Customer Reviews
One of the year's least essential releases 
2007-08-13
Well, I shouldn't say "least essential". The "Doctor Who" DVD production team made a herculean effort trying to salvage this rather awkward little story. There's not much you can do to give the hard sell to a 45-minute episode from 1975 when releasing it on a standalone DVD. However, the folks at "2 Entertain" gave it their all. The story has been visually restored so that it looks as if it had been videotaped yesterday, and the few special features are meticulous.
Unfortunately, the episode being supported is not deserving of such kind consideration. "The Sontaran Experiment" was the first production from the Phillip Hinchcliffe/Robert Holmes producer/script editor team, which gave us a dozen of "Doctor Who"'s finest hours in the mid 1970s. As an opening act, this is not one of those hours. Featuring the return of the Sontarans, created by then-writer Holmes one season previously, "Experiment" features a villain not nearly as resourceful, clever or memorable as "The Time Warrior". The actor is the same but the writer is not, and that's most of the difference.
Since Sontaran actor Kevin Lindsey was in the final stages of heart failure, his character only appears in the final episode and doesn't get much to do. The rest of the story features the small cast running around a pile of rocks on Dartmoor. The rocks are very pretty. Indeed, the digitially remastered outdoor-broadcast video from 1975 looks fabulous -- this story could have been produced yesterday. Compare that with the feeble non-remastered look of the 1977 baseball World Series, recently released to DVD in the U.S., and you appreciate that this is a terrific restoration job.
The text commentary, as usual, is a lively affair written by Martin Wiggins, sharing with us some gruesome on-location anecdotes (mostly about Tom Baker's broken collarbone) and interesting discarded ideas from the story's first drafts (the mating habits of the Sontarans, and the British relics the authors intended should protrude from the Earth's surface thousands of years into the future where the story's set). The three-man audio commentary team -- Hinchcliffe, writer Bob Baker, and actress Lis Sladen -- share their crystal-clear memories from 30+ years ago. Compared to the commentary track from the sister DVD release (1969's classic "The Invasion") one begins to appreciate an inverse ratio between the quality of the story and the quality of the commentary.
The lone featurette produced for the disc is a comprehensive 39-minute history of the Sontarans. Called "Built For War", the documentary covers all of the Sontarans' "Doctor Who" appearances between 1974 and 1985, and thus features interviews with many people who had nothing to do with "Experiment" at all. Script editor Terrance Dicks (who did not script-edit this episode) reminisces about his relationship with writer Bob Holmes (who did not write it). Future Doctor Colin Baker (who did not appear in this episode) and future script editor Eric Saward (who did not script-edit it) take turns harshing on the 1985 Sontaran entry "The Two Doctors". The two men also take turns seeing who can reach 400 pounds first. Colin wins, although Saward grows an impressive mop of hair to finish in second place by a single ounce. Good heavens, Colin! The normally zaftig Dicks looks like Nicole Richie next to those two.
Sontarin Experiment - OK 2007-07-28
This is another better-than-average story in the 1st year of Tom Baker's 7 year tenure.
I felt this story to be OK, but not great. The story wasn't great and I didn't thing the original content had been that well acted. The story isn't a key story either, (unlike it's successor) which may explain the lower budget input.
Simple implausable plot, but good dialog. 
2007-07-17
"The Sontaran Experiment" is shorter than most Doctor Who episodes and is missing a few hallmarks of the series, but has some excellent dialog. If you like Tom Baker's humor this is a good budget title for you, but if you want a more in depth plot look elsewhere. I suggest "Genesis of the Daleks" and "The Robots of Death". "The Sontaran Experiment" is only about 50 minutes long, but the DVD includes a 39 minute "Built for War" documentary on the Sontaran race for those interested the series' background as told by actors (not Tom Baker) and some production team.
The Doctor is in 
2007-05-14
Tom Baker is back as Doctor Who. Watch as his hat and scarf solve yet another space story. See the Tardis disapear and reapear somewhere in space and time.
The Sontaran Experiment was a Success 2007-05-12
In short, I loved this episode of classic Doctor Who. Tom Baker is proabably my favorite Doctor, including the new series actors - you can say what you want about the classic series sets or special effects, but the scripts were, for the most part, superior in Baker's Era (there are exceptions, not saying that). And Tom Baker was an excellent Doctor. This story is a 2 part story that is short and sweet. It revived the Sontarans as villians, and gave an additional tie-in to the Ark In Space story line (the previous story). Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan were good companions for the Doctor, and I have come to appreciate their performances much more in my more mature years for differing aspects to my original veiwing back when I was a kid. Very well played. And Tom Baker plays the Doctor very well, soldiering through half the episode with a broken arm.
Anyway, if you like Doctor Who, you'll enjoy this one. The extras on the DVD were good too.
That's all for now.
2nd Appearance of the Dreaded Sontarans 2008-04-24
This episode marks the first meeting between the 4th Doctor, and the dreaded Sontarans, as well as the 2nd screen appearance of the Sontarans. Rather a good episode that fills the gap between The Ark in Space, and Genesis of the Daleks.
Sontarans look like Russett Mr. Potatoheads! 2008-01-27
This one is a really great episode, one of my personal favorites. Tom Baker plays Doctor Who and Sarah is his sidekick along with one other male sidekick.
Doctor Who stops off on Earth (far in the Earth's future when it is no longer inhabited) to make repairs to some equipment that he has based there. Sarah and her friend come along for some R&R in the beautuful English countryside but they run into a "hole-trap" right away! Pretty soon some human astronaults show up and they are very suspicious of the TARDIS trio because some of their crew members have been killed.
The facts ultimately show that it is Styre, the Sontaran, along with his devilish mobile robot, who has been torturing and killing off the astronaults. He had lured them to Earth with a fake distress call and then destroyed their space ship after they had landed. Styre is conducting "experiments" on humans to detect all their mental and physical inferiorities, (e.g., by water deprivation, by mashing them, etc.), so that his tribe can invade the galaxy and exploit these weaknesses. His superiors are awaiting his final report prior to the invasion.
But Doctor Who has other plans for the Sontarans!
The Sontaran, Styre, looks like a giant russett potato with arms and legs and dressed in a cool space suit, and is actually made up quite good. His robot is also a timeless work of tinsmithing art. The cinematography in this entry is spectacular and the action is constant.
If I have a singular critique of this one it's that it is one of the shorter Doctor Who episodes, having only two parts. Still, it's very worthwhile television. My highest recommendation.
A SHORT ONE, BUT WORTHWHILE NONETHELESS. 2008-01-05
"The Sontaran Experiment" is an interesting two-part serial from Tom Baker's first season as the Doctor, taking place right after "The Ark in Space." The cast and crew do a commendable job, though the story itself kinda lacks in some areas. Still, this is good "Who," and the extras are terrific. This belongs in everybody's collection of "Doctor Who" DVD's.
Program Grade: B+
DVD Grade: A
Overall Grade: A-
Love Sontarans 2007-12-16
Sarah Jane's neon yellow jacket, the Doctor's broken collarbone and some great scenery make this memorable. The Extra history of the Sontarans in Doctor Who is interesting although having a Sontaran watching and commenting on the history was distracting. Still, the scenery is fantastic and the entire episode is shot out of doors. Good commentary track from the actors. Good episode.
Great story 2007-10-18
This is the only story from this season that I did not see as a kid. It is a very good short story. It is fast paced compared to most 1970s television. It is typical in the since that the bad guys are basically Germans. The Sontarans have German sounding names. This is true throughout most of Doctor Who. The story links very well in between The Ark in Space and Genesis of the Daleks.
