04 May 2008

Doctor Who 4.04/4.05 The Sontaran Stratagem/Posion Sky

The Sontaran Stratagem/Poison Sky of Doctor Who's fourth series is perhaps the best throw back to the 1970's era of the original series. Both scripts were done well (written by script editor Helen Raynor, these two episodes makes up for last season's rather dull 2-part Daleks in Manhatten), but Poison Sky is perhaps the better of the two episodes.

This is what makes Who so much better, as it builds so much on origins. The welcome return of U.N.I.T just is hint of what made this story work (it also poked fun at itself, as there is great debate on what era those U.N.I.T stories took place, as the tenth Doctor muses he worked with them during the 1970's or, maybe, 1980's), along with the whole ATMOS system, which is the real throw back to Jon Pertwee's era as the Doctor.

Even the Sontarans come off more three dimensional than ever, often reminding me of what Ronald D. Moore did with the Klingons during The Next Generation's run. Turning them into a race of warrior who do not fear death and welcome the battle. Of course, most of it could go to actor Christopher Ryan, who brings great glee to his role as General Staal.

Filled with great humor and enough geeky past references to previous stories -both from the new one and the original (there is a mention of the Brigadier, now a Sir) - to make old fans happy, these two-part episodes are what makes me want to love this new series even more.

However, as with every episode, there is a drawback, and that being the spoiled child genius named Luke Rattigan. Beyond the silly last name, the character never full evolves beyond the typical meglomania of a guy too smart for everyone. His motives are muddled at best and you really don't care one way or the other why he did help the Sontarans.

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