The Sontaran Experiment Part Two

The one where a Sontaran does some experiments...

Elisabeth Sladen plays her first scene with Styre really well, selling Sarah's shock and fear of what she thinks is a creature she'd seen the back of. Kevin Lindsay is just as menacing as Styre as he was Linx (perhaps even more so), exemplified by his gradual, silent approach to Sarah before grabbing her by the thorax. Sadly, the mask for Styre isn't as effective as it was for Linx, with obvious loose holes for the eyes, and a less realistic, rubbery skin lacking the detail of The Time Warrior's version (I miss the little hairs). The fact Styre's lower lip is attached to Lindsay's jaw means you can quite clearly see the actor speaking inside, which also unravels the illusion.

When poor Roth takes his chance to escape, Styre guns him down in cold blood, having already got from him all of the scientific knowledge he can muster. Roth was of no more use to him, so he killed him. "I am a warrior," Styre justifies. "Murderer. MURDERER!" shouts Sladen. Electrifying stuff.

The Sontaran Experiment Part One

The one where the Doctor, Sarah and Harry meet some people on the abandoned Earth...

Rather like the TARDIS in The Ice Warriors and Castrovalva, Sarah Jane materialises upside down. It's a silly, slapstick moment, but it's not quite as ignominious as the Doctor landing arse-up in a pile of junk in Survival, a moment I've always winced at.

The barren, deserted expanse of Dartmoor lends this story plenty of scale and completely sells the fact this is supposed to be an abandoned Earth thousands of years after its devastation by solar flares. You can see for miles in every direction, and there's nothing to see but hill, sky and heath. When you look at the location of Hound Tor on Google Maps, you can see how remote the place is, a good 13 miles away from the nearest significant conurbation of Newton Abbot. A perfect Doctor Who location, and much better than the staple quarry.