Review of BBC's Survivors Remake 2008: Apocalyptic Drama Wins a Quarter of UK TV Audience on Debut

It was traumatic and bleak – but Survivors pulled through its ‘re-imagining’ from 1970s cult show to compelling scare-vision for 2008 and looks full of life for the coming weeks.

In the late-70s, when the original series became a hit on BBC1, the world was not totally dependent on mobile phones and computers and was less prone to shocks such as bird flu, MRSA, SARS or HIV.

Society Collapsing

Survivors, which got under way on BBC1 with its opening 90-minute special on Sunday (23 Nov), seems less far-fetched than ever now, speculating about what would happen if a killer super-virus ripped through London and the world. The subliminal question that nags all through it is, How would you cope?

Loved ones dying, law and order collapsing, water and communications petering out – the drama portrayed all of this in a far more seamless and realistic protrait than the pre-CGI original. But having consumed so many stories in the population-wipe-out genre – 28 Days Later, Cormac McCarthy’s The Road – the success of any new take on it comes down to whether we care about the characters.

Excellent Cast

Here, Survivors 2008 had a strong cast, though one playing a contrived cross-section of the population – including the Muslim, Al (Phillip Rhys), the middle-class mum, Abby (Julie Graham), the black guy, Greg (Paterson Joseph), working-class white psycho, Tom (Max Beesley), and the black woman, Jenny (Freema Agyeman).

The most chilling moments were saved for Abby, who recovers from a dose of the virus to find her husband (Shaun Dingwall) dead in the frontroom armchair, before racing for help to the neighbours, who were also wide-eyed in death, and finally starting and abandoning a search through a hospital full of corpses looking for her missing son.

Dead in the Penthouse

Playboy Al was not far behind, waking after a one-night stand only to find last evening’s pick-up dead in his penthouse – divine notice that the good times were over for everyone.

After that, narcissistic Al provided the few moments of light relief when he linked up with lost boy Najid (Chahak Patel), the only survivor from a Mosque-full of worshipping Muslims, who thereafter punctures his adult companion’s ludricrous pretentions with ease.

Menacing Max

Max Beesley’s Tom was creepy as the prisoner serving 20 years who was the one lag to emerge unscathed from Her Majesty’s Prison – but only after he shanked the one surviving guard on site.

This opener then followed how the disparate characters eventually come together in the expanse of a completely vehicle-less motorway. This setting looks post-apocalyptic but is unconvincing – if 90 percent of the population died in a very short space of time, surely many would be on the clogged roads when it happened.

But details aside, this was compelling drama. The writer Adrian Hodges (who also wrote dinosaur drama Primeval) apparently spoke to virology experts to make it plausible. Actors such as Paterson Joseph (rumoured to be the next Doctor Who) and Julie Graham kept it convincing too, though Freema Agyeman met an early end and was a little underused.

Ratings Winner

Still, the depiction of government disintegration and a world turning savage was hard to resist for viewers, Survivors claiming a 25 percent share of the audience on Sunday night (peaking at 7.82m, 29 percent).

There was a coda to the story in which laboratory boffins were seen to be shielding themselves from the catastrophe (did they cause it?), meaning Survivors is nicely poised to explore how and if society recovers and how our heroes struggle to live once they get off that motorway.

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Nov 25, 2008 3:36 PM

Guest :

I thought it was brilliant. Definitly worth watching, cant wait till the next episide. Something i must point out is that the reason the roads are empty is that most people died in their beds at home or in hospital, afterall when people are ill they dont usually go about driving.

Nov 26, 2008 12:58 AM

Guest :

Truly awful. Awful casting, awful script, wooden acting . . and that awful, loud dramatic music - the damn thing doesn't need a soundtrack! Oh, and overnight everyone is suddenly dead (eh?) . . 6 days from infection to death they said, or perhaps they hoped we wouldn't hear that above the din of the daft music. And where were all the dead bodies? I watched episode two and finally someone pathetically wrinkled their nose when they entered a 'death' house.
You know, I think the problem is that the U.S. simply make better drama than us now. We're used to better scripting, better casting and better acting than the BBC can lay their hands on (probably too busy paying millions to 'Wossy' and making dodgy, but marketable, dinosaur programs). Anyone who can present or act moves to Hollywood.
The government should accept that they can't keep pace, scrap the fee and just re-run the '70s and '80s shows that the masses like so much.

Nov 26, 2008 9:06 AM

Guest :

Its not very realistic. Why go to Netto for free shopping? I'd find a Waitrose or something, you wouldnt head to the nearest Lidl.

Dec 2, 2008 11:27 AM

Guest :

I think Survivors is absoulutely brilliant.
You never know what's going to happen next and I love how the actors play their characters (:
Absoulutely brillint, definately a thumbs up :)

xo

Dec 3, 2008 3:20 PM

Guest :

I must admit that I am enjoying the series. It isn't really anything like I would imagine. Questions seem to constantly arise as i watch, ie where are all the dogs?? they cant all be dying quietly in peoples homes. Still, only two episodes aired so far so maybe there is a little more realism to come. :)

Dec 3, 2008 3:23 PM

Guest :

It's dire.

Dec 14, 2008 7:00 AM

Guest :

With the BBC's reputation for drama this series is a massive disappointment, casting is poor, poor interpretation of the story, a lack of suspense, fear, no detail on how they survive day-to-day. The original series was not without faults, poor continuity, props that were obviously not the real thing, but even so it leaves this current series in the shade. Locations are poorly set, the lack of arms and weapons within the group is surprising. There was a chance to do so much with this remake, but it is a chance wasted.
I had hoped that later episodes would pick up, instead they are getting worse, trying to get each of the "name actors" a share of the story line is destroying continuity and without this the story is fast becoming unbelievable. Started at Fair, gone through poor now dire, a second series would be like the first, a waste of license payers money.

Dec 24, 2008 10:12 AM

marita indans :

The most exciting drama I've seen on British television in years. I very rarely watch television and this was an excellent series. I would love to see this drama extended to a long-running series as the script and acting were superb. I found the series so interesting and really looked forward to each gripping episode. Long-running series please as this was brilliant! *****