{"id":1057,"date":"2015-04-16T19:30:21","date_gmt":"2015-04-16T18:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.survivors-mad-dog.org.uk\/blog\/?p=1057"},"modified":"2015-04-16T19:30:21","modified_gmt":"2015-04-16T18:30:21","slug":"survivors-the-fourth-horseman-broadcast-forty-years-ago-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.survivors-mad-dog.org.uk\/blog\/2015\/04\/16\/survivors-the-fourth-horseman-broadcast-forty-years-ago-today\/","title":{"rendered":"Survivors &#8211; The Fourth Horseman &#8211; broadcast forty years ago today"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Today (16 April 2015) is the fortieth anniversary of the original broadcast of &#8220;The Fourth Horseman&#8221; (the opening episode of the first series of <em>Survivors<\/em>). The first ever episode of <em>Survivors<\/em> was shown at 20:10 on Wednesday 16 April 1975 on BBC 1, and was seen by just over 7m viewers. &#8220;The Fourth Horseman&#8221; was written by <em>Survivors<\/em>&#8216; creator Terry Nation, directed by Pennant Roberts, and introduced the characters of Abby Grant (Carolyn Seymour) and Jenny Richards (Lucy Fleming) &#8211; the character of Greg Preston (Ian McCulloch) was introduced in the second episode (&#8220;Genesis&#8221;). <\/p>\n<p>In <em>The End of the World? The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to Survivors<\/em>, the authors introduce their review of the episode as follows: <\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;The Fourth Horseman&#8221; must rank as one of Terry Nation&#8217;s finest single scripts, and sets an incredibly high standard for the drama that will follow. The opening episode of a new drama series imposes multiple challenges for the television writer: the series&#8217; premise must be established; key characters introduced; and audience interest in the fate of the programme\u2019s central characters secured. In the case of <em>Survivors<\/em>, Nation is required to achieve all that, whilst at the same time evoking a plausible picture of a global catastrophe using only the personal experiences of a few disparate individuals. In doing so, as Anthony Brown observed in <em>DWB <\/em>in 1993, he &#8216;avoids all the clich\u00e9s of disaster fiction.&#8217;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.survivors-mad-dog.org.uk\/blog\/?attachment_id=1061\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-1061\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1061\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.survivors-mad-dog.org.uk\/blog\/2015\/04\/16\/survivors-the-fourth-horseman-broadcast-forty-years-ago-today\/s1_dvd_03\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.survivors-mad-dog.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/S1_DVD_03.jpg?fit=636%2C468&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"636,468\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Rich&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1429052430&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"The Fourth Horseman &amp;#8211; titles\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.survivors-mad-dog.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/S1_DVD_03.jpg?fit=300%2C221&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.survivors-mad-dog.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/S1_DVD_03.jpg?fit=636%2C468&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smd.urko.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/S1_DVD_03.jpg?resize=636%2C468\" alt=\"The Fourth Horseman - titles\" width=\"636\" height=\"468\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1061\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.survivors-mad-dog.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/S1_DVD_03.jpg?w=636&amp;ssl=1 636w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.survivors-mad-dog.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/S1_DVD_03.jpg?resize=300%2C221&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.survivors-mad-dog.org.uk\/blog\/?attachment_id=1060\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-1060\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1060\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.survivors-mad-dog.org.uk\/blog\/2015\/04\/16\/survivors-the-fourth-horseman-broadcast-forty-years-ago-today\/s1_dvd_04\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.survivors-mad-dog.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/S1_DVD_04.jpg?fit=637%2C470&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"637,470\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Rich&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1429052476&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"The Fourth Horseman &amp;#8211; Abby Grant\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.survivors-mad-dog.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/S1_DVD_04.jpg?fit=300%2C221&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.survivors-mad-dog.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/S1_DVD_04.jpg?fit=637%2C470&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smd.urko.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/S1_DVD_04.jpg?resize=637%2C470\" alt=\"The Fourth Horseman - Abby Grant\" width=\"637\" height=\"470\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1060\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.survivors-mad-dog.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/S1_DVD_04.jpg?w=637&amp;ssl=1 637w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.survivors-mad-dog.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/S1_DVD_04.jpg?resize=300%2C221&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.survivors-mad-dog.org.uk\/blog\/?attachment_id=1059\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-1059\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1059\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.survivors-mad-dog.org.uk\/blog\/2015\/04\/16\/survivors-the-fourth-horseman-broadcast-forty-years-ago-today\/s1_dvd_05\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.survivors-mad-dog.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/S1_DVD_05.jpg?fit=636%2C465&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"636,465\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Rich&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1429052561&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"The Fourth Horseman &amp;#8211; Jenny Richards\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.survivors-mad-dog.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/S1_DVD_05.jpg?fit=300%2C219&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.survivors-mad-dog.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/S1_DVD_05.jpg?fit=636%2C465&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smd.urko.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/S1_DVD_05.jpg?resize=636%2C465\" alt=\"The Fourth Horseman - Jenny Richards\" width=\"636\" height=\"465\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1059\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.survivors-mad-dog.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/S1_DVD_05.jpg?w=636&amp;ssl=1 636w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.survivors-mad-dog.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/S1_DVD_05.jpg?resize=300%2C219&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today (16 April 2015) is the fortieth anniversary of the original broadcast of &#8220;The Fourth Horseman&#8221; (the opening episode of the first series of Survivors). The first ever episode of Survivors was shown at 20:10 on Wednesday 16 April 1975 on BBC 1, and was seen by just over 7m viewers. &#8220;The Fourth Horseman&#8221; was &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.survivors-mad-dog.org.uk\/blog\/2015\/04\/16\/survivors-the-fourth-horseman-broadcast-forty-years-ago-today\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Survivors &#8211; The Fourth Horseman &#8211; broadcast forty years ago today&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,21,24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-post-apocalyptic-tv","category-series-one","category-terry-nation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9n8B4-h3","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.survivors-mad-dog.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.survivors-mad-dog.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.survivors-mad-dog.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.survivors-mad-dog.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.survivors-mad-dog.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1057"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.survivors-mad-dog.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1057\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.survivors-mad-dog.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.survivors-mad-dog.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.survivors-mad-dog.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}