Discussion

This is  where you get to vent your spleen to the world at large  about any aspect of the show. Send in an entry to one of  the current topics or create a new one. Whatever you do,  tell us what you think!

Dennis Potter vented his spleen about Survivors in The New Statesman (April 25th, 1975),  "Sloppily written, and cursed with an appallingly  lifeless performance by Carolyn Seymour in the lead, this  piece of sub-standard SF is nevertheless beautifully  timed to fit whichever apocolyptic newscast happens to  follow.". Obviously not enough singing in it for his  taste...

More recently, the "Vulture" from The Times voted it number 61 on the all time greatest cult TV shows (beating the likes of Upstairs, Downstairs and Mastermind). This is how he/she/it described the show:

"Terry Nation, the creator of Doctor Who, made one of the great drama series of the Seventies with this look at a world devastated by a deadly virus, a prescient observation at man's treatment of the environment. The show was also remarkably believable although the budget can't have been much more than £10 an episode and the sense of devastation invoked was powerful. A landmark which, strangely, the BBC hasn't seen fit to revive."

Thanks to Charlie for the info.

Nominations  for Best Episode

Law &  Order -  (First Series) This is the one about capital punishment.  The Survivorshave to decide whether or not to  execute a mentally retarded member of their community,  who they believe raped and murdered one of their own.

Something  of Value - (First Series)This episode is  about the battle over an oil tanker.

Lights of  London- (Second Series)  Charles and Greg go to London to rescue the kidnapped  medical student, Ruth.

Mad Dog - (Third Series)  Charles is on the run because it is believed he is a  rabies carrier.

Starvation - (First Series) The Survivorsmeet and rescue Wendy and Mrs  Cohen.

A Little  Learning - (Third Series) The "Lord of  the Flies" episode!

Over the  Hills -  (Second Series) The Pro-Choice/Pro-Life debate between  Ruth and Charles!

Nominations  for Best Survivor vs Favourite Character

Paul Pitman vs Abby Grant

Paul:  gets on well with everybody, helpful,  non-confrontational, agricultural experience, practical  and good-looking.

Abby:  tough, no-nonesense, practical, a leader, good-looking,  BUT antagonistic, confrontational, obsessed by finding  her son and a tendency to fall for charming idealists.

What  would YOU do if...

You  woke to find 99% of the population had been killed by a  virus?

...and you were a vegetarian?

This was an Opinion of the  Month, courtesy of Andrew.

You  woke to find that a member of your small Survivors community  had been raped and murdered?

 

I read your opinion  piece - I think the problem of 'law & order'  within a 'survivors' style community would largely  depend on how the community was lead.

The likes of Arthur  Wormley, or Brod, would have no problem at all -  anyone posing a threat to the community would be shot  or staked out for the dogs! Not sure I'd want to live  in their community though.

Running a  'democratic' settlement raises the moral problems of  what to do about punishment. On the whole, I think  the survivors handled their situations well - on the  murder, all their evidence pointed to one person. A  banished murderer brings with it the possibility of  revenge, they can't afford the time or supplies to  imprison someone, so execution is the only option.

When they found out  that the real murderer was Price however, they took  no action at all, IIRC, because they needed every  able bodied person. I found this a little  unbelievable - it implies that they were willing to  execute the retarded person but not an able bodied  one - I think the writers copped out a bit on that  one.

There's also the  'serial killer' episode in (I think) series 2, where  the murderer is killed in a fight rather than  captured and tried - I guess the writers thought that  the 'crime & punishment' issue had been dealt  with already. In that situation there would be no  alternative to execution, as there was no doubt she  would have killed again if banished.

P.Woodley

You  discovered that a member of your small Survivorscommunity was a convicted child  molester? This has topic was an Opinion of the Month. Tell us what  you think!

Gareth's  Posers:

It has been said that Survivors was too "middle class", (few working  class people survive and are usually nasty and deceitful  eg. Tom Price).
Personally, I hadn't noticed this, though Abby is very  much a spoilt creature at the beginning of The Fourth  Horseman. Where would you place Paul (the hippy) in  this?

Is Law and Order a classic?
When I first saw it on (BBC) video, I was genuinely  disappointed - it seemed very slow. It might have been  better using a flashback narrative, starting the episode  with the discovery of the victim's body. Also, I've read  a review that suggested that it would have been better  for Price to have been accused and executed with the real  killer being the seemingly benign Barney. However, I  still feel that once the episode gets going it is  riveting. This was the episode that caused Carolyn  Seymour most heartache, since she hated seeing Abby allow  the execution.

Why does Abby shower/cut her hair then  burn her home down?
Symbolically I understand it to mean a sort of fresh  start/rebirth. Still it isn't very sensible, considering  its the only place her son would try to go to find her!  Terry Nation has claimed that this caused friction with  Carolyn Seymour over cutting her hair. She denies this as  her hair was already cut in that style and she willingly  wore a wig for the episode.

There is a surprising lack of religious  devotion in the series!
Yes, I know there's a scene in The Fourth Horseman and then there's Gone to the Angels and apparently  an episode in series 2, but generally it seems curiously  lacking. Compare this with Robinson Crusoe's similar  situation or the children in Lord of the Flies (Any other comparisons?).

I've heard it said that Jenny was the  ultimate character in Survivors - an  "EVERYWOMAN" style character, i.e. how we at home  would react.
...let's hope not!