Series one – Page 3 – Survivors: A World Away

Survivors series one DVD studio day – ten years ago today

It is exactly ten years ago to-the-day (5 June 2003) that Carolyn Seymour, Lucy Fleming, Ian McCulloch, Pennant Roberts and Tanya Ronder were reunited at a studio in central London to record the ‘special features’ for the Survivors series one DVD release. The unprecedented reunion of series one Survivors personnel recorded commentary tracks for episodes The Fourth Horseman (Roberts and Seymour) and Law and Order (Fleming and McCulloch); provided individual on-camera interviews; and met with a range of journalists from the genre press to promote the upcoming release.

To mark the decennial anniversary of this event, we’re publishing a set of never-before-seen behind-the-scenes photos from the day.

Carolyn Seymour and Lucy Fleming, Survivors series one DVD studio day, 5 June 2003

Carolyn Seymour, Survivors series one DVD studio day, 5 June 2003

Lucy Fleming and Ian McCulloch, Survivors series one DVD studio day, 5 June 2003

Pennant Roberts, Ian McCulloch and Tanya Ronder, Survivors series one DVD studio day, 5 June 2003

Carolyn Seymour and Pennant Roberts, Survivors series one DVD studio day, 5 June 2003

Another Survivors filming location that has gone away…

The garage and workshop visited by Abby in the opening minutes of Survivors‘ series one episode Corn Dolly (located in the Herefordshire village of Llangrove) has been demolished.

Corn Dolly - the garage and workshop where Abby and the group encounter Charles Vaughan — Corn Dolly – the garage and workshop where Abby and the group first meet Charles Vaughan

The exterior of the building was used as a filming location during the first series on-location filming block in January 1975 (while the interior sequences were shot on video at BBC Television Centre several weeks later).

The workshop, located adjacent to the village school and close to the Post Office, remained in active use until at least 2005, but has since closed and been boarded up.

The building has now been demolished, the land cleared, and the site put up for auction.

The garage and workshop in Llangrove has gone away - April 2013 — The garage and workshop in Llangrove has gone away – April 2013

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