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Home > Categories > Entertainment > Television > Doctor Who - Survival review
BBC DVD is proud to announce the eagerly awaited DVD release of the final story of the classic Doctor Who series - Survival. This 40th Classic Doctor Who DVD release stars Sylvester McCoy as the seventh Doctor, Sophie Aldred as his companion Ace and Anthony Ainley as The Master.
Survival is the final ever story in the original Doctor Who series that ran each year from 1963 - 1989. The one-off TV movie of 1996 starring Paul McGann was the only story between Survival and the start of the new series that commenced in 2005. The Doctor takes Ace to present day Perivale so that she can visit old friends. However most of them have been transported by cat-like Kitlings to the planet of Cheetah People, a race with the power to teleport through space.
Ace is transported and joins up with two of her friends, Midge, Shreela and a boy named Derek. The Doctor follows and encounters the Master, who has drawn him into a trap to try and gain his help. This planet gradually transforms its inhabitants into Cheetah People - an influence to which the Master himself has fallen victim - while they in turn, through the savagery of their actions, cause the planet to move ever closer to total destruction. This two disc release features:
Disc 1:
• Audio Commentaries - With Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred and script-editor Andrew Cartmel.
• 3 x 25 minute colour episodes with default original stereo audio or optional Dolby Digital 5.1 remix.
• Cat Flap - a two-part documentary covering the making of 'Survival'.
• Deleted and Extended Scenes.
• Out-takes - out-takes and comedy moments from the production of the story.
• Continuities - continuities and trailers from the original BBC1 transmission.
• Photo Gallery, Isolated Score, Radio Times Listings, Programme Subtitles & Subtitle Production Notes.
Disc 2:
• Endgame - Why was Doctor Who cancelled at the end of Season 26?
• Search Out Science - a schools programme featuring the Doctor and Ace, with Stephen Johnson and K9.
• Little Girl Lost - A retrospective look at the development of Sophie Aldred's character, Ace.
• Destiny of the Doctors - Anthony Ainley's last appearance as The Master, in these links from the 1997 computer game.
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Review by: vivid (Matt)
Dated: 22nd of July, 2007
I have been a Dr Who fan for many years but I would hardly claim to be a real hard-core fan at all. I enjoy it, and have enjoyed the more recent series more than the older ones because of the much smoother special effects. I never saw any of the Dr Who shows with McCoy as The Doc so I wasnt sure what his personality was but having seen some of it now I must say I think I missed some good years there. He's kinda nutty, kinda kooky, brilliant in the crazy way only a near-immortal time-hopping know-it-all can be, even when he is being patronisingly patient with mere humans.
One thiing about this storyline that sank home to me was the moral parallels between the Cheetah People and their symbiotic relationship with their planet and humans and our relationship with earth. The more they fought between themselves the closer the planet came to destruction. Sound familiar? For the puddy people it was fighting with tooth and claw and whatever lay around at hand like rocks and bones. For us its the weapons we make and use. Bombs and guns. Planes and ships. Tanks and missiles. I kinda liked that little moral tucked in there which I dont often see in other Dr Who shows. If they were there I didnt notice them which means they were too subtle or too well hidden for my young eyes at the time. It would be interesting to see all those old shows again with older eyes and see if I can find the extra layers that zoom over kids heads.
Really neat show even if the special effects were a bit hamfisted even for the late 80's. I especially liked all the extra stuff that came on disc 2. The docos and general info really added a lot of value to the pack to me. $40 is a lot for 3 episodes on their own so it was great to get a huge wallop more for the pricetag.
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