The Sontaran Experiment - Episode 1

The Sontaran Experiment is the first two part story since ‘The Rescue’ back in 1965. The bonus of having a two part adventure is that there isn’t the need to find things to fill the story to keep the running time to four episodes. This story was done because they couldn’t make ‘The Ark in Space’ last six episodes (which is a fair point). As a result we have a two part story which doesn’t have any studio filming, one Sontaran and a couple of supporting characters. The fact that this is the only story at this point to be filmed entirely outside is one of the big selling points of this story and it’s a nice sequel for the Sontarans. So at the end of the last episode, the Doctor was going to find out what earth was like for everyone on the ark.

It doesn’t take long for the no human’s thing to be shown as wrong when there are a group of humans with South African accents. On their first encounter with the Doctor they decide to shoot him first and ask questions later. The thing about the regulars is that they all get into trouble at various points of the episode and both Ian and the Doctor fall victim to the unexpected hole in the ground. Only Sarah doesn’t get this treatment which is normally the one person that I would have guaranteed to fall. However whilst she doesn’t do this she does get captured.

Whilst we don’t see the Sontaran, we do get a robot which glides along and I cant believe that this poses any kind of threat and yet everyone seems to be scared to death of it. It doesn’t fire anything or say anything so something dreadful must have happened before this story began. Maybe it didn’t invite the humans around for robotic tea when they first landed there.

It takes fifteen minutes before the Sontaran or the experiment part of the title becomes relevant. Even then it’s a small shot of the Sontarans hand that we see. It isn’t until the end that we see the Sontaran come out of the sphere which we all saw in ‘The Time Warrior’ and out comes Linx and that is how the episode airs. Whilst I enjoy the fact that this is a story that takes place outside the problem with the episode is that not a lot really happens. I don’t think that the colonists are particularly interesting and that’s going to be a major problem in the next episode and I think that considering this episode must have been thrown together at the last minute, this could have been a lot worse but it’s the holding story until we get to the Daleks.