Doctor Who Series 4 Episode 4 - The Sontaran Stratagem (Part 1) - Review

Starring: David Tennant, Catherine Tate, Freema Agyeman & Ryan Sampson

Written By: Helen Raynor

Directed By: Douglas Mackinnon

 

The Sontaran Stratagem is an episode that while I have been looking forward to it, I'm not in as much anticipation as I'd like to be. On the one hand, I've really wanted to be hyped as the Sontarans are the next classic villains to make their return, Martha's temporarily back for more adventures with the Doctor and so is U.N.I.T. But on the other hand, the promotional images we've seen so far of the new Sontarans are something I take a little bit of issue with, and Helen Raynor, who wrote last year's disappointing Daleks In Manhattan and Evolution Of The Daleks is back in the writing chair. So, can this episode prove that my doubts aren't anything to worry about? 

 

After receiving a call from Martha, the Doctor returns to Earth to find U.N.I.T investigating ATMOS, a company that manufactures SatNavs. After a string of simultaneous deaths around the world, with all the victims inside their cars, U.N.I.T believes ATMOS had something to do with it. By working with the Doctor and going to talk to the boy genius who invented the ATMOS devices, U.N.I.T soon find out that they were right to be worried...
 

Now there's only so many ways or so many times that you can invade Earth before it becomes repetitive and dull, but thankfully The Sontaran Stratagem attempts it in a way that I can't say Doctor Who's ever done before. Invading Earth through control of the SatNavs is a surprisingly creepy idea, but one that also gives itself to a sense of familiarity and fits in well with the contemporary setting. It's unsettling to see the SatNav being the one controlling your car and driving you into the river, as we saw in this episode's fantastic pre-titles sequence, and I can imagine it will leave plenty of children reluctant to join their parents on a car ride.

 

But of course its a phone call from the Doctor's old friend Martha Jones that brings him back to Earth. Now some may criticize Martha's return as coming too soon, but I personally welcome her back. Her return also feels a lot less out of place than Rose's brief stint at the end of Partners In Crime, and while it was definitely a great and fan-pleasing moment to see Rose back in that episode, I still don't know enough about why she's back yet for it to have as much weight as Martha's return. Besides, Martha's departure in Last Of The Time Lords was very open and made more than enough room for a return like this, and even a semi-regular role for the time being. Her appearance here feels refreshing especially since she's no longer trapped in a one-sided love with the Doctor. It's even more refreshing to see two amazing companions like Donna and Martha getting along so well, unlike the last time two great companions met (Taking the hint yet, School Reunion?). The experience and things Martha went through at the end of the last series haven't been forgotten either, and this is the character at probably her most empowered yet. It's also worth mentioning that Freema Agyeman is absolutely great later in the episode at playing her evil clone, and while I don't envy her having to drench herself in green goo, getting to play an evil double is something we never saw in Series 3, so it's very welcome here.
 

If nothing else, The Sontaran Stratagem feels like one great big tribute to Doctor Who's golden age from the 1970s. Its no exaggeration to say that if the show had a bigger budget back then, this is an episode that could have come directly from my favourite Doctor, Jon Pertwee's time on the show. For example, U.N.I.T make a return and are on their A-game for the first time since The Christmas Invasion, we have a full-scale Earth invasion on our hands (something the 3rd Doctor faced nearly every week while he was in exile), but of course the biggest throwback to the 1970s has to be the return of the Sontarans.

As you can probably gather from the title, and following the trend set by the Daleks, the Cybermen and the Master, the Sontarans make their comeback in the revived series. I think we've only got aliens like the Ice Warriors to go now and we'll almost have a full set – fingers crossed for Series 5! But back to this episode in question, I have to say that I wasn't entirely fond of the Sontarans' redesign, particularly the blue armour as I feel the black suits them much better. But even so, the Sontarans are easily at their best since The Sontaran Experiment thirty-three years ago, partly thanks to some great performances from Dan Starkey and the always-brilliant Christopher Ryan, but also thanks to vastly improved prosthetics work that's at it best for the Sontarans since Linx in The Time Warrior. Fans who weren't convinced by how the new Sontarans would turn out can be rest assured that they're a vast improvement from their sorry state in The Two Doctors. At the same time, all their trademarks, such as the short height, the probic vent, and the love of war have all been maintained, and as I remember was Russell T Davies' intention, you definitely get the sense that they are constantly suffering from an overdose of testosterone.
 

My biggest problem with The Sontaran Stratagem has to be its supporting characters, or rather one of them in particular. While characters like Ross and Colonel Mace are decent enough, boy genius Luke Rattigan stands out for the wrong reasons. Luke ends up coming across entirely as whiny and obnoxious, and while I understand that that was the intention, most of the time he comes across like this because the writing for him is terribly over the top. Still, Ryan Sampson is near enough perfect in the role, always selling the boy genius aspect of his character and doesn't do a bad American accent either. Now I don't want to belittle the writing for this episode at all as for the most part, it remains strong and consistent, and let's not forget it ends on a VERY exciting cliff-hanger leading into Part 2. (Spoiler Warning!) It's taken years but finally we're getting to see more than just two Sontarans at once, and this time we're treated to a whole battle fleet about to go to war with U.N.I.T and the rest of the Earth. Meanwhile, poisonous gas is released from every ATMOS car and to make the stakes even higher and more personal, Donna's granddad Wilf is trapped in his car and could to choke to death! Doctor, you HAVE to get him out … for no other reason than it's Wilf and he's simply amazing. As the world chokes, the Sontarans can be heard shouting their battle chant as things get more and more hopeless. This is definitely how you write a cliff-hanger and it builds up a huge sense of anticipation for Part 2.

 

I went into The Sontaran Stratagem feeling somewhat apprehensive, but I've come out the other end feeling energized and eager for Part 2. This is the Sontarans as they should be, launching full-on invasions and waging war against others, and to see them come back alongside U.N.I.T and Martha is just a treat for both huge fans like myself as well as casual viewers. Compared to her previous contribution to the show, this is a remarkable improvement from Helen Raynor's previous work and I have high hopes for what's to come in Part 2: The Poison Sky.

Find my review of Part 2 here: https://ojgreviews.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/doctor-who-series-4-episode-5-poison.html

 

The Sontaran Stratagem

8/10

 

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