Doctor Who review: The Sontarans (First Doctor audio)
By James Aggas
The First Doctor encounters an old enemy for the very first time in Doctor Who: The Sontarans.
Photo credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish
Image obtained from: bigfinish.com
After our reviews for The Sontaran Stratagem and The Time Warrior, we delve even further into the Doctor’s history with the warrior race, as he encounters them for the first time in Big Finish story The Sontarans!
When watching Third Doctor story The Time Warrior, one thing became very clear. While it was the first time we had seen the Sontarans on-screen in Doctor Who, it wasn’t the Doctor’s first encounter with them. Even while we eventually saw the Second Doctor encounter them in The Two Doctors, it was still very clear that he had met them before.
As a result of this, Big Finish recognized an opportunity for a good story. In this case, revealing the Doctor’s first encounter with them during his First incarnation, with his companions Steven and Sara.
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As great an idea as this was though, it had to be done completely right. It had to feel exactly like a story straight from the third season of the Classic Series. It also had to match the tone and feel completely appropriate to the era. Thankfully, Big Finish chose exactly the right writer for the story with Simon Guerrier.
When it comes to writing stories with the Sixties Doctors, Simon Guerrier is one of the very best. He knows the characters like the First Doctor, Steven and Sara inside and out. He knows the tone of the era, and what it was that made those stories so special. At the same time, however, he adds something fresh and new to the stories, too.
The Sontarans is no exception to this. Not only is it a thrilling and gritty adventure story that occurs right in the middle of The Daleks’ Masterplan. It also works wonderfully well as an “introduction” to the Sontarans. Even the very name of the story keeps things simple. Like The Daleks or The Ice Warriors, it feels appropriate that the story of the Doctor first meeting this race has their very name as the title.
Meeting the Sontarans
What’s especially interesting is that both Steven and Sara are all too aware of the Sontarans. Being from Earth’s future, they know all about their constant attacks on humanity and what they’re capable of. It’s one of the rare instances where both the companions and the audience know more about the alien race than the Doctor does. And that’s what makes The Sontarans such an interesting listen.
Like a lot of introduction stories, the Sontarans are shown to be at their most threatening and deadly in this story. There’s no silly comedy here. Instead, we see an army of Sontarans as a highly effective and ruthless strike force. We explore their code of honor, as well as their personal beliefs in a deep and very effective way.
One of the very best scenes of The Sontarans is when Steven is interrogated by them. They try to question him as much as possible, but even when he gives completely truthful answers, they are very confused. They literally cannot believe some of Steven’s ideas, especially the completely humane ones. The more you hear of their conversation, the more you’re reminded how completely alien the Sontarans really are. And that failure to understand even the most basic of concepts, like mercy, only makes them more dangerous and frightening.
Dan Starkey
While he’s not the only one to voice the Sontarans in this story, massive credit has to be given to Dan Starkey in this one. It’s possibly one (or more) of his best performances as a Sontaran. How he plays the Sontarans here completely fits the era. In some ways, it’s almost exactly like how he usually plays them.
But in other ways, there’s something just a little more old-school. There’s even more of an influence from Kevin Lindsay’s original Sontaran performance, while still avoiding to copy it completely. It’s easy to see why Big Finish regularly use Starkey as the main Sontaran voice for their stories, regardless if it’s Classic or New era that he’s playing.
Peter Purves is also great as ever in the dual role of both Steven Taylor and the First Doctor. As Steven, he sounds exactly the same as he did over fifty years ago, which is impressive enough by itself. As the First Doctor though, he’s really amazing to hear. It’s not that his voice sounds exactly like Hartnell’s did. But he gets the mannerisms and tone of Hartnell’s performance just right. It’s a very impressive rendition, especially how easily he’s able to switch between the two voices.
The Sontarans is an incredibly impressive story, on many levels. If you want to not only find out more about the history between the Doctor and the potato heads, but also get a great thrilling adventure that completely suits the era it’s written for, then The Sontarans is highly recommended. An excellent First Doctor audio from Big Finish.
Next: Review: Death in Blackpool (Eighth Doctor audio)
Have you listened to The Sontarans? Are there other unknown “first meetings” that you think should be covered? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.