Tag: sontarans-vs-rutans

Doctor Who Audio Review: The Sontarans Meet The War Doctor

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Doctor Who-Sontarans vs. Rutans comes to a satisfying conclusion with John Dorney’s In Name Only from Big Finish Productions. The audio drama was directed by Ken Bentley. Jonathon Carley has taken over the role of the War Doctor from the late John Hurt. During this particular incarnation, the Time Lord once known as the Doctor has rejected the moniker due to his reluctant participation in the Time War. Although he has not lost much of the morality shown in his other selves, this version of the Doctor is certainly more ruthless and dangerous in many ways. The guest cast is comprised of Dan Starkey, Christopher Ryan, John Banks, and Debbie Korley.

In the midst of the Time War, the Time Lords suffer a devastating attack apparently committed by the Rutans. The War Doctor has arrived and has some different ideas as to who to blame for the attack on his people. The Time Lords are itching to deliver a terrible retaliation, but the War Doctor conducts his own investigation before Time is damaged beyond repair.

I have enjoyed the mini-series overall. The story is a little confusing, but it does tie together the other plots in this series pretty well. Carley does sound uncannily like John Hurt at times. I was not a fan of the series introducing some secret incarnation of the Doctor, but this particular iteration is starting to grow on me, mostly due to the presentation by Big Finish.

I also find myself enjoying the encounters with the Sontarans more. The performances of Starkey, Ryan, and Banks are well done. There seems to be some add a little more diverse personality in the Sontarans. I normally would balk at such an effort, but the writers are still remaining true to the original concept.

There is plenty of reason to enjoy this episode, but it may take more than one listen to fully understand it.

Doctor Who Audio Review: The Case Of The Dead Sontaran

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

The Sontarans vs. Rutans saga continues with another enjoyable audio drama from Big Finish Productions. This time, the Doctor Who range pits the Sixth Doctor against the Sontarans again in Born to Die by Tiegan Byrne. Colin Baker is back behind the mic and is joined by India Fisher reprising her role as Charlotte Pollard. Jon Culshaw, Christopher Ryan, and Dan Starkey make up the guest past portraying various Sontarans.

This is the Big Finish era where Charley is keeping the rather peculiar secret that she has already traveled with the Doctor in his future. The TARDIS has brought them to the planet of Taxodon where they come across a Sontaran who dies under mysterious circumstances. The Doctor has a chance of prove their innocence, but he discovers that a race is in captivity due to the Sontarans experimenting with their natural ability to camouflage. He also finds another experiment which appears to be at the behest of the Rutans, and not every Sontaran may be as he appears.

This has been an interesting little mini-series. Colin Baker is quite engaging as usual. India Fisher still sounds great as Charley Pollard even though she is over twenty years older than when she started playing the role. The story is pretty good as well. Byrne is at least a competent writer who knows how to run with an interesting idea. It was kind of fun to hear the Doctor paired with a Sontaran who is acting in a kind of Watson-esque role.

The episode itself isn’t necessarily a stand-out, but the performances and the overall idea of examining some aspects of the endless war between the Sontarans and the Rutans does make it worthy of collecting and revisiting from time to time.

Doctor Who Audio Review: The Brigadier Wants Some Answers

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

The Children of the Future is another worthy entry into the Big Finish audio range Doctor Who: Sontarans vs. Rutans. Tim Foley provides the script which was directed by Ken Bentley. Tim Treloar has once again performed his version of the Third Doctor, originally portrayed by the late Jon Pertwee. Sadie Miller reprises the role of Sarah Jane Smith, who was originally portrayer by her late mother, Elisabeth Sladen. Jon Culshaw continues his masterful impression of the late Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. Jeremy Ang Jones, Nicholas Boulton, and Lucy Goldie make up the guest cast.

The Doctor has become more irascible and secretive lately, and the Brigadier and Sarah Jane Smith become concerned enough to follow him to a secret base of soldiers who claim to be from the future. They claim that they are refugees after the Sontarans invade Earth in the future. There is an audacious plan to breed humans who are uniquely capable of standing up to the invasion that has yet to happen. Sarah detects a few inconsistencies and begins to doubt the Doctor’s allegiance, and then his identity. The Sontarans’ long-standing enemy, the Rutans, are shapeshifters, and this Doctor may not be the genuine article.

All of the original actors who played the main parts are deceased, but the characters live on. Sadie Miller really is getting better at emulating her mother’s vocal talents. Treloar has continued to solidly capture the essence of Pertwee’s performance as well. The story has some interesting red herrings in the plot. The resolution was not as obvious as it could have been, but that’s good. It still ends up being merely solid entertainment, but that’s better than being outright garbage.

Doctor Who Audio Review: Sontarans In Ireland

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Sontarans vs Rutans: The Battle of Giant’s Causeway is another triumphant beginning to a pretty fun series of Doctor Who audio dramas from Big Finish Productions. This year marks the fiftieth anniversary since the introduction of the Sontarans in Doctor Who, and Big Finish decided to mark the occasion by a short series of dramas that feature aspects of the ongoing war between the Sontarans and the Rutans.

The first episode features the return of Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor. India Fisher reprises her role as Charlotte Pollard with Conrad Westmaas returning to the role of C’rizz after fifteen years since audiences heard the tragic departure of the character. This is basically a flashback story that sort of tantalizes the nostalgia for long-time Big Finish listeners. John Banks and Dan Starkey return to voice the absurdly militaristic Sontarans. Lizzie Hopley wrote the script, and Ken Bentley returns to the director’s chair. Michelle Fox and Amanda Hurwitz round out the guest cast.

A temporal tidal wave throws the TARDIS to Ancient Ireland, and the Doctor, C’rizz, and Charley encounter Sontarans behaving like Roman Legionnaires. They have landed in a region known as the Giant’s Causeway, and something has shut the TARDIS down, leaving the Doctor and his friends stranded in the midst of a brewing war between two alien forces who have been displaced and the savagery of those who are supposed to live in that time and place.

Doctor Who is a pretty strange show on the outset, and this script is up there when it comes to odd plotlines. Hopley is talented enough to make this work. The Sontarans are acting odder than usual, but Starkey and Banks still manage to make them compelling and amusing. McGann, Fisher, and Westmaas easily recapture the chemistry that made them a popular team in earlier times. I would not consider this script to be one the greats, but it’s still pretty enjoyable. Hopley shows some creativity in bringing in some fresh amusement in the depiction of the Sontarans and the Rutans. Yes, we’ll be hearing more from the Rutans in this little mini-series. Hopley gives this range a pretty decent kick-off.