UK drama - Survivors

[Gadgetaholic]

Anyone else watching this?

Scenario - worldwide mega pandemic, ultra deadly flu virus, 99+% death rate. A small group of survivors get together and overcome various problems.

This is actually a remake, but I only vaguely remember watching the original show when I was a kid.

So, what do you guys think of the scenario? With so many dead the cities are dangerously toxic with disease associated with a large number of unburied dead bodies, so the survivors head out into the country. Pretty much the earth is fine (unlike in the movie 'the road') and there are animals and plants doing OK - but humans are down to very low numbers. Many survivors have no idea of how to live off the land and scavenge for food at shops.

I guess there would be a lot of farm land that no longer has any owners - forming a small community and making a village based on farming (horticulture & agriculture) would make a lot of sense. I would say that guarding the village would be important too - disorganised survivors that try to continue scavenging even after most of the shops are empty would be a threat to anyone that is organised and grows their own food.

If I was in that situation I would raid some bookstores - try to find books that explain how to tan leather and spin yarn and stuff like that. Many skills like gutting and butchering animals would be vital - if one person has these skills they could teach several others. Learning about planting times and cultivating crops would also be vital - maybe try to find books on that too. I would imagine there would be a steep leaning curve for most people. Finding a fresh water source that is clean and safe would be a high priority. Finding an existing orchard would help a hell of a lot too. Harvesting wheat and making bread would be something that most people wouldn't know how to do - but it would be a good thing to learn in that kind of situation. There should be books on how to brew your own alcohol - probably a high priority for some.

These days many people know how to do a job that earns them money and they use that money to buy food & clothing from shops. If well over 99% of the population were killed by a virus then there would be no more shops and people would have to learn to make their own clothing and grow their own food.

 

[Bushman5]

if i was in that situ i would kill everyone i possibly could that were trying to get my supplies and do me harm. Its no big deal, there is way too many scum alive in the world. Once i secure my safety, i'm getting out.

 

[K_Domain7]

It would suck to be a survivor in the UK, considering you wouldn't even have a pocket knife!

 

[Wildewinds]

I would take over the nearest Costco.

 

[Gadgetaholic]

It would suck to be a survivor in the UK, considering you wouldn't even have a pocket knife! :jerkit:

I have seen knives on the show. They can make any anti-knife laws they want, if someone wants to cut someone else then a knife is only the nearest kitchen away!

 

[Sharp_newbie]

It would suck to be a survivor in the UK, considering you wouldn't even have a pocket knife! :jerkit:
I am personally sick of UK drama, or anything UK right now ... I just don't like the looks of the direction they are heading as a society.

Agreed.

 

[Yorkshire Boy]

It would suck to be a survivor in the UK, considering you wouldn't even have a pocket knife! :jerkit:
I am personally sick of UK drama, or anything UK right now ... I just don't like the looks of the direction they are heading as a society.

What a moronic thing to say....Can't even have a pocket knife LOL! Look at the UK guys who post on websites like this and you'll see huge collections of bladed tools.

Sick of anything UK? You're a troll...

 

[Esav Benyamin]

Please discuss the topic and not each other. We have a Report Post button for trolls; don't feed them.

K_Domain7, the jerk-it smiley is inappropriate for this forum. Restrict it to Whine & Cheese. It is also inappropriate to make simplistic analyses of complex situations, especially when you don't seem particularly familiar with them.

 

[ROCK6]

Anyone else watching this?

Scenario - worldwide mega pandemic, ultra deadly flu virus, 99+% death rate. A small group of survivors get together and overcome various problems.

This is actually a remake, but I only vaguely remember watching the original show when I was a kid.

So, what do you guys think of the scenario? With so many dead the cities are dangerously toxic with disease associated with a large number of unburied dead bodies, so the survivors head out into the country. Pretty much the earth is fine (unlike in the movie 'the road') and there are animals and plants doing OK - but humans are down to very low numbers. Many survivors have no idea of how to live off the land and scavenge for food at shops.

I guess there would be a lot of farm land that no longer has any owners - forming a small community and making a village based on farming (horticulture & agriculture) would make a lot of sense. I would say that guarding the village would be important too - disorganised survivors that try to continue scavenging even after most of the shops are empty would be a threat to anyone that is organised and grows their own food.

If I was in that situation I would raid some bookstores - try to find books that explain how to tan leather and spin yarn and stuff like that. Many skills like gutting and butchering animals would be vital - if one person has these skills they could teach several others. Learning about planting times and cultivating crops would also be vital - maybe try to find books on that too. I would imagine there would be a steep leaning curve for most people. Finding a fresh water source that is clean and safe would be a high priority. Finding an existing orchard would help a hell of a lot too. Harvesting wheat and making bread would be something that most people wouldn't know how to do - but it would be a good thing to learn in that kind of situation. There should be books on how to brew your own alcohol - probably a high priority for some.

These days many people know how to do a job that earns them money and they use that money to buy food & clothing from shops. If well over 99% of the population were killed by a virus then there would be no more shops and people would have to learn to make their own clothing and grow their own food.

I haven't seen the show, but I'm reading the book "One Second After" which involves an EMP burst over the continental US. Other than the "hordes" dying off immediately, everything else dies instantly...no communication, no electricity, no transportation, no information, and no refrigeration. It's pretty interesting, but the small college does have a decent library of Foxfire books and other old farming journals and how-to books.

You have a good point that people need to band together but the irony is that as much as we are social creatures, we are creatures of conflict. Without a good set of rules that are enforced, any society, no matter how small, will have problems.

There is a large list of skills that would be very important; local trading would be crucial for not only exchanging goods and services, but also to receive news and information. I think what many people ignore is the bad-side of human nature. Every crisis is an opportunity for some people, in a negative way. It happened in the past, present and will occur in the future. Our dregs of society and the destructive attitudes are often as resilient as cockroaches. You will never eradicate killers, thiefs and rapists, but you can make yourself and your "community" a less desirable target with good defenses, extreme and violent prejudices along with a very evident "zero tolerance" for those activities in your area.

As much as these types of shows are, Hollywood and other film industries just don't like to portray too much reality and they definitely don't want to glamorize the self-prepared individual.

ROCK6

 

[Yorkshire Boy]

Anyone else watching this?

Scenario - worldwide mega pandemic, ultra deadly flu virus, 99+% death rate. A small group of survivors get together and overcome various problems.

This is actually a remake, but I only vaguely remember watching the original show when I was a kid.

So, what do you guys think of the scenario? With so many dead the cities are dangerously toxic with disease associated with a large number of unburied dead bodies, so the survivors head out into the country. Pretty much the earth is fine (unlike in the movie 'the road') and there are animals and plants doing OK - but humans are down to very low numbers. Many survivors have no idea of how to live off the land and scavenge for food at shops.

I guess there would be a lot of farm land that no longer has any owners - forming a small community and making a village based on farming (horticulture & agriculture) would make a lot of sense. I would say that guarding the village would be important too - disorganised survivors that try to continue scavenging even after most of the shops are empty would be a threat to anyone that is organised and grows their own food.

If I was in that situation I would raid some bookstores - try to find books that explain how to tan leather and spin yarn and stuff like that. Many skills like gutting and butchering animals would be vital - if one person has these skills they could teach several others. Learning about planting times and cultivating crops would also be vital - maybe try to find books on that too. I would imagine there would be a steep leaning curve for most people. Finding a fresh water source that is clean and safe would be a high priority. Finding an existing orchard would help a hell of a lot too. Harvesting wheat and making bread would be something that most people wouldn't know how to do - but it would be a good thing to learn in that kind of situation. There should be books on how to brew your own alcohol - probably a high priority for some.

These days many people know how to do a job that earns them money and they use that money to buy food & clothing from shops. If well over 99% of the population were killed by a virus then there would be no more shops and people would have to learn to make their own clothing and grow their own food.

The 2nd series has started in the UK, you can watch it for free on BBCiPLAYER http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/search/?q=survivors

I watched part of one episode from series one, it's not my type of thing to watch, it's meant to be drama and not a survival show.

At Christmas the BBC showed a 2 part modern version of "The Day Of The Triffids", another apocalyptic drama for the masses.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYBCi8menxc

I prefer watching stuff like this, about the Jewish partisans who lived in the forest and fought the Nazis.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-fxF-1j9qM&feature=related

 

[Gadgetaholic]

The 2nd series has started in the UK, you can watch it for free on BBCiPLAYER http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/search/?q=survivors

I watched part of one episode from series one, it's not my type of thing to watch, it's meant to be drama and not a survival show.

Yes, definitely a drama. But the concept behind it is what I started the thread for - an interesting concept at least. It is extremely unlikely that any virus could even kill over 99% of the population - no virus has ever been that successful.

At Christmas the BBC showed a 2 part modern version of "The Day Of The Triffids", another apocalyptic drama for the masses.

Another interesting scenario - I remember reading the book.

 

[2manyknives]

I watched the Surviviors series on DVD just recently. Personally I enjoyed it but as Yorkshire Boy quite rightly points out it is a TV drama, not a technical analysis of a survival scenario. It touches mainly on the social and ethical aspects of the scenario and overall I thought it was better than most of what is served up as content on TV.

I also watched the original series back in the 70s. It was set at a time of considerable tension around superpower conflict and the potential for nuclear war and the survival theme had a lot of momentum back then. It also sat well alongside a strong interest in alternative lifestyles and I think this accounted for some aspects of its popularity. The original show started well but as so many series do it degenerated over time.

The recent version of the show fared quite well and a second series has been initiated. There is mainstream interest in the scenario, but as previously mentioned, more at the social level.

 

[Yorkshire Boy]

I wonder what would happen to nuclear power stations, would they shut themselves down and pose no risk?

With 99% of the population gone at least clothes, food, water and shelter would be freely available to the survivors.

 

[RoyalM]

I find all shows like this difficult to watch. I keep having to remind myself it's a drama show not a guide on survival. Also none of them are ever harsh enough to reflect what could potentially happen when society is reduced to survival. You only have to look to some parts of Africa or other countries where the law of the gun is the only law they have. Even looking at countries developed countries post natural disaster or civil disturbance shows just how quickly things can go wrong if you're not prepared to be more brutal than the man next to you.

Watched 'The Road' and "The Book of Eli' they to me are far closer to just how bad it would get. Would shows that bleak generate viewers for the BBC probably as a one off show but not a multi-part series.

 

[Codger_64]

I like watching movies and reading books of this genre. Many if not most are pretty lame in their storyline, but I am almost always able to glean some small nugget of knowledge from them, if not directly from the solutions to problems that the charactors come up with to defeat or adapt to their changed world, then from my own ideas of what I would do different that their bumblings inspire.

Even some of the lamest EOTWAWKI lampoons like "Mars Attacks" have minor lessons "implanted" if one looks deeply enough. In that one the lesson I got was to use unconventional means to overcome unconventional adversaries. The example from this otherwise stupid (and at times hilarious) movie was the inadvertant discovery that certain sound frequencies destroyed the otherwise tough to kill aliens. Ack. Ackack ackackack. Besides, it is sometimes fun to watch major stars (Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Natalie Portman, Pierce Brosnan, Danny DeVito, Joe Don Baker) at their goofiest.

The fictional book "Ashes" series by William Johnstone is packed with "McGuyvering" too. But like most TV series of the genre, it became repetitious and less interesting as the author "milked" the market by producing too many sequals (33) to the successful 1983 "Out Of The Ashes" novel. The premise is set in the aftermath of a nuclear/biological exchange between Russia/U.S.A./China.

 

[Gadgetaholic]

Sorry guys, but there aren't many decent replies yet. Lets ignore the TV drama itself - this is a W&S skills subforum, not a TV review forum.

I think in that show it is interesting that they don't really arm themselves, it isn't until near the end of season one that the crimimal (was in prison for murder) took someone's pump action shotgun from them and became armed. I think it was only in the 2nd episode that the group leader had a double barrel shotgun pointed at her head while she knelt on the ground - they still didn't seek out some guns.

If that situation happened, the first thing I would do would be to head over to a gun store and break in, get myself some guns & ammo. I would grab enough guns to arm others that I teamed up with so we could guard whatever we set up. Hopefully no lowlifes would think it was worth stealing from a well armed group, so no one would have to do any killing.

If I couldn't get guns from a gun store (if others had got there first and armed survivors were there guarding the store) then plan 2 would be to find empty farm houses and search for their gun cabinets. It doesn't take that much driving to get out from the city and into farm land in this country.
I would definitely want to be armed and set up before the food & water started running short and the scavengers became desperate. Desperate people do desperate things!

If I was the leader of a small group then I would be leading them to somewhere with a good drinkable fresh water stream and farm land, preferably with some bush nearby with wild boar and deer that could be hunted. I would aim to be farming fairly quickly and getting food crops planted. Initially a drive into town with several armed men and 2 vehicles that can hold a lot of supplies would be enough to get a good stock of canned & dried foods. Also raiding bookstores & libraries is well worth it for long term survival. Raiding a pharmacy makes a lot of sense too. It might be worth finding a petrol tanker - in the long term we might revert to horses, but in the short and medium term we should be able to use cars/vans/4x4s.

I would also try to find bows & crossbows - they could be useful to help keep the ammo use low on the guns.

BTW:
The over 99% death rate is mentioned, but the depiction of numbers of survivors on the program would suggest that probably something over 99.9% of the population was dead. A city of several million would change to a population of 1 or 2 thousand. This means that there would be plenty of land and natural resources for all survivors, the big problem would be the slow decline of 'old world' goods as the shops get raided and the canned food gets used up. Gradually the supplies of petrol would run short and there would be less and less working vehicles. Some people would fight over what was left.

 

[Yorkshire Boy]

I think living in countries where everyone is armed to the teeth and expects to use their guns on each other on a daily basis, warps a person into believing Hollywood come SHTF.

In countries where gun deaths are high, where mass shootings occur several times a year, you would unfortunately come to expect gun violence as a daily way of life.

If every time a natural disaster happened in your country and you read about lone gunmen shooting at police officers, armed looters attacking people, then you would be fearful of such events and want to be armed.

These things are understandable but they are born from a country's own laws, history and experience. I don't think they are necessarily universal to all countries on the planet.

Personally I believe that some survivalists are playing a "Mad Max" fantasy, they desperately want to see themselves as the hero killing hordes of thugs, rioters, looters or just people coming too close to their land.

I find these types rather worrying, unpredictable and dangerous and would avoid them at all cost.

 

[Gadgetaholic]

I think living in countries where everyone is armed to the teeth and expects to use their guns on each other on a daily basis, warps a person into believing Hollywood come SHTF.

I have to agree - I would find guns, but wouldn't expect to be using them except for hunting. I doubt scavengers would even try to take on an armed group - they see guns and they stay away. Maybe in the US there would be wild west style shootouts, but in other countries people would generally avoid gunfights.

If 99.9% of the population was dead it really wouldn't make sense for the other 0.1% to spend all their time killing each other.

I couldn't imagine not worrying about acquiring guns though - at some point someone is going to think about taking what you have. If they have a knife or bat and you produce a firearm then they are going to head in the opposite direction very fast. You should be able to make a dozen bullets last for years if you aren't using the gun for hunting.

 

[RoyalM]

One thing that went through my mind in a situation like the one portrayed is that I know sod all about farming or gardening. My only way round this is to:

a) Stock up on 'how to' books from libraries, book shops etc
b) Go to a garden center and clear them out of books, seeds, kit and hopefully plants.

I've not seen anyone post that they would do this in a EOTWSHTF situation but it makes sense to me. There would also be a need to do it relatively quickly I think to prevent the plants from death through lack of water, animals, pests etc in the garden centers.

I would of course empty a shop or two so that I could survive on canned goods long enough to start harvesting a crop. The one thing I saw on that show that I liked was that they raided a supermarket supply depot. Straight to the source, a relatively unknown location good thinking.

 

[Foilist]

There is an ebook (fiction) with this very premise (sort of) called Refuge. It takes place in England several years after a lethal pandemic disease has wiped out most of the world population.

The inevitable villains are sexually depraved predators, and some of those scenes are unnecessarily explicit. Otherwise, it is an okay read.