Many happy returns!
Maybe 20th August should be known as ‘Survival’ Day: it’s the birthday of the Who story’s three leading actors! Yes, in an amazing quirk of coincidence, the Doctor, his companion and his returning nemesis were all born on the same date in different years.
20th August 2023 in particular is a very special birthday for Seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy, who reaches 80 years of age, while Sophie Aldred (Ace) turns 62 on the same day. It’s also worth mentioning in passing that Alan Wareing, the director of ‘Survival’, also turned 80 just a few days ago, on 16th August. A very happy birthday to them all! Meanwhile, Anthony Ainley, who played the Master from 1981 until 1989, also shared his birthday with Sylvester and Sophie, and would have been 91 on 20th August; he passed away in May 2004 at the age of 71.
The 1989 Doctor Who story that unites them all is unique for a number of reasons. Most notably, ‘Survival’ was the final story of the classic series. The last episode closes with an elegiac call to arms by the Doctor, which was dubbed over the closing scene a couple of weeks before transmission. This speech was written by script editor Andrew Cartmel (at the instigation of producer John Nathan-Turner) after the story had completed production, when it became evident that the series was unlikely to return any time soon. By another remarkable coincidence, Sylvester McCoy recorded this speech on 23rd November 1989 – the twenty-sixth anniversary of the programme’s first episode being broadcast.
‘Survival’ also marked the only time that Ainley’s Master encountered the Seventh Doctor, and hence the only time that McCoy, Aldred and Ainley appeared together on screen. The story, about a sentient planet which has the power to transform its inhabitants into animals, was written by Rona Munro, who in 2017 would become the only writer to have crafted stories for both classic Who and the revived series.
‘Survival’ was well received at the time, and its reputation has only improved in the decades since. While it was sad that the classic series of Who had come to an end, at least it had gone out on a high, with a well-crafted, imaginative story with good production values. With its urban setting and adult themes, in many ways the story set the template for how the series would return under Russell T. Davies.
Commentary on all three episodes of ‘Survival’ is available from Fantom in our Who Talk series, featuring reminiscences from cast and crew including the birthday girl herself, Sophie Aldred, plus Andrew Cartmel and Rona Munro. Meanwhile, Karen Louise Hollis’s biography of Anthony Ainley, The Man Behind the Master, is available in paperback and on CD read by John Banks.
