Original series episode Genesis features in BBC ’70s documentary

Several extracts from the original Survivors first series episode Genesis feature in Dominic Sandbrook’s new BBC 2 documentary TV series The ’70s.

In the third of four episodes, which focuses on the mid-1970s [‘Goodbye Great Britain 75-77’], Sandbrook makes reference to the resonances between the widespread ‘pessimism and paranoia’ gripping Britain at the time and the post-apocalyptic preoccupations of Survivors.

Sandbrook’s commentary (33ms 20s – 35ms 04s) is illustrated with extracts from Genesis (showing Anne Tranter’s first meeting with Greg Preston; and Abby Grant’s encounter with Arthur Wormley) and an oddly irrelevant aerial shot of some moorland (sourced from some other show).

Viewers in the UK can catch the episode on the BBC iPlayer service (until 9.59pm on Monday, 21 May 2012)

BBC - The '70s - 3 - ‘Goodbye Great Britain 75-77’ - Survivors
BBC - The '70s - 3 - ‘Goodbye Great Britain 75-77’ - Survivors

Original series episode Law of the Jungle (with Brian Blessed) on the big screen in Derby

A rare opportunity to enjoy an episode from the original Survivors on the big screen is provided during the ID Fest film festival in Derby later in May.

The series three episode Law of the Jungle, which features a memorable guest appearance by Brian Blessed is being screened on Saturday 26 May at 12:45pm. The ‘Brian Blessed Television Showcase’ also includes an equally rare cinematic outing for one of the earliest installments of the Tales of the Unexpected anthology Lamb to the Slaughter, in which Blessed also co-stars.

At 7:00pm on the same day, the festival plays host to Brian Blessed: live in conversation, an opportunity to hear the actor and raconteur reflect on decades of work on the big and small screen.

Blessed’s appearance is followed by a screening of the kitch 1980s space-opera Flash Gordon, which features a scene-stealing peformance from Blessed as Prince Vultan.

Brian Blessed - Brod, original Survivors
Brian Blessed - Brod, original Survivors

Tickets for the Brian Blessed Television Showcase and Brian Blessed: live in conversation events are available from the Quad venue web site.

Brian Blessed Television Showcase

WINKERLANd Productions Interview with Ian McCulloch at Cinema Wasteland

Ian McCulloch appeared at the the Cinema Wasteland horror convention in 2010

WINKERLANd Productions interviews Ian McCulloch at Cinema Wasteland (2010). We don’t own some of the footage in this video. Any footage from a film was shot from a television screen to give it that grindhouse feel.

The Midnight Corey blog report on the event describes a conversation with a typically fortright McCulloch:

Ian McCulloch was the lead actor in Zombie (1979), and is completely astonished by the popularity of the movie. One thing that surprised me about Mr. McCulloch is that he told me he’s never seen any of Romero’s zombie movies — he said he just doesn’t have the desire to. He also told me that he met Romero recently, and Romero refuses to watch Zombie (or any of its sequels) because he thinks they’re all ripoffs of his work.


Photo: Midnight Corey