Doctor Who (TV Series) Survival: Part One (1989) User Reviews

Love the opening, it's a bit hit and miss throughout.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 7/10 · 17 October 2019]

Ace wants to head home to Perivale, naturally The Doctor obliges, they are disturbed to find four people have gone missing, and there is a local feline problem.

Survival has always been somewhat disappointing after two stories I would deem absolute classics in Fenric and Ghostlight. It felt a bit like they'd gone back to McCoy's earlier, less successful spells. The appearance of Hale and Pace, I never cared for, it felt the same as when they had Ken Dodd in Delta and The Bannermen, JNT was obsessed with names, rather then talent.

There are pluses, the opening is excellent, the talk of survival is really good, and I like that we get to see Ace in her home setting. I can't offer up any reasoned points as to why I'm not a big fan of Survival, similar to Masque of Mandragora, maybe the story just doesn't appeal to me greatly. I'm not a lover of the cheetah people, they look a little cuddly toy. Ace somehow has gone backwards as a character, she had developed so much this season.

I quite liked it, the pros definitely outweigh the cons. A solid start. 7/10

When time ran out for the Doctor...

[ShadeGrenade · 8/10 · 22 June 2010]

Finding myself at a loose end t'other day, I watched the D.V.D. of 'Survival'. No, not the long-running Anglia T.V. series about wildlife ( which has been revived so I hear ), but the last throw of the dice for '80's 'Dr.Who'. I had put off watching it for a long time as I had thought it might bring back unhappy memories. Not only was this the last story of the original series, but for a very, very long time looked to be the last story full stop.

Written by Rona Munro ( who went on to become an award-winning playwright. Good for her. ), it begins in Perivale, London in the Year Of Our Lord 1989 A.D. Thatcher is still in Downing Street ( though not for much longer ), Wogan has that bloody awful thrice-weekly chat show on B.B.C.-1 ( "Hello me darlings, here we are again at the start of another exciting week..." and so on ), 'Dallas' and 'Dynasty' are on their last legs, and Peter Cook, Benny Hill, Spike Milligan, and Kenny Everett are all alive ( so it was not all bad then ). Some bloke washing his car is spied on by an animatronic cat ( nowadays, it would be C.G.I. ) Said moggy turns nasty, and the man's bucket of water goes flying. The Doctor ( Sylvester McCoy ) has taken Ace ( Sophie Aldred ) home to see how her old 'gang' is doing. They have gone. Spirited away to nowhere.

The Doctor goes to a shop and meets everyone's favourite cat microwaving comics Gareth Hale and Norman Pace, the Lucas and Walliams of their day, now completely forgotten. Finding their puss half-eaten, they look about as concerned as you might expect two comics only in the show as a result of stunt casting ( still continuing alas. Witness the hopelessly clumsy attempt at acting recently by James Corden in 'The Lodger' ) to do. They are not seen again after Part 1 thankfully.

Everyone's gone to the moon...well, some strange planet inhabited by 'cheetah' people who ride horses, hunt humans and eat them. Those who don't get chomped become cheetah people themselves. Cheetah World consists of a forest and a few tents, the sky a shocking pink thanks to nifty digi-box work. As Part 1 draws to a close, it transpires that The Master ( Anthony Ainley ) is around and controlling Tiddles. Judging from his eyes, he seems to be developing feline tendencies himself. Oo-er! ( While all this was happening, over on I.T.V., Alan Bradley ( Mark Eden ) was chasing Rita Fairclough ( Barbara Knox ) round Blackpool in 'Coronation Street'. The viewers were spoilt for choice in those days ).

To Be Continued...

Survival: Part One

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 7 November 2023]

It is all about the survival of the fittest. Alas Doctor Who is about to become extinct.

The final story of the classic series, writer Rona Munro at least acquitted herself well. She became a noted playwright and many years later became the only writer to do new Doctor Who.

The Doctor and Ace arrive at Perivale. She wants to catch up with her old friends. Sergeant Major Paterson tells Ace that she should look up her mother, who thinks she might have been dead.

There are a spate of teenagers that have recently gone missing. The Doctor is more interested in felines. He goes to a corner shop to look for cat food where he is served by Hale and Pace.

The good part of the first episode was the location shooting on the streets of London. It was a eureka element, blending so seamlessly when the show returned in 2005. Then concentrating a lot on the Powell estate.

The negative part was the overuse of the term 'survival of the fittest.' The animatronic moggy looked so mangy. It was a real misstep to show the Master so early on. His reveal should had been left until the end.

Sadly the show did NOT survive.

[A_Kind_Of_CineMagic · 9/10 · 14 April 2020]

Review of all 3 parts:

This was the final story of Season 26 and very sadly no further seasons were made by the BBC (apart from a one off TV Movie in 1996) until it was resurrected - or regenerated - in 2005. Season 26 had been such a huge improvement in quality after a period of lower standards (in my opinion) and it is such a shame that it was discontinued just as it had got back to a good level. On the plus side at least the show went out on a high and showed some quality before it was taken off air and Sylvester McCoy got some more decent material as the Doctor.

Survival is a very good and enjoyable send off even though nothing about the story suggests it is the last of its era apart from a nice little added on bit of dialogue at the very end which works as a subtle farewell.

The story from writer Rona Munro is great I think and it has a really dark, interesting appearance for the Master which gives Anthony Ainley a great signing off from the classic era as the Doctor's arch enemy. He is brilliant in this and the confrontations with McCoy are pretty powerful.

The Cheetah people are excellent, both in concept and in the way the face masks and characterisation is executed. For this era the costumes and effects are great. The animatronic cat is a bit less impressive but is ok and there is a dodgy motorbike crash but the alien world, the cheetah people, the eye colour changes etc all are done really well.

The themes underlying the plot are interesting and the way it is all presented with Ace returning to her old neighbourhood and finding that her friends have been disappearing works really well.

The acting is very good from most cast members most of the time and while there are cheesty aspects and scenes that don't work as well this is a strong adventure overall with a superb final episode. It follows on from the brilliant classic The Curse of Fenric showing there was potential for some brilliant stuff if the show had continued. I think Andrew Cartmel as script editor had really started to help guide the show to improve.

My ratings: Parts 1 & 2 - 8.5/10, Part 3 - 9.5/10. Overall 8.83/10.

My average Season 26 rating: 8.64/10.