Doctor Who - The Sontaran Experiment "Not today, thank you!"

Right, ok, so its that time once more for another post on this odyssey blog and the post I will do is a new one with new content and it will be on another Doctor Who story and that story is The Sontaran Experiment, the third story from Tom Baker's era.  But after 42 years how does it fair today???  Well let's find out....

Oh and the usual warning is coming up....

SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!

STORY

Right, so the story takes place just after the events of the previous one "The Ark in Space" and it begins with the Doctor (Tom Baker), Sarah (Elisabeth Sladen) and Harry (Ian Marter) beaming down to Earth, which appears to be uninhabitated.  The Doctor then starts to work on the transmat receptors for the space station above (from the previous story also) and tells Harry and Sarah to go off and have a wander.  However as Harry and Sarah wander about, Harry slips and falls down a crevasse, leaving Sarah to go back and find the Doctor, but he is nowhere to be seen.

Sarah, however soon finds an astronaut called Roth (Peter Rutherford) who is distressed and tells her that he was tortured by an alien that lives up in the rocks along with its patrolling robot.  Roth then takes Sarah toward the astronauts campsite but he is reluctant to meet with them as he had seen the leader of his team, Vural (Donald Douglas) apparently collaborating with the alien.

Meanwhile, the Doctor is taken captive by the other astronauts, who on the Doctor telling them he came from the space station Nerva, don't believe him as they heard that Nerva was a myth.  Vural, the leader, tells the Doctor that they arrived on Earth in answer to a distress signal and they came to investigate but they were soon stranded as their ship was vapourised and their crew of nine vanished one by one.  The Doctor however is soon rescued by Sarah when she arrives with Roth, who Vural and his men chase after, making a distraction for the Doctor and Sarah to leave.

As the Doctor and Sarah try to escape and find Harry, the Doctor soon also falls down a crevasse and Sarah is captured by the patrolling robot along with Roth and they are taken to the alien creature, which turns out to be a Sontaran warrior named Styre (Kevin Lindsay).  Roth tries to escape but Styre shoots him dead and then takes Sarah for interrogation and subjects her to his torture methods.  And we soon learn that Styre has been capturing the astronauts to learn about their weaknesses so that the Sontarans can launch an invasion on Earth.   

And its from here that the Doctor and his companions must try and find a way to stop Styre from carrying out his evil plans....

THOUGHTS

I think its safe to say that "The Sontaran Experiment" isn't really a classic story, given that its just a two-parter, it doesn't have the scope to be one and its more like a filler story for the season.  However that being said its still an entertaining story with some good moments in it and it also makes good use of its external locations as it was filmed up at Dartmoor (well actually it was shot all on videotape and was the first ever story to be recorded that way).

The story also makes a welcome return for the Sontarans as the villains as they make for one of the more memorable aliens in the show outside the regulars that we are so used to in the Daleks or Cybermen.  This was also the 2nd story to feature the actor Kevin Lindsay in the role, who apparently said that the suit he wore was so heavy he could not leave the Dartmoor location for breaks and had to say there as well as use a stunt double for his fight scene with the Doctor.  The story's production was also notable for Tom Baker sustaining an injury during filming as he broke his collarbone and he had to wear a neck brace, which was disguised under his costume's long scarf.    

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: may contain spoilers)

Moving onto the performances, well they are mainly good here with one or two exceptions.

Starting with Tom Baker who is excellent as ever here as the fourth Doctor and even though this was only his 3rd story (but it was the second one recorded and first to be produced by the show's then producer, Philip Hinchcliffe) he is starting to become quite comfortable in the role already.

Tom naturally has some great moments in the story that include the opening scene where the Doctor tries to repair the transmat receptors and he tells Sarah and Harry to go off and do a recce.  And the Doctor says to them "Ah, Sarah. You're looking well. Look, er, it's going to take some time to do the whole lot. Why don't you two make the most of it?".  And Sarah puzzled says "Make the most of what?" and the Doctor says "Glorious day. Beautiful unspoilt countryside. No one's set foot here for thousands of years".  And Sarah sharply says to the Doctor "What you're trying to say is that you're busy and you'd like us to push off!" and the Doctor says to her without looking "I'd phrase it more elegantly myself, of course. Yes".   And as they are about to set off the Doctor says to them "Trafalgar square is that way!  Mind the traffic!". 

Then there is the scene where the Doctor, after narrowly avoiding being killed by Styre, who shot at him later on in the story, meets up with Harry.  And Harry says to the Doctor "Doctor, I thought you were dead" and the Doctor tells Harry "Not me. Piece of the synestic locking mechanism from Nerva's rocket. Popped it in my pocket" and he produces a piece of metal from his pocket and Harry says "Fortuitous" and the Doctor corrects him "Foresight. You never know when these bits and pieces will come in handy!" and he throws it away!  And then the Doctor says to Harry "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!".  

And lastly there is the scene where the Doctor (SPOILER!!) having defeated Styre goes and contacts Styre's commanding field Marshal.  And the Marshal looks outraged at seeing the Doctor and says "What is this?!" and the Doctor says "Your Waterloo, Marshal. Your intelligence mission has been destroyed and your invasion plans are in our hands. One move across the buffer zone, Marshal, and your entire fleet will be destroyed!".  And the Marshal says to the Doctor "We will destroy your planet!" and the Doctor mockingly says to him "What, without Styre's report?!" and the Marshal threatens the Doc saying "Next time, Earthling, we shall utterly destroy you!" and he signs off, leaving the Doctor to smile saying "Not today, thank you!".

Elisabeth Sladen is great as usual as Sarah-Jane Smith and here her character had already met a Sontaran in her debut story "The Time Warrior" so when she sees Styre for the first time, she mistakes him for Linx. 

And this makes for a good moment when Sarah looks at Styre wearing his mask and she utters in surprise "Linx!" and Styre then moves towards her and says "The female of the species!" and roughly examines her faces and let's her go.  And Sarah looks surprised and says "Linx. A Sontaran. Can't be. You were destroyed in the thirteenth century. You were blown to smithereens!" and Styre says to her "You may have seen one of us" and Sarah says "But you're identical!  The same ugly...." and Styre cuts her off saying "Identical, yes, the same, no. I am Styre. Field Major Styre, as you will address me, of the Sontaran G3 Military Assessment Survey. And your opinion of my looks is of no interest to my programme!".

Ian Marter is also excellent again as Harry Sullivan, and here he get's to do a bit of scouting on his own as Harry is separated from the Doctor and Sarah for most of the story.  

Ian also has one or two good scenes and one that comes to mind is when the trio arrive on Earth at the start of the story and Ian helps Sarah who has fallen head first into the heather in the fields.  And Harry helps her up and says "Okay, old thing?" and Sarah says "Harry, I am not a thing!" and as the Doctor tells them go and have a look around, Harry says To Sarah "Oh well, might as well have a recce while we're here. Coming old thing?" and he quickly corrects himself "Coming, Sarah?!". 

And then there is the scene where Harry attempts to rescue Sarah, who has been chained by Styre and an invisible force barrier placed infront of her, which Harry can't get through.  And Sarah tells Harry "He's locked me inside a force field, Harry, its no good!" and Harry tries to reassure and says "Well, don't you worry, old thing. I'll find a way. I'll get you out of there if I have to knock his bally head off and grab his keys!  Just don't you worry, Sarah!". 

Kevin Lindsay makes a welcome return here to the show as he plays another Sontaran, Styre and he is once again excellent in the part.  Lindsay sadly however had a heart condition at the time of filming and not long after the story was made he died the following year in 1975.  

Lindsay naturally has his share of good scenes that include his first main introduction where Styre has captured Sarah and Roth and in the scene, Roth tries to escape so Styre shoots him dead.  And as Sarah screams in shock, Styre asks her "Why did you make that disagreeable noise?!" and Sarah yells "You killed him!" and Styre says "That is my function.  I am a warrior!" and Sarah, appalled shouts "Murderer!  MURDERER!!".  And Styre silences her saying "Silence! The moron was of no further use to me. I had already tested him. You, as a female, are far more interesting. And soon I will have the rest of your companions!".

Then there is the scene where the Doctor finds Sarah, who has been chained up by Styre and subjected to a form of mental torture as Styre uses a device to project fear into her mind but the Doctor destroys it and the shock renders Sarah unconscious.  Then Styre appears and says "Very touching!" and the Doctor looks outraged and shouts at him "You unspeakable abomination!!" and charges at Styre who knocks him back.  

And Styre arrogantly says "Words, Earthing, will never prevail against Sontaran might!" and the Doctor asks "Why did you do it to her?!" and Styre says "

I did nothing. I merely resurrected those things which lay buried in the depths of her pathetic little mind. She was a victim of her own fear. And now, your turn!".  And Styre takes aim at the Doctor with his ray gun, but the Doctor distracts him and runs off only for Styre to eventually shoot the Doctor, who slumps over apparently dead, leaving Styre to says with contempt "Worm!".  

And lastly there is the scene where the Doctor confronts Styre for the last time and he goads him into fighting him in hand to hand combat.  So the Doctor taunts Styre, who levels his gun at the Doctor and the Doctor says "Is that the Sontaran way? The mighty warrior sheltering behind his gun? I challenge you, Styre. Single combat. Or are you afraid?!".  So this really pisses off Styre who is enraged by the Doctor's comment "Afraid?!!!  A SONATARAN AFRAID???!!" and he then picks up a machette and yells "Alright then, come to your death!!".  And as their fight is about to end, the Doctor struggles with a tired Styre and says to him "You're weakening, Styre!  You're weakening!" and Styre shouts "AM I?!" and he grabs the Doctor and flips him over onto the ground!   

As for the rest of the cast well they are a bit of a mixed bag particuarly the astronauts as Donald Douglas is not too bad as Vural although his accent is somewhat hard to place and sounds a bit South African (as does the rest of the astronaut crew).  Peter Rutherford does fair better though as the distressed astronaut, Roth, who was previously captured by Styre and he conveys his character's fear and anxiety well.  And lastly of course there is Glyn Jones, who actually wrote a previous Doctor Who story from the William Hartnell era, "The Space Museum" but his acting chops are not worth writing home about, well not here anyway so maybe he'd be better at sticking to the writing! 

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC

As for the director for the story, Rodney Bennett, who directed the previous story "The Ark in Space" does a fine job here with this one and he uses the location of Dartmoor very well and also does well at building the suspense throughout the first episode before he reveals Styre.  Bennett then went on to direct another Tom Baker era story, "The Masque of Mandragora" so it showed that his contribution to the show was valuable one and its a pity that he didn't direct anymore after that.

As for the music score, Dudley Simpson, the show's regular composer does another fine score as he was starting to hit his stride in this period of the show as he regularly churned out fine dramatic scores that were well suited to its era and it was a good departure from the cheesy electronic synth stuff he did during he Pertwee era.

FLAWS 

As for the story's flaws....yes well The Sontaran Experiement isn't quite perfect and for starters I think its main problem is that being just a two parter, there isn't much time to develop anything much in the way of the supporting characters, who Styre uses as just fodder for his cruel experiments.  And yes because it is also only a two part story, it does feel like just filler and a stop gap between the two great classic stories of "The Ark in Space" and "Genesis of the Daleks".

Another issue I had with the story is why did the astronauts have South African accents???  It just seems a bit weird that they should have been cast that way!  Although apparently the writers of the story, Bob Baker & Dave Martin requested a change of accent for the parts anyway and indeed most of the actors who played the astronauts were indeed South African.  I guess I may have just answered my own question here!

I also felt that the Doctor's way of suddenly preventing the Sontaran fleet from invading Earth was pretty daft in that all he had to say to the threatening Sontaran Marshal (also played by Kevin Lindsay) "What invade us without Styre's report???" and that's it!  I mean the Marshal could easily have gone ahead and said "To tell with you, Doctor!  Let's invade!" but of course nope!  All it takes is just one taunt from the Doctor and that sorts it out!

And lastly there is of course Styre's stupid looking patrol robot, which is hardly that menacing and in the end the Doctor defeats very easily by just zapping it with his sonic screwdriver!  So in the end, the robot was both not intimidating and also useless into the bargain aswell!  Yep, the show it had to be said excelled at dishing out crappy robots up to this point (well Michael Kilgarriff's robot in Tom Baker's debut story "Robot" is something of an exception).

So that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So in summing up, "The Sontaran Experiment" is an enjoyable albeit rather forgettable story from the Tom Baker era but it still fits its purpose, which is bridge the gap between two classic stories in Baker's opening season.  And it is helped along by good performances by the leads and also an excellent performance once again from Kevin Lindsay as the Sontaran warrior, Styre.  So while its not a classic, its still an entertaining way to spend 50 minutes of your time if you are a fan of the show.

Right, so that's it for now and I will be back again once more soon with another post but it will most likely not be before February now.

So till the next un, its bye fer now!