Doctor Who (1963) 12.03.X1

Like Nothing on Earth: Making "The Sontaran Experiment" (2018)

37 minutes

People interviewed for this feature include:

• Philip Hinchcliffe, producer 1974-77
• Berry Letts, producer 1969-74
• Toby Hadoke, actor, writer and comedian
• Bob Baker, co-writer, "The Sontaran Experiment"
• Peter Walshe, Erak
• Tom Baker, Doctor Who 1974-81
• Elisabeth Sladen, Sarah Jane Smith (2006 interview)
• Donald Douglas, Vural
• Roger Murray-Leach. designer

Doctor Who (1963) 12.03.02

The Sontaran Experiment - Part Two

Styre the Sontaran introduces himself to Sarah. Roth loses it and tries to run away but Styre kills him with a blast from his pistol. The Sontaran ties up Sarah and conducts an experiment on her to learn more about her resistance to hallucinations of snakes and other threats to her life.

Harry finds Sarah but he is blocked from helping her by a force field that surrounds her. Styre returns and is makes notes on his experiment on Sarah. Harry is ready whack him when the Doctor shows up and prevents him from doing that.

Vurul and the other men in space suits are captured and experimented on by Styre. Vurul tries to point out that he helped Styre but the Sontaran gives nothing in return for the traitorous deeds of the group's leader. Vurul wins no points with his mates by coming out and admitting what he did.

The Doctor shows up and challenges Styre to a fight. The Doctor fights with a staff, Styre with a machete. Styre tires and returns to his space ship to recharge. Harry following the Doctor's orders, has sabotaged the Sontaran's space ship. Styre is killed by the device intended to help him.

Doctor Who (1963) 12.03.01

The Sontaran Experiment - Part One

The Doctor, Sarah, and Ian arrive on Earth by transmat beam. It is deserted of human life, or so they believe. Sarah and Harry go for a look around while the Doctor works on the transmat beam which needs some adjustments.

Harry falls down into a hole. Sarah goes to get the Doctor but when she gets back to where they left the Doctor he is gone. She finds his sonic screwdriver and takes it with her and heads back to where she left Harry.

The Doctor is taken captive by three men in space suits who blame him for killing one of their friends. The Doctor found their friend, dead, at the bottom of a cliff. He tries to make light of the situation but they don't care for his sense of humor.

Doctor Who (1963) 12.03.X2

The Tom Baker Years - Part 1 (1992)

90 minutes

The Tom Baker Years - Part 2 (1992)

87 minutes

Tom Baker watches clips from all 41 stories from the seven seasons (Seasons 12-18) in which he played the Doctor. He comments on each story after he watches a clip from it.

This documentary is included in the Blu-Ray set for Season 12 (on the same disc as The Sontaran Experiment) but it can also be found on the Internet Archive. It was originally released on VHS.

This was fun to watch. I watched it a season at a time (20-25 minutes per season) over the course of a few days.

Doctor Who (1963) 12.03.02

The Sortaran Experiment - Part 2

There are lots of twists and turns to this part of the story as there was with the first. The Doctor escapes from the crevasse. Styre, the Sontaran, experiments on Sarah by making her see frightening things that aren't really there. The Doctor finds Sarah after she has passed out. Harry catches up to the Doctor and Sarah. Both are unconscious. Harry goes looking for the alien.

The robot catches Vurral and the other humans and takes them to Styre. Harry almost attacks Styre but the Doctor catches him before it is too late. The Doctor has a plan. He challenges Styre to a duel. Styre can't refuse. Sarah, who has since recovered, and Harry rescue Vurral and the others while the Doctor and Styre fight. Harry also follows the Doctor's orders and sabotages Styre's spaceship.

Doctor Who (1963) 12.03.01

The Sontaran Experiment - Part 1

The Doctor, Sarah, and Harry arrive on Earth by transmat beam. There are no signs of civilization. Sarah and Harry go for a walk. The Doctor stays at the site where they materialized and works on the receptors which seem a bit scrambled.

Sarah thinks she hears something after they have gone a ways but Harry thinks she's imagining things. Harry steps into a trap and falls into a crevasse. He can't climb out. Sarah goes to find the Doctor but he has disappeared.

While Sarah and Harry are gone the Doctor hears a noise. He sees a human in a space suit running from a robot. The human falls off a cliff. The Doctor arrives at the body just before the dead man's friends do. They shoot the Doctor which knocks him out and take him back to their camp.

Built for War (2006)

directed by Steve Broster

This is a DVD Extra that comes on Doctor Who: The Sontaran Experiment DVD. It is a documentary short (39 minutes) about the history of the Sontarans on Doctor Who (1963-1989). The framing device is the investigation of a Sontaran named Gron into what humanity knows about his race.

The Sontarans first appeared in The Time Warrior (1973) which was written by Robert Holmes. Linx, the Sontaran in that story, was played by Kevin Lindsay. The Sontarans returned in The Sontaran Experiment (1975), written by Bob Baker and Dave Martin, as did Kevin Lindsay although this time he played a Sontaran named Styre.