Any more Survivors?

Survivors: Episode 2

In episode 2 those who have survived the plague must now work out how they will function as a community.

The former convict and escaped murderer, Tom, is convinced that he knows how to cope with the new world. The basic truth for him is that each person will do whatever they need to do in order to live. Violence is inevitable - it's a dog eat dog world.

This argument is illustrated in episode two as the group encounter Dexter's gang who seem willing to kill in order to protect their turf. This gang are attempting to control abandoned shops and keep all the available resources for themselves. They are young, aggressive and armed...

Abby Grant, on the other hand, argues that they need each other. It is only groups who will have the collective abilities and skills to survive in what will become an increasingly hostile world.

The episode raises the question of illness or accidents. What will happen to people who have relatively minor injuries? Without the right medicines or treatments they will probably die... This question is made more pointed by the fact that they have a doctor in the group who wants to keep her previous career a secret.

Greg is somewhere in between. He has some mysterious things that he wants to do, but has accepted Abby's argument that they need each other.

But this is not just a matter of teamwork. There is a need to build a new "social contract" since the old order has collapsed.

In this episode we meet Bob, a former shop manager, who has hooked up with Sarah, a former customer. Between them they have created their own "social contract". Bob works for Sarah in return for certain favours... This contract is fine but soon breaks down when Bob is injured and Sarah identifies a better offer...

Greg goes missing (having met up with Bob and Sarah). Abby is determined to go looking for him but Tom can't see the point. In the end they both find their way to a warehouse, where, by putting their lives on the line, Greg and Tom are able to win a significant stand off against Dexter and his gang. This reinforces the unity of the group and helps them to understand why they need each other. Dexter only had one bullet - while they had two big blokes willing to even the score...

The point of this episode is that communities only function on the basis of trust. No business or communal arrangement can work unless people guarantee to act in certain ways. People need to treat each other with respect, honour their commitments and even put others first - without such a "social contract" the dog eat dog rules of the jungle will result in rapid mutual destruction...

As I said before, I don't think Survivors is a programme about disease or even survival but about society. In an era or fear and uncertainty "empty earth" scenarios give writers an opportunity to explore the key issues of human society. As we face the credit crunch, peak oil and global warming we need to work out what sort of new world we should be building. Survivors reminds us that this new world needs a new social contract based on mutual respect, commitment and self-giving. Trust is more powerful than fear.

From a Christian perspective this is something that should not be ignored. Secular society has indicated that it wants to put issues of "faith" to one side. "Faith communities" can do their own thing, to a certain extent, but must contribute to society within certain narrow paramaters. The problem is that the main contribution that "faith" (or trust?) can bring is that it provides core values and a world view around which communities can be built. Can a materialistic society generate suficient shared values to achieve this? Can communities founded on trust in God find ways to build trusting relationships within the society in which they are set? It will be interesting to see if this issue comes up in the series...

As an extra note, I've heard that the Triffids are going to make a comeback. This was, of course, a classic "empty earth" story which will be good to revisit again without those pesky zombies...