AA4 - The Savages 4

I've spoken earlier about how underrated a companion Steven was, perhaps because of the tragic lack of existing episodes featuring Peter Purves. Thus, like Dodo, I'm a little bit sad to see him go at the end of the episode.

It's not like Steven, though, has displayed any great sense of leadership and diplomacy in the past, so the fact that both the Elders and the Savages immediately nominate him as leader of both their races is a bit surprising. Still, it gives the character of Steven a good exit, and a well written and acted farewell scene, as well. If only that trend carried over to the next story!

The story as a whole was good, if unremarkable, but Steven has a job ahead of him in uniting the two races, as most of the guards wanted no part in it. And they have the guns. Also, it's weird to see a Doctor Who story with lots of guns firing, but no one dies during the course of the story.

Actually, the thing I was most impressed by with this story isn't even about the original broadcast version. I liked the reconstruction job done by the mysterious Elephe, who used the audio from the CD release, with Peter Purves narrating, and some crystal clear copies of the John Cura telesnaps that exist for this episode.