Doctor Who retro review: The Sontaran Stratagem (Tenth Doctor story)

The Tenth Doctor meets an old friend, as Martha calls him back to Earth. But he also faces some very old enemies in The Sontaran Strategem!

The Sontaran Stratagem is a very significant episode for Doctor Who. Firstly, to start with the obvious, it brought back the much-loved Doctor Who monster, the Sontarans.

The Sontarans had appeared in four different stories in the Classic Series. They stood out due to their very distinctive appearance, and also because of their highly militaristic manner. Finding out that they were returning back in 2008 was incredibly exciting news.

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How well are the Sontarans handled in this episode? Really well. It’s not just that the overall look sticks very closely to the original design. The makeup looks a little more realistic, and the suit’s a little more blue, but that’s about it. The design of the New Series Sontarans sticks closely to their Classic Series roots. Considering how iconic that design is, that’s definitely a good thing.

The writing of the Sontarans is equally strong. Writer Helen Raynor understands the Sontarans very well. They have a strong code of honor, are highly intelligent and also very capable tacticians. But they’re also cold and rather ruthless in how they wage war.

Lastly, credit has to be given to both Christopher Ryan and Dan Starkey. Both are excellent at portraying the Sontarans. They’re also rather good at capturing the speech patterns and mannerisms of Classic Series Sontarans, such as Linx and Styre.

If there’s one thing we should be grateful about The Sontaran Stratagem, it’s for giving us Dan Starkey. While on television, he’s mainly played the role of Strax in subsequent stories, he’s also worked a great deal with Big Finish, too. There are many stories when he not only voices for the Sontarans, but is also the sole voice actor for several of them in one story. It’s something that he’s rather gifted at, so it’s fascinating seeing him play his first Sontaran in this episode.

UNIT

The second way The Sontaran Stratagem is significant is how it uses UNIT. Not just because it received a different name in this story. (In the Classic Series, it used to be United Nations Intelligence Taskforce. From this episode onwards, it’s Unified Intelligence Taskforce.)

It’s mainly because UNIT is used in a big way in this story. While UNIT had appeared in the New Series before, it was usually briefly, or not as a significant part of the story, such as in Aliens of London.

In The Sontaran Stratagem, however, the story resembles something a lot closer to the original UNIT formula of the Seventies. A number of key characters are members of the organisation. The Doctor tries hard to work with the commanding officer. And of course, they’re directly trying to fight off an alien invasion.

Helen Raynor does a great job of sticking closely to this formula, while at the same time, updating it for a modern audience. As a result, this feels like the first true UNIT story of the New Series.

Martha Jones

Martha’s return was also interesting to watch. It’s done at just the right time, too. After three episodes, Donna’s been firmly established as the Tenth Doctor’s companion. However, through Martha’s eyes, she’s beginning to see more of the dangers of travelling with the Doctor. Particularly how it affected Martha and her family. So Donna and Martha meeting each other feels very natural.

It was also good to catch up with Martha and see what she had been up to. Now engaged to Tom Milligan from Last of the Time Lords and working for UNIT, she seems to have recovered well from her ordeals. Considering that her exit didn’t seem as final as Rose’s was in Doomsday, her return was set up well, and doesn’t detract too much from the story.

Donna and her family

The scenes with Donna returning home were fantastic to watch. Especially with seeing the brilliant character Wilf once again. It was a good way of catching up on how much Donna had changed in such a short time. And of course, how much her home life had remained the same. (Particularly her mother, who still has a lot to learn about her daughter.)

The Sontaran Stratagem feels like a great balance between Classic and New. It takes the original UNIT story formula, and manages to update it in a few key ways. The return of the Sontarans is a more than welcome one, too. Overall, it’s a great start to this two-part story.

Next: Torchwood: Believe review (audio)

Do remember when you first watched The Sontaran Stratagem? Were you a fan of the potato heads already, or was this your introduction to them? And what did you think of the story overall? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

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