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The Survivors (1969) (1 Viewer)

Frank Soyke

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Was doing some research and came across a reference to this show. Never had heard of it before. After looking at the steller cast here, I'm wondering how the heck this show didn't make it? Premise sounded interesting (Peyton Place esque). Was it poorly written? Apparantly only lasted less than 4 months. What happened?
 

Professor Echo

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Frank Soyke said:
Was doing some research and came across a reference to this show. Never had heard of it before. After looking at the steller cast here, I'm wondering how the heck this show didn't make it? Premise sounded interesting (Peyton Place esque). Was it poorly written? Apparantly only lasted less than 4 months. What happened?

I was 11 at the time it premiered and remember a huge publicity push for it, but I think PEYTON PLACE was an exception in those days and the public wasn't as interested in the concept of a nighttime soap. Of course, as a kid I had no interest in such things, but I do remember wondering about it as some of the talk was that it would be somewhat racy and that on its own is enough to intrigue an 11 year old boy. Would be interesting to see now as a curiosity from the era and a progenitor of the prime time soaps that flourished less than a decade later.
 

davidHartzog

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I remember watching the show at the time and liking it, but it really wasn't very good, it was badly acted and slow moving. Upon cancelation, it was replaced by a show set at the Paris embassy (actually studio backlots), with holdover George Hamilton. That show was even worse.
 

JMas

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The full title was Harold Robbins' The Survivors. From what I've read, it was very expensive to produce and the ratings didn't justify the cost. I'd love to see it again, but I've never found any episodes on YouTube or going the bootleg route.
 

Neil Brock

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As with almost all failed Universal series, there was at least one re-edited movie, which ran to all of the time in the 80s. Last of the Survivors was the title but there may have been others. That's the one I'm pretty sure I have.
 

Charles Ellis

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Actually, it was called The Last of the Powerseekers. I wonder how the original elements are- they've probably haven't been used in decades. With all the names involved, I'd love to see the show re-released on a cable network like Me-TV or Retro-TV. If Universal had a DVD-R service like Warner Archive, this is one title that could gather interest.
 

Ron Lee Green

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The show is featured in a book I own entitled, "The Worst TV Shows Ever" by Bart Andrews (1980).

As JMas mentioned above, the show had one of the highest budgets, and the ratings were poor.

It was clobbered by Mayberry RFD and the Doris Day Show on CBS, and the NBC movie of the week.

Said it only ran 15 episodes.
 

AlanP

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Rumor had it the budget was a killer with location shoots, casting costs, delays and on and on! Robbins was at his zenith after completing "The Carpetbaggers" and several other best sellers and was hired to do the series. Then Turner and Hamilton hired at significant costs which ballooned the budget. It seemed doomed from the start......
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063954/?mode=desktop
 

Professor Echo

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I would also imagine that a melodramatic show about wealthy, jet setting sophisticates in the late 60's was not going to go over well with a lot of people at that time. The culture was changing very fast by the end of the decade and even middle class, suburban folks were not as fascinated with elitism as they once might have been. Note how such shows were very successful in the 80's as a far different milieu in the country was established.
 

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