Doctor Who 30.04: "The Sontaran Strategem"
May. 1st, 2008 07:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
annathepiperDude! So far, hands down, best episode this season. Excellent Donna mileage, some truly superb lines from the Doctor, the return of yet another classic Who alien race and the first serious appearance of UNIT in the entire New Who series--and Martha! Yay, Martha!
Okay, yeah, the writers did an excellent job with the Sontarans, I've got to say. I've seen a Fourth-Doctor-era episode involving them, The Sontaran Experiment, and found that one pretty good--and that gave me just enough background to appreciate the new version of them. I really like that they're quite short, which was not something we saw with the classic versions. But it makes total sense if they come from a high-gravity homeworld.
I like too that these guys, even though they're yet another race obsessed with conquering the universe, nevertheless manage to come across differently than the Daleks and the Cybermen both. They're very thorough and analytical, traits that were neatly displayed in The Sontaran Experiment and which are consistently followed up on here. What I don't know yet is what their big beef with conquering the Earth this time around is; I haven't seen any of the other old Sontaran episodes, so I don't know if there's backstory here that I'm missing, or how many incarnations of the Doctor they've actually run into.
Meanwhile, bitchin' cool Donna mileage in this episode. Very much liked that she was not the slightest bit intimidated by UNIT, and that even in the midst of all the military brouhaha going on around her, she went straight to where her skills are strongest and came up with a critical piece of information for the investigating force. Also? Major snickers for that scene where she had the Doctor going, believing she was about to bail on him. Cheap joke on the part of the writers, granted, but it played very well given the previous episode--and it was a nifty showcase for Donna's sense of humor.
Teasing the Doctor aside, it was good as well to see her following up with her family--and how she took pretty well to Martha immediately. The scene where Martha advised her to check in with her family and to be wary of how traveling with the Doctor could potentially put her loved ones in danger was very, very good. And I liked seeing her come home to clue in her grandfather, but not her mother; she knows her granddad can take it, clearly, and knows just as well that her mother won't.
UNIT on camera! UNIT on camera! YAY! I have definitely seen quite a bit of UNIT in the classic episodes, and it's very cool to see them still around in Ten's era. Very much hoping that they will stay competent and that we'll get at least a fleeting reference to Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart--but until we get that, I snickered mightily at the commander guy telling the Doctor that technically he was still on staff because he never resigned. Muah! ;) Yay for continuity that goes clear back to Two and Three!
Martha back on camera! YAY ^ 2! I still haven't managed to watch the season 2 Torchwood episodes she's in, but it was very cool to see her back--older and wiser and a little sadder, but clearly moving on with her life and still affectionate to the Doctor even if she's no longer crushing on him. Very happy to see the reference to her getting engaged to her other doctor guy, too. But AIGH, the bit at the end where the Sontarans clone her, aigh, aigh, aigh.
What the hell is up with psychoboy genius kid? What's happened in that boy's life that he's willing to help an alien species conquer his entire planet? Ten seems to almost get to him for a minute there--because if there's anybody that could understand what it's like to be a genius operating at a mental level so far above everybody else around him, it's the Doctor--but only for a minute. The last scene with that kid and the Sontarans, where they're going into the war chant and the kid's joining in was very effective, all the more so because of the look on his face. He isn't entirely happy about this, but he's definitely wanting it. Eau du some form of desired revenge going on here, and I'm wondering what exactly set him off.
The Doctor is splendid throughout most of this episode, with his reaction to the transmat in the genius kid's school, to the discovery that the Sontarans are behind all this, and even to his getting sheepish about Martha and Donna ragging on him for being skinny. ;) I loved how he got around the ATMOS by ordering it to go ahead and drive him and his UNIT sidekick into the lake, cheerfully shorting out its entire brain.
And in fact, the only place this entire episode falls down at all is at the very end, where Donna's granddad is trapped in the car and the Doctor doesn't think to smash the damn window. To wit, huh? Of course, to be fair, I didn't see anything in the immediate vicinity that he might have actually used for this task--and Ten is many things, but a physical brick is not one of them, so he doesn't have the strength to just bust through it himself. But it would have been nice to see him or Donna or both screaming at one another to find something to smash said windows.
Or hell, if nothing else, trying to sonic-screwdriver them into pieces, no? I'd think that the right frequency out of the sonic screwdriver could shatter a windshield. Might temporarily shatter an eardrum or two, but hey, if it keeps Donna's granddad alive... well!
Very much looking forward to part 2 of this, though. Go Helen Raynor! Well done!
Okay, yeah, the writers did an excellent job with the Sontarans, I've got to say. I've seen a Fourth-Doctor-era episode involving them, The Sontaran Experiment, and found that one pretty good--and that gave me just enough background to appreciate the new version of them. I really like that they're quite short, which was not something we saw with the classic versions. But it makes total sense if they come from a high-gravity homeworld.
I like too that these guys, even though they're yet another race obsessed with conquering the universe, nevertheless manage to come across differently than the Daleks and the Cybermen both. They're very thorough and analytical, traits that were neatly displayed in The Sontaran Experiment and which are consistently followed up on here. What I don't know yet is what their big beef with conquering the Earth this time around is; I haven't seen any of the other old Sontaran episodes, so I don't know if there's backstory here that I'm missing, or how many incarnations of the Doctor they've actually run into.
Meanwhile, bitchin' cool Donna mileage in this episode. Very much liked that she was not the slightest bit intimidated by UNIT, and that even in the midst of all the military brouhaha going on around her, she went straight to where her skills are strongest and came up with a critical piece of information for the investigating force. Also? Major snickers for that scene where she had the Doctor going, believing she was about to bail on him. Cheap joke on the part of the writers, granted, but it played very well given the previous episode--and it was a nifty showcase for Donna's sense of humor.
Teasing the Doctor aside, it was good as well to see her following up with her family--and how she took pretty well to Martha immediately. The scene where Martha advised her to check in with her family and to be wary of how traveling with the Doctor could potentially put her loved ones in danger was very, very good. And I liked seeing her come home to clue in her grandfather, but not her mother; she knows her granddad can take it, clearly, and knows just as well that her mother won't.
UNIT on camera! UNIT on camera! YAY! I have definitely seen quite a bit of UNIT in the classic episodes, and it's very cool to see them still around in Ten's era. Very much hoping that they will stay competent and that we'll get at least a fleeting reference to Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart--but until we get that, I snickered mightily at the commander guy telling the Doctor that technically he was still on staff because he never resigned. Muah! ;) Yay for continuity that goes clear back to Two and Three!
Martha back on camera! YAY ^ 2! I still haven't managed to watch the season 2 Torchwood episodes she's in, but it was very cool to see her back--older and wiser and a little sadder, but clearly moving on with her life and still affectionate to the Doctor even if she's no longer crushing on him. Very happy to see the reference to her getting engaged to her other doctor guy, too. But AIGH, the bit at the end where the Sontarans clone her, aigh, aigh, aigh.
What the hell is up with psychoboy genius kid? What's happened in that boy's life that he's willing to help an alien species conquer his entire planet? Ten seems to almost get to him for a minute there--because if there's anybody that could understand what it's like to be a genius operating at a mental level so far above everybody else around him, it's the Doctor--but only for a minute. The last scene with that kid and the Sontarans, where they're going into the war chant and the kid's joining in was very effective, all the more so because of the look on his face. He isn't entirely happy about this, but he's definitely wanting it. Eau du some form of desired revenge going on here, and I'm wondering what exactly set him off.
The Doctor is splendid throughout most of this episode, with his reaction to the transmat in the genius kid's school, to the discovery that the Sontarans are behind all this, and even to his getting sheepish about Martha and Donna ragging on him for being skinny. ;) I loved how he got around the ATMOS by ordering it to go ahead and drive him and his UNIT sidekick into the lake, cheerfully shorting out its entire brain.
And in fact, the only place this entire episode falls down at all is at the very end, where Donna's granddad is trapped in the car and the Doctor doesn't think to smash the damn window. To wit, huh? Of course, to be fair, I didn't see anything in the immediate vicinity that he might have actually used for this task--and Ten is many things, but a physical brick is not one of them, so he doesn't have the strength to just bust through it himself. But it would have been nice to see him or Donna or both screaming at one another to find something to smash said windows.
Or hell, if nothing else, trying to sonic-screwdriver them into pieces, no? I'd think that the right frequency out of the sonic screwdriver could shatter a windshield. Might temporarily shatter an eardrum or two, but hey, if it keeps Donna's granddad alive... well!
Very much looking forward to part 2 of this, though. Go Helen Raynor! Well done!
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no subject
Date: 2008-05-02 03:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-02 03:51 am (UTC)Whoa, you're right. Somehow I had completely managed to miss that the personnel we see in The Christmas Invasion were UNIT personnel--maybe it was because they had a distinctly less military look to them than we see out of UNIT in the classic eps, not to mention this one. Clearly, I shall have to watch that episode again. Oh darn! *twists own arm* ;)
no subject
Date: 2008-05-02 03:52 am (UTC)I loved the line about having all the expensive toys. Definitely worth the rewatch!
no subject
Date: 2008-05-02 03:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-02 03:57 am (UTC)Yes, you have a point. Though Martha's sudden shoot to stardom in UNIT seems a bit sketchy to me. Plausable, but sketchy.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-02 04:12 am (UTC)I'm with you on the sketchiness, though I'm glad to see her doing that anyway, and that she's now a full-fledged Doctor! I suppose though that it would have been difficult to really work in a backstory there with the plot so crammed full already.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-02 04:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-02 07:23 am (UTC)But this... this was old-school UNIT. Red berets, military fatigues, and approaching everything with the traditional 'order it around or shoot it' mentality Doc hated and that the Brig would be so proud of.
(Speaking of which, Nicholas Courtney is still doing Lethbridge-Stewart in audio dramas. And the Sarah Jane Adventures established by a throwaway phone call line -- 'Alright, give my love to the Brig.' -- so I want to see him one last time in the new series while he can still play an elderly and retired Brigadier. If ANY actor deserves an appearance on the new series, it's Nicholas Courtney!)
no subject
Date: 2008-05-03 02:04 am (UTC)Yeah, that's why I said first significant appearance. :) And yeah, this is very much old-school UNIT, which makes it really the first time they've been a useful and competent force. Here's hoping that continues in Part 2.
I'm getting caught up on the SJA episodes; bwahaha, we just caught the Brig line tonight! Hee! And woot, I'm glad to hear he's still doing audio. :D
no subject
Date: 2008-05-02 06:17 am (UTC)To be fair, though, that was really the only thing that bothered me about the episode. I've never been wild about the Sontarans as villains but I think Christopher Ryan is doing an excellent job. I am also looking forward to part two!!
no subject
Date: 2008-05-03 01:57 am (UTC)Also, your icon is made entirely of 100% Gallifreyan win. <3