Survival is the final serial of the 26th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in three weekly parts on BBC1 from 22 November to 6 December 1989.
Writer Rona Munro approached script editor Andrew Cartmel at a BBC scriptwriting workshop and said that she'd "kill to write for Doctor Who.
And in fact, I think the actors that were cast, from what I was told, were doing all this wonderful expressive facial work, and then these 'Puss in Boots' things were dropped on them – and so then you can't see what they're doing under there.
The other stories to be recorded solely on OB video were: The Sontaran Experiment (1975), Delta and the Bannermen (1987), Silver Nemesis (1988) and The Curse of Fenric (1989).
The majority of location recording was done in and around Perivale, with small sections shot at nearby Ealing, and outside and near The Drayton Court pub.
[citation needed] Script editor Andrew Cartmel wrote a short, melancholic closing monologue for Sylvester McCoy, which McCoy recorded on 23 November 1989, the day after episode one was broadcast and, by coincidence, the show's twenty-sixth anniversary date: "There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, the sea's asleep, and the rivers dream.
He continued to be active in Doctor Who, attending conventions and recording a commentary track for the DVD of the 1981 serial The Keeper of Traken.
McCoy and Aldred would reprise their roles onscreen on a number of occasions: first in a 1990 episode of the educational series Search Out Science; and again in 1993, along with many other former Doctor Who actors, for the Children in Need 30th anniversary special Dimensions in Time.
In 2022, Aldred made a special guest appearance as Ace in the revived series, alongside Janet Fielding as Tegan Jovanka, in The Power of the Doctor, which saw the end of Jodie Whittaker's tenure as the Thirteenth Doctor and was the last story produced entirely by BBC Studios before entering a co-production deal with Bad Wolf.
The part of Karra in this serial is played by Lisa Bowerman, who is now more familiar to fans as the voice of Bernice Summerfield in the Big Finish Productions audio dramas.
She is also a director of many Big Finish productions, and also returned to the Doctor Who series proper when she provided voice-acting work for the animated special Dreamland in 2009.
This serial features guest appearances of the comedians Gareth Hale and Norman Pace, and actress Adele Silva (as an 8-year-old, in her first television role).
Reviewing Survival, David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker described it as "a very good story", with a script that contains "highly imaginative and original concepts".
Ainley's performance was also praised, with the reviewers stating it was "deadly serious and implacably evil, but with occasional flashes of dark humour".
[11] While stating that it was "deeply regrettable" that the original series of Doctor Who had to end with Survival, they added "that it went out on such a high note is, however, something to be thankful for".
[11] The serial was also positively received by Paul Cornell, Martin Day and Keith Topping, who praised Anthony Ainley's performance and considered the show to be "a great end to the series" with "an epic quality".