- A strange disease sweeps through Britain and the world with amazing swiftness. Abby Grant searches for her son. Jenny thrust out of her city life wanders through the country around London trying to find a way to survive.
- As a mutant virus affects more and more people around the world, normal life falls apart. Abby Grant lives an affluent life in the Home Counties but after falling ill with the sickness she wakes to find everyone in her village dead. Jenny Richards is not infected and escapes the ensuing mayhem on foot into the west country.—Flora
- In modern-day Britain, a young woman named Jenny visits her friend, a physician who is working in a city hospital, to ask him to come see a mutual friend who has become ill. The hospital clientele has suffered a number of deaths from a mysterious disease, but the Home Secretary has instructed the hospital staff to keep it quiet. Soon, civilization begins to collapse as the deaths increase, mass absenteeism affects public services, and amenities and the electronic media go off air. Eventually the electricity shuts off, and all public services falter, then eventually cease entirely. Another young woman, Abby Grant, becomes ill with the sickness and wakes after several days to find seemingly everyone (including her husband) has died. Abby goes in search of her son who was at boarding school. There she meets the sole remaining staff member at the school, Dr. Bronson. He tells her that the healthy boys were taken camping by another teacher in the hope of escaping the epidemic. Dr. Bronson believes that those who survive the epidemic will need to re-learn old skills that have been lost in modern society, if they are to survive long-term. While Abby proposes that there will be stockpiles of energy sources and preserved food, he explains that every product used in contemporary society relies on the complex interworking of thousands of people in different regions, each having specialised knowledge and a constant supply of materials - all of which have suddenly vanished. Despondent, Abby drives home and decides to move on in search of other survivors. She cuts her hair short, packs some essentials, then burns down her house, which contains her husband's body, and drives away.—GusF
- A virulent flu bug is spreading through Britain like wildfire. Abby Grant and her husband David are aware that the flu has reportedly claimed many lives in China, but they don't think that could happen in England. Abby becomes ill and takes to her bed. Meanwhile Jenny Richards learns from a doctor that this is no flu bug and that hundreds are now dying. Acting on his advice she flees London for the countryside. Abby wakes days later to find her husband and neighbours dead and fears that she may be the only one left alive. Abby visits her son's boarding school and the only person she finds is an elderly teacher, Mr Bronson. He tells Abby that a small party of boys, including her son, left the school and went into the countryside to avoid the plague. Although there is a chance that Peter may still be alive, Bronson advises Abby not to raise her hopes as all the other pupils at the school are dead. Bronson intends to stay at the school: he relies on a hearing aid and has only one battery left. Abby returns home, packs her things in the family Volvo estate, burns the house down as her husband's funeral, and drives away in search of other survivors.
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What is the broadcast (satellite or terrestrial TV) release date of The Fourth Horseman (1975) in Australia?
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