WRITER: Gaby Chiappe[SPOILERS] I appear to be enjoying Survivors' second series more than most people are, which is interesting to me. I don't concur with claims there's been a lack of action this year, either; in two episodes we've had people trapped under a burning hospital, a life-or-death gunshot operation, foot chases from drifters, and some escapes from an underground lab! That's enough for me. The show also feels more enjoyable now it's taking place in a big city (the production team are doing a fantastic job replicating 28 Days Later's aesthetic and eerily empty streets on a TV budget), and there's a decent mystery to the scientists over their back-story and future plans are. So, while I agree Survivors can be silly and most of the characters aren't particularly well-crafted by the writers, I'm not ashamed to admit I find it entertaining...
DIRECTOR: Jamie Payne
GUEST CAST: Fiona Douglas, Patrick Malahide, Alisa Arnah, Aleksandar Mikic, Mia Fernandez & Barry Aird
This week, Tom (Max Beesley) has been ostracized from the group, but after robbing a gang of fellow survivors of their food and water, he returns to his own party with this stolen "peace offering" to try and make his usefulness to them more apparent. His plan seems to work, helped by the fact Najid (Chahak Patel) and Anya (Zoe Tapper) both want him to stick around, but Tom's deception with the provisions causes nothing but problems when those he robbed seek revenge and go after Tom's friends.
Meanwhile, Abby (Julie Graham) proves to have a stunning natural ability to defeat the 'flu virus that wiped out most of the population, even when the scientists re-infect her with a more virulent dosage. That said, Whitaker (Nicholas Gleaves) realizes they may have to induce a vegetative state in order to continuously harvest Abby's body as a source for their vaccine -- because it's the least painful, "humane" thing to do. Abby must irritate him, too.
Elsewhere, trouble was brewing in a secret area of the facility where Whitaker's wife Jill (Alisa Arnah) has been locked away from the prying eyes of her husband's staff with their young son Lucas. Jill's been fed lies about the state of things above ground and her husband's role in helping the government defeat the contagion, but she's starting to grow suspicious of his soothing words and has been trying to escape...
Okay, so this episode didn't really amount to much in the cold light of day -– beyond a lot of running around, chased by the foreign actor who appeared in Doctor Who's "Waters Of Mars". I was never really convinced by Jill's situation (can a woman be that stupid?), and I was rather hoping Abby would remain locked up for a few more episodes – not least because I'm not a fan of Julie Graham in this role. I confidently predict she'll be moaning about her missing son Peter in the next episode. Oh, joy. It was also bizarre how easily Abby made her escape once Jill got wise to what was really going on and released her -- but that's again down to Survivors having a tough time making its action plausible.
Overall, a mild disappointment consider how enjoyable the first part was, but I like the idea that Abby is the Holy Grail for the surviving scientists, who make for good bad guys whenever they turn up in gas masks and HazMat suits, or scour the countryside in their black helicopters. I'm hoping there's going to be a fun explanation for why Greg (Paterson Joseph) has heard of their pharmaceutical company (did his wife run off with an employee?), and I have my fingers crossed that there's more to the scientists' story than meets the eye. But then I remember Primeval's Adrian Hodges is the showrunner, so I revise my expectations accordingly. Still, if Survivors can keep up the action and pace, the crew continue doing great work making this end-of-the-world scenario feel right[*], and the stories keep enough of a grip so the sillier moments melt away, I'll be happy.
26 JANUARY 2010: BBC1 / BBC HD, 9PM
[*] That said, I'm still perplexed by why everyone keeps saying they have to leave the city because there's no food or water. I mean, the average city must have hundreds of supermarkets, and each one must be full of bottled water and canned food... so, why the alarm? Have they all been looted? Just how many survivors are there?
