Sontaran

Doctor Who is a long-running British science-fiction television series that began in 1963. It stars its protagonist, The Doctor, an alien who travels through time and space in a ship known as the TARDIS, as well as their travelling companions. When the Doctor dies, they are able to undergo a process known as "regeneration", completely changing the Doctor's appearance and personality. Throughout their travels, the Doctor often comes into conflict with various alien species and antagonists. The Sontarans are a clone race that hail from the planet Sontar, and are bred for war from birth. They are engaged in a constant, never-ending war against a species known as the Rutans. They have a culture dedicated almost solely to war, where dying in battle is the ultimate honor among their race, as is entering a battle without a protective helmet. They also have a war chant consisting of the phrase "Sontar-ha!" Sontarans only have a single weak point: a "probic vent" on the back of their neck, through which they receive energy. A single hit here can result in heavy damage. Sontarans are physically shorter than humans due to their homeworld planet having high gravity. and are also sexist against women by nature, associating womanhood with weakness. They later appear as antagonists in Doctor Who: Flux, the 2021 series of the revival, first appearing in "The Halloween Apocalypse" (2021). As part of a scheme to conquer Earth from all points in time in "War of the Sontarans" (2021), they change the timeline of the Crimean War, but are defeated by the Thirteenth Doctor and her allies. The Sontarans later invade Earth again during "The Vanquishers" (2021), where they use humans to pinpoint the location of the flux, a destructive anti-matter wave. The Sontarans aim to use the flux to wipe out the Daleks and Cybermen but end up being destroyed by it and the Doctor. A former Sontaran commander named Kaagh, a survivor of the invasion of Earth from "The Sontaran Stratagem" and "The Poison Sky", appears in The Sarah Jane Adventures serials The Last Sontaran and Enemy of the Bane. In the former serial, he tries to return to Sontar, but later ends up allying with antagonist Mrs. Wormwood to conquer the universe in the latter serial. Kaagh later sacrifices himself after he realises Wormwood will betray him. Strax subsequently appears in "The Snowmen" (2012), "The Crimson Horror" (2013), "The Name of the Doctor" (2013), and "Deep Breath" (2014). Spin-off media The Sontarans appear in several media spin-offs for the series, including novels, comics, audio dramas, and video games. The Sontarans also appear in the spin-off films Mindgame and Shakedown: Return of the Sontarans. == Development ==

Classic era The Sontarans were originally created for the 1973 serial The Time Warrior by writer Robert Holmes. Holmes conceived of the Sontarans after reading the 1832 war treatise On War, and was additionally inspired by the history of the Vietnam War. In the script, the Sontaran is described as being "squat", wearing armour resembling that of a medieval knight. The Sontarans' physical appearance in the serial was created by costume designer James Acheson and make-up designer Sandra Exelby. Linx, the Sontaran in this serial, was portrayed by actor Kevin Lindsay. Lindsay wore a prosthetic mask, make-up, and occasionally a helmet, which was a challenge during filming due to his heart condition. This would allow him to collect a fee and make it possible for the production team to make use of Linx's costume again. Holmes briefed the serial's writers, Bob Baker and Dave Martin on the Sontarans' lore and history to ensure an accurate depiction in the serial (dubbed The Sontaran Experiment). Holmes re-wrote dialogue in the final script to fit his vision for the species. Styre, the Sontaran in the serial, was modeled on Nazi generals in terms of his behavior and actions. The new head of the Sontaran was much larger, with a different skin tone compared to the Sontarans' prior appearance. Despite his heart condition, Lindsay returned for the serial to portray Styre, the Sontaran commander. and only wore the Sontaran helmet for a single scene. Lindsay also portrayed the Sontaran Marshal with whom Styre communicates in the serial, characterised by an insignia on the costume's collar. Stuntman Stuart Fell filled in for Lindsay in several intensive scenes. with the Sontarans having another change in skin-tone and dark rims placed around Styre's eyes to show that he was stressed by his leadership role as commander. Revived era For the show's 2005 revival, showrunner Russell T Davies had wanted to bring back the Sontarans for some time, eventually electing to bring them back in the 2008 two-part story "The Sontaran Stratagem" and "The Poison Sky". Davies believed the Sontarans' culture and personality had more potential for strong dialogue than other returning antagonists such as the Daleks and Cybermen, and also felt they would be easy for children to draw, as well as visually striking. This version of the Sontarans was designed by Neill Gorton of Millennium FX, with a pitch to make the Sontarans resemble their original appearance with a modern update. Phil Ford, a writer for the spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures, was keen on adapting the Sontarans into the series, resulting in their appearance in The Last Sontaran, the first serial of the show's second season. Though many Sontaran props and objects could be re-used from the main show in the serial, Kaagh (portrayed by actor Anthony O'Donnell), the Sontaran who appears in the episode, had a new cast taken for his armour instead of re-using the old one. Kaagh was later brought back for the season finale, Enemy of the Bane. In an unused script for writer Gareth Roberts's later serial Death of the Doctor, a Sontaran named Skorm would have appeared; Skorm's concept would later be adapted into Strax (portrayed by Dan Starkey) in the 2011 episode "A Good Man Goes to War". Strax would go on to serve as a recurring character in the main Doctor Who series. Steven Moffat, the creator of Strax, said that his continued appearances came about due to his popularity among fans, particularly alongside Madame Vastra and Jenny Flint, who had debuted in the same episode. A Sontaran named Skarn was later planned to appear in the 2015 episode "Face the Raven", where he would have been responsible for a murder at an alien refugee camp while plotting to enact war. This plan was scrapped as the script was rewritten, though a Sontaran would end up having a cameo in the final episode. For their re-appearance in Doctor Who: Flux, then-showrunner Chris Chibnall aimed to return the Sontarans to a level of threat with audiences that they had not been at in some time. == Reception and analysis ==

Graham Sleight, writing in the book ''The Doctor's Monsters, regarded the Sontarans as a success. Despite being an "average" monster conceptually, the Sontarans had a thoroughly well-defined culture. Adi Tantimedh, writing for Bleeding Cool'', observed that the Sontarans symbolised the constant warfare linked to fascism, with their tactics and plans more akin to Cold War-era fears. She viewed the Sontarans as a species who only improved with further appearances, as budget increases allowed their design to become more detailed. Sleight felt the Sontarans' subsequent appearances were less in-depth than their first, and that their culture was often less well-defined, reducing them to unremarkable antagonists. Sleight saw the appearance of the Sontarans in the revival as a step-up from classic era appearances, with the improved visual quality of the Sontarans and expanded culture. Mick Joest, writing for CinemaBlend, remarked that following the Sontarans' appearances in the show's revival, the race had largely been reduced to comic relief instead of as a genuine threat. Radio Times agreed, stating that because of their limited appearances compared to other monsters like the Daleks and Cybermen, the Sontarans were unable to capitalise on their story potential; additionally due to Strax's increased comic relief prominence in the series, the Sontarans came off in a more comedic fashion than they did before. The book The Science of Doctor Who analysed the Sontarans' cloning technology and feeding via probic vent in terms of real-world feasibility. The book noted that for their manner of cloning and feeding to work, Sontarans would need to be much more complicated biologically than they are depicted on-screen. == References ==