Doctor Who and the Sontaran Experiment
by Ian Marter
Doctor Who: Target Novelisations: Publication order (45), Doctor Who: Target Novelisations: Doctor Who Library order (56), Doctor Who: Target Novelisations: Broadcast order (77), Doctor Who {non-TV} (Novelisations — Novelisation)
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Landing on Earth--now a barren, desolate planet--Sarah, Harry, and the Doctor are unaware of a large, watching robot. The robot is the work of Styre, a Sontaran warrior, who uses all humans landing here for his experimental programs. What has happened to the other space explorers who have come here? Why is Styre so interested in Earth, and in brutally torturing humans, including Sarah Jane? Will the Doctor be able to prevent an invasion, and save both Earth and his companions? Unabridged.Tags
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Marter may well have been tempted to write this from the viewpoint of Harry Sullivan; if so, I think he was wise to restrain himself.
He both adds and subtracts from the TV show here. He adds some simply superb descriptive passages which one really regrets were not realised on-screen. Harry gets almost an entire chapter to himself exploring the Sontaran spaceship, a passage completely absent from the TV story; and the nightmares inflicted on both Sarah and Harry by the Sontaran experimenter are graphically described as is the fight between the Sontaran and the Doctor.
Basically, if your attention is suddenly held by the prose in one of Marter's novelisations, it's a fair bet that it's something he show more added to the original story. Doctor Who and the Sontaran Experiment makes a below-average DW story into a well-above-average DW novel. show less
Marter may well have been tempted to write this from the viewpoint of Harry Sullivan; if so, I think he was wise to restrain himself.
He both adds and subtracts from the TV show here. He adds some simply superb descriptive passages which one really regrets were not realised on-screen. Harry gets almost an entire chapter to himself exploring the Sontaran spaceship, a passage completely absent from the TV story; and the nightmares inflicted on both Sarah and Harry by the Sontaran experimenter are graphically described as is the fight between the Sontaran and the Doctor.
Basically, if your attention is suddenly held by the prose in one of Marter's novelisations, it's a fair bet that it's something he show more added to the original story. Doctor Who and the Sontaran Experiment makes a below-average DW story into a well-above-average DW novel. show less
Sarah, Harry, and the 4th Doctor investigate a far-future Earth. A good deal of fun (though there's a dark section in which Sarah is tortured in a non-detailed way), but it does contain a particularly terrible technobabble explanation for one of the Doctor's miraculous escapes from certain death:
"'Why weren't you killed when Styr threw you into the ravine?'
'Yes, I thought you might be wondering about that,' the Doctor smiled. 'It was all thanks to this.' He rummaged in one of his inside pockets and carefully took out the small piece of Terullian alloy, gripping it tightly with both hands.
'That?' cried Sarah, frowning in disbelief. 'How on earth could that have saved you?'
The Doctor grinned mischievously at the four sceptical faces
around him, obviously relishing their confusion.
'This is a fragment of the Scavenger's levitation system,' he explained, 'which works on much the same principle as the gravity bar. Now, when I poured Styr that wee dram [of whiskey], a drop or two must have got into his control unit and, by a stroke of good fortune, reversed the polarity of the gravitaton fields in this little thing.'
The others stared blankly at the insignificant-looking scrap of metal the Doctor was holding up in front of them.
'So?' Sarah said, after a pause.
'Well, it's obvious,' cried the Doctor. 'This little fragment suddenly acquired an intense dislike for the Earth's gravitational attraction and did its best to escape. Since it was trapped in my pocket, it slowed me down--and broke my fall. Simple really.'
...a stunned silence."
The Sontaran Experiment isn`t my favourite Doctor Who story but i was curious about Ian Marter`s version, who played Harry in the original TV show. There are no big differences but Harry got almost an entire chapter when he discovers the inside of the Sontaran ship and his and Sarah`s nightmares are more detailed in the novel. Not the best by far but still an enjoyable Target book.
future burned out Earth to be inhabited by Sontarian clones
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17+ Works 2,472 Members
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Is an adaptation of
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1978-11
- People/Characters
- The Doctor (4th); Sarah Jane Smith; Harry Sullivan; The Sontarans
- First words
- A huge red sun hung in the sulfurous yellow sky, its very light filtering through thin clouds of whitish mist which swirled over the deserted, wasted landscape
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)But the circle remained empty in the glittering darkness...
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- 262
- Popularity
- 123,144
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.33)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 5
- ASINs
- 4
