"Survival of the fittest..."
Writer: Rona Munro
Format: TV
Broadcast: 22nd November - 6th December 1989
Season: 26.04
Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Ace
Synopsis
The Doctor takes Ace back to her home town of Perivale, only to find that something is very, very wrong. Many of Ace's old friends and neighbours have disappeared, whilst domestic pets become victims of unseen killers. Will the hunger become the hunted when only the fittest survive?
Verdict
Survival was a great story of Doctor Who and sees the Classic era come to a consistent end on a positive note. With the production team and everybody involved with the series, when this story was made nobody knew that it would be Doctor Who's last for seven years and the last to be apart of a television series for sixteen years. As chance would have it, the story was still very strong and serves as a fantastic way to draw the series to a close. It's a shame that a twenty-seventh season was not commissioned and I'm sure if they were given the opportunity to finish how they would have liked, the writers and production team would have given us a truly memorable sendoff into the sunset. Instead, what we got was rather abrupt but in tying in with the novels and audios, it manages to work which is wonderful. I think this story now holds the record for being my latest ever story as I actually didn't start part one until around 5.15am, something that I am not really used to. As part of a barmy scheme I was doing an all nighter and there was of course going to be some Doctor Who along the way to fill in the time. I was keen to watch a Seventh Doctor and Ace story after my recent blogged adventures featuring them of Illegal Alien and The Harvest. There were no Cybermen this time and there was no Hex, but even in this very last story, excluding The Movie of course, we got to learn quite a lot about Ace and her past. For the first time I noticed just how different the McCoy era is to any other of the Classic eras in the series. The black and white stories have their own feel and atmosphere that neutrally comes with the picture but I would say that there was no real change in things between the eras of Jon Pertwee and Colin Baker but with Sylvester McCoy, it was noticeably different. I'm not saying that's a bad thing at all as if gives the era its own identity but I thought the accompanying music, direction and of course the Seventh Doctor himself certainly bring about a new era. The Doctor taking Ace back to Perivale was a nice gesture but as luck would have it something was going very seriously wrong. Nearly all of Ace's friends had vanished without barely a trace and there were strange cats in the area that were catching the Doctor's attention. The Kitlings were an interesting species and I was very intrigued by their ability to literally jump from world to world. I must say it is a rather envious trait to have but I guess I should just be happy that I'm not a cat! The Cheetah People were similar to their Kitlings but were far more intelligent as was obvious by just their appearance. Their arrival on Earth and kidnapping of humans was quite spectacular and quick which I really liked. I must admit I wasn't a fan of Paterson at all as he was just annoying and his inability to accept what was right in front of him was frustrating. However, I really loved Karra and I thought her relationship with Ace was excellent. I wasn't expecting her to revert to her human form when she died though so that was interesting touch. The return of the Master was from subtle as has been the case in previous stories featuring Anthony Ainley's incarnation, with Time-Flight and The King's Demons immediately coming to mind. He was shown on screen within the first few moments and whilst that made the part one cliffhanger a little redundant, I liked how they weren't hiding the return of the Master who hadn't actually appeared since The Trial of a Time Lord. I wasn't overly struck on his cooler and darker portrayal of the Master here but I can let that slide due to the infection of the Cheetah virus he was suffering from. His attempts to maintain control over his mind were very good. Ace getting possessed was excellent as it served as a superb part two cliffhanger but also as the resolution to getting off the dying planet. The climax was exciting which is always enjoyable and overall, this was a very good story. It does have its flaws, but the Classic era bows out on what is undoubtedly a positive note.
Rating: 8/10
Grand one.
ReplyDeleteAce rock on it. Her crimson t-shirt fits her courage. She sure was nice to help the cheetah-person.
The biggest drama was well the Doctor vs the Master. Both struggling with the darker sides. While the Master fell, the Doctor overcame it.
This got me ideas:
ReplyDelete1. Pete's World version of Ace meets a he-Sylurian and helps him as the N-Space one help a Cheetah-Person. Instead of being 'Eww... a freak', she's all 'He#'s a person who deserves to survive as humans'. She can tend to wounds. She can even press his ear on her own chest so she can use her heartbeat to sooth him after some near-death. The two fall on love, drawn to each other's looks but more to each other's personalities such as courage, compassion, honour, and jolliness; and also a reverence for animals modern and prehistoric.
2. When the Simm Master calls some wild ones savages and mention the Dcotor's dark moments, Ace of N-Space can point out his hypocrisy with how he was sick with Cheetah virus and how he was weak to give to ti whyle the Doctor prove stronger by letting his conscience guide him. I chose the Simm Master coz he prove the darkest Master so far; going into berserk rages, slaying versions of himself such as Missy, refusing to help the Doctor as some versions did, mocking people he leaves to die and actinga s if murders be games, and pointing out humanity's darkness to the heartbroken Doctor.
3. The N-Space Ace would remember the cheetah people and sigh, hinting she miss the freedom of being part one. She could pet a chetah who was captive and say she knows how it feels, showing they be kindrod spirits.
4. The Pete's World Ace can wear a headband colour to look cheetah (cotton with cheetah colorus print on), fititng his wild side. She can admit she felt more comfortable on the wild, showing she's meant for the he-Sylurian who looks after animals. She can enjoy Dinosaur (2000), The Land Before Time movies, the Jurassic Park ones, the Ice Age ones, Brother Bear ones, The Lion King movies, Tarzan ones, and more. She can use Nitro-9 but also a dao sword, a knobkerrie club, a kukri knife, a nunchuck, a boomerang, a Persian bow and arrows, an African buckler shield, and bolas. And very grand with Shaolin Kung Fu, Baguazhang, Tai Chi, Wing Chun, Mardani khel, Obikawan kobudo, Greek wrestling, Arab archery, nguni stick fighting, Nuba Fighting, Bajiquan, and Jujutsu; obviously to fight, but also to strengthen her body along with her mind and soul. She can do a version of Tarzna's call and do chest-beating.
5. The 9th Doctor can fall to darker urges when Mr V tries to trick him to slay hsiw ar self, untyl Rose reveasl V to be the Valeyard his darker self and how his chocie to try and froget his war self be tainting him and how the war one prove better by resisting the Valeyard's trickery.