So, after all of @Ebouc‘s constant urgings on twitter, I decided that I had to give Survivors a shot. I was wary because it seems like post-apocalyptic television (Hell, post-apocalyptic anything, for that matter) is often done pretty poorly. I’ve just gotten used to lowering my expectations so I can at least enjoy the movie or show a little bit. I was also a little wary because Survivors sounded slightly reminiscent of The Stand (the TV mini-series, not the book), and while I was drunk enough to forget much of The Stand, I do remember completely despising what I remembered.
Well, the kid’s were in bed and we didn’t have any episodes of Big Love or Lost to watch, so I managed to convince my wife to check out the first episode of Survivors. We were both really impressed. My wife likes it so much that last night I asked if she wanted to watch the most recent episode of Big Love or Survivors and she picked the latter. She freaking loves Big Love, so I think that says a lot right there.
Anyway, the concept of the series is effectively Apocalypse by Plague (my favorite kind) and it follows the lives of the six (or so) main characters as they try to stay alive in an apocalypse-ravaged land and also try to connect with family members who might still be alive. However, the plague has less than a 1% survival rate so finding any living family members seems pretty unlikely.
I think we are through episode four of the first series so far and my complaints are pretty minor (and they are vastly outweighed by my kudos). My biggest two complaints are:
1) Music – the music is a little sappy. It sounds like a full orchestra and sometimes that can be a little much. I think it would have been better if they’d stripped it down a little bit and left a little more space. But, that’s minor.
2) Peter – I don’t want to give anything away, but I can tell that the quest for the elusive Peter is going to get on my nerves. He’s going to be the equivalent of “getting off the island” in Gilligan’s Island. You know what I mean, right? It’s always “this close!”. Ugh.
But, don’t let my bitching discourage you. I’m just a grouchy old drunk guy. You should definitely watch it now before they make an American version that completely sucks.