Profound, profane or pedestrian

Spent the day watching Survivors (2008) - Series 2. I really liked S2 - but there was no way you could have had a clue what was happening unless you had watched S1 and that's probably why it got cancelled - there was no way it could have picked up new viewers.

Great ending - just wish it hadn't finished there. I am almost tempted to see if there is any S3 fanfic!

Just finished watching this DVD boxset - I don't how or why this series got cancelled because this was damn good. It avoided the cliche of the original series where it devolved into the "terrible trio" - endless false sightings of Peter Grant, the grand tour of every version of community that could exist and the endless "Oh you've just missed him" search for Greg.

Instead, this was a nearly non-stop kaleidoscope of action and intrigue with a wonderful cliffhanger ending, so much so that I am really disappointed there will be no S3. If anything, this show got better as it went along, with Abby and Tom, in particular growing in stature with every story. Even Greg, who originally left me stone-cold, grew in my eyes. The only character who I still thought was a waste of space and time was Najid - and I think it is always awkward to stick a kid into an adult group of survivors. The child either become a pseudo-adult in a matter of minutes or remains an encumbrance to every plot line in the series. Sadly, Najid fell into the latter most of the time.

WOOHOO! The second series just got a release date here - according to EzyDVD, it will be on 6th January 2011!

I can only repeat myself - WOOHOO!

According to EzyDVD, the box set will be released on 1st July.

WOOHOO!

Now if only we can persuade ABC to play series 2, all would be well!

There's a very interesting description of a visit to the set of the Survivors remake at Total Sci-Fi. Sounds like they pretty much got the free run of the set.

I'm concerned though by these comments from Adrian Hodges:
"In some ways we feel that we've barely begun with Survivors, but in other ways I have to accept that this might be its final series ..... What I've tried to do with this series is give a satisfying conclusion so that if it proves to be the last episode, at least it will feel like a series that has finished in an appropriate way, but at the same time, almost every door is left open."

Let's just hope he's wrong and we do get a S3!

Good interview at CraveOnline - most interestingly, it sounds like he's pretty sure of getting S3 for Survivors! It sounds like all the deals done for Primeval S4 were hard work but ultimately successful, apart from the fact that they were so late that some casting changes were forced on them because contracts got cancelled.

SCI FI Wire sounds optimistic on how well the Survivors remake should do when the US gets to see it this week. Let's hope it does well because that will make S3 all the more likely to happen.

Total SCI FI has an (*SPOILERS* in the link) interview with Nicholas Gleaves who plays James Whitaker in the Survivors remake. Gleaves seems to be having a ball in his part and really enjoying where the series is going in S2.

Just finished the last two episodes of S1 and all of S2 of one of my all-time favourite series - the 70's original Survivors. I remember being a little frustrated by this season when I first saw it but watching it now, I like it a great deal - despite it being so very English, so very middle class and so very domestic. I ignore the former two and focus on the latter. It is a good step away from the confusion and randomness of S1 - but Abby's presence is sorely missed.

Total SCI FI has [SPOILERS too numerous to mention in the link!] an excellent interview with Adrian Hodges about the plans for s2. I'm glad he's aware of the pacing issues - somewhere between the BBC 6 and the standard US 22, there needs to be a balance. This is where the common cable 13 is good, I think. At 6, the pacing is a bit crazy and some things just have to get glossed over, at 22, there are filler episodes and some stories are unnaturally lengthened but at 13 the pace can even out and yet take it's time with complex stories. I guess one good thing with the 6-episode seasons is that at least lots of different programmes get made whereas with the 22, the one programme does the entire year, figuring hiatuses (hiati?), repeats and so on.