Who Review: Survival

Perivale, a suburb of London, 1989. Ace persuades the Doctor to take her home so she can check in with her friends. It’s Sunday, so there’s not much happening. The streets seem deserted, quiet, even for a Sunday. And Ace’s friends are nowhere to be found, except for one girl who confirms what the papers are saying: people have been going missing. No explanation, just gone. The Doctor, meanwhile, is fascinated by the local cats–in particular, a black cat that’s behaving very strangely, hissing, and flashing unnaturally yellow eyes. There’s more to those unnatural eyes, however: a malevolent evil is controlling both the cat and the predators that are snatching people from Perivale. As the Doctor and Ace soon discover, a game of cat and mouse is underway on a dying planet where only fittest will survive. The question is, how fast can they run…?

SPOILER ALERT!! My comments may (and likely will) contain spoilers for those that haven’t seen this serial. If you want to stay spoiler-free, please watch the story before you continue reading!

For the final story in the “Ace Trilogy,” as well as the final story of season 26, and what would turn out to be the final story of the Classic Series, the Doctor takes Ace back to her home town of Perivale. The theme of the story is, as the title suggests, survival, with people fighting for their lives as Cheetah People snatch people from Earth to hunt in their home world. At the heart of everything, however, is the Master who is trapped on the Planet of the Cheetah People, and has manipulated events to bring the Doctor to him. He believes the Doctor can figure out a way to get him home and is willing to do whatever it takes to make him help. There is urgency to the situation. The planet has an unusual power over its occupants, turning them into Cheetah People. Even those who have been there a relatively short time are feeling the effect, and the Master, with his long canines and yellow eyes is further along than most. He must leave before the planet’s influence takes permanent hold. Added to that is the fact that the planet is in its death throes, and the Cheetahs’ fighting only hastens the planet’s fiery end.

Scottish writer Rona Munro, one of only a handful of women to write for the Classic Series, serves up a fine story here. The idea isn’t complex, but she has layered into it themes and metaphors to do with hunting, survival, war, and man’s descent into jungle attitudes, that don’t detract from the plot but hang around in the shadows waiting to be seen. It wasn’t filmed last, so there was no thought at the time of writing or recording that this was possibly the last ever Doctor Who story. However, it’s hard to dispute that it’s a fitting finale, what with the revelations about Ace, and the final stroll off into the distance. The Doctor’s last monologue was actually written by script editor Andrew Cartmel after it was confirmed the show wouldn’t be returning. Sylvester McCoy recorded it on November 23–the show’s 26th anniversary–after episode one had already been broadcast, to be overdubbed onto the end of the last episode.

Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred are by now at the peak of their Who game so the performances are excellent. From both of them we get a good mix of drama and humor. Even child actress Adele Silva, who later went on to star in the long-running British soap Coronation Street, does a great job as Squeak, little sister of one of the guys who gets Cheetah-fied. The Master is not merely an add-on to the story. He drives the action, goading the Cheetahs to chase the humans, maintaining a tentative hold over them while he connives his exit from that world. This is considered by many to be Anthony Ainley’s finest moment as the Master; a lot less theatrical than in past stories, which is no doubt helped by the quality of the script. I concur with this assessment.

There are many things about the story that work. For example, the fact that Ace is one of the first to start feeling the effects of the planet. The episode two cliff hanger,  when she turns to camera with yellow eyes, is very effective. The audience is left to wonder if we’ve lost Ace, and throughout the next episode she struggles between the feeling of power and freedom that comes from the Cheetah Planet, and her desire to stay with the Doctor and go home. We have the fitness and self-defense instructor whose theories are tested when he encounters the deadly cats on horses, and is finally a victim of his own bravado when he is shown to be the weakest among fitter creatures. The struggle between the Doctor and the Master, so fitting for the show’s finale, that ends with them in hand-to-hand combat while the Cheetah Planet heaves and convulses around them. The Doctor, eyes yellow, finally comes to his senses, summing up one of the main points of the whole story: “If we fight like animals, we’ll die like animals!” The Doctor transports back to Perivale, but the Master is nowhere to be found. Did he die with the planet? Or did he escape? Typically of the Master, we are left to wonder.

For the most part, the special effects are good. The look of the Cheetah Planet, with it’s red sky, volatile volcanoes, and eerie landscape is very well done, even by today’s standards. The Cheetah costumes are a bit of a let down, though they did well to allow the actors’ mouths and eyes show through–two elements that are normally the biggest fail in monster costumes. While an improvement, the costumes still seem too much like costumes. The yellow eye effect is good, using a combination of contact lenses, and post-production effects. The switching between normal eye and cat eye is seamless. One line I really don’t like is when the Doctor says, “So, they’ve taken you away to another planet” when Ace is abducted. It’s awkward, clunky, and way too expositional. After all, when we cut away and see Ace on this desolate, strange-colored world with all these Cheetah People, I think we get the idea that she’s not in Perivale any more.

“Survival” is a good story, worth watching. Given it wraps up the “Ace Trilogy,” it’s probably “Must-See” if you’ve followed the previous two adventures. Season 26 was, I think, the Seventh Doctor’s best season. Whatever the reasons for the show’s demise, I don’t believe the quality of stories had anything to do with it. Indeed, the fact that Rona Munro was asked to write for Series 10 of NuWho (see “Eaters of Light”) is testimony to the caliber of writers Andrew Cartmel was able to call upon.

So, the Doctor and Ace walk off into the sunset, and the curtain falls on Doctor Who–at least for the next 16 years (not including The Movie–see the next Who Review). There was no official “axing” of the show. Season 27 was not commissioned, and was never commissioned. A year later, the Doctor Who office at the BBC closed for the first time in 26 years. The powers-that-be at the BBC gave all kinds of reasons as to why Doctor Who wasn’t being picked up again. They wanted to open up room in the schedule for new shows. Doctor Who wasn’t what it used to be, and was looking dated compared to American sci-fi. The BBC didn’t have the budget or the inclination to invest in Who, and no-one seemed willing to take it on. On reflection, I think it’s true the show needed a rest. While Who had it’s core fandom, the general public took it for granted and lost interest. A break was necessary to re-kindle interest in Doctor Who and its strange blend of British historical/contemporary/sci-fi/family drama. Also to allow time for the next generation of Who writers and producers to hone their skills and be ready to take it on.

It’s often said you don’t know how much you miss something until it’s not there. I think this was definitely true with Doctor Who. At the time, the fact it wasn’t coming back sucked. But in hindsight I think it was the best thing that could have happened.

That’s what I think, anyway. What do you think? Feel free to comment on “Survival,” Classic Who in general, or the show’s “cancellation” below!