Series 1 Episode 1

Series 1 Episode 1
Directed by	Wayne Tourell
Written by	David Fox
Original air date	April 24, 1999
Run time	25:00
Cast
Starring	Dwayne Cameron - Bray Beth Allen - Amber Caleb Ross - Lex Amy Morrison - Zandra Ryan Runciman - Ryan Ashwath Sundaresan - Dal Victoria Spence - Salene Michael Wesley-Smith - Jack Zachary Best - Paul Sarah Major - Patsy Jaimee Kaire-Gataulu - Cloe Antonia Prebble - Trudy Daniel James - Zoot Meryl Cassie - Ebony Keegan Fulford-Wierzbicki - Glen
Chronology
→	Series 1 Episode 2

Series 1 Episode 1 is the 1st episode of The Tribe. It originally aired on April 24, 1999 on Channel 5 in the UK.

Synopsis

Bray and Trudy

A black van drives down a suburban street, urging people to stay indoors and await further instructions. Inside one of the houses, Trudy and her parents are watching a television broadcasts with information on the evacuation of children under the age of 18 years. Trudy does not want to leave her parents, but they beg her.

It was a dream recounting the day she was forced to evacuate, and Trudy wakes up. Bray arrives, trying to comfort her, then tells her they have to leave for the City because the Roosters are moving in. He suggests they leave for Sector 10, but Trudy is reluctant to go back there as it's Loco territory.

They move towards the City and on their way nearly bump into the Roosters twice. They walk through the countryside and by the coast before arriving in the City by nightfall, as Bray said they would. He leaves Trudy by a tunnel as he goes to scout the area and see what he can find.

Amber rescues Cloe

Cloe wanders a deserted street in the City with her teddy bear in hand as the howling sirens of the Locos police car can be heard nearby.

Meanwhile, Amber and Dal are busy hiding from the Locos while making their way to the countryside. They hide behind some cardboard boxes and wait for the Locos to drive past. Just then, they spot Cloe in the middle of the road, petting a cat. The Locos are approaching with great speed and will surely pick her up. Amber skates into the middle of the street on her roller blades, grabs Cloe and dashes behind the cardboard boxes just in time for the Locos not to spot them.

Amber and Cloe hiding from the Locos

When Amber initially tries to communicate with Cloe, she doesn't respond. Dal is intent on getting to the countryside and wants them to leave Cloe behind, but Amber refuses to leave a child in need of help. She finally makes a connection with Cloe, and gets her to lead them to the playground she came from. Dal speaks of his dreams of a life in the country, but Amber is not as keen on moving to the countryside as she used to be. She says it's not that easy to leave - that it feels like running away.

They arrive at the playground, and look on as as Patsy, Salene, Paul and Bob are playing. Amber and Dal introduce themselves to Salene, who tells them she was going to give them up before she found the playground. She thought they could have a play one last time.

Lex’s attempt to join the Locos

At the rail yards, Zandra is getting more and more anxious by the minute as she, Lex, Ryan and Glen are waiting for the Locos to arrive. Glen doesn't trust Lex and his plan, so he hassles him. Lex tells both Zandra and Glen to shut up – Zoot will keep his word.

Glen becomes very suspicious of Lex. He finds it highly unlikely that they'll be allowed to join the Locos just like that, and thinks Lex will be in the tribe while the rest of them might not be so lucky. A fight erupts between the two, but they are interrupted upon the arrival of the Locos.

Ryan and Lex negotiating with the Locos

As the two groups meet, Zoot is not interested in small talk and cuts right to the chase. He wants to know what Lex's bag contains, and he takes their food. When Zoot asks why they want to join the Locos, Lex responds "You guys are the best outfit around. You cut it, you're really..." before running out of words. Desperate to find something to say, Lex takes a look at the nearby trains and reads graffiti saying “Loco's are scandalous” out loud. The Locos burst out in laughter while Lex, Ryan, Glen and Zandra make a run for it.

With the Locos not far behind, Zandra, Ryan and Lex make their way over a wall by the use of some piled boxes. On his way over, Lex kicks the top box, causing Glen to be trapped in the alley and captured by the Locos. The three who made it hide out in a car which Ryan is unable to start. Zandra weeps, and Lex promises he'll get his revenge on Zoot.

Merging groups

Near the playground, Lex, Ryan and Zandra hear Bob barking and go to inspect. Amber is about to share the food with Salene and the others, but Lex demands she hand it over to him and threatens to harm the kids if she doesn't. His speech is cut short by the Locos who jump out from behind a wall. Lex and his gang run one way with the Locos not far behind, while Amber and her gang run the other. Lex, Zandra and Ryan are cut off by the Demon Dogz and hide behind a shopping trolley. When the Locos arrive, a fight erupts between the two rivaling tribes, and Lex, Ryan and Zandra are able to escape.

Amber and her gang walk through an empty car park which leads to a seemingly deserted shopping mall. Amber talks to the kids, and discovers that Paul is deaf, while Dal scouts around for food. Unable to find anything, Amber suggests they share what they have.

Lex, Ryan and Zandra are trapped by Jack

When spotting Cloe's teddy bear in the car park, Lex and his gang realise that Amber and the others made their way into the mall. They walk in just as Amber is about to share the food out again, but a grille drops behind and in front of them, creating a cage in which they are trapped. Jack reveals himself to be the boy responsible for capturing them, and offers to give Amber and the others a tour of the mall. When asked why he saved them, Jack explains that he needs help to find food. Dal appreciates Jack's help, but is still intent on leaving for the country first thing in the morning. Amber does not seem to agree.

The younger ones are tired, and Amber kindly offers a blanket for them, while the rest will just have to make do. Jack leads them into the bedding store where there are beds with clean sheets for them all to sleep on. As the night falls, Cloe is upset because her teddy is missing. Amber comforts her. Captured between the grilles, Zandra has found a couch which they can sleep on for the night. Lex is still angry and takes the couch for himself, while Zandra is allowed to sleep on his lap. Ryan has to sleep on the cold concrete floor using Cloe's teddy as a pillow.

Trivia

• Early scripts released in the 2011 book Keeping the Dream Alive showed that Tai-San was meant to appear in this episode. But her introduction was pushed to Episode 15 for unknown reasons. Interestingly, another character named "Sammy" was also meant to appear in this episode instead of Cloe. But it is unknown if this is the same Sammy who would debut later in Series 4.
• The episode was originally going to start with Cloe being rescued by Amber and Dal, instead of Bray and Trudy, both of whom were meant to be introduced later. However, creator Raymond Thompson felt the context of the show was not clear and decided to rearrange and write new scenes. Because there was not enough time, the scenes of the evacuation van, Trudy bidding her parents goodbye, and Bray and Trudy fleeing the Roosters was actually filmed in the vicinity of Ray's home during the same week that the opening titles were shot. This was done so as to not affect the tight filming schedule.

Errors

• Although it is later revealed that Lex can't read, he was perfectly able to read the graffiti on the train.
• The pink and blue in Zandra's hair changes sides three times throughout the episode. This is because the shots were flipped.

Quotes

"There's no future here. The tribes have got the city. Let them live on tinned food."
"And what happens when the tinned food runs out? Do you think they're going to leave you alone in your country estate?"

―Dal and Amber

""Hi. I'm Jack, and I think you've got something to say to me."
"Like what?"
"Well, in my day it was thanks, but times are changing."
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it."

―Jack introducing himself to Amber