Survivors Sunday 23rd 9pm BBC One

[Bob The Skutter]

I know it's a little early, but I just thought I'd post a reminder for those who may be interested. Survivors starts with episode 1 on Sunday, episode 2 on Tuesday

Trailer

Julie Graham, Max Beesley, Paterson Joseph, Zoe Tapper, Phillip Rhys, Nikki Amuka-Bird and Freema Agyeman star in Adrian Hodges's exciting new six-part action-adventure-drama series.

Imagine being the only survivor of a disease that kills every member of your family, that kills lovers, strangers and friends – in fact, nearly everyone you've ever met. You are among the lonely few to live and now you must start over in a strange new world where everything that was once safe and familiar is now strange and dangerous.

Set in the present day, the drama series focuses on the world in the aftermath of a devastating virus which wipes out most of the world's population. What would we do? How would any of us cope in a brave, new world where all traditional 21st-century comforts – electricity, clean running water, advanced technology – have disappeared?

These are the questions faced by the bewildered but resilient group of survivors at the centre of the drama. It is an opportunity for new beginnings, but with no society, no police and no law and order. They now face terrible dangers – not just the daily struggle for food and water but also the deadly threat from other survivors.

Survivors is a re-imagining of the classic Seventies BBC drama series, based on the novel by Terry Nation.

 

[Angel4576]

Looking forward to this. Let's just hope that it lives up to the promise, and is more of a Life on Mars, than a Bonekickers.....

 

[Bob The Skutter]

We can only hope. There seems to be quite a few things coming up that could go either way, but I'm hopeful
Oh, and it looks like the first episode is an hour and half long.

Oh and here's the press pack, I forgot to link it in the first post.

 

[Angel4576]

I'm still waiting to see if anything ever comes of 'The Outsiders'. I thought that that sounded quite interesting. Sadly, all gone quiet on that front.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

I haven't heard of The Outsiders, do you mean Outcasts? Because I've been wondering about that, too.

 

[Angel4576]

Indeed, that's the one. Haven't heard anything for a while now.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

I just decided to send an email in asking if it's still in development. If they reply I'll post what they say.

 

[Deckerd]

I hope this version's not as utterly depressing as the first one.

 

[Angel4576]

I just decided to send an email in asking if it's still in development. If they reply I'll post what they say.

Top stuff.

I hope this version's not as utterly depressing as the first one.

Surely the point, to some degree at least.

 

[Deckerd]

A bit of realism goes a long way on television, as the makers of Battlestar Galactica have discovered.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

I'm all for it being depressing, it'd be a bit weird having a show about 99% of the population being wiped out, and not being depressing.

 

[Angel4576]

A bit of realism goes a long way on television, as the makers of Battlestar Galactica have discovered.

BSG is the exact kind of tone that I'm hoping Survivors goes for.

 

[Deckerd]

A bit of realism goes a long way on television, as the makers of Battlestar Galactica have discovered.

BSG is the exact kind of tone that I'm hoping Survivors goes for.

And they won't get a second season. Don't get me wrong, I like BSG but lots of people who wanted to like it found it too depressing to persevere with.

If you take it as a given that the annihilation of the human race, barring a few survivors, is a pretty depressing premise to start with, then dwelling on the enormity of the situation is just not what survivors would do, IMO.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

A bit of realism goes a long way on television, as the makers of Battlestar Galactica have discovered.

BSG is the exact kind of tone that I'm hoping Survivors goes for.

And they won't get a second season. Don't get me wrong, I like BSG but lots of people who wanted to like it found it too depressing to persevere with.

If you take it as a given that the annihilation of the human race, barring a few survivors, is a pretty depressing premise to start with, then dwelling on the enormity of the situation is just not what survivors would do, IMO.

But depressing is generally the way with British sci-fi.

 

[Deckerd]

Speaking of which, I saw a trailer for something last night. I must dredge my memory.

 

[Angel4576]

A bit of realism goes a long way on television, as the makers of Battlestar Galactica have discovered.

BSG is the exact kind of tone that I'm hoping Survivors goes for.

And they won't get a second season. Don't get me wrong, I like BSG but lots of people who wanted to like it found it too depressing to persevere with.

If you take it as a given that the annihilation of the human race, barring a few survivors, is a pretty depressing premise to start with, then dwelling on the enormity of the situation is just not what survivors would do, IMO.

TBH, I'd rather have one outstanding season than countless Robin Hood-quality years.

Sadly though, you're probably right. BSG gets away with it because it's a niche show on a niche network. Survivors being on BBC1 probably precludes it from having the ability to alienate too many people without it proving critical to it's ongoing prospects.

 

[diankra]

The first episode is every bit as good as the opener of the original (can't really say more as there's an embargo in force, but at the preview screening everyone seemed positive, whether they knew the original or not).

 

[Deckerd]

The first episode is every bit as good as the opener of the original (can't really say more as there's an embargo in force, but at the preview screening everyone seemed positive, whether they knew the original or not).

I can still hear that music and see the dropped flask.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

There's an interview with Adrian Hodges about Survivors and Primeval on TubeTalk.

I thought this was encouraging:

With Primeval, you've spoken in the past about having a solid plan for storylines of future seasons. Is it the same case with this?
"We certainly had an arc on Primeval that we were hoping to acheive, and we have done that, by and large. On Survivors, I certainly have material taking me through to the end of the second series. There are storylines in series one that will definitely be resolved in series two, but there are storylines that definitely won't be resolved in series two but that will go on into the future if we're lucky enough to get more series."

But I'm not too sure about this:

You've introduced a new "government conspiracy" storyline too, haven't you?
"That's very much one of the things that I've brought to the table. It has a role to play in the future storytelling of the show and gradually unfolds [over the series]. There's an element of mystery that I thought would be good to bring in."

But I guess it's good that it's going to go straight for differentiating itself from the original.

 

[GMac]

If this turns out to be as good as the original (which I'm old enough to just about remember), it should be interesting......

GM