The Fourth Horseman (TV story)

***The Fourth Horseman*** was the first episode of *Series 1* of *Survivors*.

## Synopsis

A scientist accidentally infects himself in a laboratory. Unaware of the danger he travels to various countries, infecting everyone in his path.

## Plot

A middle class woman, Abby Grant, plays tennis against a machine on a court in her back garden. The housekeeper, Mrs Transon, calls her into the house: Her son Peter is on the phone from school. Abby tells him his father will be home that evening and jovially discusses being under siege, noting the village school has been closed and asking him to ring her before the end of the week. His school has been closed off, with the tradesmen leaving things at the gate, and there's been no sign of the plague yet. Abby prepares to pick her husband David up from the station. Mrs Transon asks permission to go home, since she hasn't been able to get through to her sister: No calls are going to South London. Abby agrees and says she'll take her to the station. Mrs Transon answers the phone but there's no-one there.

As they drive out of the village, they encounter Doctor Joe Gordon, who says he'll pop by that night to give Abby and David a vaccine. He admits his wife Margaret isn't too well and he has a couple of dozen showing symptoms. At the station, the stationmaster, Pollard, quickly ushers Mrs Transon onto the train: It should have left two hours ago but nothing has come in and they have no information. All the phones are also out of order. Abby goes back to her car to wait. The radio news talk of traffic congestion. On the train, Mrs Transon shows signs of being ill.

In a flat in London, Jenny Richards tends to her seriously ill flatmate Patricia, who is showing advanced symptoms despite having an injection. Jenny tries to call a doctor but the phone's off. She says she'll try the surgery and then Andrew at the hospital. Late at night, David finds Abby asleep in the car. He's four hours late, having had to take a series of cars, trains and buses to get there. Abby also now has the lumps of the disease. David decides to stay at home until things improve.

Jenny makes her way on foot through the congested London to the hospital. She finds Andrew Tyler, having heard her GP was there, and tells him about Pat. Andrew says there's no-one free to go out to her and all the hospitals are full up, with staff being as ill as the patients. He says it's not flu and the jabs are just a smokescreen. Seventy people have died in that hospital alone, with it taking six days for symptoms to appear. He says he'll see Patricia the first chance he gets. Jenny offers to help until he's free.

Abby tells David about Gordon's plan to visit. David doesn't think it's flu. As Abby makes dinner, David says there's rumours millions have died in China. He heard from Peter after her to discuss her birthday present. David tries and fails to find a station on the radio as they discuss past epidemics. They think things will get back to normal sooner or later. Abby muses on how everything in a city could break down. David thinks they'll be all right in the country. The lights then go out.

Jenny and Andrew have returned to the flat: Patricia is dead. Andrew encourages Jenny to go out to the country. Jenny is angered at his lack of reaction to Patricia's death when he's been having an affair with her for two years. Andrew tells her he has the disease and it will hits its peak in three days. Everyone in London will have been exposed but Jenny isn't showing symptoms. Andrew says some people will have a natural immunity. He says soon the mass of dead bodies in the city will cause other diseases and he has only seen one person recover.

David and Abby go to bed by candlelight. Abby wonders if they should get Peter out of school and David tries to reassure her. Jenny makes her way through London. A group of youths who are looting mock and grab her and she runs off. Abby gets up for a drink during the night, now clearly ill. David finds her and tries to make a call as she passes out. He goes to find Gordon, who reveals Margaret is dead. He notes he can't do anything to stop people dying and has seen a whole family of four die. He says there could be millions dead in a week but agrees to see Abby. Jenny makes it out to the country and sleeps in an abandoned car.

Days later, Abby wakes up alone, having recovered. She finds abandoned food and the contents of the fridge gone off, then discovers David dead on the couch. Meanwhile, Jenny finds a man, Tom Price, sleeping in an improvised tent. He tells her to keep away: He's staying away from people so as not to catch anyone. They discuss the situation in London. Jenny says she went through a village and there were people in the church. She took food from a shop and left money. Tom says he caught a rabbit with a snare and is waiting for the doctors to clear it up, thinking the Americans will bring over a cure and then there'll be plenty of work for those who are left.

Abby gets dressed and explores the village. She sees someone dead in their house, still guarded by their dog. The church is full of the bodies of those who died there. Abby prays that she isn't the only one. She returns to the house where she notices a photo of Peter and dashes out. Jenny is sat by the roadside, sore from her walking. She hears Abby's car in the distance and rushes after her but fails to attract her attention as she drives past.

Abby heads to Peter's school and goes to the dormitory. Several boys are dead in their beds but Peter's bed is empty. She goes to a laboratory and finds an elderly man, Doctor Bronson, prone over a desk. When he doesn't respond to her questions, she assumes he is dead but then he stands up: He is deaf and his hearing aid was off. He says another teacher, Mr Fielding, took Peter and some other boys away to camp: They had no symptoms but may have still been infected. Some boys tried to find their way home on their own and others were picked up by their parents: He's the only one still alive there.

Jenny finds a young man sat by a fire and asks to join him. She realises he is ill. She tries to make him comfortable but he tells her to leave him alone, although he makes no objection to her staying. Bronson tells Abby a state of emergency was declared too late and a government set up in the country died out. He says they have survived by chance and must come through what must follow. Abby protests there's years of supplies left. Bronson agrees but says they will run out eventually and must learn again. He discusses the possibility of making a candle or electricity from scratch, including digging up metal in the first place, or chopping down trees. He says all he could make was a stone tool. They have to learn the old skills before the stockpiles run out. Abby leaves to look for Peter. Bronson notes soon his batteries will run down and he'll be deaf, thinking he won't make a good survivor.

Jenny finds the young man she sheltered with is dead. She checks his bag and finds it is full of money...now useless. Having returned to her house, Abby loads her things into a car. She takes a last shower and cuts her hair short, then douses the living room with petrol, lighting a funeral pyre for her husband. She drives away, stopping for a moment to watch the house go up in flames.

## Cast

* Abby Grant - Carolyn Seymour
* Jenny Richards - Lucy Fleming
* Tom Price - Talfryn Thomas
* David Grant - Peter Bowles
* Dr. Bronson - Peter Copley
* Dr. Andrew Tyler - Christopher Reich
* Mrs. Transon - Elizabeth Sinclair
* Dr. Gordon - Callum Mill
* Mr. Pollard - Blake Butler
* Patricia - Margaret Anderson

## Crew

* Written by Terry Nation
* Produced by Terence Dudley
* Directed by Pennant Roberts