Not with a Bang
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Not with a Bang was a short-lived British television sitcom produced by London Weekend Television in 1990. It ran for seven episodes, each 30 minutes long, before being cancelled due to poor ratings and a stagnant plot.
The show was a dark science fiction comedy, focusing on the end of the human race on Earth. The key premise in this regard is based on the last line of the modernist poem The Hollow Men by T. S. Eliot, that life will end "not with a bang, but a whimper".
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[edit] Premise
The pilot episode of Not with a Bang begins with a spoof episode of the iconic BBC show Tomorrow's World, where Judith Hann is presenting a story on how scientists have apparently isolated the hormone that causes aging in humans. The chemical is then accidentally released from a vial and the effect spreads almost instantly, annihilating virtually all human life on Earth, turning people into little piles of an ash-like compound, before dissipating harmlessly.
The show then follows the plight of the four human survivors - three male, one female - who survive due to various far-fetched reasons - for example being sealed in a sound-proof booth during a pub quiz when the agent strikes the vicinity. The four characters are united by chance about one year after the event, and set up a base of operations in a country cottage. They then spend the next six episodes looking for other survivors, adjusting to life after the end of the world, and deliberating over the repopulation of the human race.
The show relies heavily on a small cast of esoteric characters, which includes a rugby league fanatic (Colin); an average man (Brian) who comes closest to being the group's leader, and a bland couple who struggle over the idea of having children (Graham and Janet). Conversation between Graham and Janet frequently features Graham's reluctance and Janet's determination to have children, as well as Graham's extraordinarily low sperm count.
[edit] Cast
- Mike Grady as Graham Wilkins
- Josie Lawrence as Janet Wilkins
- Ronald Pickup as Brian Appleyard
- Stephen Rea as Colin Garrity
- Judith Hann as herself
[edit] Other Credits
- Robin Carr (director)
- Tony Millan (writer)
- Mike Walling (writer)
