Survivors - 2.1 Birth of a Hope

Charles again! Interesting to see him talking explicitly about leadership when I noticed in 1.4 that he and Abby were being grouped together as leader types. I love the 'amused by its presumption' bit with the wine, that is exactly the kind of grim joke I'd expect people like them to crack after civilisation has collapsed.

Notice how Charles is not shown to be jealous after Greg kisses Pet. We're to understand that he's not as unstable as he was when we last met him.

Jenny's wearing a dress, I think it's the first time she's not worn trousers. She's still wearing the furry coat though.

I'd been partly spoilered about the fire but I didn't expect it to eliminate the rest of the cast so ruthlessly. Arthur is much more interesting when he shows a bit of vulnerability, he was mostly a pompous comedy figure in series 1. 'This ghastly way of life' is very in character.

Jenny was great in this ep, I really felt for her when she was awake in the barn. Just imagine sleeping in a barn full of rats in the middle of winter after the apocalypse when you've got a baby due any day. Survivors has brought home to me what 'winter' really meant in these latitudes when humans first came here.

Another nice character moment when Paul mentions the young woman he's noticed at Whitecross, and Greg says genially 'What are you waiting for' and they all chuckle good-naturedly.

I'm surprised Charles hasn't managed to make any kind of soap, all you need is fat and ashes.

Dating: it's January, and the 'extra year' question in 1.13 is swiftly settled by Greg saying he last met Charles about a year ago (Feb 24 1976). He acknowledges that they were too late sowing their wheat in 1.13 (June 1976). So eps 1.11, 1.12 and 1.13 must have happened within days of each other and series 1 did indeed take place in 1975-76. (We aren't explicitly given the year, but I'm continuing my shorthand assumption that the plague outbreak was in late 1975.)