Survival

I thought I was about to watch the final story of the classic series, but honestly, this feels more like more of a bridge to the modern series. Kitchen sink drama, relatable use of modern day suburbia, delving into a companions’ backstory in a more meaningful and impactful way than ever before... It’s crazy that this is the last piece of Doctor Who we get for 6 years. Whilst this is definitely not a roadmap for the show that Russell T Davies will go on to great success with in the 21st Century, it’d be hard to argue that cues were not taken from Survival in the making of Rose, Aliens of London, or Paul Cornell’s Father’s Day.

The Doctor in the corner shop carrying way too much in his arms, oblivious of how he looks to humans is about as funny as the show gets - it's iconic. A similar laugh is delivered when he hides in a local’s front garden and is surprised when she gets shirty. I like that Ace’s friend, mentioned in a previous story, shows up here; it reveals a properly orchestrated effort from Andrew Cartmel to build her world. The army man training the kids to fight in the gym who later “helps” them traverse the desolate planet they find themselves on with his “survival” skills is hilarious too. Rona Munro shows a natural flare for humour.

It must be said that the story does not benefit from the predictable quarry setting as much as it’s surprising suburban setting. It becomes a little reminiscent of The Sontaran Experiment, where they don’t have any sets and the crew are left wandering around a single outdoor location trying to make it as visually appealing as possible. The scenes with cheater people chasing our cast around get a tad repetitive but the quality doesn’t drop off too far thanks to the strong dialogue. When they return back to Earth the story loses the plot a little, which is a small shame, but the character moments stay strong.

Perhaps the most surprising turn of all is that of Anthony Ainley, who returns for this final story. Either his acting has mellowed with age or somewhere along the line with the director and a new cast, a better performance is demanded from him. Either way, this is easily his best go at being The Master which is gratifying at this late stage. He got there eventually.

I feel emotionally charged after watching that final, tagged on speech from Sylvester. It’s a good way of marking the end of an era. After a season of twisty, turny, blink and you miss something plots, Survival is dead easy to understand and is a decent way to end the show. It leaves you wanting more and imagining what could have been had the show continued into the 1990s. I was born in 1992, so for me, this is the closest I can get to seeing what the classic show would have looked like had it continued on into my childhood.

Cartmel and his team of writers should be incredibly proud that they managed to put together the best season of Doctor Who since Season 14 which aired 12 years before. Bookended by two decent stories with two excellent stories in between they did the end of the classic series justice.