THE PLOT
The Doctor, Sarah, and Harry have transmatted down from Space Station Nerva to repair the transmat system, to clear the way for the waking survivors to recolonize the Earth. They soon discover that Earth is not as lifeless as they had believed. First, they encounter astronauts, survivors of an expedition lured to Earth by a false distress signal. As the Doctor is interrogated by the suspicious astronauts, Sarah befriends Roth (Peter Rutherford), a half-crazed man who has escaped an "alien in the rocks," who uses a machine to capture the humans for brutal experiments.
The alien is Styre (Kevin Lindsay), a Sontaran scientist studying the humans to prepare a report for a Sontaran battle fleet. The fleet is already on its way, to secure Earth as a foothold in the Sontarans' endless war against the Rutans - leaving very bleak prospects for both the astronauts and the humans on Nerva. But the Doctor has a more immediate problem: Sarah has been taken prisoner, and is about to be subjected to the Sontaran's latest experiments!
CHARACTERS
The Doctor: This was the first recorded story of the production block, and writers Baker & Martin would only have had Robot to go on in their characterization of the Doctor. This may explain why the Doctor doesn't come across as strongly here as in The Ark in Space. Tom remains on sparkling form, but the script makes the Doctor useless and even borderline stupid in parts of Episode One, notably when he falls down the same trap that entangled Harry, largely by behaving with willful recklessness. With a climax relying on physical combat - a bit that feels very like a leftover of the Pertwee years - the only major "Doctorish" moment comes at the end, when the Doctor faces down the leader of a Sontaran battle fleet armed with nothing but a desperate bluff.
Sarah Jane Smith: After one fairly weak outing, Sarah has a strong role again here. In the first episode,she practically takes on the Doctor's role again, befriending Roth, rescuing the Doctor, and asking all of the key questions about Roth's fear of his shipmates and about the alien in the rocks. The second episode sees her returned to the traditional companion role, captured and terrorized, but it remains a good outing for the character.
Harry Sullivan: He gets a nice character beat early on, enjoying the tranquility of an Earth with no people, half-regretting that the people on Nerva will change this idyllic countryside all too quickly. It's a surprisingly thoughtful aspect of a character who has mostly come across as - well, to repeat my observation of the last serial, as Bertie Wooster's smarter cousin. Once it becomes clear he is not going to be rescued from his trap anytime soon, he finds his own way out - just in time to witness Sarah being kidnapped by the Sontaran!
The second episode sees Harry doing what he can to help Sarah, a human prisoner, and the Doctor. He wisely doesn't attempt to rush in, knowing that he would only manage to get himself killed. He does what he can (providing reassurance to Sarah, giving a small amount of water to the prisoner), trusting to the Doctor.
Villain of the Week: Kevin Lindsay's Styre is wonderfully played throughout. Though far from the best Sontaran story, this is probably the only one in which a Sontaran feels genuinely menacing. As I recall, Lynx was more amusing than frightening; and the later Sontaran stories have all the fear factor of a basket of kittens.
THOUGHTS
Classic Who had very few 2-part, 50-minute serials, and mostly for good reason. The series was always at its best when it had a little time to explore settings and character, as well as simply running through the plot. Arguably, that remains the case, but I'll save those thoughts for when I reach the New Series. In Classic Who, 2-parters tended to have fairly strong first episodes - establishing the setting, guest characters, and problem - but rushed second episodes, with problems being resolved a little too quickly and easily.
The Sontaran Experiment has a cracking first episode. Baker & Martin, never my favorite writers, nevertheless do an excellent job of establishing the base situation quickly, and of giving each of the regulars something to do. Small dilemmas are given to the characters at first: Harry's fall, the Doctor's capture. In working to solve these problems, Sarah Jane encounters larger problems - "the alien in the rocks," the tortured Roth. This progression fuels the first episode, building to the effective reveal of Styre, still unnamed as of the end of the episode.
Part Two falls down in the same areas where second halves of two-parters always seem to fall down. The rhythms suddenly feel off, everything a bit too rushed. The Sontaran growls at the humans, "I shall destroy you all!" Only to promptly add: "But first I have more important matters to attend to." Convenient, that. The Doctor defeats the Sontaran by challenging him to single combat and dancing like a butterfly, stinging like a bee, until Styre gets conveniently tired. Meanwhile, Harry yanks the Thingamajigee out of the ship, which conveniently is enough to kill Styre with minimal effort. In short, a lot of things suddenly happen with a lot of convenience for the regulars, with even the Doctor's grand bluff at the end - a scene with the potential to be great - going by too quickly to really be dramatically effective.
Part Two isn't entirely without interest. The scenes involving Styre's experiments have an effectively chilly resonance, clearly meant to echo the "scientific research" of Dr. Josef Mengele during the Second World War. Styre methodically tests humans' reaction to lack of fluids and to "immersion in liquid." He tests Sarah's responses to fear, and begins a rather nasty test involving the resistance of the human ribcage to extreme pressure. Realization of these scenes is variable, particularly if you've read Ian Marter's much, much better novelization, but Styre's utterly clinical reactions to each test make them effective.
In the end, I can't really give this one a rating above "just okay." Part One is mostly excellent, but Part Two feels rushed, with a rather limp conclusion. It's not really at all bad. But given how well it starts, the weak finish cannot help but make it a disappointment.
Rating: 5/10.
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