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"Roads
that are safe for travellers, phone links, railways, Greg
has been making your country into a nation again" - Agnes
Charles has discovered a field telephone and is convinced that Greg set it up. Jenny arrives and tells Charles that Alec wants to make a start on the next leg of their ongoing journey to Scotland. |
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Charles tells her his theory about the telephone. Jenny thinks he is arrogant to believe that only he or Greg could construct such a thing. She urges him to leave the field telephone and return to their base so they can set off for Cumberland. |
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Charles wants to carry out a 24 hour watch on the phone so that they can see who is manning it. Jenny on the other hand wants to leave as soon as possible and avoid any further distractions. As she says this she is distracted by something white in the undergrowth in the distance. She and Charles go to investigate. |
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As they get closer it becomes clear that it is a banner. They unfurl it and see that it reads 'MESSAGE FOR CHARLES V'. They think it must have blown off one of the electricity pylons. |
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Hubert arrives on horseback and tells them that the same message is painted on a nearby bridge. On the bridge he found a message in a milk bottle. He hands the note to Charles. |
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The message states that Greg is at Felbridge Army Camp in East Riding and that he needs Charles there urgently. |
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Meanwhile two men are on their way to Felbridge themselves. One of them talks about 'that blackguard Greg' and that whatever's at Felbridge is worth the long walk there. The man appears to have some sort of diseased rash on his face. |
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Charles and Jenny tell Sam and Alec about the message. They are intrigued as to who wrote it. Despite the fact that Charles thinks Agnes is at Sloton Spencer, Jenny believes she has met up with Greg and told them about their plans to go on to Scotland. They locate East Riding on the map. |
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Charles is all ready to leave, but Jenny states that he shouldn't expect her to go too as she thinks it will be yet another wild goose chase. She says she is sick and tired of constant changes of plan and that she just wants them to decide what to do and actually do it. Sam conversely states that he is sick and tired of hearing about Greg. Alec is happy to go along with whatever Jenny decides. |
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Charles saddles up and prepares to leave. He angrily asks Jenny if he really has to persuade her to come with him. She replies that if she really thought Greg would be at Felbridge then she would go. Charles departs. |
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As Jenny watches Charles ride off, Hubert tells Jenny that she wouldn't have been able to go with him anyway as her horse is lame. They will have to stay where they are for the next few days whilst the horse recovers. |
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The two men, who are revealed to be the Captain (Mason's boss) and Mitch arrive at a cottage. They explore the downstairs area and find a kettle recently boiled and a warm fire. Mitch is especially pleased to find a bed. |
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The two men are intent on staying at the cottage that night and don't envisage that the old woman, who arrives back whilst they are still in the cottage, will cause them much trouble. |
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Jenny and Hubert have been watching the field telephone station and observe a man making a call. They ride up and introduce themselves. The man is called Les Norton. Les tells them that he left the note for Charles. |
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The Captain asks the old woman if she would mind giving up her bed for the night and providing them with some food. The woman who is called Mrs Hicks, asks them to leave. |
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The Captain is displeased with her response. He tells her they are heading for the coast and asks her what goes on at Felbridge camp. |
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Charles arrives at Felbridge camp. At the entrance there is a man on guard who is standing beside a large GP logo. |
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The man tells Charles that he is expected and that Agnes is waiting for him in the HQ! A surprised Charles is told "she'd been hoping you'd come". |
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Agnes embraces Charles. She tells him she had almost given up on him. She introduces a man called Joe to Charles. Apparently Joe and his wife were living at Felbridge when she and her father first arrived in England. |
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Agnes reveals that this is where they got the balloon that ended up at Whitecross. The camp was an army transport depot and has its own water supply and even a generator. |
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Joe leaves them to talk and asks if he should run off the leaflet he was showing her before Charles arrived. She tells him "not just yet". She explains to Charles that Joe used to be a printer before the death and that Greg found him a hand printing press. Agnes asks why Jenny is not with him. Charles conversely asks after Greg. |
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When Agnes tells him that he is thirty miles from the camp and that she will send a message to him Charles is furious. Agnes stops Charles mid-rant by telling him that Greg has smallpox. |
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Meanwhile the Captain is busy telling Mrs Hicks that Greg gave him smallpox. He explains that Greg tricked him and his men into coming back to Cawston Farm and that he was the only one who got out alive. Mitch apparently found him in a ditch after he escaped from Cawston Farm. Whilst at the farm he remembers Greg telling Agnes that there was gold at Felbridge camp and he wants to know if this is true. A frightened Mrs Hicks refuses to say anything about the camp to the men and just implores "who are you both?" |
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Back at the camp, Agnes is busy telling Charles about her adventures since they last met. She tells him about Mason and his plan to secure her father's notebooks and how Greg took Mason and his men including their leader, the Captain, to Dr. Adams place to become infected with the smallpox. Charles asks her if Greg will recover and join them. Agnes replies that when he is well he will join them. |
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Charles asks Agnes where Dr. Adams' place is. She tells him that it is under quarantine and that anyone who tries to leave is shot. Charles is curious that Agnes didn't become ill. She explains that it may have been the brucellosis she caught at the Walter's farm that made her immune to the smallpox. According to Agnes, Greg ordered her to get on with his work and briefed her as to what she should do next. |
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Agnes takes Charles to another building where a map of Britain is displayed on the wall. Agnes explains that 28 different communities, safe roads, phone lines and railways are all marked on the map. She adds that Greg has been making Britain into a nation again. |
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Jenny and Hubert have travelled with Les Norton to a brick making centre. Jenny is surprised to meet Tom Walter there. Tom tells her that his family are all well. |
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Agnes shows Charles the various points on the map where Greg has established contacts. These include Tom Walter, a man called Albert Banks, a Mrs Hicks, a woman called Nancy and Les Norton, who Agnes reveals was the man who left the message for him to come to Felbridge. |
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Agnes tells him that he was summoned here because Greg asked her to send for everyone he trusts. Tom Walter is expected tomorrow. Charles asks if Tom knows that Greg has smallpox. She replies that he does, but that he is the only other person who knows. |
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Meanwhile Tom is busy telling Jenny about the plans to set up some sort of administration at Felbridge. He is travelling by train and road. Jenny asks if she can come as well. He sees little point in this as Charles has already gone there. Before she can protest they are met by Les. |
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Tom offers Les 100 gallons of petrol for 2000 bricks. Les can't believe that Tom has 100 gallons of petrol with him. He replies that he doesn't but that he can give him a chit from Greg. He produces a note which he claims carries Greg's handwriting and signature. |
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Les reads the note aloud. Tom explains that these chits can be used to trade for whatever he needs. Jenny realises that it is a form of currency. |
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Tom firmly believes that if they don't bring money back then trade can never expand. |
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At Mrs Hicks' cottage, Mitch finds one of Greg's 'petrol notes'. His mind races at the possibilities petrol could bring them. The Captain reasons that it was the petrol at Felbridge that Greg was referring to as gold. The men press Mrs Hicks for more information, but she only tells them that she mans a phone up on the hill and passes messages to York and Grimsby. The Captain gets tough with her telling her that his men didn't die so that Greg Preston could be king. He warns her that she can choose to say goodbye now or tomorrow morning. |
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Meanwhile Agnes is trying to get through to Mrs Hicks and is concerned that there is no answer. She asks Mike to try her again in five minutes. Charles has got his hands on one of the flyers that Joe has been producing. He jokes to Agnes that it reads like a royal proclamation and he wants to know what petrol notes are. |
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Sam has realised that the notes are money. He tells Jenny and Hubert, who have just returned from Norton's place, that money was "the cause of everything that destroyed us". Alec say that it was the plague that was responsible for that, not money. Sam continues to rant about his view of the old system with the 'haves' and the 'have-nots'. Jenny points out that as a junkie he chose to be a 'have not'. |
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Jenny announces that she has decided to go to Felbridge. Sam mocks her and likens events to the summoning of barons to court and suggests that laws and taxes will be next on the agenda. Alec says that there is nothing sinister in what has happened, but Sam believes he is blind to the truth and exits. |
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Jenny and Hubert are excited about the developments at Felbridge and Jenny now believes that Charles was right about going there. Alec tries to convince her that their mission to restore electricity to the national power line has just as much merit, but she is sold on going to Felbridge. Alec tells her he will continue north with Sam. Jenny tells him that she has to go and a resigned Alec replies that it is clear that she is still in love with Greg. |
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Agnes meanwhile is busy telling Charles that barter is only good if people have what both need and that if you haven't then back you both go. She explains that they must now decide if they are going to start printing these notes. Charles points out that Felbridge cannot have the monopoly on petrol as there are lots of refineries on the coasts. Agnes suggests that they may have to blow the refineries up to create a monopoly. |
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Joe comes in with a monogram his wife has made of Greg's initials. Agnes tells Charles that they also have a GP flag which they intend to fly by their HQ. Charles laughs and makes a comparison to Buckingham Palace. Agnes goes on to explain that all the people they rely on will wear the monogram. Charles observes that in this way she is creating "a palace guard". Agnes retorts that you can't have a peaceful society without law and order to enforce it. |
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Charles suggests that they have managed well enough without law and order until now. Agnes disagrees and cites Brod, Mason and the Captain as three good reasons why you can't have freedom without authority as these sort of people need to be kept in check. Charles becomes agitated and states he must see Greg. Agnes asks him why. She wonders if its because he doesn't believe what she has been telling him? She repeats that if he is not dead then he will come. |
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Agnes suddenly breaks down in tears and exclaims that she wishes Greg would just walk in and take it all over. At that moment Tom Walter arrives with another man. |
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Agnes is pleased that Tom has arrived. She leaves them with Charles as she wants to check on Mrs Hicks again. Tom introduces Albert Banks to Charles. Charles asks him if he met Jenny and whether he told her about Greg. He replies that he told her what he was doing. Albert says that Greg needs to come to the camp as people are suspicious of the petrol notes. He suggests that they should have a picture of Greg on them. Charles interjects "a king's head?" as that is what he is seeming to become these days. Albert pointedly asks Charles who he thinks should be king? |
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At the gate Les Norton has arrived and is demanding to see Greg. Agnes arrives and tells Mike to open the gate to him. She asks him how he wants to take the 100 gallons. |
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Charles is suspicious of the amount of petrol in the camp. Agnes tells him there are 200 gallons locked in the shed and the rest is underground. Agnes goes on to tell him that she is not sure she can trust him yet. Charles retorts that he is certain he can't trust her. He also tells her that he doesn't believe there was ever a million gallons of petrol at the camp. Meanwhile the Captain and Mitch have reached the perimeter of the camp. The former is intent on getting into the camp through the main gates. |
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Tom shows Les one of the petrol drums. He asks how they pump it up from the ground. Tom replies that they use ordinary petrol pumps powered by their generator. He demonstrates an electric light as proof. |
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Les explains that he doesn't really want the petrol and instead wants to find out for himself and for people he has shown the note to whether the petrol notes can be trusted. He wants to be convinced that there are a million gallons of petrol at Felbridge. |
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Agnes meanwhile is telling Charles that they won't run into trouble as long as everyone doesn't come at once for the petrol that they have. it transpires that they only have 200 gallons in storage. Charles calls this fraud, but Agnes alludes to old money and how the Queen didn't have enough money to pay everyone as her bank notes promised. |
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Agnes states that all currency needs to succeed is authority and that Greg can symbolise the nation and give value to the note. She thinks they should fly Greg's flag wherever they can, get a proclamation issued, tell people which roads are safe, where and when they should trade and show the people a central authority exists. |
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The GP flag is now at full mast. Charles and Agnes head back towards the main buildings. |
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Les confronts Agnes asking to see the petrol. She tells him that it is underground. He persists and asks to see the pumping equipment, but Agnes tells him that they are in a locked bunker and that only Greg has the key and he won't be back for two weeks. She adds that he is welcome to wait. Les says he will go and find Greg himself. |
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Jenny and Hubert arrive. Jenny can hardly believe that she has just learnt from the man on the gate that Greg isn't there after all. Agnes tells her that he is in Norway, but Charles tells her the truth. Despite Agnes' protestations he reveals that Greg has smallpox and is at Cawston Farm. Charles admonishes Agnes saying you can't build a nation on deceit. Les decides to leave with the petrol. |
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Meanwhile, the Captain and Mitch report to the front gate with one of Greg's petrol notes and Mike lets them in. Agnes shows Jenny and Charles into a building in which they can talk and leaves them to it. Charles tells her that Greg became infected soon after the intended rendezvous at Swaffham. Jenny is worried that the children may have become infected too, but Charles doesn't think Greg went back to Sloton Spencer. Jenny decides that she must go to Cawston Farm however ill Greg may be. |
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Agnes tells Mike to make sure no-one leaves the camp and to use a gun if necessary. She also tells Tom to arm himself in case the news she is about to break in the council chamber prompts them to try and leave. Charles tells Agnes that he and Jenny are intent on leaving to find Greg. Agnes asks that he bring Jenny to the council room first. |
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The Captain and Mitch find the petrol store. The Captain tells him that rather than take it with them, they are going to "take possession". |
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Agnes tells Jenny and Charles that they would get into Cawston Farm but they would not get out alive. Agnes asks Jenny what right she thinks she has to see Greg anyway. She suggests that Jenny only wants to see him now because he has small pox and that she didn't care enough to make the rendezvous back at Swaffham. Jenny tells Agnes that she loves Greg and always has. Agnes reveals that she too loves him and has done since they left Whitecross in the balloon. She describes it as the day Greg came to life. |
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She accuses Jenny of not believing in him. Jenny counters that if Agnes hadn't been so busy in believing in him then he might have found his way back to her. Agnes replies that she was indeed afraid that he would have returned to hold her hand, read bedtime stories to the children and dangle their baby on his knee. She realises that those things meant more to Greg than all of their work towards federation and trade. She believes that in contrast to herself, Jenny gave Greg nothing! |
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Mitch and the Captain find Joe and learn that Agnes is definitely at Felbridge. The Captain finds a gun and stops Joe from fetching Agnes, telling him they will find her themselves. |
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Agnes freely admits to Jenny that she prevented Greg from returning to her. She asks Jenny what was more important, her or their country? Agnes goes on to say that if it hadn't been for her they would have achieved an awful lot more and there wouldn't be the danger of things collapsing about them now. She asserts that all that matters to Jenny is that she loves Greg and wants to know that she loves him too. They are interrupted by the arrival of Tom, Albert and Les. |
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They want to know what 'news' Agnes has for them. She tells them that the news is that there has to be a government and that Tom and Charles are there to discuss this and form a council. Others are expected to arrive soon. Les wonders if a government can work without Greg's lead. Agnes says it must and that everything he started will collapse if they leave now and tell everyone Greg has small pox. She knows this would lead to the tearing up of petrol notes and a return to barter. |
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Jenny interrupts to exclaim that she just wants to see Greg. She moves as if to leave and Agnes orders Tom to stop her. Jenny turns and asks her if she really is arresting her. Is she really going to arrest her "in the name of Greg!". Agnes replies "in the name of everything he stands for". |
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Charles reminds Agnes that Greg has not been crowned king yet. Agnes asks him if he would rather be king himself? Charles replies that he doesn't think there is need for a king and that all they need is a loose federation of communities trading with each other. Agnes asks him who would enforce the peace as in her experience the strong always take over the weak. She accuses Charles of wanting society to be so free that any gangster could prey on others and become king. |
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Mitch and the Captain discuss the possibility of operating a protection racket as 'GP' men, illustrating Agnes' fears perfectly. The Captain decides to find Agnes to find out where the guns are kept in the camp. |
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Agnes tells everyone that she only wants them to stay until the council is set up. Les is concerned that she is not asking but rather keeping them there with force. Jenny announces that she has no plans to stay there as one of Agnes' prisoners. Tom tries to reason with her saying authority must "show its teeth". Mike enters with news of the violent murder of Mrs Hicks. Mitch follows him in to tell Agnes that the Captain has Joe and wants to be taken to the armoury. |
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The Captain leads Joe around the camp at gunpoint, whilst Mitch explains that they only have three minutes to comply with the Captain's bargain or he'll shoot Joe. |
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Joe shouts out to his wife who is tending a vegetable patch. The Captain bundles him into a nearby shed where Hubert is lying asleep. Hubert wakes and makes for his gun, but the Captain prevents him. |
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Joe warns the Captain that his wife will soon be at the hut with the barrow. He tries to convince the Captain that Agnes will not hesitate over passing control to the Captain, and will not worry about his life as she is "hard as nails". The Captain decides to take them out of the hut at gunpoint. They bump into Joe's wife. Hubert grabs her rake and hits the Captain with it. He fires his gun and kills the woman. |
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Agnes arrives on the scene with Tom and orders him to take the Captain to the cells. Hubert wanted the man shot immediately, so is disappointed by her order. |
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Later, Jenny, Charles and Hubert discuss Agnes' decision further. Charles thinks Agnes was right in her belief that law needs to be re-established. Jenny wonders who will end up as judge, Greg or Agnes? Agnes meets them and reveals to them that Greg is dead. |
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Agnes explains that he died some weeks ago and that she buried him herself. She thought it was bad enough if news of the small pox got out and that news of his death would have spoilt everything. She explains that she would have told them as soon as the council met, it was just that she didn't want him to die for nothing. She adds that his death must make no difference. |
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Charles talks to Les and Albert about Greg's death. Using Mrs Hicks and Joe's wife as examples, he tries to convince them that the council could act in Greg's name and look after people like them. Les asks if Charles is suggesting that they should make out he is still alive. Charles describes using Greg as a figurehead for the new government. Mike hurries over to tell Charles that three 'councillors' have arrived. Charles asks Les and Albert if they will consider joining the council and having a say in what will happen to the Captain and also in what sort of world they want. |
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Jenny and Agnes are walking together in the camp. Jenny tells her about their plans to turn the electric grid back on and asks if she thinks the Greg would approve. She replies that its whether the council approves as Greg is the council now. Jenny states that "you can't love a council". She goes on to ask Agnes if Greg really did talk about her often. Agnes replies that she wouldn't make something like that up, after all she loved him too. Agnes explains that she loved him for all that he could have done if it hadn't been for his love of Jenny. |
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Jenny explains that she isn't as selfish as Agnes thinks, but rather that she hasn't Agnes' strength. She promises she will not let the council know of Greg's death as she would never let Greg down. They stop near the flagpole which is flying the GP flag and Jenny remarks "The king is dead. Long live the king!" |
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Episode Review It has often been rightly said that
the penultimate episode of Survivors should have been the
series last, given that it serves as the final chapter in
the series-long search for Greg, provides the denouement
of the Jenny-Agnes feud and centres around the birth of a
new government in the name of the series' late hero.
The verbal confirmation of Greg's
death is a long time coming, but the fact that he is not
going to turn up is abundantly clear from the word go.
The episode works because Greg is dead and because Agnes
is carrying on regardless. Unfortunately there is a lot
of exposition to get through along the way. In typical
series three style this is delivered in snatched
sentences which are difficult to follow. By the time the
viewer has remembered where Swaffham is, or worse still
has tried to think through what Agnes' movements may have
been since The Last Laugh, they are likely to have missed
the tying up of several other loose ends. This really is
an episode for the video generation. |
Episode 37 - Long Live the King writer: Martin Worth first broadcast: 25th May 1977 Regular
Cast: designer:
Geoff Powell
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NEXT EPISODE: POWER by Martin Worth
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Last Updated: 25th February 2003
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