Now, I like ‘gritty’ dramas, Waking The Dead, Messiah and Wire In The Blood are all prime time BBC dramas that take a more adult approach, combining drama and quite un-nerving scenes. But out of all the strong and gritty dramas it seems that this episode of Survivors has put them to shame and, on reflection, to me, was one of the most disturbing bits of telly I have seen in a long time. With both main characters thinking up different ways of escape – Tom’s being hitting things and Greg’s more cerebral – both attempts fail in their own way. Even when the rest of the Family try to spring their two wayward members, things don’t go to plan and show that, even though these are the ‘heroes’ of the series, they are as flawed as anyone else. So that’s it plot-wise, a search and rescue mission mimicking the ‘family member in danger’ motif that has been through the entire series. However, it’s the little details and really quite disturbing manner in which events play out that makes things a little bit uncomfortable to watch. From the obvious of having Greg chained up and discussing slavery, to the more subtle things like Billy (played with an innocent malice by Roger Lloyd Pack) capturing children and the way he treats his guest/slave Sally, there is a great deal that makes the episode quite tricky viewing. So there’s the fact that Smithson was ready and threatening Greg with a public hanging which goes awry, and then he sees his own second in command swinging on the gallows, while the rest of the minders, guards and security at the mine are hunted down and beaten to death. Things get very grim, indeed, culminating with the rescue of new member Sally and the flash of seeing Smithson smashed into his priceless vintage wine collection and hammered to death with a crowbar. As I said, pretty heavy viewing. With the team safe and a new member (not to mention Billy’s truck), the Family are on their way. However, just before the credits roll, we see Tom once again performing his role as the team’s enforcer, helping one of the terminally injured mine workers ‘to a better place’, which again shows that this show is, and I guess will get, a lot darker than some of the other dramas currently airing. Added to this is Billy, a character that is indefinably creepy. Half amiable trucker, half child catcher, his self serving instincts and the fact that he, for all intents and purposes, should be dead by now, is obviously going to be a continued thorn in the side of the Family’s attempt at a normal life. Especially now that he knows that Abby’s son is alive and also exactly where he is. Again a great episode, but be warned, it’s hard viewing. Check out our review of episode 3 here.
