuff or glossy sci-fi. There’s no government bunker, no miracle cure—just grief, loss, and the brutal reality of surviving in a world where almost everyone is gone. Created by Terry Nation —best known for creating the Daleks in Doctor Who — Survivors taps into the very real fears of the Cold War era: disease, nuclear disaster, the fragility of civilisation. Nation was also behind Blake’s 7 , and brought his trademark bleakness to both series. But before that, he was a comedy writer for the likes of Tony Hancock , Spike Milligan , and Peter Sellers —a strange career path that makes the grim tone of Survivors all the more striking. The pilot episode features a brilliant, if doomed, ensemble cast. Peter Bowles plays David Grant, alongside Peter Copley as Dr Bronson. Bowles was a fixture of 70s telly ( The Bounder , To the Manor Born , Only When I Laugh , Lytton’s Diary , and…","meta_description":"In this episode of General Witchfinders , we revisit one of the most unsettling and prophetic dramas ever broadcast by the BBC – Survivors (1975), created…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":6330,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/general-witchfinders-the-british-horror-podcast-3516772/episodes/59-terry-nation-s-survivors-the-fourth-horseman-1975-bbc-writer-terry-nation-lucy-fleming-ian-mcculloch-talfryn-thomas/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/general-witchfinders-the-british-horror-podcast-3516772/59-terry-nation-s-survivors-the-fourth-horseman-1975-bbc-writer-terry-nation-lucy-fleming-ian-mcculloch-talfryn-thomas.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}