Doctor Who: The Sontaran Experiment (1975)
0h 50m | PG-13
Sontaran Field Major Styre is conducting experiments on the survivors of future Earth in preparation of a full-scale Sontaran invasion of the planet. Can the Doctor defeat Styre and save the world?
Director: Rodney Bennett
Studio: BBC
Genre: Science Fiction, Drama, Adventure
Video: 720p
Cast
Tom Baker
as The Doctor
Elisabeth Sladen
as Sarah Jane Smith
Ian Marter
as Harry Sullivan
Kevin Lindsay
as Styre / The Marshal
Donald Douglas
as Vural
Glyn Jones
as Krans
Reviews
I don't know, maybe the budget was running out or they wanted to film this quickly but this isn't really one of the better outings for the "Doctor" (Tom Baker) and his companions. It follows on, a little, from the previous "Ark in Space" series with them on Earth ensuring the passengers from that vessel are safely ensconced and safe. What they discover, though, is that what humans there are have been captured by a menacing "Sontaran" soldier called "Styre" (Kevin Lindsay - by now a bit of a regular in these leathers). It transpires that he has been sent by his high command to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of human beings so he can feed that back to his bosses - poised to invade! It falls to the team to thwart the plan and, well, that's about the height of this disappointingly predicable and rather weakly structured story. There are only four episodes but the story could probably be adequately conveyed in two - set amidst a rocky outcrop largely devoid of much action save for everyone falling over/down and doing their own version of "Slip Sliding Away". It's watchable enough, just not one I think you're likely to remember.