Information AboutSurvivors |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT SURVIVORS | |
| bbc television dramas | |
| british science fiction television programmes | |
| post-apocalyptic fiction | |
| 1975 television program debuts | |
| 1970s british television series | |
''Survivors'' was a British television series devised by Terry Nation and produced by Terence Dudley at the BBC from 1975 to 1977. It concerned the plight of a group of people who had survived an accidentally released Plague that had killed nearly the entire population of the planet. The programme is usually described as falling into the Science Fiction genre, but a more appropriate description would be to call it Apocalyptic Fiction . HISTORY The programme ran for three series and 38 episodes, epitomising the pessimistic tendency of British science fiction as shown on British Television beginning with '' Quatermass '' and the adaptation on '' Nineteen Eighty-Four '' and taken up in later series. Terry Nation left after the first series to concentrate on other work and due to disputes with producer Terence Dudley and some critics feel that the direction of the programme suffered as a result. The BBC are now actively pursuing the rights for ''Survivors'' from Terry Nation's estate, so that the series can be revived as a six part serial {Link without Title} . Whether the new series will continue on from past events or will be a complete relaunch remains to be disclosed. A new BBC4 documentary entitled 'The Cult of... ''Survivors''', featuring interviews with actors Lucy Fleming, Ian McCulloch, Carolyn Seymour, director Pennant Roberts and scriptwriter Martin Worth, was broadcast on 5 December 2006, as part of the channel's Science Fiction Britannia series. The 'Cult of...' series also included documentaries on '' Blake's 7 '' (a series devised by Terry Nation), and '' Doomwatch '' (which was produced by Terence Dudley). LOCATIONS The majority of the locations for all three series of Survivors were in the Welsh Marches , the counties of Monmouthshire , Shropshire , Powys with, for the first two series, the characters most often seen in Herefordshire . The first episode of series 1 (The Fourth Horseman) featured several locations in Worcestershire , including Great Malvern Railway Station . Later episodes had the characters move around Herefordshire, from places like Ross-on-Wye to Welsh Newton Common . Llanarth Court in Monmouthshire was also featured. Towards the end of the first series, the action moved to a more permanent base at Hampton Court , again in Herefordshire. (This was the property referred to as "The Grange" by the characters.) For the beginning of series 2 the focus moved to a new location, at Callow Hill Farm, near Monmouth (but again just within Herefordshire). The Lights of London episodes featured Hanwell Station , Camden Town and The Oval , all in London . The Monmouthshire And Brecon Canal and village of Skenfrith also made appearances. PLOT SUMMARIES Series 1 As the world's population is almost annihilated by a mysterious Pandemic , the crisis is first seen through the eyes of two characters - Jenny Richards, a young working woman in London and Abby Grant, a middle-class corporate wife living a privileged existence in a nearby Commuter Village . As Abby goes in search of her son Peter, Jenny wanders aimlessly through the countryside. Other major characters introduced in the first few episodes are the resourceful engineer Greg Preston, the shifty Welshman Tom Price and two children, John Millon and Lizzie Willoughby. Abby, Jenny and Greg eventually come together and realise they must start again from scratch now that Civilisation as they once knew it has been destroyed. After several adventures on the road, they find a property called the Grange which they can use as a base and joined by other survivors, they form a potted community of disparate individuals all united by a shared purpose - to relearn the old skills of Farming and tool-making, and to try to live in this strange new world. Major Cast
Series 2 Having received word that her son is still alive, Abby has left the Grange to resume her search while the community is devastated by a fire, killing several of their number. The survivors join another community, Whitecross, run by Charles Vaughan, whom they briefly encountered in the previous series. New major characters that make up the Whitecross band are Charles' partner Pet Simpson, medical student Ruth Anderson who works as a travelling doctor and farmyard labourer Hubert Goss. Jenny gives birth to Greg's child Paul, while the survivors are once more focused on the everyday practicalities of post-Death life. Frequent visitors to Whitecross, both friendly and hostile, act as catalysts for various dramatic situations. Finally, the arrival of Norwegian survivors brings the possibility of re-establishing worldwide contact and technology. To achieve this, Greg departs Whitecross in a Hot Air Balloon bound for Norway . Major Cast
Series 3 Having heard nothing from Greg since he left Whitecross for Norway, Charles, Jenny and Hubert set out on horseback to find him. It is a journey that will take them right across what is left of the United Kingdom as their search leads them to various dead ends. However, they meet a broad spectrum of other survivors along the way, and the series continues to explore alternative reactions to the Death and what it takes to survive. The third series juxtaposes the more personal story arc of the search for Greg with a wider narrative of society appearing to establish itself again with federated communities, market bartering and rudimentary railway travel. This culminates in the tentative return of law and order and the quest to restore power through Hydroelectricity . Major Cast
BOOKS Two novels based on ''Survivors'' were made:
There are also two factual books:
TRIVIA
EPISODES See Also: List of Survivors episodes DVD RELEASE The complete series of ''Survivors'' is available on DVD (Region 2, UK), released by DD Home Entertainment. All releases include a colour booklet written and researched by Survivors fan Andy Priestner chronicling the making of each series, plus the following extra features: SEE ALSO
EXTERNAL LINKS Fan sites:
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