dwea0304_thesontarans_1417The Doctor, Sara and Steven encounter a group of SSS agents on a vital mission – against foes the Doctor hasn’t met before…

Simon Guerrier’s clever script for this final First Doctor Early Adventure pays homage to one of the classic tales of war literature, Alistair MacLean’s The Guns of Navarone, but if you think recognising that will give you a heads-up to the progression of the plot, think again. The Sontarans aren’t the Nazis that MacLean included in his novel (and then appeared in the film version): Guerrier uses all that we know about the race, from both the classic and new series (as well as the accretions Big Finish have made to their history) to present a tale that constantly surprises. These aren’t the comedy Sontarans that we’ve sometimes had – you can see Field Marshal Styre fitting in perfectly with this bunch – but nor are they simply stomping around following orders. And by making this the Doctor’s first encounter with them, there’s plenty of opportunity for the Time Lord to make mistakes…

Peter Purves and Dan Starkey both have multiple roles – the former as the Doctor, Steven and narrator, while Starkey provides a number of different Sontarans. There’s never any doubt as to who either is playing at any point in proceedings, and, as producer David Richardson comments in the extras, it’s something of a surprise that there are actually so few cast members! Jean Marsh reprises Sara Kingdom admirably, while Jemma Churchill, John Banks and Rosanna Miles all are thrown various challenges by the script to which they respond well.

There’s a certain end of era feel to this story, which, like all the Steven and Sara tales we’ve had, is set midway through The Daleks’ Masterplan, and perhaps the gap has been stretched as far as possible (although there’s still a certain photo seen in The Day of the Doctor to be explained!). If this is the end, then Guerrier, director Ken Bentley and the cast give it a fittingly epic send off.

Verdict: A thoroughly enjoyable war story with a twist. 9/10

Paul Simpson