The Sontaran Experiment is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was originally broadcast in two weekly parts on February 22 and March 1, 1975. Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor Thomas Stewart Baker (born January 20, 1934) is a British actor, mainly associated with playing the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who, whom he played from 1974 to 1981. ... Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor Thomas Stewart Baker (born January 20, 1934) is a British actor, mainly associated with the role of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who, whom he played from 1974 to 1981. ... This entry is about the television scriptwriter. ... Philip Hinchcliffe (born 1944) is a British television producer, who is probably best known for the overseeing of the golden era of British television series Doctor Who in the mid-1970s. ... This is a list of Doctor Who television serials. ... February 22 is the 53rd day of every year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... March 1 is the 60th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (61st in leap years). ... 1975 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... The Ark in Space is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in four weekly parts from January 25 to February 15, 1975. ... Genesis of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was originally broadcast in six weekly parts from March 8 to April 12, 1975. ... This is a list of Doctor Who television serials. ... A broadcast of the long-running and popular British science-fiction series Doctor Who. ... BBC Doctor Who website DMOZ Doctor Who page Doctor Who Cuttings Archive — hosts a large number of press cuttings from the 60s onwards. ... February 22 is the 53rd day of every year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... March 1 is the 60th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (61st in leap years). ... 1975 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ...

Synopsis

On a future Earth recovering from devastating solar flares, the Fourth Doctor, Harry Sullivan, and Sarah Jane Smith discover Styre, a Sontaran warrior, conducting experiments on astronauts he has captured during their investigation of the rejuvenated Earth. Earth, also known as the Earth or Terra, is the third planet outward from the Sun. ... A solar flare is a violent explosion in the Suns atmosphere with an energy equivalent to tens of millions of hydrogen bombs. ... Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor Thomas Stewart Baker (born January 20, 1934) is a British actor, mainly associated with the role of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who, whom he played from 1974 to 1981. ... Harry Sullivan is a fictional character from the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who. ... Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith (from Planet of Evil). ... A Sontaran (from The Time Warrior) The Sontarans are a fictional extraterrestrial race from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... U.S. Space Shuttle astronaut Bruce McCandless II using a manned maneuvering unit. ...

The Doctor, Sarah and Harry arrive on a desolate and apparently deserted Earth to discover that a group of shipwrecked astronauts from a human colony, GalSec, have been lured there by a fake distress call. One of their number, Roth, tells Sarah of an alien conducting gruesome experiments on him and his crewmates. The alien turns out to be a Sontaran, Field-Major Styre, who is compiling a report on human physical and mental capabilities as a prelude to an invasion of Earth.

The Doctor challenges Styre to unarmed combat. The Sontaran agrees but is quickly weakened in Earth's unfamiliar gravity. Harry meanwhile enters Styre's ship and uses the Doctor's sonic screwdriver to remove the vital terullian diode bypass transformer, so that when the alien returns there to revitalise himself he is drained of all his energy and destroyed.

The Doctor sends a message to the Sontaran fleet, warning them that without Styre's report they cannot invade.

Plot

Styre examines the results of Experiment 5: Fluid deprivation.

The Sontaran Styre conducts experiments on human captives in Doctor Who - The Sontaran Experiment. ... The Sontaran Styre conducts experiments on human captives in Doctor Who - The Sontaran Experiment. ...

Notes

1. This was only the second serial in the history of Doctor Who (the first being 1970's Spearhead from Space) to be shot entirely on location, in this case on Dartmoor. However, unlike Spearhead from Space and the location material for other serials, the production was mounted entirely on videotape using an Outside Broadcast unit, rather than on film as was more usual for the time.
2. During shooting, lead actor Tom Baker broke his collarbone. Fortunately however, part of his costume was a large scarf, which he was able to use to conceal the neck brace he had to wear following the injury. For action scenes, he was doubled by regular stunt performer Terry Walsh, shot from a variety of face-concealing angles.
3. Although the serial was the third to feature Baker, it was actually the second shot, hence the out-of-sequence production code.
4. This serial forms part of a continuous series of adventures for the TARDIS crew, beginning from the end of Robot and continuing through to Terror of the Zygons, although the Virgin Publishing novel A Device of Death takes place in a possible gap between Genesis of the Daleks and Revenge of the Cybermen, and BBC Books' novel Wolfsbane is set in another such gap between Revenge and Zygons.

1970 was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Spearhead from Space is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in four weekly parts from January 3 to January 24, 1970. ... Dartmoor is a National Park in the centre of the English county of Devon. ... Videotape is a means of recording television pictures and accompanying sound onto magnetic tape as opposed to movie film. ... Film refers to the celluloid media on which movies are printed Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as the field in general. ... Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor Thomas Stewart Baker (born January 20, 1934) is a British actor, mainly associated with playing the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who, whom he played from 1974 to 1981. ... Robot is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from December 28, 1974 to January 18, 1975. ... Terror of the Zygons is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from August 30 to September 20, 1975 Synopsis The Loch Ness monster is let loose. ... Virgin Publishing is the book publishing arm of Virgin Enterprises, the company originally set up by Richard Branson as a record company. ... Genesis of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was originally broadcast in six weekly parts from March 8 to April 12, 1975. ... Revenge of the Cybermen is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from April 19 to May 10, 1975. ... BBC Books is the book publishing division of BBC Worldwide, the commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation. ...

External links

• Cast and Crew list, on the BBC website (http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/doctorwho/episodeguide/sontaranexperiment/castcrew.shtml)