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Full Version: 26-4: "Survival"
TWoP Forums > Other TV Shows > Sci-Fi and Action Adventure Shows > Doctor Who > The Legacy
darkestboy
I've scanned this board and I didn't find a thread for the last ever episode of the old series.

So I'm setting up because I've just purchased the DVD of this episode.

I liked this one actually. As a series finale, it's a bit anticlimatic but seeing as the BBC cancelled the series, you can almost excuse the writers for not going with something a bit more epic instead. I suppose having The Master there gives it something.

Ace is just awesome, I really have an affinity for her character and her rapport with The Doctor is one of the best I've seen in the old series. Far better than the caustic Six and Peri/Mel pairings to be honest. However the way she kept calling The Doctor "professor" was funny in light of watching Utopia in the new series

The main plot itself was a bit weird and the lack of subtlety in the whole "survival of the fittest" mantra was highlighted a lot. I liked the Cheetah people and there's something very Planet Of The Apes about the way they ride on horseback too. Ace got infected while on that planet but she didn't completely lose herself yet she wasn't totally cured. I would've liked to have learned more about that.

The supporting characters were decent enough though I didn't particularly care for Ace's friend Midge or that idiot of a drill seargeant either. Also I laughed that Squeek was there in Part 3. Someday she'll be Kelly Windsor in Emmerdale.

The Master got a better outing here this time and Ainley's timing was perfect. I liked the fisticuffs with him and The Doctor as well on the Cheetah planet.

As for the ending, now I know what inspired the Angel episode "Not Fade Away". Oh and the extras are pretty extensive stuff.
Carlos1969
Survival is my favorite serial from Season 26. Battlefield was just too silly, and Ghost Light and The Curse of Fenric are too complex.
darkestboy
I haven't seen the others in full and as far as I know there are all available on DVD except for Battlefield.
Carlos1969
Battlefield will be released on DVD later this year.

Survival is one of the better stories from the McCoy era. A few things don't make much sense, but it is straightforward for the most part.

Ace's transformation into a cheetah person was particularly impressive, and the Planet of the Cheetah People was cool as well. Too bad the writers couldn't have come up with a better name.
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