Gone Away

Tom Price is unsuccessfully hunting chickens when a boy appears and bags one of the birds.
Tom gives chase and reaches a shack, where the boy is living with a man who is sick with
typhoid.

Tom leaves the man and the boy to the chicken. Abby, Greg, and Jenny have spent the night
in the church. Anne had left when Greg went back to fetch her.

Abby decides to make the church her base from which she will search for her son. Jenny and
Greg agree to go with her in search of supplies. Tom comes across the church and seeing the
three leave goes inside and makes himself at home.

Abby, Greg and Jenny find an out of town supermarket and start gathering food. Abby
discovers a corpse hanging up with a sign saying 'Looter' around his neck.

Despite this, Abby decides to carry on collecting, although Greg and Jenny are keen to go
elsewhere. As they are loading up the car, a Land Rover arrives with three of Wormley's men
inside.

They recognise Abby, and accuse her of looting. They explain that everyone in the district
must register at the Headquarters, where they will be issued with a 'chit' allowing them to
collect food from the supermarket.

Abby refuses to accept this state of affairs. Whilst the men begins to unload the car Jenny
snatches a gun off one of them. Greg then disarms the others.

Jenny and Abby reload the car and the three escape. Greg makes sure of this by shooting the
tyres and stealing the ignition key. Wormley's men swear revenge.

As they drive away the trio discuss the possibility of setting up a community of survivors. But
an exasperated Abby soon breaks down saying all she cares about is finding Peter and pulls
the car over. Jenny goes after Abby to comfort her.

Back at the church, Tom is now keen to join Abby, Jenny and Greg. His shortcomings are
obvious to them. He tells Greg of the man and the boy he'd met earlier.

Abby, Jenny and Greg set out to find them, in case the boy is Peter. Tom stays behind at the
church, swigging back whisky.

Greg warns Abby not to get her hopes up. The pair are both found to be dead, but the boy is
not Peter. On their return to the church, Wormley's men have arrived. Milner, on guard
outside warns them to hide and tells his friends that he saw them running away.

They leave with Tom, who has decided to join them and register at the headquarters, but not
before they wreck the church first. Abby decides she won't be able to settle in one place until
she finds Peter...

Episode Review

Gone Away is another strong episode. With our heroes finally together we learn more about their characters and motivations. Abby is portrayed as stubborn and unafraid to buck authority when she refuses to leave the supermarket and stands up to Wormley's men. Greg meanwhile is resourceful when disarming the men and pulling off the escape with the loaded car. Jenny also displays courage in this encounter, but on the whole is increasingly portrayed as more dependent on Abby and Greg.

Good for nothing Tom Price, played colourfully by Talfryn Thomas, is a sharp contrast to our heroes. His type are destined to beset our heroes efforts throughout the series. A type which sometimes comes dangerously close to implying that all working class men and women survivors are up to no good, when compared to the central characters, who more often than not appear to be from middle class backgrounds.

This is the last we see of Wormley's new order which presumably fails as free communities are formed instead.

Rating: 10/10

Episode 3 - Gone Away

writer: Terry Nation
first broadcast: 30th April 1975

Regular Cast:

Abby Grant: Carolyn Seymour
Jenny Richards: Lucy Fleming
Greg Preston: Ian McCulloch
Tom Price: Talfryn Thomas
Anne Tranter: Myra Frances

Guest Cast:

Dave Long: Brian Peck
Reg Gunnel: Barry Stanton
John Milner: Robert Gillespie
Phillipson: Robert Fyfe
Boy: Gordon Fletcher

designer: Richard Morris
director: Terence Williams
producer: Terence Dudley
episode recorded: 11th - 12th March 1975