N.B. there might (or might not) be spoilers in this article!
Doctor Who‘s penchant for giving away the villain in the title of the story can be quite annoying at times. Whilst The Sontaran Experiment is a good title, it does rather ruin the surprise.
Because it was paired with Genesis of the Daleks on its initial VHS release (incidentally the first Doctor Who video I ever bought), I’ve seen The Sontaran Experiment many times. It always seemed churlish to fast-forward through it when it was so short a tale. With this and the ‘familiarity breeds contempt’ adage in my mind, I sat down to watch it again with a bit of trepidation, fearing I’d get nothing much from it this time around.
“Never throw anything away, Harry. Where’s my five hundred year diary? I remember jotting some notes on the Sontarans. It’s a mistake to clutter one’s pockets, Harry.”
The Doctor, The Sontaran Experiment:
Part Two
I needn’t have worried. Watching it again after all these years, I realised how The Sontaran Experiment could quite easily fit into modern Who. (That’s two stories in a row I’ve said that!) It’s pacy, witty and, thanks to being shot entirely on location, looks great. In keeping with the Doctor’s appraisal of his previous Sontaran foe, it’s also ‘nasty, brutish and short’.
There’s some sharp dialogue, including a nice nod to continuity in reference to the Sontarans’ ‘endless war against the Rutans’. We discover that Terry Walsh also looks nothing like Tom Baker. (Unlike The Monster of Peladon Walsh’s heavy involvement here was born of necessity, Tom Baker having broken his collarbone during the shoot.)
I’ve never been quite sure whether or not the Doctor was joking when he said that they’d beamed down to London 10,000 years plus into the future, but judging by Bob Baker’s comments in the DVD extra Built for War then it’s genuine – they’d scripted for an appearance by Nelson’s column, but the budget didn’t stretch that far!
“Identical, yes, the same, no.”
Styre, The Sontaran Experiment:
Part Two
After we’d finished watching the story, we had a discussion about whether we thought Sarah was guilty of racism in initially confusing Styre with Linx. Could she really be accused of displaying the old ‘they all look the same’ attitude when in fact Sontarans do all look the same? Yes, I know in realisation, Styre doesn’t actually look like Linx, but as Sontarans are a clone race, we’re supposed to believe he does.
Of course we might have been guilty of reading too much into it – Sarah was under duress and her confusion does make for a good cliffhanger (ruined by the title or not) – but if anyone else has any thoughts on the matter, send your answers on a postcard to …
"'Never throw anything away, Harry … It's a mistake to clutter one's pockets, Harry.' It's funny because the Doctor contradicts himself immediately."
"The Doctor loves clocks!"
"I know they look identical, Sarah Jane, but this is Styre, not Linx!"
Son of UT Rating: 8/10
