Les Survivants

I know that BBC has decided against a third season, and nothing a viewer in the USA says will likely change that, but here goes anyway: My wife and I watch a lot of programs, both British and American. We were completely sucked in by Survivors and are continually impressed by how unpredictable and exciting each episode is. We watch "24" and have enjoyed other edge-of-your-seat shows like "Alias" and "Prison Break" in the past, but we agree that Survivors is usually more entertaining than any of them.

Perhaps the total number of viewers in the UK hasn't been up to hopes, but maybe if demographics (average income, education level, etc.) are taken into account, PLUS you add in American viewers (via BBC America), the BBC should reconsider its decision and renew this riveting program for a third season (or "third series," as they call it) and beyond.

The premise of the show seemed fairly mundane: a virus wipes out most of humanity and we view the struggles of a ragtag bunch of survivors. But, despite a few logical lapses, the execution is excellent and the program is exciting to watch. Most of the characters are very well realized and acted, and the plot (episode-by-episode and ongoing too) is much better than one would expect. We look forward to watching the program every week.

They brought Doctor Who back (and we love it). Survivors deserves at least another few seasons -- especially given the miniscule 6-episode British seasons, which are about 1/4 as long as seasons of most American programs!

halfway through third episode but from what I have seen, v. good, and scarily believable,people are quick to trash this show as they look at things from the past with rose-coloured spectacles on, the same with Merlin they probably think Excalibur was the ultimate Merlin film. Anyway, the acting is particularly good esp. Julie Graham Max Beesley and Paterson Joseph-seem to remember him being good in The Beach as well-anyway anyone who hasn't watched this yet, tune in and give it a go, thoroughly recommended, and OK the idea of the characters being on the same road at the same time was far-fetched, but for me, it worked. 10/10

This remake, in a way, just like the original series, was way ahead of its time.

With the hindsight of a post CoVid19 world, the dire warnings from shows like this seem to have been totally overlooked, discarded and scoffed at.

The original from 1975 - 77 is much better, but was out of date in places. With the popularity of zombie films at the time, it probably seemed a really good idea for the BBC to have a go at updating this classic tale of post-apocalyptic survival. Again, with hindsight, if only they had waited until after The Walking Dead, this probably would have found a more receptive and dedicated audience.

I really liked The Walking Dead at the start, but it rapidly decreased in quality, and looking back, this show was overall a much better watch.

If you know the original, it plays with some of the characters in very interesting ways, most especially Tom Price, in the original an almost cartoonishly two dimensional Welsh villain , and turns him here into a complex character always on the edge of being an anti-hero or just an outright baddie.

There is a bit more dark realism with how some of the characters cope in such a horrible scenario than there was in the original, and the Greg Preston character remains just as memorable with the excellent performance of Paterson Joseph, and they have turned it from a show with three central protagonists to a multi-strand narrative in true form.

However, the charm, pragmatism and starkness of the original is lost. Sadly they only made two series before it was unceremoniously canned.

Well worth watching both though.

This series should have gone on. There's a lot about it that's high quality, great production values, terrific long shots of empty cities. The storyline was really barely touched- besides the evil island machinations, there's a whole planet empty and going primitive not just a small piece of English countryside. I particularly liked the character who's so certain she's the government, and seeing it her way is magically always best for everybody. Her patronizing line of bull remains what we hear on the news from our officials every day. I'd like to especially praise the casting in this show-- the faces really fit the character. It's easy to imagine an actor willing to play a weasel like Dexter but to look so genuinely despicable, I do wonder where they get these very unlovely guys. It's not characterization by makeup in this show, it's a casting director with a great sense of face. All in all, it's a mystery to me why this was canceled, I think the decision was a bad mistake.

A very good show but as a fan of the original 70's Survivors I am finding the new version misses the mark for two reasons (A)The original outbreak of flu seemed to wipe out 99% of the population in a day!! Even the most deadly flu would take several weeks to achieve that so realism is somewhat compromised in order to move the plot on too quickly. Secondly Survivors 2008 places way too much emphasis on what is going on between the characters and gives virtually no attention to the actual mechanics of living. The original series went to great lengths to show the characters learning how to farm, generate electricity etc etc. None of that in the new show. Anyway still a quality drama compared to most TV output so I'll give it an 8 but do check out the original that ran for 3 series, 30 odd episodes, all available on DVD. Did you know 1975 Survivors still has a cult following and fan club?