Series 1 (1975)
The first series originally aired on BBC1 between 16 April and 16 July 1975.
Regular cast: Carolyn Seymour as Abby Grant (ep. 1–13), Ian McCulloch as Greg Preston (ep. 2–13), Lucy Fleming as Jenny Richards (ep. 1–13), Terry Scully as Vic Thatcher (ep. 2, 8–10), Hugh Walters as Vic Thatcher (ep. 11, 13), Tanya Ronder as Lizzie Willoughby (ep. 5–13), Stephen Dudley as John Millon (ep. 5–13), Hana Maria Pravda as Emma Cohen (ep. 7–13), Chris Tranchell as Paul Pitman (ep. 8–13), Michael Gover as Arthur Russell (ep. 8–13), Eileen Helsby as Charmian Wentworth (ep. 8–13), Talfryn Thomas as Tom Price (ep. 1–3, 7–10), Julie Neubert as Wendy (ep. 7–9), John Hallet as Barney (ep. 7–9), Myra Frances as Anne Tranter (ep. 2, 11), Richard Heffer as Jimmy Garland (ep. 6, 13)
| # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Guest stars | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.01 | "The Fourth Horseman" | Pennant Roberts | Terry Nation | Peter Bowles (as David Grant), Peter Copley (as Dr. Bronson), Christopher Reich (as Dr. Andrew Tyler) | 16 April 1975 (1975-04-16) |
| In modern-day Britain, a young woman, Jenny visits her friend, a physician who is working in a city hospital, to ask him to come see a mutual friend who has become ill. The hospital has suffered a number of deaths from a mysterious disease, but the Department of Public Health has instructed them to keep it quiet. Soon, civilization begins to falter as the deaths increase, mass absenteeism affects public services and amenities and the electronic media goes off air. Eventually the electricity shuts off and all public services falter, then eventually cease entirely. Another young woman, Abby Grant goes looking for her son who was off at boarding school. At the school she meets the sole remaining staff member at the school, Dr. Bronson. He tells her that many of the boys were taken by other staff with camping equipment in hopes to escape the epidemic. He explains that the survivors of the epidemic are merely the first step of being survivors. While Abby proposes that there will be stockpiles of energy sources and preserved food, he explains that every product used in contemporary society relies on the complex interworking of thousands of people in different regions, each having specialised knowledge and a constant supply of specialised materials – all of which has suddenly vanished. Despondent, Abby journeys home to find seemingly everyone (including her husband) has died. She burns down her house and drives away. | |||||
| 1.02 | "Genesis" | Gerald Blake | Terry Nation | George Baker (as Arthur Wormley), Brian Peck (as Dave Long), Edward Brooks (as Colonel) | 23 April 1975 (1975-04-23) |
| Survivor Greg Preston is driving through the countryside when he meets Anne who begs him to come and help the man she is staying with, Vic, who has been injured. He goes with her and finds that Vic's leg has been crushed under a fallen tractor. Staying with them he helps the best he can. Meanwhile, Abby has come to a settlement run by an ex Trade Union President, Arthur Wormley, whom, she learns, had some inside knowledge of the catastrophe due to contacts in the Government. He has set up a small community where he has appointed himself the man in charge of the entire area. At first interested at their intentions, Abby is later appalled when a man branded as a thief is taken out and shot. Abby flees the house. Greg has taken a trip to the nearest town to get provisions. While there he meets Jenny and takes her into his car after she collapses. Driving back into the country, Anne tells Greg that Vic is dead, but after initially travelling with them, she leaves. Greg and Jenny see a fire and aim for it. Arriving there, they meet Abby who has now set herself up in a new house with the aim to begin a self-sufficient community. | |||||
| 1.03 | "Gone Away" | Terence Williams | Terry Nation | Brian Peck (as Dave Long), Robert Gillespie (as John Milner), Robert Fyfe (as Phillipson), Barry Stanton (as Reg Gunnel) | 30 April 1975 (1975-04-30) |
| Abby, Greg and Jenny drive to the nearest large supermarket to stock up on food. While there, they come up against some men carrying rifles working on behalf of Wormley. They threaten to shoot them if they take the food and insist they sign up at the community. Abby refuses and they manage to overcome the men and escape. Arriving back they find a tramp, Tom Price has taken shelter at their house. He agrees to join them and help. He tells them of a young boy he encountered who Abby hopes may be her son. Abby with Greg and Jenny go to find him but discover he is dead, but is not Abby's son. While away, Wormley's men have discovered their house and wait for their return. Tom agrees to join their settlement. Arriving back, Abby and the others get away from the house seeing that Wormley's men are there. Fearing for their safety they leave the area, with Abby vowing to continue looking for her son. | |||||
| 1.04 | "Corn Dolly" | Pennant Roberts | Jack Ronder | Denis Lill (as Charles Vaughn), Keith Jayne (as Mick), Annie Hayes (as Lorraine), Yvonne Bonnamy (as Isla) | 7 May 1975 (1975-05-07) |
| Abby, Jenny and Greg are driving to Abby's hometown looking for her son. While in town, the trio finds posters for a nearby settlement. They run across Charles and Lorraine, who themselves have just found a young boy, Mick. Greg, Abby and Jenny decide to stay at the settlement as Charles is informed that many in the settlement have become mortally ill from poisoned fish. They soon discover that Charles has become obsessed with repopulating the earth, and he has been trying to impregnate as many women as possible to facilitate this goal, with his intentions now turned to Abby. Upon discovering this, the trio leave the following day. | |||||
| 1.05 | "Gone to the Angels" | Gerald Blake | Jack Ronder | Peter Miles (as Lincoln), Frederick Hall (as Jack), Nickolas Grace (as Matthew), Kenneth Caswell (as Robert) | 14 May 1975 (1975-05-14) |
| While Abby goes to her son's school, Jenny and Greg run across two small children, John and Lizzie who have been living with their dead grandmother. When they all go up to the school to meet Abby, the children tell them about a bus full of school children who have gone up to Derbyshire, "where the angels are". They all take off to the area and find a house to stay, but Greg is accidentally shot by the man who lives there, Lincoln, giving him a minor flesh wound. The man tells the group about how men calling themselves "The British Government" recently came, taking many of his supplies. Abby leaves on her own and finds the "angels", three religious men who have isolated themselves in the hills. Later, when Jenny and Greg try to follow Abby with the children, Lincoln takes Lizzie hostage, but is saved by her dog. They safely arrive at the cabin. However, the men quickly become ill, and they realise Abby has brought the plague with her and infected the cabin. The five travellers leave the cabin after the three men have died. | |||||
| 1.06 | "Garland's War" | Terence Williams | Terry Nation | Peter Jeffrey (as Knox), Dennis Chinnery (as John Carroll), David G. Marsh (as Bates) | 21 May 1975 (1975-05-21) |
| Abby accidentally gets involved in a local war when she picks up a wounded man, being chased by a group of armed men. The man, Jimmy Garland takes Abby to the cave where he has been staying. He is the former owner of the Waterhouse manor, but has been evicted by a larger group, led by Knox. Abby is captured by them and agrees to find Jimmy and play mediator between them. Jimmy however has kidnapped one of Knox's women as collateral for Abby. Abby brings Jimmy to Knox, but his men attack and restrain him. Abby leaves, and finds Greg, Jenny and the children looking for her. Back at the manor, Knox is torturing Jimmy to reveal the whereabouts of the girl. As they go to the hut to retrieve the girl, they are surprised as Greg bursts through the door with a shotgun, demanding that Knox's men let Jimmy go. They make the exchange and escape, though Jimmy insists he must stay to continue fighting his "war". | |||||
| 1.07 | "Starvation" | Pennant Roberts | Jack Ronder | – | 4 June 1975 (1975-06-04) |
| Wendy, a young woman living with an older woman Emma, leaves their house to go in search of food. She comes across Tom Price who offers her food in return for favours. Uneasy of him she runs away. Meanwhile, Abby rescues Emma from a pack of roaming and savage dogs. Tom turns up at the house looking for Wendy. After threatening Abby, she locks him in the back of his van. The others have found a large manor house with plenty of land for grazing nearby sheep and growing vegetables. They settle there and meet Barney, a simple-minded and scared young man. Abby brings Emma and Wendy in Tom's van to the manor and there they release Tom, who agrees once again, to help them. | |||||
| 1.08 | "Spoil of War" | Gerald Blake | Clive Exton (as M.K. Jeeves) | – | 11 June 1975 (1975-06-11) |
| With a community now of nine, Abby, Greg and Jenny begin to work on the land in an attempt to begin growing crops, while the others take on different chores around the manor. A man, Paul Pitman arrives and tells them he knows about farming and tells them that their methods are futile, but he can help. Remembering Vic Thatcher, the man he helped earlier, Greg realises that he had a working tractor. He, Tom, Barney and Paul go and see what they can get there. On arriving they are repeatedly shot at, but manage to get through to find that Vic is still alive, although his legs are completely crushed. Vic tries to kill Greg for abandoning him and taking away his woman, until Greg explains what really happened. Vic agrees to let them take the equipment and food he has stored and he goes with them back to the manor. Meanwhile, two more people, Arthur and Charmian have joined the community. | |||||
| 1.09 | "Law and Order" | Pennant Roberts | Clive Exton (as M.K. Jeeves) | – | 18 June 1975 (1975-06-18) |
| It's May Day and the community decide to celebrate with a party. Tom gets drunk and attempts to rape Wendy. During a struggle he stabs and kills her. Shocked at the discovery, the others notice Barney is acting strangely and come to the conclusion that he was the one who killed her. Led by Abby and Greg, they hold a vote and the majority say he should be shot. Barney is taken out and killed, but wracked with guilt, Tom confesses to Abby and Greg. Furious, but logical, Greg reasons that he should be kept within the community as his poaching skills are essential. Despite Abby's disgust, they decide not to tell the others. | |||||
| 1.10 | "The Future Hour" | Terence Williams | Terry Nation | Glyn Owen (as Bernard Huxley), Caroline Burt (as Laura Foster), Denis Lawson (as Norman) | 25 June 1975 (1975-06-25) |
| Greg and Paul arrive at a temporary settlement packed with provisions. It is led by Huxley, who travels around different communities offering food and other items in exchange for gold. Meanwhile, a man and woman Laura and Norman have arrived at the manor looking for shelter. Laura is pregnant and they are on the run from Huxley. He has taken her as his woman but insists on her getting rid of the baby. Abby and the others agree to hide them there. Huxley tracks them down and wages war on the manor. Laura has the baby and agrees to return to the settlement along with Norman, but entrusts her baby girl to the community where she will be safe, but not before Tom and Huxley are killed in a final showdown. | |||||
| 1.11 | "Revenge" | Gerald Blake | Jack Ronder | Robert Tayman (as Donnie) | 2 July 1975 (1975-07-02) |
| After Vic attempts suicide, the others discuss how depressed he has become and set about finding useful things for him to give him a sense of purpose such as teaching the children. Greg and Paul go to a nearby town and find him a proper wheelchair. Two people turn up at the manor in a tanker full of petrol. One is a young man, Donny, the other is Anne – the woman who left Vic to die. Vic reveals to the others what she did and Abby decides that Donny can stay but Anne must leave in the morning. That night, Anne attempts to kill Vic, who in turn also tries to kill her in anger. After both breaking down in tears, they talk. The following morning, a seemingly more positive Anne leaves the house, watched by Vic. | |||||
| 1.12 | "Something of Value" | Terence Williams | Terry Nation | Matthew Long (as Robert Lawson), Murray Hayne (as Jim Buckmaster), Paul Chapman (as Thorpe) | 9 July 1975 (1975-07-09) |
| A man, Robert Lawson, arrives at the manor for shelter and the group agree he can stay. During the night he looks around and soon finds the tanker of petrol. After a heavy downpour, the others find that the crops have been washed out and the store of food in the cellar has been flooded and destroyed. They decide that the petrol is very valuable and decide to trade it to a nearby community for food and seed. Meanwhile, Lawson has met up with two friends and tells them of the tanker. They return to the manor to get it but Greg has already left with it. They follow, but after a failure of the brakes, Greg has parked it in a barn. The three men find him, steal the tanker and drive away. Speeding down a hill, the brakes fail to work and the three men are killed. Greg and the others retrieve their petrol. | |||||
| 1.13 | "A Beginning" | Pennant Roberts | Terry Nation | Annie Irving (as Ruth Anderson), Harry Markham (as Burton) | 16 July 1975 (1975-07-16) |
| The group are becoming irritable with each other after trading their petrol for some seed which is bad and a fox has killed their chickens. Abby, tired of her role as the leader, retreats and talks it over with Jenny, who reveals she is pregnant with Greg's child. A travelling group arrives and asks for shelter for a sick girl they are carrying. The group tells them that they were driven from their land by a large band of thieves roaming the area. Greg and the others agree to contact other settlements so they can band together and form an alliance against any attacks. Abby meanwhile, needing some peace leaves the settlement and meets up with Jimmy Garland and stays with him in his house. Back at the settlement, the sick girl, Ruth, recuperates and tells them she was a medical student, and mentions that she was staying on a barge with some other people, one of which was a boy named Peter Grant. Abby returns the next day with Jimmy. Jenny rushes out to tell her the news that her son is still alive. |
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