or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
More Buying Choices
skyvo-direct Add to Cart
£8.53
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Colour:
Image not available

 

Doctor Who - Survival [DVD] [1989] [1963]

Sylvester McCoy , Sophie Aldred    Parental Guidance   DVD
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
Price: £8.53 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Only 3 left in stock (more on the way).
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon. Gift-wrap available.
Want delivery by Tuesday, 21 May? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
Doctor Who - Series 7
Order Doctor Who - Series 7 on Blu-ray or DVD, or visit the Doctor Who Store to discover a universe of Doctor Who DVDs, Blu-ray, toys, homeware and more
Learn about LOVEFiLM
Amazon’s film and TV subscription service with unlimited access to thousands of titles to watch instantly, many in HD at no extra cost. Go to LOVEFiLM for title availability. Enjoy a 30-day free trial and watch across many devices including the Kindle Fire. Learn more at LOVEFiLM.com

Special Offers and Product Promotions

  • Find all the best television shows from the other side of the pond in our US TV store and catch the latest shows in our 2013's Hottest TV page.

  • doctor who 4
    Time and Relative Deals in Space Our Doctor Who Store truly is bigger on the inside. We've got all the DVDs, audiobooks, toys and everything else the Doctor's put his name to.


Frequently Bought Together

Doctor Who - Survival [DVD] [1989] [1963] + Doctor Who - The Curse of Fenric [1989] [DVD] [1963] + Doctor Who : Ghost Light [DVD] [1989]
Price For All Three: £23.54

Buy the selected items together


Product details

  • Actors: Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred, Anthony Ainley, Lisa Bowerman
  • Producers: John Nathan-Turner
  • Format: PAL
  • Language: English
  • Subtitles: English
  • Subtitles For The Hearing Impaired: English
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3 - 1.33:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: PG
  • Studio: 2entertain
  • DVD Release Date: 16 April 2007
  • Run Time: 75 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B000MEYGSG
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 4,687 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)

Reviews

From Amazon.co.uk

The final serial in Doctor Who's original run on the BBC (before it was revived in 2005), this three-episode story stars Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor, who brings his companion Ace (Sophie Aldred) back to Earth, only to discover that a race of feline aliens have turned the planet into their private hunting ground. The aliens, called Cheetah People, are traveling between their dying planet and Earth to kidnap humans for food--and lurking behind the whole scheme is none other than the Doctor's arch enemy, the Master (Anthony Ainsley in his final TV performance as the character). Despite the relative lack of quality of its video cinematography, Survival is a sold serial from the McCoy era, with some genuine suspense and an affectionate (if temporary) send-off for the venerable sci-fi hero.

The two-disc set of Survival is typical of the impressive presentations that the Doctor's adventures have received on DVD. Two commentary tracks have been recorded--one featuring McCoy, Aldred, and script editor Andrew Cartmel, and the other by the winners of a contest sponsored by Doctor Who magazine (this appears only for episode 3). The hour-long, two-part Cat Flap (one of the original titles for the serial) covers the making of the serial from start to finish, and Endgame is an intriguing look at how the program might've continued after Survival had it not been cancelled in 1989. Little Girl Lost is a 15-minute exploration of Ace's character from her debut story until Survival, and Destiny of the Doctors features footage of Ainley as the Master taken from the 1997 computer game of the same name. The extras are rounded out by several deleted and extended scenes, a round of outtakes, the standard photo gallery, text-only commentary track, Radio Times listings (in DVD-ROM format), and a 20-minute episode of a U.K. educational program called Search Out Science, which features McCoy and Aldred as their characters in a discussion of (what else?) time and space. --Paul Gaita

Product Description

Sylvester McCoy stars as the renegade Time Lord in the last ever new story to air on television. It focuses on the Doctor and Ace in their battle against the Cheetah People who are abducting people from all over West London, and with the help of the Doctor's nemisis The Master, taking them to a distant planet.


Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By Mr. Stuart Bruce TOP 1000 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
The release of "Survival" on DVD is a chance for old fans to remind themselves, and new fans to learn, of both the best and the worst of the Seventh Doctor.

'The best' about this serial and this period is the story-telling. "The Cartmel masterplan" (as it's referred to in a bonus documentary), which involved making the Doctor's history and character more mysterious and adding a strong companion with an important story arc, really does have more in common with Russell T Davies' quite adult approach of 2005 than it does with the disparate and mostly nonsense stories of the Colin Baker era. When he's not clowning around McCoy's brooding paternal Doctor is one of the best. This serious approach is a chance for the Master to return to his menacing, scheming best.

'The worst' is the production values. Some of the cats look awful, and some of the supporting cast can't really act. As the bonus documentary "Endgame" explains in detail, the production was under serious threat and it appears as though some members of the production team have already given up. Watching the out-takes, none of them are especially funny- McCoy and Aldred are having a laugh and putting a brave face on what seems like a case of going-through-the-motions, as if they are waiting for cancellation.

Unfortunately "Survival" overall is not quite as good as the two preceding stories "Ghost Light" and "Curse Of Fenric", so if you're new to the McCoy era you should check those other two out first.

This is a two-disc set but with a bit more judicious editing of the bonus features, it could have fit onto one disc. Personally I find that the bonus features being added to most of these Who DVDs are a bit too slow, and involve various members of the production crew repeating the same statements too often. For example the bonus documentary "Endgame" is 45 minutes long, but it could easily be trimmed to less than half an hour without losing anything important.
Was this review helpful to you?
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars 'We may just survive...' 19 Aug 2007
Survival, for those who don't know, was the last transmitted new episode of Doctor Who for seven years, ending a Twenty-Six year run. Well... at least 'Who had ended on a good note.
McCoy's opening season was, truely, the worst season in the history of 'Who. The seconf McCoy season (though a HUGE improvement on the first) was still not perfect. By the time of the third season, Doctor Who was finally back on track with good quality stories, and a Doctor and companion that had finally understood their potential.
Survival represents why the last season was so good. It was a mix of a good Doctor, original companion and just good, solid stories. The concept of 'survival of the fittest' is very strong int this story and that just plays to the viewers good points.
After the 75 min story, we then have 190-odd minutes of extras. This is a two-disk release after all. The Cat-Flap feature is a good insite into the production and last days of 'Who. Then the documentaries of Endgame (which is BRILLIANT) and the Ace Documentary make this release all the beter.

This serial may only be three-parts, but it's still a bargain at the sheer amount of special features.
Was this review helpful to you?
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Ace! 22 April 2007
"Survival" just arrived in Saturday's mail and got a chance to watch quite a lot of it.

Knowing the novelization from Rona Munro is the definitive edition, and how the TV version had to be produced without the gory elements, the fact this story was palatable back then and still manages to retain much of what works for it is stellar enough. Then add another great 5.1 audio remix...

Now add in the extras and documentaries, and this becomes an absolute must-buy. The best documentary of the bunch, "Endgame", has a lot of input from various production, cast, and senior BBC officials as to why the show was canceled and what the future would have been. And if you thought "Eastenders" was a soap opera, you ain't seen nothin' yet. This stuff is great.

As is the piece on Ace's development throughout the 7th Doctor's tenure.

While future releases ('Robot' and 'Timelash'?!) seem a little bit bizarre, 'Survival' was a terrific choice for release, extras and all.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Survival, shouldnt have to
S U R V I V A L, is the on the most AMAZING'est doctor who's ever. Its just a shame Rona Munro didn't get a chance to write anymore.
Published 11 days ago by obi won kenobi
5.0 out of 5 stars The Final of the classic who's
Fantastic final story from the classic series of Doctor Who

Sylvestor McCoy - The Doctor
Sophie Aldred - Ace

Personally I loved this story, it was the... Read more
Published 9 months ago by TARDIS Traveller
1.0 out of 5 stars Great Episode, not signed as stated
Love this but the product listing stated:

Product Description
brand new copy personally signed by ACE Sophie Aldred when she did a signing for us last year. Read more
Published 10 months ago by G. Robinson-byrne
5.0 out of 5 stars A DVD worth the money.
I am a huge fan of both the classic series and new series, but I started watching classic Doctor Who with this very story. It introduced me to the entire classic series. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Doctorq96
4.0 out of 5 stars Come on, Ace, there's work to do...
It's an imperfect product, but there's a lot to enjoy in "Survival"; there were far worse ways the classic series could have bowed out. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Guy Blythman
5.0 out of 5 stars In the end he earned the title of the 7th Doctor
At the time this was broadcast no one knew that was it, JNT had an idea and got McCoy back in to overdub a farewell speech over the last scene. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Mr. R. G. Prizeman
4.0 out of 5 stars How Ironic...
How Ironic that the last episode of classic who is called SURVIVAL, because Doctor Who has SURVIVED!

A Great story, on a great DVD, with great delivery £4. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Benlroberts
5.0 out of 5 stars A final masterpiece for the Classic series
Survival has the dubious distinction of being the last classic Doctor Who serial to be screened, (Although Ghostlight was the last to be shot), but it also stands as a genuine... Read more
Published 20 months ago by TF
2.0 out of 5 stars Dr Who -Survival- "Pretty Poor"
In my opinion, it was episodes such as this that brought about the end of DW in the 80's.
In writing, I'm sure it all looked good, in practice it all looked pretty poor. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Mr. G. P. Schofield
5.0 out of 5 stars "Somethin's Eaten Tiger."
I watching this when I was about 8 years old during it's first broadcast. Excellent final adventure for our favourite Time Lord as he finds himself transported to the planet of The... Read more
Published on 10 Jun 2010 by The Sherinator
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Feedback


Amazon.co.uk Privacy Statement Amazon.co.uk Delivery Information Amazon.co.uk Returns & Exchanges