Book 24 of 2026
I originally set out to buy a specific book on the 1970s BBC series Survivors, but after drawing a blank, I took a chance on this one. The curiously-named Survival TV consists of a series of essays (some purporting to be 'academic') examining a range of TV programmes from the 1970s. The best writing comes from the editor Rodney Marshall, although his hero worship of his screenwriting father (Roger Marshall) occasionally clouds his objectivity. There are excellent essays on The Sweeney and Butterflies*, but the best one is reserved for Shadows of Fear, a series of self-contained, scary dramas which I knew nothing about before reading this book. I watched the entire series this week - the episodes vary in quality, but the acting in each episode is uniformly excellent, with an astonishing performance from Peter Barkworth (Come Into My Parlour) and tremendous work from Sheila Hancock (Sugar and Spice) and the usually bland Michael Craig in the brilliant, but politically/morally suspect Did You Lock Up?.
All episodes are on YouTube, BTW.
I couldn't recommend the book; besides some very weak writing, it's actually a poorly produced artefact, with all the weaker features of the self-published book in evidence (the inconsistent spacing of lines; the general poor presentation of the text; the nonsensical title; the pointless rip-off 'Crass' cover graphic, etc.).
There's also far too much about Doctor Who (just like in real life), but I really enjoyed the essays on feminism in Survivors and Blake's 7, and for introducing me to Shadows of Fear, I'll be eternally grateful.

6/10

*I KNOW! This is the second brilliant essay I've read on the Butterflies (see also 'The Guinness Book of Classic Television'), and I always feel that maybe I'm missing something, but when I've sat down and watched the programme, I can only last four or five minutes without feeling physically sick. 

11.4.26