The Sontaran Stratagem (1)

Season 4, Episode 4, Aired
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Episode Summary

Location: Earth
Date: 2009
Enemies: Sontarans
The Doctor is called back to modern-day Earth by an old friend as an old enemy starts some new troubles. Aided by the Rattigan Academy, the Sontarans establish a covert base at the mysterious ATMOS Factory. Can the Doctor stop the Sontarans from unleashing a potent terror that will bring the world to its knees?moreless
8.6
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Fan Episode Reviews (16)

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  • Sontarans are back! (Yay) Cow Features (Martha) is back too! (Boo)

    8.0
    "Great"
    By CodenameV, Sep 27, 2010 Report Abuse
    Due to the fact it's a 2-part episode the full review will be next week. It will be double length, too. But here are a few pros and cons of the first part.

    GOOD:
    1. Martha Jones. They're finally doing something different with her. A useless and overly irritating character now has something worthwhile to contribute to a decent series.
    2. Bernard Cribbins. He's the good bit of Donna's family. If the cliffhanger with him does what it threatens to I will not be pleased. He was the best thing about this episode (and it was a good episode).
    3. Villains. The Sontarans. Classic enemy re-made. They're just as good as they once were. And that means this story should pay off pretty well. One can only hope, however, due to their appearance in the stupid stories: "Invasion of Time" and "The Two Doctors" which ruined their villainy.

    BAD
    1. Martha Jones. She just irritates me way to much. It wasn't until about 15 mins from the end that I started to go "oh, wow Martha's interesting now". So for that first 30 mins she was in great need of a punch in the face. I actually hate her.
    2. Bernard Cribbins. If they do what I think they're gonna do to a great character I will not be happy.
    3. Villains. That little gimp with the crap American accent gets on my nerves. I hope he dies. Because if not, I might have to hunt down the actor and kill him anyway.

    SCORE SO FAR
    8/10 - Overall
    It loses points because Martha appears and doesn't get hit by a car, which cripples her for life. And also because they seem to be hiring idiots who can't do accents properly for important roles. Otherwise, woo hoo! Another great episode.moreless

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    2 3

  • Another "classic" monster returns

    6.3
    "Fair"
    By inakaguy, Sep 27, 2010 Report Abuse
    Having resurrected and killed of the daleks (four times), the cybermen (twice) and the Master, the Dr who staff were obviously running out of classic nasties to throw at his newest incarnation. Enter the sontarans, who must have appeared in a grand total of about 3 episodes in the original series, and who are about as menacing as squirrel in dark glasses.

    At this rate, I fully expect to see Yeti ppear in the next season, followed by the glorious return of the one eyed green condom flower from "Monster of Peladon".

    Unfortunately, this episode seems to rely on past episodes as its major drawcard. We have the return of the Sontarans, the return of UNIT, as ineffectual as ever but more convincing in death now, and the return of Martha Jones. Opinion seems to be split about Freema Agyeman's character. For my two cents, she wasn't a patch on Rose, but certainly a lot better than Donna, who I'm afraid to say is getting more annoying with each passing episode.

    Fortunately, she has some competition here in the form of a petulant, whiny, teenage protagonist, too stupid to realise that he will be betrayed by the sontarans, a fact that is obvious before the opening credits even roll.

    The soldier the Dr befriends acts well and is a good character, which makes you realise that it might be nice for the Doctor to have a permanent male companion in the Tardis again.

    The cliffhanger is basically a non-event. There's no feeling that they can't escape it or that anyone is in any real danger.

    Overall, not awful, but they really need some high quility episodes before this season slips away,moreless

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    1 2

  • Ok the dance at the end is annoying. But a great episode.

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By dalekmonster, Jun 22, 2008 Report Abuse
    This is why Doctor who is succesful. I moaned earlier about the return of classic villans but when a episode is this good who cares! The only bit I didn't like was the human trying to be a sontaron (dont mind my spelling) Yes he is smart but these guys tried to kill all of earth. Right the good points. Donna Noble had a good connection with Martha. I personally hated Martha as the assistant. But now she seemed to work really well on the set. The Doctor didn't really do anything for me in this episode. I was constantly waiting to see what Donna was up to. Martha and the Doctor still do not work! Whoever thought Martha would've been a good assistant is wrong. She is much better as a tag along like Mickey in season 2. But still the Sontarons were amazing. I never have seen a old episode with the Sontarons in but i'm desperate to find one. The only thing i'm a little annoyed about is this could have been so much better if it wasn't a two parter. I think in scenes you could have fit alot more in also the Martha clone didn't have to be so boring. The most interesting part in the story was boring. But apart from a few flaws and a very stupid dance great episode!moreless

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  • ATMOSpheric

    8.9
    "Great"
    By AvatarBlue, Jun 05, 2008 Report Abuse
    Nice concepts litter this 1st part of a two episode story. The plot arc starts with a passable level of action and explanation as a reporter dies working on a story about the ATMOS device. Martha's appearance sets us on the way to discover the classic plot of aliens preparing to overtake the planet using some benign appearing device taken from our everyday lives.

    The transistion from act 1 to act 2 is well done, seemless and with high drama/tension as two torchwood guard are assimulated and then trap Martha who is cloned.

    The middle act is then a set of fairly ordinary sequences to build up the threat level to a fairly high degree as the Earth is once again threatened. Comic book danger doesnt get any better than this.

    Locations are fairly mundane and effects passable, though the Sultanans (sorry) just look too stupid to be threatening, really only relying on Christopher Ryan (Gen, Staal) acting to determine their dangerous nature.

    As someone else mentioned, this has been done before and seem to be a staple Dr.Who plot arc, but it really does setup the finale (episode) really well.moreless

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    2 0

  • Martha calls the Doctor back to Earth to help her investigate the mysterious ATMOS factory. Things turn more sinister when the Doctor encounters an old enemy with a terrible plot. An enjoyable first half of this two-parter...moreless

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By Jay-Spacedust, May 03, 2008 Report Abuse
    Series four of modern 'Doctor Who', and after the return of the most famous enemies with the Daleks and the Cybermen in previous years, they're starting to dig a little deeper into the barrel of old enemies to bring back the Sontarans.

    The story also marks the first appearance of UNIT in modern 'Who', after being a staple of the old series, especially during the Jon Pertwee years on Earth.

    As some of my previous reviews might reflect (!), I'm not exactly a big fan of Martha. For some reason, the character just never really worked for me. But to be fair, I found her more bearable here, even if I did find her involvement with UNIT a bit unbelievable.

    Thankfully the meeting of current companion Donna and the previous Martha didn't turn into a predictable catfight, and instead they compared notes on the Doctor.

    The Sontarans (led by an unrecognisable Christopher 'Mike from The Young Ones' Ryan) are brought the life with some good costumes, being given only a light overhaul from their vintage appearance, and after some of the more childish creatures from the series (such as the little fat beings in season opener 'Partners In Crime', for example), it's good to see the return of a vintage enemy with some real threat to them.

    I found the story to be enjoyable, and in many ways more in the vein of vintage 'Doctor Who' as opposed to some of the sillier stories of new 'Who'. It played out well and had some exciting moments.

    [Spoilers] The climax of the episode, with the clone of Martha and Donna's grandfather being stuck in the car of fumes, was a great cliff-hanger, and I am really looking forward to the conclusion.moreless

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    2 1
 

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

    ADD TRIVIA
    • When Donna tells the Doctor that he's a dunce, his left hand is on his left cheek. Then when the camera switches to Ross talking to the Doctor and Donna, it's on his right cheek. Then in the next frame it's back on his left cheek. Edit
    • The old building dubbed "Rattigan Academy" in this episode has been used recently in The Sarah Jane Adventures, but under a different name. Edit
    • According to producer Susie Liggat, the Sontaran cloning tank was made from part of the scenery used in The Fires Of Pompeii. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • Overnight UK viewing figures for this episode were 6.4 million, with the final viewing figure at 7.06 million. Edit
    • International Airdates: United States: 16 May 2008 Australia: 27 July 2008 Turkey: 27 February 2011 Edit
    • Freema Agyeman's name is back in the opening credits but she is billed last and is given the "And" credit. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Sylvia: Men and their cars. Sometimes I think if I was a car… (sees the Doctor under the bonnet) Oh, it's you! Doctor… what was it? The Doctor: Yeah, that's me. Wilfred: What, have you met him before as well? Sylvia: Dad, it's the man from the wedding. When you were laid up with Spanish Flu. I'm warning you, the last time that man turned up, it was a disaster! Edit
    • Wilfred: The thing is, Doctor, that Donna is my only grandchild. You gotta promise me you're gonna take care of her. The Doctor: She takes care of me. Wilfred: Oh, yeah, that's my Donna. She was always bossing us round, even when she was tiny. The Little General, we used to call her. Donna: Yeah, don't start. Wilfred: And some of the boys she used to turn up with, a different one every week! Here, who was that one with the nail varnish? Donna: Matthew Richards. He lives in Kilburn now. With a man. Edit
    • The Doctor: Martha, tell Colonel Mace it's the Sontarans. They're in the file. Code Red: Sontarans. But if they're inside the factory, tell him not to start shooting. UNIT will get massacred. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • The Doctor: Getting a bit too close to the 1980s. Donna: What am I gonna do, put a dent in it? The Doctor: Well, someone did... This is most likely a reference to the episode "Father's Day," where The Doctor and Rose travelled to 1987 and the latter saved her father from being run over by a car, thus changing the timeline. Edit
    • Ross Jenkins The name of Private Ross Jenkins could be a subtle reference back to the old UNIT forces and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in particular. The catchphrase most associated with the character comes from the classic story 'The Daemons' in which the Brigadier gives the order, 'Jenkins, chap with wings there, five rounds rapid.' Edit
    • The Doctor: Now, don't start fighting. Martha, Donna. Donna, Martha. Please don't fight, I can't bear fighting. The Doctor's distaste with fighting in this situation is not so much his avowed stance against violence as a reference to the last time he introduced a previous Companion to a current one, in the case of Sarah Jane and Rose in 'School Reunion'. Edit

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