The Sontaran Experiment: my review
jph...@aol.com
2 episodes. Written by: Bob Baker & Dave Martin. Directed by: Rodney
Bennett.
THE PLOT
The Doctor, Sarah, and Harry have transmatted down from Space Station
Nerva to repair the transmat system, to clear the way for the waking
survivors to recolonize the Earth. But they soon discover that Earth
is not as lifeless as they had believed. First, they encounter
astronauts, survivors of an expedition lured to Earth by a false
distress signal. As the Doctor is interrogated by the suspicious
astronauts, Sarah befriends Roth (Peter Rutherford), a half-crazed man
who has escaped an "alien in the rocks," who uses a machine to capture
the humans for brutal experiments.
The alien is Styre (Kevin Lindsay), a Sontaran scientist studying the
humans to prepare a report for a Sontaran battle fleet. The fleet is
already on its way, to secure Earth as a foothold in the Sontarans'
endless war against the Rutans - leaving very bleak prospects for both
the astronauts and the humans on Nerva. But the Doctor has a more
immediate problem: Sarah has been taken prisoner, and is about to be
subjected to the Sontaran's latest experiments!
CHARACTERS
The Doctor: This was the first recorded story of the production block,
and writers Baker & Martin would only have had Robot to go on in their
characterization of the Doctor. This perhaps explains why the Doctor
doesn't come across as strongly here as in The Ark in Space. Tom
remains on sparkling form, but the script makes the Doctor useless and
even borderline stupid in places in Episode One, notably when he falls
down the same trap that entangled Harry, largely by behaving with
willful recklessness. With a climax relying on physical combat - a bit
that feels very like a leftover of the Pertwee years - the only major
"Doctorish" moment ultimately comes at the end, when the Doctor faces
down the leader of a Sontaran battle fleet armed with nothing but a
desperate bluff.
Sarah Jane Smith: After a fairly weak outing in The Ark in Space,
Sarah has a strong role again here. In the first episode, in
particular, she practically takes on the Doctor's role again,
befriending Roth, rescuing the Doctor, and asking all of the key
questions about Roth's fear of his shipmates and about the alien in
the rocks. The second episode sees her returned to the traditional
companion role, captured and terrorized, but it remains a good outing
for the character.
Harry Sullivan: It's also a good serial for Harry. He gets a nice
character beat early on, enjoying the tranquility of an Earth with no
people, and half-regretting that the people on Nerva will change this
apparently idyllic countryside all too quickly. It's a surprisingly
thoughtful aspect of a character who has mostly come across as - well,
to repeat my observations of the last serial, as Bertie Wooster's
smarter cousin. Once it becomes clear he is not going to be rescued
from his trap anytime soon, he finds his own way out - just in time to
witness Sarah being kidnapped by the Sontaran!
The second episode sees Harry doing what he can to help Sarah, a human
prisoner, and the Doctor. He wisely doesn't attempt to rush in,
knowing that he would only manage to get himself killed. He does what
he can (providing reassurance to Sarah, giving a small amount of water
to the prisoner), trusting to the Doctor.
THOUGHTS
Classic Who had very few 2-part, 50-minute serials, and mostly for
good reason. The series was always at its best when it had a little
time to explore settings and character, as well as simply running
through the plot. Arguably, that remains the case, but I'll save those
thoughts for when I reach the New Series. In Classic Who, 2-parters
tended to have fairly strong first episodes - establishing the
setting, guest characters, and problem - but rushed second episodes,
with problems being resolved a little too quickly and easily.
The Sontaran Experiment has a cracking first episode. Baker & Martin,
never my favorite writers, nevertheless do an excellent job of
establishing the base situation quickly, and of giving each of the
regulars something to do. Small dilemmas are given to the characters
at first: Harry's fall, the Doctor's capture. In working to solve
these problems, Sarah Jane encounters larger problems - "the alien in
the rocks," the tortured Roth. The smaller problems, and what we learn
of larger dangers lurking, fuel the first episode, which builds quite
nicely to the effective reveal of Styre, still unnamed (save for
Sarah's gasped, "Lynx!") as of the end of the episode.
Part Two falls down in the same areas where second halves of two-
parters always seem to fall down. The rhythms suddenly feel off,
everything a bit too rushed. The Sontaran growls at the humans, "I
shall destroy you all!" Only to promptly add: "But first I have more
important matters to attend to." Convenient, that. The Doctor defeats
the Sontaran by challenging him to single combat and dancing like a
butterfly, stinging like a bee, until Styre gets conveniently tired,
while Harry yanks the Thingamajigee out of the ship, which
conveniently is enough to kill Styre with minimal effort. In short, a
lot of things suddenly happen too quickly and too conveniently, with
even the Doctor's grand bluff at the end - a scene with the potential
to be great - going by too fast to really be dramatically effective.
Part Two isn't entirely without interest, however. The scenes
involving Styre's experiments have an effectively chilly resonance,
clearly meant to echo the "scientific research" of Dr. Josef Mengele
during the Second World War. Styre methodically tests humans' reaction
to lack of fluids and to "immersion in liquid." He tests Sarah's
responses to fear, and begins a rather nasty test involving the
resistance of the human ribcage to extreme pressure. Realization of
these scenes is variable (particularly if you've read Ian Marter's
much, much better novelization of the same), but Styre's utterly
clinical reactions to each test make them effective just the same.
Kevin Lindsay's Styre is wonderfully played throughout. Though far
from the best Sontaran story, this is probably the only one in which a
Sontaran feels genuinely menacing (as I recall, Lynx was more amusing
than frightening; and the later Sontaran stories have all the fear
factor of a basket of kittens).
In the end, I can't really give this one a rating above "just okay."
Part One is mostly excellent, but Part Two feels rushed, with a rather
limp conclusion. It's not bad at all. But given how well it starts,
the weak finish cannot help but make it a disappointment.
Rating: 5/10.
Matthew Silverstein
> THE SONTARAN EXPERIMENT
> [snip]
Just wanted to say that I enjoyed reading this review, as I have the
others. Please keep them coming!
Matty
jph...@aol.com
wrote:
Thanks for the kind words! There will be a slight pause before
"Genesis" (I work full-time, and a 6-parter during the work week can
be a bit daunting), but it'll probably be up sometime next week.