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Survivors - Series 1 - Complete [1975]
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It's life but not as we know it...........
Review date: 2008-03-17 Rating: 10 out of 10
This is the first, & best, series of a very enjoyable trilogy.
The acting & production is pretty well rooted in the 70's but, make no mistake, Survivors tackles head on the issue of what would life be like in the aftermath of a virus wiping out 99.9% of the world's population & tackles it well.
I first saw this in 1975 & was so thrilled when I found that it is now available on dvd - about time too. In the ensuing 30 odd years I've met many people who vaguley remember the series & it can still manage to be the topic of great conversation.
Terry Nation's grip was, unfortunately, relaxed on the series as time went on but Survivors still stands up well to the test of time.
Great stuff.
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Reviews
terry nation does it again
Review date: 2008-02-29 Rating: 10 out of 10
a sci-fi drama that really is sci-fi, not soap opera in space.
you'll know the basic plot outline from other reviews, so i'll focus on the series' other strong points: mainly realistic characters ; gripping story arc; strong female characters; lifelike script; doesn't glamourise the post-apocalyptic world, or violence; tackles human frailties, there are very few "goodies" or "baddies", just people.
stays with one long after watching, provokes interesting debate.
yes, television for thinking people!
dated but good
Review date: 2007-12-20 Rating: 4 out of 10
excellent idea, hasnt travelled very well at all, acting is far to pretentious, and wooden, almost to the point where you actually see the actors waiting to say there lines, far to many long shots taking ages to get anywhere ig someone walking down the staircase then coming to the bottom to say 2 lines that have no relevance, much looking forward to the new remake though. try not to buy the DVD set, just borrow it and skip through the bad bits, wont take long!
Sex, violence and.....vegetables.
Review date: 2007-08-20 Rating: 10 out of 10
It's been 32 years since Survivors first appeared on BBC1 & it is interesting to see compare it to more contemperary dramas. Sure, there is a preoccupation with vegetables (and agriculture in general) in a way that has not been taken up in recent dramas. Human sexual reproduction is a constant motif (e.g. "Corn Dolly") where it often dressed up as a concern for continued survival of human life. The violence, while not as graphic as say, "The Sopranos", is a continual theme - the threat from outside parties ("Something of Value") and from within ("Law and Order"). These days you seldom hear a cut-glass accent similar to that Carolyn Seymour's middle-class housewife and uber-survivor, Abby Grant. The language of the survivors is remarkably restrained considering their dire circumstances. However, in one episode the character of Paul refers to a field as being "sh*gged out" and I am frankly staggered that piece of dialog was transmitted way back in 1975.
The pace of the editing is quite leisurely but this allows the story-lines time develop more naturally.
Most of the scenes were shot on low-cost video tape and this detracts from the drama, esp. in the sequencies shot in sunny weather. By comparison, the filmed sequences (esp. "Genesis") are cold and gritty and further enhance the mood of despair.
The acting is really quite fine by todays standards, with Carolyn Seymour turning in a very good performance as the unlikely heroine. She manages, with her extraorinary face, to convey bewilderment, vulnerability, anger, confidence, charm etc. with economy. Ian McCulloch's Greg Preston is strong, practical, taciturn and tender by turns. Lucy Fleming as Jenny Richards is perhaps the weakest of the three main leads as she is the ordinary person; decent, honest and truthful - caught up in events she can't comprehend and motivated to survive by the thought of a nice hot bath.
Saving the best 'till last, we have Talfryn Thomas as the nasty, dirty, greedy, selfish and lustful Tom Price. When I first watched this back in '75 I really loathed this character, but watching it now I can appreciate Thomas's very fine comic timing. This brings much needed relief to the often gloomy proceedings. In the epsidode "Law and Order" (which seemed genuinely shocking when first broadcast in '75), Price is involved in some very nasty goings on. In this episode, Thomas gets a number of scenes of real drama and we actually feel a modicum of compassion for this despicable character.
One area in which "Survivors" is superior over just about every modern drama, is the total lack of incidental music. This adds to the feeling of loss, but was down to lack of time/budget. The opening title sequence is, of course, excellent and very memorable.
In the DVD age we have some nice extras - some commentaries and interviews conducted by THE authority on "Surviors", Mr Andy Priestner. Priesnter probably knows too much about "Survivors" than is really good for one person, but I think that he has made a fantastic contribution in keeping the spririt of "Survivors" alive and getting it onto DVD. Well done Andy. BTW Andy and Rich Cross have recently produced an excellent book about the production of Survivors called "The End of the World?" which is available right here on Amazon.co.uk. Go buy folks.
I love Series 1 of "Survivors" and although much of it is a nostalgia trip for me, it remains untarnished by age and I think there are still many things to admire and enjoy.
Excellent and Well worth Purchasing
Review date: 2007-08-14 Rating: 10 out of 10
I was very impressed with this series, having never seen it before I bought the dvd's on spec and wasn't disappointed at all. the plot as other reviewers have said is an accidental release of a killer virus at a laboratory in china, which spreads rapidly across the world wiping out 99.9% of the global population. The series centres on a small number of survivors as they come together and attempt to rebuild some kind of community.
Although made in 1975 I think the storyline is if anything more relevant to today than it was then, the threat of some form of Pandemic Virus is ever present and is if anything over due. The series is disturbing in places, specifically the portrayal of a trial in one of the later episodes. I think all in all the series has stood the test of time quite well, ok the clothing is certainly dated but the general story is one that certainly isn't out of place. It doesn't in my mind suffer from the small budget, or lack of the modern special effects we have come to expect.
Product Details/Specifications
Director(s):
Recording label: Dd Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Dd Home Entertainment
EAN: 5019322064824
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 4
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2007-03-26
Number of discs: 4
Audience rating: Parental Guidance
Region code: 2
Running time: 643 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1975-04-16
Language: English (Original Language)