Survival (UFO)

Did You Know?

• Michael Billington's first performance as Paul Foster was in this episode; his character's introduction episode, "Exposed", was filmed next.
• Casting director Rose Tobias Shaw had previously cast Michael Billington in an episode of The Prisoner.
• Filming locations included Neptune House at ATV Elstree Studios in Borehamwood and Windermere Hall in London.

Plot

During a meteor shower, a UFO lands on the Moon undetected by SHADO. The alien pilot shoots out a window of the Leisure Sphere, killing an astronaut and nearly killing Paul Foster. Moon mobiles locate the UFO in a crater; when it fires on them, interceptors shoot it down. The UFO crashes into Foster's Moon mobile, throwing him clear and breaking his radio. A search team finds Foster but, unable to hear his warnings, shoots the alien dead.

Reception

John Kenneth Muir considered "Survival" one of UFO's lesser episodes, finding that "not much interesting happens" and that the scenes of the uneasy alliance between Foster and the alien fail to convince, partly because the two suited characters cannot communicate meaningfully. Muir also noted a subplot in which Straker makes black Lieutenant Bradley acting Moonbase commander despite Bradley's concerns about racism, which is supposedly absent in the near-future world; Muir described Straker's response as "paternalistic and a bit condescending. The Anorak Zone ranked the episode 15th, stating it "sums up UFO in many ways" with both good and terrible elements, but scoring fairly high for a dark twist. Video Watchdog called the episode "an interesting precursor to Enemy Mine" and noted that the music and direction create an "effectively ominous atmosphere."