Plot Details: This opinion reveals no details about the movie's plot.

(For those unfamiliar with the Doctor Who television series, please consult my "Doctor Who Primer" at the following Epinions page):

http://www.epinions.com/content_3396182148

In this story the Doctor and companions Sarah and Harry materialize on the surface of planet Earth, early fifty-first century. They are fresh from their adventures on Space Station Nerva, as portrayed in "The Ark in Space." Upon arriving back on Earth (meant to be uninhabited following the destruction of the human race by solar flares) they find that this is not the case after all, and quickly fall foul of traps laid by the hitherto unsuspected inhabitants. The inhabitants in question are something akin to a lost tribe...they are space-farers of GalSec, a group of humans who have been marooned accidentally on Earth during a survey. Though their race knows of earth, they have no especial interest in their heritage and seek only to escape. When meeting the Doctor, they believe him responsible for mysterious disappearance and deaths of members of their party.

Naturally, other dastardly deeds are afoot on future Earth. Unbeknownst to the Doctor or the GalSecians, the evil Sontaran race have set a field investigator down to Earth in advance of an invasion fleet. This methodical and diabolical so-and-so is the party truly responsible for the disappearance of the GalSec crew....he has been using them in terrible experiments meant to test the limits of human endurance.

Can the Doctor persuade the GalSecs not to kill him for their belief he is the baddy?

Can he foil the Sontaran evil plan to murder all the GalSec crew?

Can they all together save the Earth from invasion by the Sontarans?

All these and more exciting nail-biting questions will be answered when you watch "The Sontaran Experiment"!

Sontaran experiment is unusual in being only a two-episode story. This makes it particularly suitable to watch the whole thing in a single sitting, and also means that the plot never manages to twist and turn enough to lose even the most simple of simpletons, such as myself. Indeed, far from being twisty-turny, the plot to Sontaran Experiment is so ephemeral as, at times, to be hardly present at all.

This story presents challenges in suspension of belief never before put before the minds of the Doctor Who viewing public. The Doctor Who viewing public is a cohort which is, demonstrably already at this point, ready to go the extra mile into disbelief in order to have a good time. But here we go one more time. Deep breath, brethren. Now we must hold that an alien race sends a representative to a world it knows to be uninhabited in order to test the inhabitant’s strength. Further, the entire invasion fleet of tens of thousands of them will not even consider invading until just one of them has run a bunch of tests on eight or nine humans. Odd, truly odd. Despite these illogical plot devices, this story is pure adventure, atmospheric and fun. What more do you want?! Laugh and wonder, when we are expected to believe two skinny-looking dudes who've been eating grass for the last week could hold a five hundred pound bar in the air in a kneeling posture. And why exactly does the entire crew of the GalSec craft have South African accents? This, in all actual fact, is the greatest mystery in this story!


In addition to being so short, this story was also unusual in being the first story ever to be filmed completely on location (Dartmoor in southern England.) This location was particularly suited to representing a planet Earth which had gone completely back to nature after the departure of man many centuries since. The entire story is filmed on grassy moorland and amongst craggy boulders. This makes for an unusual setting for a Doctor Who story, but a good one. I enjoyed seeing the characters running about outside and getting some air for a change instead of cooped up in a stuffy spaceship or futuristic base like they normally are. A good friend of mine has made the observation that most filmed science fiction consists of people running up and down corridors. This is one refreshing exception to that scenario.

I took a good deal of pleasure from the special effects in this story. Styre, the Sontaran, is in possession of a big metallic probe, similar to the probot from Empire Strikes Back, but made on an infinitely smaller budget. It is the kind of contraption that pleases the eye of the habituated Doctor Who viewer; it is groovy-looking enough to bring admiration at its creators, and crusty-looking enough to make one laugh at it. That’s what I love about Who! Styre's little survival bubble is impressive in construction, and that’s pretty much it for objects d'art!

This story, thinly and ridiculously plotted though it may be, works because the actors all want it to work, and everybody puts in a good show. This , despite its low budget, short length and cheesy moments was Who at its best.....adventure, mystery, excitement, and special effects that were given the ol' college try on a shoestring budget. Sandwiched between the behemoths that were Ark in Space and Genesis of the Daleks, this delightful interlude was just what we all wanted!

CAST
Tom Baker The Doctor
Donald Douglas Vural
Brian Ellis Prisoner
Glyn Jones Krans
Kevin Lindsay Styre / The Marshal
Ian Marter Harry Sullivan
Peter Rutherford Roth
Elisabeth Sladen Sarah Jane Smith
Terry Walsh Zake
Peter Walshe Erak

CREW
Rodney Bennett Director
Bob Baker Writer
Dave Martin Writer
Robert Holmes Script Editor
Philip Hinchcliffe Producer
Dick Mills Special Sounds
Roger Murray-Leach Designer
Barbara Kidd Costumes
Sylvia James Make-Up
Terry Walsh Fight Arranger
John Friedlander Visual Effects
Tony Oxley Visual Effects

My Reviews of Doctor Who:
Logopolis
The Brain of Morbius
The Pyramids of Mars
The armageddon Factor
The Ark in Space
The Ribos Operation
The Revenge of The Cybermen
The Stones of Blood
The Sontaran Experiment
The Genesis of The Daleks
The Destiny of the Daleks
The Pirate Planet
The City of Death
The Androids of Tara
The Talons of Weng Chiang
The Robots of Death
The Power of Kroll
The Leisure Hive
Terror of the Zygons
The Horror of Fang Rock
The Invasion of Time
The Seeds of Doom
Full Circle



Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12