the audience applauded

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

While apocalyptic tv shows like The Walking Dead and Z Nation are the vogue today, this show (remade in the 2000's) is absolutely terrifying because this could really happen. When a virus is accidentally released, it spreads world wide quickly and 90 percent of humanity is killed off. The survivors take one a few different ideas; banding together and attempting to recreate a civilization, becoming raiders on others, or simply dying off. A really brilliant and terrifying show.

When an enigmatic unnamed scientist accidentally infects himself with a lethal engineered virus he unwittingly spreads it world wide via air travel. Focusing on London, England we see the effects of the virus as millions succumb and civilization collapses accordingly. The story hones in on a handful of emotionally scarred survivors who come together and attempt the difficult and painful reconstruction of a new society no longer able to depend on supplied science and technology. In one episode entitled "Law and order" the survivor's group are faced with a rape and murder of one of their number following a raucous celebration. An intellectually disabled member is falsely accused and sentenced to death with the killer himself voting for the man's execution. After one of the group leaders carries out the killing, he learns the identity of the real killer and is forced to allow him to stay in the group and withhold the information as the news of the tragic error would permanently splinter and destroy what they fought, against enormous odds, to create. Survivors is gripping stuff; well acted, cleverly written and creatively directed - if you like character driven Sci - Fi drama then this is for you.

This speculative drama starts each episode with one of the greatest title sequence ever devised for television : A Chinese scientist accidentally drops a glass tube . Cut to the scientist collapse at an airport where planes are arriving then taking off again then the camera focuses on passports of Moscow , Madrid , Madrid , Paris and London being stamped as the picture dissolves . It doesn`t sound very exciting and it`s probably not but it is very very effective because it`s so simple . The whole premise of the series and its consequences of a lab borne virus escaping and being carried around the world sums up what has happened to humanity - the survivors - in the opening credits . Not a lot of programmes do that . And credit too for Anthony Isaacs title music which is understated , bleak and haunting Written by Terry Nation the first couple of episodes introduce us to the main characters of Abby Grant , Jenny Richards and Greg Preston , three people who have survived a superflu like virus that has wiped out 99 % of the world`s population . The trio meet more characters on their travels , not all of them good . One thing season one was good at was showing us that a worldwide calamity will not bring out the best in people and in some episodes like " Garland`s war " and " Something of value " that people may have to turn to violence if they want to survive at all . One outstanding episode " Law and order " centres around the premise of how will people deal with someone within in the group who harms another person in the sanctum Unfortunately as soon as Nation left to create BLAKES 7 at the end of the first season he took many of his Wyndham / Christopher inspired ideas with him . Seasons two and three are far less interesting than the first . Charles Vaughn who wouldn`t be out of place on a hippy or Greenpeace commune becomes the central character and SURVIVORS becomes a sort of BBC post apocalypse rival of EMMERDALE FARM with the only episodes worth watching being " Lights of London " , " Mad dog " and the absolutely outstanding " Last laugh " All in all a fairly good mature intelligent drama series but it should have been an unforgettable masterpiece from the golden age of British television. And if only Terry Nation had been given more control I`m certain it would have been . So if you`re going to watch SURVIVORS make sure you watch the whole of the first season and the episodes I mentioned above . Ignore the rest

The Survivors portrayed a vision of a post apocalyptic society coming to terms with itself. A virus had wiped out the vast majority of the earth population and those who were left had to come to terms with their predicament and "survive".There were three distinct series, the first centred around three characters, Greg, Jenny and Abby, and their struggle to come to terms with their situation. The second saw Abbey leave and a community set up with Charles Vaughn and a group of others, which ultimately failed and the third saw the survivors branch out to try to unite everyone who had survived as some sort of federal government.The first series was excellent the final series was weak, the whole concept got lost halfway through to be honest as writers other than Terry Nation got involved.Although good this was by no means a classic overall, even though the first series was.IF Survivors is your cup of tea then I would recommend The Last Train which was pretty good.Survivors was always rumoured to be coming back for a fourth series set on a boat between Scotland and Norway but nothing materialised.It is probably just as well.