The Sontaran Experiment [TV/1975.2.22 ~ 3.1]

★★★☆☆

  An interesting curio, this. By filming the entirety of the serial outdoors but not using actual film, The Sontaran Experiment feels like a big opportunity to make a vastly more visually arresting serial. It doesn't really help that what's outdoors is just a large plain of nature that isn't very pretty to look at in the first place. That said, I do love how this decision gives the serial a more believable atmosphere, because nothing here is constructed and therefore makes it easier to believe that this is an Earth almost completely abandoned. On the other side, the pace of the thing is somehow pretty fitting for the two-parter runtime and sluggish at the same time. I would say the first part is much slower than the second, because I assume Bob Baker and Dave Martin wanted to set up the plot with mostly clues and hints, with the general atmosphere as well -- like you would a four-parter or something longer. I like this idea, but I also think the execution of Episode 1 leaves a lot to be desired in terms of tension because... there isn't much. As soon as the Sontaran shows up, though, things get a lot more exciting. We even get a Doctor vs. Sontaran fight, and it's very entertaining to watch.

  I enjoy The Sontaran Experiment because it has a short story to tell and knows that it would've suited the two-parter format best anyway. Lord knows how this would've fared as a longer serial. Nobody in the cast seems particularly fired up about the material, which is a shame, but Tom Baker at least gets to have a bit of fun during the second episode (particularly during the aforementioned fight for honor).