---Review of overall serial ---
Doctor Who: Survival was the last story of Sylvester McCoy's tv outing as the doctor, save for the appearances he made in the 1996 tv movie, which largely starred Paul McGann as the 8th Doctor. I have heard people liken this episode to the modern Doctor Who in style, and I kind of agree, though it still maintains the classic doctor who format and atmosphere.
This story begins in Perivale, the home of Ace, where all her friends are. We learn that there is evil here in this town, as people are strangely disappearing. The Doctor, sensing something is off about this town, and, in particular, the cats which live there, tries to trap a certain black cat, who we later learn is being controlled by the Master, being used as a set of eyes.
It turns out that the master has an allegiance with an alien race of intelligent feline carnivores, the Cheetah-People, and that the people who are disappearing are in fact being transported to their planet. On the planet, they must evade the crafty Cheetah People, or be ensnared by the hunt.
We then learn that the planet itself transforms its inhabitants, metamorphosing the people who have committed violence, and that the planet is unstable do to its nature. After Ace and one of her friends respectively hurt and kill Cheetah-People, they both begin to transform, her friend transforming fully. He is used by the Master as a link to Earth, which everyone else stranded on the planet uses. The Master then, in a climactic battle, clashes with the Doctor back on the planet, but due to his mercy and unwillingness to commit violence, he is transported back to Earth, the master seemingly left for dead on the decaying planet.
This episode is, more or less, a fitting conclusion to the show, ending with a touching monologue by the Doctor as himself and Ace walk off into the distance. Considering the people working on the episode did not know in advance that the show was ending, they did a pretty good job creating a satisfactory ending.
This story begins in Perivale, the home of Ace, where all her friends are. We learn that there is evil here in this town, as people are strangely disappearing. The Doctor, sensing something is off about this town, and, in particular, the cats which live there, tries to trap a certain black cat, who we later learn is being controlled by the Master, being used as a set of eyes.
It turns out that the master has an allegiance with an alien race of intelligent feline carnivores, the Cheetah-People, and that the people who are disappearing are in fact being transported to their planet. On the planet, they must evade the crafty Cheetah People, or be ensnared by the hunt.
We then learn that the planet itself transforms its inhabitants, metamorphosing the people who have committed violence, and that the planet is unstable do to its nature. After Ace and one of her friends respectively hurt and kill Cheetah-People, they both begin to transform, her friend transforming fully. He is used by the Master as a link to Earth, which everyone else stranded on the planet uses. The Master then, in a climactic battle, clashes with the Doctor back on the planet, but due to his mercy and unwillingness to commit violence, he is transported back to Earth, the master seemingly left for dead on the decaying planet.
This episode is, more or less, a fitting conclusion to the show, ending with a touching monologue by the Doctor as himself and Ace walk off into the distance. Considering the people working on the episode did not know in advance that the show was ending, they did a pretty good job creating a satisfactory ending.