I've heard critics call this show the (upper) middle class vs. the lower classes. I've only seen S1 but we do see characters like Tom as lazy & untrustworthy while Abby & Greg are more noble & empathetic. Garland comes off well for an aristocrat while union man Wormley is a neo-fascist. Certainly our heroes made mistakes along the way & weren't perfect but they were trying while others reverted to thuggery & back stabbing.
What do you think?
Watch season 2 and 3 then you'll see alot of the class warfare really come through.
"We've got movie sign!"
Yes the working class were generally untrustworthy apart from Jack the Liverpool docker maybe.Out of order!
shareI've just started watching this for the first time in years and the thought of surviving with Abbie, Greg and Lucy's party would have me running for the hills.
shareWormley is a "management class" person - he doesn't actually work or get his hands dirty - he's not a "working man", he's a union boss.
Tom and Hubert are also not "working class" - Tom was certainly a "drifter" before the plague, a homeless man who lived by scamming others and petty crimes. Hubert was likely the same. Both are drunks and both are willing to lie and steal without any qualms.
The actual working class characters in the show are generally minor characters, with the exception of Jenny (do we consider a secretary as a middle class or a working class job?).
I agree that the series seems biased. I've only watched the first ten episodes but it seems Tom Price is a stereotypical dirty, homeless man but one who murders and is also very lazy. To me it is a bit reactionary. Yes, the former union boss was also some kind of neo-fascist authoritarian monster. Was this what the book was like? Was the author a fan of Ayn Rand or something?
I hope it gets better class biased wise. I'm going to watch the whole series.
I must confess I was surprised when I saw a BBC programme depicting a union boss as a villain and an army colonel as a wronged/innocent man - I would imagine the modern BBC would have it the other way round!
Remember though that union bosses were very unpopular in the 70s in many quarters due to the strikes and disruption that plagued that decade.
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