Z FOR ZACHARIAH has become something of a phenomenon around the world.

 

The original novel is widely studied as a set text for students.Basically a post-apocalypse story, Z is set in a Welsh valley, which has escaped the worst effects of a nuclear strike on Britain.

 

There are two main characters: a scientist (played in the BBC TV

version by Anthony Andrews) who has possession of a prototype anti-radiation suit - the only one of its kind - and a young female survivor (Pippa Hinchley) who nurses the scientist when he becomes inadvertently infected by fall-out.

 

Andrews is excellent in the role of the scientist, but the story is perhaps a little over-spun at times. The basic idea, however, is clever and the location film work makes pleasant viewing.