Sunday, July 22, 2012

Television Review - Survivors 8*

I bought a Netflix subscription, it seems a very reasonable cost at £6 a month, and although I haven't managed to make full use of it during high season at work I have managed to watch the re-makes of the cult 1970's series Survivors.  The BBC made two 6 episode series of this post-apocalyptic drama starring Julie Graham, Max Beesley, Philip Rhys, Paterson Joseph, Zoe Tapper, Chahak Patel and Robyn Addison.


I have a bit of thing for apocalypse and end of the civilised world scenarios.  Survivors follows the tribulations of a group of people thrown together in the aftermath of a devastating global flu virus.  The characterisation was good, Julie Graham and Max Beesley in particular turning in very credible performances.  Beesley as the distrusting convicted killer whose first answer to most problems is violence was a world away from his run as likeable wide boy Charlie Edwards in Hotel Babylon.

The two series had just enough time to develop most of the main characters well, and to advance the plot beyond the end of the world survival scenario into a darker battle to halt a second virus outbreak tied in with a sinister and secretive research unit.  The last episode of series 2 tied up a couple of long running plot threads and also paved the way for a third series, which the BBC have promptly cancelled.  A shame, I thought Survivors was well made, mostly believable and well acted.

No comments:

Post a Comment