Yesterday I got to listen to the Big Finish audio story, "The First Sontarans" by Andrew Smith. Simply, its really rather great. This begins as a relatively small tale but grows throughout before reaching an epic scale. Constantly unearthing secrets and finally offering something close to an origin story for those angry little starch men. The story never directly takes place at there creation so this isn't a Genesis of the Daleks or Spare Parts style event. But the first orders for the clone race bred for war have finally be revealed.
The Sixth Doctor takes Peri to the moon before coming across an alien signal that entices them to Sussex in the 1800's. Here they find that not all is what it seems and soon the Doctor is threatened by a man who knows of the Time Lords and someone else has a Sontaran locked away. Before long 3 alien races are involved in a war that started long ago. What is rather remarkable about this story is that it also manages to tell an intimate sub plot about family including touching on a more paternal side of the Sontarans, they show a desire and pride to look after there young. Fitting for a race so full of honour.
As part of the Lost Stories range this is also a "What if?" moment as a chance to experience a story that didn't get produced in 1985 having lost out to the Two Doctors story (which also featured Sontarans.) In many ways its such a shame that this didn't get made instead. However its highly unlikely the story would have been done justice in its current form. Typically splendid audio work helps let your head paint the canvas to one heck of a story. Its full of classic sound effects and I love me some classic sound effects. If I have one nitpick its that the score was a little unremarkable. But it still hits the right moments. A brilliant adventure well worth listening to for any fan of hostile armored spuds. It also features possibly the best description of Sixeys outfit ever.
Giving this a listen gave me the chance to sit down with my own first Sontaran. Quite why its taken me till now I dont know. They are one of the most popular and iconic creatures from the shows history. It seemed apt so I started with the real first clone from Sonta, Commander Linx! Or Toadface for you Irongron's out there.
The Sixth Doctor takes Peri to the moon before coming across an alien signal that entices them to Sussex in the 1800's. Here they find that not all is what it seems and soon the Doctor is threatened by a man who knows of the Time Lords and someone else has a Sontaran locked away. Before long 3 alien races are involved in a war that started long ago. What is rather remarkable about this story is that it also manages to tell an intimate sub plot about family including touching on a more paternal side of the Sontarans, they show a desire and pride to look after there young. Fitting for a race so full of honour.
As part of the Lost Stories range this is also a "What if?" moment as a chance to experience a story that didn't get produced in 1985 having lost out to the Two Doctors story (which also featured Sontarans.) In many ways its such a shame that this didn't get made instead. However its highly unlikely the story would have been done justice in its current form. Typically splendid audio work helps let your head paint the canvas to one heck of a story. Its full of classic sound effects and I love me some classic sound effects. If I have one nitpick its that the score was a little unremarkable. But it still hits the right moments. A brilliant adventure well worth listening to for any fan of hostile armored spuds. It also features possibly the best description of Sixeys outfit ever.
Giving this a listen gave me the chance to sit down with my own first Sontaran. Quite why its taken me till now I dont know. They are one of the most popular and iconic creatures from the shows history. It seemed apt so I started with the real first clone from Sonta, Commander Linx! Or Toadface for you Irongron's out there.
From The Time Warrior (1973) by Robert Holmes. I've always loved Linx. He displays not only the brutal angry spirit you expect of a soldier, from a race of soldiers but also some tact and wit. Stranded on Earth in the Middle Ages he has to make deals with the locals, it tests his patience having to deal with illiterate half wits but bless him he bargains with them anyway. I've also always thought highly of this design of the Sontarans, the make up job for Doctor Who in 1973 is a brilliant achievement. The fleshy moist texture is sadly lost in their next appearance in the Sontaran Experiment (1975) when Styre turns up to be incredibly nasty to some astronauts. The upside is that Styre's head has a bit more shape and structure to it. The less said about the later appearances of the Sontarans the better, whilst there plans are ambitious in The Invasion of Time (1978), invading Gallifrey no less, they look hideous and frankly terrible compared to the previous versions. Things dont improve much in "The Two Doctors" (1985) as they seem to give up being clones, offering up huge height differences between them and strange hollow lifeless looking heads. Fortunately the new series take on the Sontarans, to me at least, look like a blend of the the first two. The stronger sense of form of Styre is combined with the fleshy texture of Linx means they look like living things. If I'm brutally honest I would have preferred the armour to have kept the black/silver colour scheme but I dont mind that much. I also prefer the original Linx helmet. There is something slightly regal about it. Knight like.
But I cant write about Sontarans for long without mentioning Strax. Brilliantly played by Dan Starkey (who also provides voices in The First Sontarans) I find him impossible not to love. Scene stealing excellence. I so hope Moffat gives him a proper origin story of his own! Alongside some properly brutal Sontarans. Also Moffat needs to make it commercially viable for us all to have Sontaran butlers. Do it now!
But I cant write about Sontarans for long without mentioning Strax. Brilliantly played by Dan Starkey (who also provides voices in The First Sontarans) I find him impossible not to love. Scene stealing excellence. I so hope Moffat gives him a proper origin story of his own! Alongside some properly brutal Sontarans. Also Moffat needs to make it commercially viable for us all to have Sontaran butlers. Do it now!