User Reviews

The reveal of the Master at the end of episode one was not much of a shock. Anthony Ainley's restraint performance in the second episode is. You end up wondering just what he is up to.

The Master has ended up in the planet of the Cheetah People which is dying. He is transforming into a feline and needs to get out of the planet. This is where the Doctor comes in.

Only the Doctor needs to save Ace, Sgt-Major Patterson and the other teens from the Cheetah People. Curiously it is Ace who takes pity with an injured one, Karra. Ace nurses her back to health by giving her water from the lake.

The Doctor finds out that it does not take long for the other teens taken from Perivale to manifest their hunter instincts.

If the survival of the fittest was rammed home in the first episode. The second episode is about survival from the Cheetah People. It is the Master who shows he is the master of survival. Using one of the humans who has turned to get back to Earth.

The planet is well realised but less so is that animatronic feline. It looks like a stuffed mangy cat. The realisation of the Cheetah People has always been controversial. They look like cuddly Disneyfied felines rather than instinctive hunters. The original plan was for them to be less Cheetah looking.

Trapped in the world of the Cheetah people, The Doctor and co attempt to return home.

The implied bond between Ace and Karra is a little odd, it could have perhaps been developed or explored a bit better, it felt like Ace's development stopped in the previous episode.

It's a mix of ok and not ok, I really like the appearance of the new world, considering it was 1989, it looks decent, the skies particularly look good. Less good looking, the cuddly cheetah people, I can't believe in them as being anything other then large cuddly toys, they could have been designed in a way that made them look more threatening.

It's pretty well paced, the three episode format meant that the action happened quickly, no build up, straight in, sadly some of it is a little unconvincing. Some of the characters are ok, Midge is a bit irritating. The Master, it had been a few years since we've last seen him, he has presence, but it's a poor story for him.

Not a favourite, but it's ok. 6/10