Comments | persiflage_1: Watching Classic Who: The Sontaran Experiment

persiflage_1

Watching Classic Who: The Sontaran Experiment

Feb 19, 2008 06:08

I managed to find the time, despite hours of writing at the weekend, to catch up on the Fourth Doctor serial "The Sontaran Experiment".

( Season 4 related spoilers are under the cut along with my rambling thoughts... )

serial: the sontaran experiment, character: sarah jane smith, character: harry sullivan, review, dw: classic who, character: fourth doctor

Comments 12

londonesque February 19 2008, 14:23:20 UTC

I watched that a couple of months back. It's even more fun watching those eps in order when the stories blend in to each other, so far poor Sarah Jane is still trying to get home lol. I really like Harry, he's like a big dorky puppy. I'd love him, Benton (is that right?) and The Brig to make a cameo, even just one of them. I think that will have to have fun with that in my brain though (like Romana coming back and taking Martha and Tosh to travel with her lol).

persiflage_1 February 19 2008, 14:25:33 UTC

Yup! Benton, the Brig and Harry - I'd love to see all three make cameos. And after seeing this serial, I can totally understand why people felt the need to create the Harry&Martha comm to write fics with the two of them in...

londonesque February 19 2008, 15:26:27 UTC

BTW, isn't SJS so cute in these eps? I know she's older now, so of course will be more mature, but I wish they'd give her back a bit more of her playful nature in SJA and her upcoming eps.

persiflage_1 February 19 2008, 15:32:05 UTC

I agree that she is cute in these. I think she does have her playful moments in SJA - but I wouldn't mind her having more of them ! I want to see her and Martha and Jack together so much it damn near hurts: I really hope we do get to see them together in canon.

Thread 6

padawanpooh February 19 2008, 17:54:05 UTC

I would love dear old Benton to have a cameo ;-) *uses Benton icon*

Re: The Sontarans - never liked them, have to admit - I'm not bouncing up & down about them coming back.

Now...the Sea Devils? The Ice Warriors? Alpha Centauri? THAT I could get behind...

persiflage_1 February 19 2008, 18:24:43 UTC

I'm not that impressed they're coming back either... I wish RTD would use a little more imagination !

box_in_the_box February 19 2008, 19:19:33 UTC

Actually, word is that the Sea Devils AND Silurians are making returns in S4.

persiflage_1 February 19 2008, 19:22:12 UTC

So rumour has it!

box_in_the_box February 19 2008, 19:32:39 UTC

"The Sonataran Experiment" was definitely more of a space-filler in that season than anything else. Exterior location filming was almost never a good thing for Classic Who - the Third Doctor episode "Inferno" was a rare exception in that regard, since it not only managed to overcome the technical limitations of the era, but actually be creepier because of all the outside shots - and the story read as more of a postscript to the preceding "Ark in Space" than anything else. Still, Doctor/Sarah Jane shippers get to see the Doctor fly into a near-murderous rage at Styre's torture of Sarah Jane.

"The Invasion of Time" is extremely good, the deeply disappointing interior rooms of the TARDIS notwithstanding ("Well, shit ... all we have the budget for is a pool room and the basement of this building. We can't even afford to cover them with roundels ... fuck it, we're filming it"), simply because the plot remains genuinely surprising, and Tom Baker is as scary and untrustworthy as ever.

persiflage_1 February 19 2008, 19:37:58 UTC

Cool - I look forward to watching it once I get my hands on it !