Terry Nation is best known for creating the Daleks, the most popular (and feared) enemies of
Doctor Who, and also for creating the classic sci-fi program
Blake's 7. Prior to the broadcast debut of the latter, but following writing stints on shows like
The Saint, The Avengers and
The Persuaders, Nation created another science fiction program titled
Survivors. The premise was how the survivors of an apocalyptic plague would be able to get on with life in the absence of technology. The 1975 show ran for 3 series (seasons), starring Ian McCulloch and Lucy Fleming (who incidentally is a niece of
007 author Ian Fleming). Guest stars during the show's 38-episode run included Denis Lawson ("Wedge Antilles,"
Star Wars films), Patrick Troughton ("The 2nd Doctor,"
Doctor Who), Brian Blessed ("Prince Vultan,"
Flash Gordon) and Iain Cuthbertson ("Dr. Louis Leakey,"
Gorillas in the Mist).
In 2008,
Primeval creator Adrian Hodges followed up that success with a remake of
Survivors, updating the story for modern times (including the post-plague absence of more current technological conveniences). Stars for the new version include Julie Graham ("Gillian" on
Bonekickers) and Max Beesley ("Charlie" on
Hotel Babylon). The first series of six episodes was broadcast in the U.K. already, and the second series is getting ready to kick off soon over there. Meanwhile, BBC America is making plans to air both series back-to-back in the USA.
A blog post at the BBC America online shop from last Friday confirms this, and goes on to say that they will follow the State-side run of the show with DVD releases of both the original 1975 program, and both series (seasons) of the remake program. No specific release date or other details are available yet, but stay tuned and we'll keep you posted!
