The Sontaran Ordeal

Classic Doctors, New Monsters #1.4

Released: 28 July 2016

Listened: 1/12/22

The CDNM series is supposed to pair old Doctors up with new-series monsters, and they really fudged the definition by putting the Eighth Doctor with the Sontarans. The argument is that new-series Sontarans look and act differently than “classic” ones, but c’mon. Admittedly, these Sontarans are looking to get into the Time War, and they’re played by Dan Starkey and Christopher Ryan, and that’s about as new-series Sontaran as you can get. And Andrew Smith gets everything just about right, too. The Doctor is still trying to “clean up” around the Time War without getting involved, and he’s pretty torn up about the fact that he’s not making a difference. We get to actually see a planet have its entire history altered in a few seconds by the war, and it’s clear why the Doctor is horrified. Dan Starkey plays the honorable Sontaran, who wants to defeat his enemies, but wants to do it the right way, and is willing to ally with the Doctor if that’s what it takes to satisfy honor. He’s not humorous like a lot of Dan Starkey Sontarans are, and Starkey sells him quite well. Aside from the tenuous link to the boxed set’s theme, it’s really quite good.