The TARDIS arrives on a moon-sized asteroid orbiting two gas giants. With an amazing view, it’s a chance for the Doctor, Steven and Sara to unwind after their recent adventures.
But they quickly find themselves in the midst of battle – on one side: a familiar group of space-suited soldiers – members of the Space Security Service. On the other: strange, squat aliens in body armour.
Surviving the initial hostilities, the Doctor and his friends discover that the SSS squad is on a terrifying mission. With many lives at stake, they have to venture deep inside the asteroid in search of a hideous weapon. But who can they trust in the battle against these Sontarans?
THE LOST STORIES: THE SONTARANS
For the final release in the third series of Early Adventures, Big Finish turned to Simon Guerrier for a story featuring Steven, Sara, and the Sontarans. Because I hold Guerrier in high esteem, I was expecting a lot from “The Sontarans” – but what I got was a well-written by-the-book war story.
The story features some gorgeous imagery: an asteroid entirely covered in flowers, a subterranean city carved out of the rock itself, and so forth. But the plot surrounding these images is almost threadbare: the TARDIS lands in the middle of a military operation, and the Doctor and companions become inextricably involved. It’s set close enough to Sara’s time that the military personnel are actually members of the Space Security Service, something that enables the TARDIS crew to avoid too much of the usual episode 1 plotting. Guerrier also plays with the implications of the setting, as Sara knows the outcome of the mission but can’t reveal too many details else she risk changing the outcome. We get to know the leader of the squad and a couple of her subordinates – it’s exactly what you’d expect from a story like this, but at least Guerrier is skilled enough to avoid resorting to clichés.
More interesting is that this story features the first chronological appearance of the Sontarans. Guerrier upends the usual Doctor/companion dynamic by making Steven and Sara familiar with the Sontarans and the Doctor unfamiliar – for once, they teach him instead of the other way around. Guerrier also takes the Sontarans very seriously: these are hardened warriors, not bumbling oafs. It is their morality that comes in for the closest examination – one Sontaran actually apologizes to Steven before torturing him, while another willingly allows his opponents to take the first shot, lest anyone accuse him of not fighting honorably. Crucially, the Sontarans don’t even seem to understand that other races aren’t 100% committed to their militaries – and the ending, in which the Doctor basically explains the concept of noncombatants to the Sontaran commander and evokes a merciful response, is brilliant.
Beyond that, though, there isn’t much more to say about the script. Peter Purves takes on the role of the Doctor – I know it’s not a perfect Hartnell impression, but the scenes where he talks to Steven never sound like one actor talking to himself, and that’s fantastic. On the other hand, with the greatest respect to Jean Marsh, she really struggles to capture her character. I understand the limitations of age and health, but in this story she simply does not convince as a commanding security operative. Dan Starkey plays most of the Sontarans, and he’s very much in serious mode and not playing versions of Strax. The production is very good – Ken Bentley always directs well, and I enjoyed some of the military elements of Toby Hrycek-Robinson’s sound design.
Overall, “The Sontarans” is a success, though with the personnel involved I find myself wishing it was something greater. It’s the sort of story that Nicholas Briggs could write on autopilot, so it’s good to hear another voice take a crack at this kind of material – but as good as it is, it’s missing the innovative feel of the Steven and Sara Companion Chronicles or even “An Ordinary Life.” Still, if you want a good Sontaran story set in an unexpected part of Doctor Who’s history, pick “The Sontarans” up – it’ll be well worth your time.
Recommended.
7/10