The Sontaran Stratagem"/ "The Poison Sky"

Helen Raynor’s previous Doctor Who story was "Daleks in Manhattan" / "Evolution of the Daleks", which I consider to be the nadir of the relaunched programme by a considerable margin. So it was with great trepidation that I awaited the broadcast of this two-parter. Happily, Raynor provides a far better script this time. The Sontarans storm back and it is obvious that Raynor and Russell T Davies really understand these monsters. Unlike the Daleks and the Cybermen, these are not creatures who have been altered to remove or restrict emotions, but are merely conditioned to be bellicose from birth (or hatching). This obviously means that they are easier to characterise and Raynor does this excellently- the face-off between the Doctor and General Staal at the climax is brilliantly written. The plot is simple, but not predictable and shows inventiveness . The setting at the Rattigan Academy at first seems like something out of The Sarah Jane Adventures, but is incorporated well into the story. Most importantly the script has coherence and internal consistency, the lack of which damned Raynor’s previous Dalek two-parter. The pseudo science is no less fake than in "Daleks in Manhattan" / "Evolution of the Daleks", but it doesn’t contradict itself and such is the verve of the story that it can be forgiven, even the quite extraordinary method used to disseminate the Poison Sky- surely burning it would use up all the oxygen, asphyxiating the Earth even more quickly? The story is helmed by Douglas Mackinnon who directs with great verve, and energy, effectively dealing with spectacular scenes, such as the appearance of the Valiant, to more intimate ones such as Donna’s reunion with her family.

The characters are also well written. Child geniuses are seldom appealing characters, but Luke Rattigan is very memorable and is excellently played by Ryan Sampson. His arrogance is to the fore early on, but his betrayal by the Sontarans leaves him sobbing like an infant on the floor and his redemption is very moving. This story sees the return of UNIT, led by Rupert Holliday-Evans’s Colonel Mace, who plays the Brigadier role (the real one is mentioned for the first time this century and has received a knighthood- hurrah!) and it is good to see that the non-commissioned end of the ranks is not full of stereotypical army grunts. We have the wonderful character of Private Harris, played by Clive Standen, who discovers the clone in the basement. He acts like a typical squaddie, taunting General Staal about his height, yet displays intelligence and sympathy when examining the clone. Staal is played brilliantly by Christopher Ryan, who makes the character a very believable leader of an army of clone warriors, yet is not above humour. The look of the Sontarans takes the best from their previous appearances (i.e. the Kevin Lindsay versions) and updates them with 21st Century prosthetic techniques with very impressive results.

One thing I was very much looking forward to was the return of Martha. Miss Jones is now Dr Jones and Freema Agyeman effortlessly shows her as being more mature, with more responsibility, but still the Martha we know and love. Her performance as her evil clone is nicely underplayed and all the more sinister for that. Donna is great in this, displaying her ‘supertemp’ skills and it is always great to see her family. Anyone expecting a cat-fight between Martha and Donna were to be disappointed and their relationship is good- although I love their differing responses to the Doctor’s safe return. The Doctor is presented in a way closer to the Jon Pertwee era than ever before and David Tennant plays the part with his usual excellence. Raynor wrote very generic Doctor material in her previous story, but this time she goes for archetypal- the Doctor saves the day by inspiring someone to be better.

"The Sontaran Stratagem"/ "The Poison Sky" is wonderful fun and proves that Ms Raynor had it in her all along.

NEXT: "The Doctor's Daughter"