"Sontarans are great... I think that's partly because they come from a very specific world. That back story gives them a great context. Robert Holmes didn't just create a race, back in the 1970s: he created a world that they came from. Even if you never saw that planet, you understood why they did what they did."—David Tennant, Doctor Who Magazine #395
I hate to contradict our Time Lord and Savior, but he's ever so slightly off in his close. It's not that we ever understood why the Sontarans did what they did, but rather that Holmes' vision of the race was so clear that we accepted what they did without question—and that was make war (not love). The "why" could make for a good story someday, but at present their reintroduction is plenty.
The Doctor (David Tennant) receives a call from none other than Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman), calling him back to Earth. The TARDIS materializes and it's a hilariously awkward reunion, with Donna (Catherine Tate) surprisingly smoothing over any hurt feelings that might remain between the former traveling companions. Donna also notices an engagement ring, and Martha tells of her betrothed—Dr. Thomas Milligan, the pediatrician from last season's finale. As was revealed in the Torchwood episode "Reset," Martha now works for UNIT (Unified Intelligence Taskforce), a military organization dedicated to combating hostile alien life. (They appeared regularly during the Jon Pertwee era, at which time the Doctor was their unpaid scientific advisor.) Martha, along with Col. Mace (Rupert Holliday Evans), detail 52 deaths that all occurred simultaneously across the world—and all connected to ATMOS (Atmospheric Omission System), a navigation system that also reduces carbon dioxide emissions and is installed into every vehicle on the planet. (Shit gets done real fast on Doctor Who's Earth; no doubt the HDTV switchover will go far more smoothly in this fictitious universe.) ATMOS was invented by Luke Rattigan (Ryan Sampson), a child prodigy who runs the Rattigan Academy, a private school for smart kids. But prodigy or not, ATMOS seems perhaps too advanced for Earth technology.
UNIT raids the ATMOS factory and finds little more than zombified workers. Donna, however, clues into the fact that nobody's ever taken sick leave or holiday—these people work nonstop. Something alien is indeed at work. Two UNIT grunts investigate the recesses of the factory, only to discover a hidden room containing a disturbing, gestating creation. A diminutive, armored creature appears, challenges them, and quickly takes them out: their weapons are useless. The "stratagem" of the episode's title may have a bigger meaning, but here it alone helps us understand the Sontaran race. They're all about war, conflict and strategy.
The Doctor takes a visit to the Rattigan Academy, and after ruffling the boy's feathers by correcting his grammar, zones in on something nobody else would recognize, a matter transporter. He uses it to find out what's on the other end—a ship full of Sontarans, and then he immediately zips back to Earth, with General Staal "The Undefeated" (Christopher Ryan) hot on his trail. The Doctor briefly defeats the undefeated with a tennis ball to the probic vent (surely the first time for such a maneuver in a sci-fi program). Meanwhile, Donna catches up with her family, and Martha is kidnapped by two UNIT soldiers now under the control of the Sontarans, only to end up cloned. (Surely I am not the only one who found the dripping wet, naked Freema to be sexy as all hell.)
The Doctor hooks up with Donna once again and takes a closer look at the ATMOS installed in the family car, but a gas is released and Staal, hovering above the planet with the hidden Sontaran fleet, kicks his plans into gear. ATMOS all over the world releases its deadly gases, while the Doctor stands idly by and the episode goes to credits.
"The Sontaran Stratagem" is a killer setup for this type of two-parter, which always grabs a couple pre-midseason slots. It's got great action, character, effects work and design (the shades of purple and green that adorn the episode are beautiful). But what really sells it more than anything else are the Sontarans, who are so wonderfully reintroduced like the Daleks before them with virtually no tweaking or revisionism. Christopher Ryan's (Mike of The Young Ones and Marshall of AbFab) Staal is a perfect and believable alien villain with a devious mission. I would have liked to see a clearer explanation of the fact that the Sontarans are a clone race, even though it's always presented some problems since they clearly don't all look exactly alike. Here, there only real tipoff we get is in their mastery of cloning through Martha.
The reunion of the Doctor and Martha is also a high point, as is her schooling of him about the reasons she works for a military organization like UNIT—her aims are similar to his own agenda during his time with UNIT. The strength of the episode is not in the details, but in the execution of them. It moves fast and entertains from start to finish. As always, a tighter dissection will follow after Part Two.
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Ross Ruediger is a San Antonio-based writer. In addition to contributing to The House Next Door, he also publishes The Rued Morgue and writes for Bullz-Eye.
NEXT WEEK: Sci-Fi is taking the Memorial Day weekend off. Tune in on May 30th to see the story's conclusion in "The Poison Sky."
Classic Who DVD Recommendation of the Week: There's more Sontaran goodness to be found in "The Two Doctors," starring Colin Baker and Patrick Troughton.
OK first off, I want to take issue with your classic recommendation and warn viewers to stay far away from "The Two Doctors." For ACTUAL Sontaran goodness, see their debut adventure, "The Time Warrior," or "The Sontaran Experiment," both recently released on DVD and both featuring the adorable Sarah Jane Smith.
I really liked this episode, though the evil consumer product angle has been very well-worked by this point. I am a bit less enamored with the follow-up, which suffers both from a rush and a sense of predictability. However, on the whole this is a very enjoyable comic-strip romp (the green and purple lighting only heightens the sense of comic bookery).
Why on Earth would Sci Fi take a break between episodes? I hope they will at least rebroadcast part one immediately before part two when the show returns after Memorial Day.
Seeing I –
I recommended "The Time Warrior" last week – no doubt the best Sontaran classic story. "Experiment" is decent enough, but I figured with the two week break, recommending a two-parter was unwise. Plus, in order to really get that story's setup, you've really got to see the end of "Ark in Space." "The Two Doctors," while not perfect, is by no means as bad as you make it out to be.
Also, I doubt seriously Sci Fi will rerun Part One before Two. They never have in the past, and it seems like every year there's a weekend where a two-parter ends up being split. It'll probably happen twice this year with the July 4th holiday as well.
I just can't believe no one thought to break the window of the car while Gramps was asphyxiating.
Other than that rather huge gaffe, it was a lot of fun, and I'm looking forward to the resolution. I think clone-Martha having access to Martha's memories is a stroke of genius. However will they figure out that she's a clone?
I enjoyed the sheer fun and energy of this two-parter, which I think is the most successful of the pre-midseason two-parters so far. Series 1 had the clumsy Slitheen, in Series 2 the Cybermen were hampered by their boring creator John Lumic, and last year "Daleks in Manhattan" just never gelled properly. Helen Raynor did much better with this one, dialogue and character-wise.
Catherine Tate continues to go from strength to strength. Her comic timing in the fake-out where the Doctor thinks Donna is saying goodbye is just brilliant. But there's also a real, lovely warmth in the scenes at home with Wilf. And it's also nice to see Donna make a positive contribution to the plot with her "SuperTemp" skills.
The best gag for long-time fans was the shout-out to the hopelessly screwed-up timeline of the UNIT stories in the classic series:
Donna: What, you used to work for them?
The Doctor: Yeah, long time ago. Back in the 70s. (beat) Or was it the 80s?
Hilarious.
Ross -
Yeah, "The Two Doctors" has some good things in it, but the Sontarans aren't among them. Robert Holmes was lumbered with them as part of the brief, and it shows — they wander around contributing nothing to the story, and look ridiculous with their mismatched heights and loose, wobbly collars. What it does have in its favour are excellent performances from the regulars, and some clever and amusing dialogue — my favourite is the gag about Colin Baker's Doctor being mistaken for a police officer (from the "plain clothes" division).
Whenever the subject of "The Two Doctors" comes up, I always recommend this article which, although nominally a review of the "Two Doctors" DVD, is actually a wide-ranging analysis of Doctor Who in the television environment of the mid-80s. (It was written in October 2003, just as the new series was first being announced.) I think it's well worth a look.
Joan -
I just can't believe no one thought to break the window of the car while Gramps was asphyxiating.
This wasn't one of the best of the new series cliffhangers. Actually, the early two-parters for all four series have had a problem with drawn-out, less than exciting cliffhangers. And this one required the Doctor to just wander away from Wilf to peer into the smoke for no readily apparent reason.
Ah, well. Can you stand the agonizing two-week wait to find out what happens next…?
Steven Moffat to take over from RTD in 2010!
Read all about it here.
Steven wrote:
The best gag for long-time fans was the shout-out to the hopelessly screwed-up timeline of the UNIT stories in the classic series
That gag was SO inside that I bet plenty of long-term fans didn't even get it. You've got to be a hardcore DW geek to have gotten a kick out of it (which I of course am).
Yeah, "The Two Doctors" has some good things in it, but the Sontarans aren't among them. Robert Holmes was lumbered with them as part of the brief, and it shows — they wander around contributing nothing to the story, and look ridiculous with their mismatched heights and loose, wobbly collars.
I see where you're coming from and can't really argue it, other than to say I like their attitude in the story, esp after their weak turn in "The Invasion of Time," although its been a while since I last saw that one – maybe the new DVD will prove me wrong. It *is* odd that almost 15 years after they were first introduced, that somehow the Sontaran makeup and costumes could actually look less convincing. Nevertheless, for whatever reasons, I still like "The Two Doctors" and think it's one of the better Colin Baker stories.
It never occured to me that this DVD recommendation would prove to be at all controversial, or indeed that anybody ever even takes my advice on these matters.
Ah, well. Can you stand the agonizing two-week wait to find out what happens next…?
I'm glad somebody else found a way to address Joan's comment so I didn't have to.
One thing that rarely gets mentioned is the Sontarans are from a high gravity world, which is why they are short and stocky but much more powerful than humans. I think this storyline does a great job with them, even the genius kid's acting is a little annoying at times.
It's more obvious in the next part. But Tate makes a very different kind of foil for the Doctor.
"I like their attitude in the story, esp after their weak turn in "The Invasion of Time," although its been a while since I last saw that one – maybe the new DVD will prove me wrong."
It won't. Sorry. Still, the story is great for some wonderfully mad Tom Baker moments.
"It never occured to me that this DVD recommendation would prove to be at all controversial"
You DO know that Doctor Who fans read this, right? We're still arguing over whether the show jumped the shark back in "The Dalek Invasion of Earth"!
[...] from "The Vampires of Venice." It was a nice surprise that they got Christopher Ryan from 2008's "The Sontaran Stratagem" back for a few lines, [...]