Survivors: A Web Guide

by Rich Cross

The cluster of Survivors web sites now accessible on the net has continued to expand at a modest but encouraging rate over the course of the last year. Two major new sites have joined the existing on-line Survivors community in the last twelve months, complemented by a number of new web pages and simpler sites. A number of long-established web sites have remained in active development, and only one, fairly rudimentary, site has disappeared. What follows here should be a reasonably comprehensive guide to what's up and running at present - please e-mail omissions, corrections and deletions to richard.cross@ntlworld.com

Dedicated fans of the series recognise that Survivors remains a minority taste even for genre enthusiasts. While that 'select' status is reflected in the 'modest' scale of the series' web presence, (when compared with other, more mainstream, genre shows), there are still a significant number of sites.

Currently neither the BBC, nor UK Gold, run a Survivors site, and as a consequence all existing Survivors pages are autonomous fan-run ones. While there is not, as yet, a Survivors 'web ring', all the principal sites cross-link, so navigation between sites is straight forward.

Long lists of URLs don't give much away as to site contents, or offer an overview of what's out there. The following round-up is intended to fill in a little of that detail. As well as providing a tour-guide for the would-be Survivors net surfer, it might help would-be Survivors site builders see what new material would add to what we're already able to enjoy.

These links were last verified, and the listings updated, on 15 July 2001.

Felbridge Camp
http://freespace.virgin.net/christopher.barker/survivors.html

Alongside the site you're in now, Felbridge Camp, developed and maintained by Christopher Barker, is the one other large and sophisticated Survivors site currently on-line. The Felbridge Camp homepage is visually striking, dominated by the famous full-colour shot of Charles, Jenny and Hubert on horseback in search of Greg from season three. To the left an animated 'GP' union jack flutters at the top of the Contents column, which has as its motif a colour photo of Jenny, Greg and the children, and which sets out the impressive range of material on offer.

A directory of interviews with leading actors from the series combines a variety of previously published material with new and original question and answer sessions. Latest additions to the site include a report of the 25th Anniverary Fourth Horseman location trip; a full transcript, from the original telescript, of the two excised scenes from the second season two-parter The Lights of London; and new fan interviews with Dennis Lill (Charles) and Lucy Fleming (Jenny). A guide to shooting locations for the 1999 post-apocalyse ITV series The Last Train, replete with original photos has also been added.

An extensive photo gallery includes, alongside previously published material and stills from the time of production, many original colour photos of Survivors shooting locations taken during the last couple of years. Instantly recognised sites, such as Hampton Court, are well represented, and rightly so, but the gallery includes a number of evocative shots of less obvious Survivors settings that work equally effectively. Some of the larger images are, inevitably, slow to download - but it is worth persevering.

Together with a list of filming locations, Felbridge Camp includes reports from the ongoing series of Survivors 'Reunion' trips which have so far taken in locations from Corn Dolly, Genesis, New Arrivals and more. These include colour pictures both of the scenery and of the participants.

The stand-out stories Mad Dog and The Lights of London are scrutinised in much more detail in the Episode Feature pages. As well as description and commentary, both episode guides contain illustrated location visits - including Hanwell railway station in Ealing used in The Lights of London and Monsal Dale Viaduct from Mad Dog.

An illustrated biography section provides information on the core ensemble cast, discusses the dramatic development of their characters across seasons, and details other work by the actors before and since Survivors. In addition to all of this it's possible to access a collection of reminiscences, anecdotes and odd facts about the programme; a 'spotter's guide' to cars and other vehicles featured in the series, and more besides. Felbridge Camp is a well maintained site that rewards frequent return visits.

Daniel Smith's site
http://www.capricorn1.demon.co.uk/survivors/

The first thing that strikes you about this homepage is the graphic setting - a evocation of the background used on the original BBC video sleeves from the 1993 release, on top of which is posted the text of Charles' Maredell leaflet, encouraging travellers to visit the settlement, and warning the unwary to 'avoid cities, and boil water'.

Daniel's site is unique at present in providing a Survivors sound page. Clips available to download and play include Abby's 'start over' speech to Wormley; Greg and Abby's disagreement in the 'looted' supermarket, and other notable audio moments from season one. To access these .WAV files, which range in size from 9kb to 618kb, you'll need a decompression utility like WinZip and a suitable audio programme, such as RealPlayer.

Playback clarity is reasonable - the rich and full sound of the classic opening theme works especially well. Overall, the sound quality is about as good as can be expected, allowing for the current state of internet technology and the limitations of the video soundtrack from which the files are recorded. It's the chance to hear the voices of the leading characters of the series booming out of your PC speakers that's ultimately the point, and in providing that it can't be faulted.

Daniel’s hopes of compiling a a comprehensive episode guide for all three seasons of the show have been frustrated by a lack of contributions from other fans. Anyone willing to submit reviews for this section is encouraged to make contact and help kick-start the process. Work is also in progress on a 'screen-grab' library, and suggestions for further additions are welcomed. In its 'links' section, the site also provides an accurate and informative guide to the three Survivors e-mail discussion lists currently in operation.

The Internet Movie Database
http://us.imdb.com/

The vast Internet Movie Database service also includes information on a huge range of TV shows from all genres. To track down information on Survivors execute an index search under 'title', using the 'TV series' restriction. This will generate two hits, one for Terry Nation's series and another for the entirely unrelated 1969 US TV show Harold Robbins' The Survivors. From this point, access is possible to a two-sentence 'plot summary' for the series and extensive 'cast and crew credits'. A range of other options - including 'newsgroup reviews', 'filming locations' and 'sound and video clips' - are not currently available for the Survivors listing, but lobbying from other Survivors web sites might rectify that.

The most impressive aspect of the IMD is the extent of cross-referencing. Both 'filmographies' and 'TV credits' for Lucy Fleming, Ian McCulloch, Dennis Lill, Carolyn Seymour and each significant episode 'guest star' provide long lists of other appearances before and since Survivors.

John Smith's site
http://www.roundel.demon.co.uk/Clapperboard/index_SU.html

Episode guides of different types are the common mainstay of many Survivors sites. John's site offers a full three season guide, including cast and crew details, plot 'catch line' and original UK broadcast date for each episode, that together provide a compact reference source. Alongside the serial production codes, the writer, producer and director for each episode is listed. Clicking on the names of the series' lead actors, takes you to a full list not only of their Survivors appearances, but also the episodes of Blakes' 7 and The Professionals that they worked on.

The episode introductions are succinct and to the point (though on the Gone Away page, the summary from Birth of a Hope reappears in error). The design elements of this site are minimal but the presentation is uncluttered and the database easy to navigate. The site has not been updated since August 1996, and so details on more recent UK Gold transmission dates are lacking. A little over A little over 5000 hits have already been recorded at this basic but functional site.

Survivors: The Lights of Morecambe
http://members.aol.com/HeHeHeDC/survivors.html

This is a simple single page Survivors site, enhanced by three full-colour photos. The pictures illustrate a basic 'title and writer' listing for all 38 episodes, and a thumbnail biography of Terry Nation. Recent additions include information on guest stars in the show; a 'top five' episode list; Dr Who connections, and news on Survivors' merchandise and fan activity. This is one of several genre TV pages attached to a fan homepage, and makes no claim to offer detail or depth on the series. Links to Felbridge Camp and other sites direct enthusiasts onwards.

Graham Nelson's Survivors pages
http://www.gnelson.demon.co.uk/tripage/patv.html

This Survivors material on offer here is part of a site dedicated to the 1980s BBC show The Tripods. Survivors features in a round-up on other post-apocalyptic British TV drama of the era, alongside The Changes (1975), Day of the Triffids (1981), and Knights of God (1987). Illustrated by two video stills of Jenny and Charles, is a concise commentary on the series that is balanced without being uncritical and which concludes that the series 'remains very watchable' today.

The 'whom' Survivors page
http://www.whom.co.uk/whom/survivo.htm

A sharp and snappy appreciation of this 'frighteningly compelling' show, distinguished by its striking Survivors wallpaper and high quality black-and-white mug shots of twelve the of central characters that are its core attractions. Writer and director credits are provided across all three series, alongside fullsome praise for Anthony Isaac's theme and the classic title sequence. A brief discussion of the show rounds off with the perceptive observation that: 'with its large number of regular characters and its decent plots this series should have run for years.'

Chris Smith's Survivors site
http://www.btinternet.com/~c_p_smith/surviv/surviv.htm

This site offers a lucid and thoughtful critical assessment of the programme, illustrated by five colour screenshots and one black and white. Discussion ranges across all three series, offering an interesting assessment of the 'Vic episode trilogy' and soberly approaching the contentious question of producer Terence Dudley's role in the evolution of the series. It's hard to take issue with the author's suggestion that: 'Upsetting writers seemed to have been something of a habit for Dudley.' The presence of commentary and opinion, alongside the factual information, is especially entertaining. Season two is here seen as the weakest, and a coherent and credible defence of the endgame episodes of season three offers a new and original take on the series' closing acts. Intelligent and thought-provoking.

An episode guide, with original broadcast tapes, is well illustrated with large renditions of the colour covers of the Terry Nation Survivors novelisation and John Eyers Genesis of a Hero follow-on (both of which also feature in Chris Barker's site). A technical listing of the series' tapes held in the archives confirms that only Long Live the King still exists on its 'original 625-line PAL videotape'. All the 37 episodes exist only as 'D3 conversions' of the original tape source. Given the BBC's calamitous clear-out policy of 'old tapes' during the seventies and eighties, it's probably a minor miracle that Survivors made it through to the new millenium at all, but the format detail provided here is intriguing nevertheless.

Bridgehead: Survivors Newsletter
http://www.sweetmanl.freeserve.co.uk
Revamped and relocated, the all-new Bridgehead website is designed to complement — rather than to replace — the printed version of the renowned Newsletter, now celebrating the publication of more than thirty issues. The Bridgehead website offers news flashes on public performances and convention appearances by Survivors actors and actresses; and articles squeezed out of the print edition of the Newsletter; alongside screen-captures from Corn Dolly, and scans of classic black-and-white and colour Bridgehead front covers. An impressive bibliography of all known examples of ‘fan fiction’ (both in-print and unavailable) is also accessible. In July 2001, this new site was in active development, and more innovations were expected. Uniquely, Bridgehead also maintain a Survivors WAP site, accessible to those with WAP-enabled mobiles and to those running at WAP emulation programme on their PC, at http://buzzed.co.uk/wap/survivors

Bob Meade's Survivors site
http://www.bobmeades.supanet.com
In July 2001, long-time location scout Bob Meade’s rapidly growing site was being updated on a weekly basis — with the behind-the-scenes and on-location photography illustrating the homepage being replaced every seven days. Supplemented by a thematic photo archive, the site has recently begun to offer full-size scans of Survivors articles from the back-issues of such genre publications as TV Zone. Bob’s particular interest in the work of Lucy Fleming (Jenny) is reflected in the inclusion of reviews of her recent stage appearances, news and information on the Fleming family, and a brief interview with Lucy herself. Interestingly, the site also reports on Kevin Marshall’s hopes of producing an updated second-edition of his The Making book, this time possibly as a CD-rom. Bob has begun work on a parallel site linking new material from his photo archive with WAV sound samples from the series.

The Silver Clover Survivors page
http://www.silverclover.free-online.co.uk/survivors.html
Maintained by Martin Marshall, and part of a larger genre-TV site, this Survivors page manages to provide a refreshing and unusual take on the series that makes good use of limited space. Included here is a review of the different visions of Terry Nation, Jack Ronder and Martin Worth; a brief but interesting discussion on 'seven themes' that Martin suggests can be discerned in the series' storylines; a celebration of seven 'classic' episodes all wrapped up with a brief bibliograpy and links listings.

Timescreen http://www.oocities.org/TheTropics/Paradise/2473/timescre.htm
The producers of the classic TV fan magazine Timescreen have begun work on the construction of a full-text on-line archive of back issues of the magazine, which includes some fascinating Survivors materials from the late 1980s - writings which predate both the BBC video release of season one and the first cable and satellite re-runs of the series in the UK. The first issues are now available and others will be added as the last print copies are withdrawn from retail circulation. Neil Alsop's extended review of season one (A Horseman Riding By) and the first part of Andrew Pixley's episode guide are already available, in issue 10. Together theses articles include excellent versions of all the black-and-white photographs from the original magazine - a bonus that inevitably increases download time. Neil Alsop's review of seasons two and three (Birth of a Nation); the second part of Andrew Pixley's episode guide (issue 13) and his revealing interview with Martin Worth should all be accessible in time. Check the site for the latest additions.

Survivors 2000
http://www.oocities.org/survivors2k_uk/
There’s no question that Matt Charlton’s plans to produce entire ‘new seasons’ of self-penned fan fiction at this new, and currently unrivalled, Survivors web site proved somewhat over-ambitious in the year 2000. Matt had set himself a punishing production schedule, with publication deadlines for new ‘episodes’ of his first season proving unrealistic — particulary in the year when Matt’s GCSE exams had to take priority! Matt’s plan has been to return to Terry Nation's original 1975 premise, but to reset Survivors in the present day — imagining that a deadly global killer virus was unleashed in June 2000. As a result, these new stories weren’t to follow on from the events in Power, the closing episodes of seasons three, but would begin a story of post-apocalyptic survival afresh. The season one opener Tread Marks is accessible for download on-line, alongside titles for the rest of this first new season. Matt is interested in including other fans in this unfolding project — involving a five year story arc and the possibility of new audio adventures. Matt hopes to relaunch the site later in 2001. It won't be until more of Matt's work has been posted that fans will be able to judge how successful this imaginative new project has proved to be. It's certain that not all fans will readily embrace the idea of 'starting the story over'. Many might consider that only stories which connect directly to the events of 1975-1977 can be legitimately considered as Survivors' tales. As stories are added, fans will be able to judge for themselves, and to join in the on-site debate. It's clear, however, that in terms of Survivors fan fiction there is nothing else comparable on the net at present. (See the Bridgehead site for an extensive bibliography of fan stories so far produced).

I sopravvissuti [Survivors] http://digilander.iol.it/isopravvissuti/index.htm
A superbly designed new Italian Survivors website, crammed with material on all aspects of the series. Existing features include a season one episode guide; interviews (reproduced from other print sources) with Seymour, McCulloch and Fleming; an all-inclusive cast list; and novelisation illustrations. Highlights include the web campaign to press the BBC into a Survivors DVD release; articles from Italian TV magazines on the show (in both text and graphic formats); and Quicktime digital renderings of the opening title sequence, and BBC video promotional trailer. Stylish and sophisticated, this site was in active development in July 2001, and rewards frequent visits. To read a rough-and-ready English rendition of the site, first click to one of the internet translation services (such as http://translator.go.com), select ‘Italian to English’, and then enter the site’s address as above, or select the ‘translation’ icon on the site’s homepage.

North West British Sci-Fi Homepage http://www.angelfire.com/scifi/nwbritishtv/
This US site, reflecting the interests of British TV sci-fi fans living in north-west America, celebrates Survivors as ‘the forgotten gem of the BBC golden era’ for the genre. Technical and production information for the series is provided, alongside laments on the difficult of accessing NTSC video copies, and securing syndication re-runs for the show, in the United States.

Emptyworld.net http://www.emptyworld.info
Now in a new location, this site is dedicated to the study and celebration of post-apocalyptic fiction in all its guises. Its coverage of Survivors includes cast, crew and production credits as well as a basic episode list. Also reproduced here is the brief discussion of the series taken from the Encylopedia of Science Fiction and the more detailed assessment of the show included in the Guinness Book of Classic TV.

Unique things
http://uniquethings.co.uk/Survivors/index.htm
In this site, dedicated to the celebration of ‘obscure and unusual music, games, books and other memorabilia’, the first season of Survivors is scrutinised — with an outline episode guide, and character studies of Charles, Jenny and Abby (reproduced, in large part, from the Felbridge Camp site) illustrated by a set of first season BBC and Sovereign video covers.

Shooting locations

Hampton Court
http://www.hamptoncourt.org.uk/index.html
That most emblematic of season one shooting locations, Hampton Court — base of operations for Abby and the gang from Starvation to A Beginning’ — now has its own website, promoting tourist interest in the newly redeveloped grounds of the house. A location visit fan favourite, the Hampton site offers photos of the house and its surroundings, an interactive guide to the redevelopments, which now include ‘a maze, secret tunnel, four distinctive gardens and many delightful water features’, alongside access and ‘special event’ details. Despite the landscaping, ‘The Grange’ remains unmistakable and many of the locations used in the grounds remain largely unchanged. There is no mention of the Court’s Survivors connections on the site, however.

Monsall Head
http://www.monsalhead.com
The river valley location of almost all sequences from season three’s classic Mad Dog, this site promotes the pub and hotel perched above the striking railway viaduct used in the opening sequences. Another location visit favourite, this is the ideal kicking off point for a tour of the valley, or a place to recover after the rigours of climbing back up the hillside pathways. The pub — not seen in the episode — welcomes non-rabid visitors.

Actor sites

Few Survivors regulars appear to run or support their own websites (though additions to this listing are welcome). A noteable exception is the site run by Robert Gillespie (who played John Milner in Gone Away and Sam Mead in The Enemy, Long Live the King and Power: http://www.oocities.org/robert_gillespie_uk/index.html. Oddly, Robert doesn’t mention his work in Survivors at all — not even in his biography page, which provides a lengthy and impressive list of screen appearances — but he is contactable directly via e-mail.