So far this series, we’ve seen that being (and travelling with) a Time Lord is not always fun and games, that you can’t interfere with established historical events, no matter how great the scale of the tragedy, and that the advances humankind will make in the future won’t prevent incidences of intolerance and cruelty to other races.  This episode focuses on the Doctor’s companions and their families, and the realisation that travelling with the Doctor comes at a price.  As in School Reunion, where Sarah Jane warned Rose about the consequences, now Martha is able to do the same for Donna.

 

Regardless of the alien threat, this episode (and next week’s) is hugely significant because it features the return of Martha Jones.  Having first met the Doctor when he was still pining for Rose, and then spending most of their time together feeling inferior to her, she stepped out from her shadow and proved herself to be one of the Doctor’s best companions.  After making the decision to leave because she knew her love for him would never be requited, she gave him her mobile, promising to call if she needed him.

 

When the call finally came, the Doctor looked quite nervous, the first time I can ever recall him being like that.  Having explained the situation with Martha to Donna in Partners In Crime, and blaming himself for the damage caused to her family, he is clearly very apprehensive about seeing her again.  The first scene where he, Martha and Donna meet for the first time is quite brief, but said everything that needed to be said – Martha has clearly moved on, both personally and professionally, but still looked a little disappointed when Donna first stepped out of the TARDIS.  However, she doesn’t yet know that he’d actually met Donna before he met her, but was obviously embarrassed that Donna knew everything that had gone on between them.  Since Donna has no romantic feelings towards the Doctor at all, she never feels threatened by Martha, and is very quick to put her at ease, and there’s an almost sisterly connection between them. 

 

Going back to School Reunion, both episodes deal with the same issues and themes, but in very different ways.  Sarah Jane and Martha have both been companions in the past, but when we meet them again, both are at very different places in their lives.  Nearly thirty years after the Doctor took her home (albeit to Aberdeen instead of Croydon), Sarah Jane had been waiting ever since for the Doctor to return, putting her own life and happiness on hold – although she had returned to her job as an investigative journalist, she had never married or had children, because she had been in love with the Doctor, just like Martha.  When she meets the Doctor again (in his latest incarnation), she is finally able to achieve closure – she berates the Doctor for not returning, only for him to admit that the only way he can deal with losing those he cares about is to move on and never look back.  By the end of this meeting, and even after the Doctor offers her the chance to travel with him again, Sarah Jane declines, realising that she has to move on.  Rose, naively believing that she’s the first and only companion that the Doctor has ever had, treats Sarah Jane appallingly, taunting her about her age and the fact that the Doctor is now travelling with someone new.  By the end of the episode, they realise how petty it is to fight over the Doctor, and bond over some of his personality quirks.  Rose questions whether she should stay with the Doctor, realising that Sarah Jane represents her future, but Sarah Jane tells her to stay, saying that “some things are worth getting your heart broken for”.  Rose (as far as we know) is still stranded in the parallel universe for the moment, but it will be very interesting to see whether she has changed when we meet her again later in the series – will she have moved on, like Martha, or will she still be waiting, like Sarah Jane?

 

By comparison, the relationship between Martha and Donna couldn’t be more different.  Although visibly disappointed that the Doctor has met someone new, Martha is impressed by Donna’s forthright opinions and questioning nature.  Donna, knowing Martha’s history with the Doctor, is very quick to make clear that her relationship with him is purely platonic.  However, she seems a bit surprised at how tough and militaristic Martha has become, commenting to the Doctor, “Is that what you did – turned her into a soldier?”.  Like Sarah Jane, Martha is now able to warn Donna about the dangers of travelling with the Doctor – Donna heeds this advice and goes back home to visit (in case she won’t have the chance again for some time).

 

At least once a series, we have the return of a monster from the original Doctor Who series – we’ve already seen the Autons, the Macra, the Cybermen, the Master and, of course, the Daleks, and now it’s the turn of the Sontarans.  Although a relative newcomer to the classic series, I had heard of the Sontarans and was very excited about seeing them, and they certainly didn’t disappoint.  Last seen in The Two Doctors back in 1985, they, like other returning monsters, have had a makeover for the 21^st century and looked very impressive.  It was also great to see a monster that was actually present on set and not added in later using CGI – the make-up and costumes were incredible, and it was a real treat to see the Doctor face an articulate, intelligent creature, one that he will have to use all his ingenuity to defeat.

 

The Sontarans’ plan – to convert all cars into virtual gas chambers using the ATMOS satellite navigation system – has great topical resonance, as sat-nav systems are a piece of everyday technology used by millions of people, and the ATMOS claim that any car using it will not emit any carbon dioxide would have been a big selling point in these times of climate change and reducing your carbon footprint.  They’ve also enlisted boy genius Luke Rattigan and set up his training academy to train future soldiers for the Sontaran cause – it’s not yet known how the Sontarans contacted him in the first place, but since he appears to be a junior version of Bill Gates, it’s most likely that he would have generated a considerable amount of publicity.  The big question is whether the Sontarans are war-mongers because they actually want to take over the Earth, or purely because they enjoy fighting and killing.  On discovering the Doctor’s identity, General Staal remembers that the Doctor fought in the Time War and is annoyed that the Sontarans were not allowed to be part of it, completely disregarding the fact that thousands died and the Time Lords were wiped out. 

 

This episode also marks the return of UNIT – previously known as the United Nations Intelligence Task Force, now renamed as the Unified Intelligence Task Force (but funded by the UN).  They first appeared on screen during the Third Doctor’s tenure, led at that time by the formidable Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (played by Nicholas Courtney).  The Third Doctor was UNIT’s scientific advisor in the 1970s, and, as Colonel Mace confirms, is technically still on their payroll.  Whilst Colonel Mace is in awe of the Doctor, he seems very uncomfortable working alongside them again, repeatedly stating his displeasure at their guns and disapproving of their salutes and calling him “sir”.  The Doctor has a general dislike of military forces, almost provoking an argument with Martha when she defends UNIT and points out that, since she doesn’t carry a gun herself, she’s working to infiltrate the system from within.

 

Again, there are numerous references to previous episodes here.  General Staal declares that it is important to “know your enemy”, which Martha said to Professor Docherty in Last Of The Time Lords.  Martha’s fiancé is Tom Milligan, whom she met whilst spreading the word about the Doctor in Last Of The Time Lords.  Most interestingly of all is the reference to “the Medusa Cascade” – this is the second time that this has been mentioned in this series, the first being in The Fires Of Pompeii, when Evelina, under the influence of the Pyrovile, reveals the Doctor and Donna’s true identities.  We don’t yet know what the Medusa Cascade was (or is), but we’ll have to wait to find out whether it has a greater significance towards the end of the series. 

 

Martha’s warning to Donna comes true alarmingly quickly.  She heeds her advice and goes home to check on her mother and grandfather, discovering whilst she’s there that the Doctor and Wilf have met before, during Voyage Of The Damned (which the viewers also knew).  Sylvia also meets the Doctor again for the first time since The Runaway Bride, and true to form for companions’ mothers, takes an instant dislike to him.  We also find out why Wilf wasn’t present at Donna’s wedding to Lance – he’d been ill with Spanish flu.  Now that Donna’s family know about the Doctor, they are inevitably plunged into danger, when the Sontarans activate the converters and the gas begins to take effect – with Wilf trapped inside Donna’s car.  The stage is set for the cliff-hanger – can the Doctor save Wilf, deactivate the converters, and save Martha before the Sontarans declare war?

 

All the performances in this episode were brilliant – it was great to see Martha again, and Freema Agyeman showed just how much Martha’s grown during her absence.  She’s now more mature and self-assured, and is definitely an equal to the Doctor.  Her scenes with Donna are slightly tentative, as they’re still getting to know one another, but once again, Donna shines in her own right throughout the episode.  Her discovery that none of the staff at the ATMOS factory had taken any sick leave was excellent, and the scene where she returns home, whilst thinking back over her adventures so far showed real depth on Catherine Tate’s part, and signalled once again that there may be some dark times to come.  David’s performance was the most rounded that I have ever seen so far – from the Doctor’s apprehension at seeing Martha, to his banter with UNIT and his outwitting of General Staal, we saw every aspect of his character in the space of 45 minutes.  However, the highlight for me was the scene where the Doctor, misunderstanding that Donna is only going home for a visit and thinks that she’s leaving for good, gives a wonderfully touching speech by way of a goodbye, only for Donna to bring him sharply back down to Earth as usual.  I was really touched by the expressiveness of David’s face during those few moments – he looked at Donna with real tenderness, and I can’t recall him ever looking at Martha, or indeed Rose, like that before.

 

I think the Sontarans are now my favourite monsters, due largely to Christopher Ryan’s performance as General Staal – his brusque, no-nonsense manner and obvious intelligence was outstanding, and of course special mention has to go to Bernard Cribbins as Wilf and Jacqueline King as Sylvia, who are really making an impact with their characters despite their limited screen time.

 

This was by far my favourite episode of the series to date – I’d been looking forward to it for weeks, and it delivered in spades.  Helen Raynor, who wrote Daleks In Manhattan / Evolution Of The Daleks last year, once again delivered a fantastic script, and the only reason that I haven’t awarded full marks is that I’m sure next week’s conclusion will be even better.

 

 

Zoë’s Rating:     9/10

 

 

Name: Alex Werra | Age: 15

 

Basic Plot: The first two part episode of the series is upon us as we join the Doctor, Donna, and Martha (yay J) back on modern day Earth. Martha and the UNIT organisation for which she now works, are investigating into mysterious deaths all occurring in cars fitted with the ATMOS device, and she has called upon the Doctor to help figure what exactly is going on. The Doctor quickly discovers that one of his old enemies, the Sontaran, are behind the plan after enlisting the help of boy wonder, Luke Rattigan, to help with their plans to bring down Earth. Yeah, that’s what “The Sontaron Stratagem “is all about.

My first thought this week, was “oh yes, Martha has not left the building”. I really have missed her character, over her short absence.  I mean, she got a bit mistreated last series, so it was good that when we were re-introduced to her last night, she was a completely different person, in the sense that she was stronger mentally, and a more rounded person. She also, has managed to move on from the Doctor. I admire her for that, because, well, just look at him. The new Martha is a qualified and very much engaged “She’s engaged you prawn!” Doctor Jones, who basically is so unbelievably cool. Her experience from being with the Doctor, has allowed her to be able to really benefit UNIT, with her fresh outlook on how things should maybe be done.

The scene where she and the Doctor met was a bit awkward. Not surprising really, after the whole unrequited love thing, destroying her family, and well having a replacement for her already. I love the fact that Donna and herself really got on though, and she kind of accepted her as worthy of her position. Especially after it is discovered Donna is “Super Temp”.  If Martha and Rose were to meet later on in the series, I think it may be a bit of a different story, possibly some rivalry between the two, but I only speculate.

“The Sontaran Stratagem” was an episode of many reunions. There was of course, that of the Doctor and Martha, but there was also Donna and her family, in particular her grandfather, who I really find adorable, and finally the Doctor and The Sontaran.

The short scene where Donna told the Doctor she wasn’t going with him was extremely amusing, mostly when she referred to him as “an out of space dunce”. It was nice to see that the Doctor has formed an attachment to her. But the moment when she saw Wilfred again was highly emotional. I don’t know whether it’s just Bernard Cribbin’s sympathetic old face, or his kind voice, but there’s something about him that I’m really in love with. Not in the same way as I love David Tennant though. That would be weird.

I absolutely adore the Sontaran as a monster/alien. They are without a doubt one of the best we’ve ever had! I think there’s something about them that makes them admirable, and a monster that you want to like. Because they believe so strongly in their cause and they believe in honour. Their voices are reasonably calm which is quite freaky because they cause so much destruction, and are born soldiers. When Ross said “they look like potatoes, baked potatoes, talking baked potatoes,” I couldn’t help but agree.  They are more sinister creatures than scary.

“We like Ross”, oh I know we do.

The idea of the story this week is highly engaging, and I thought the cliff-hanger was a really good point to end. Will the Doctor be able to save the world yet again, and stop the Sontaran? Of course he will, its only episode four. But that’s not the point.

Argh, someone is inevitably going to die, please let it be the rather annoying Luke character, and not the lovely Ross. I’ll probably need my tissues next week, I’ll buy some new ones for the occasion.

Just an observation here, but why does the Doctor never get scared? We see frustration, anger, sadness, but never fright. Surely there must be something worthy enough to make him scared. Like the fact that poisonous gases are rapidly infiltrating the Earth and he can’t stop it. No? Oh well then, I’ll just ruffle my hair and look puzzled. I’m not bothered, I like the ruffling, it’s just for god’s sake! Please show us the fact that you get scared more.

Ahh, my favourite line, has to be : “What you gonna do, bite my ankles off?” it reminded me of Monty Python so much!

“The Sontaran Stratagem” gets a 9/10 from me.

 

Name: Emma Shepherd | Age: 35

I wondered how this episode was going to fare.   The Sontarans are enemies of old but not as iconic as the Daleks or Cybermen.  Even as a child I saw the humour of the aliens that looked like a grumpy Mr Potato Head.    However, the script is in the hands of the very capable Helen Raynor who wrote the Daleks in Manhattan double story.  

The basic outline of the Sontarans plot stays the same Earth's destruction and universal domination.  They are a warring race.   Their agent on Earth is a child genius Luke Rattigan who has invented various items including an Atmos car system which includes a Sat Nav system and reduces the car's carbon emissions to zero.   Luke Rattigan runs an institute and factories where he brain washes people and hypnotises staff so nothing is questioned.   He also thinks nothing of ordering people to be terminated in their cars via the Atmos system - he requests the dispatch of a journalist who gets too close to discovering the truth.  However, you do just get a glimpse in the episode that he is just actually a misfit who is incredibly lonely and is probably just trying to be accepted in his own twisted way.   His genius is actually his burden.

The undertones to the story are very dark and the script itself refers to the students of the Academy to be likened to the Hitler Youth.   However, it does not neglect the humorous side of things with the Sontaran General Stahl being referred to by a soldier as a Potato and various jokes about his height.   The banter between Donna Noble and the Doctor is funny and quick humoured.

Also we see the return of Martha Jones and UNIT - Earth's defence army.   Martha's character is still as strong as ever and her entry into the storyline is effortless and seems plausible.  However, poor Martha is quickly in trouble as the Sontarans have had her cloned and the clone is on the loose and causing trouble by assisting in the final stage of the Sontarans attack on Earth.  We also see the return of Bernard Cribbins as Donna's Grandad but again he is left in peril at the end of the episode.  There are cliffhangers every where on this one with the rest of Earth's population being gassed by the Atmos systems in their cars - all very nasty.

Also I do just want to mention that Christopher Ryan is excellent as Sontaran General Stahl.   It is hard to think that somewhere in amongst all that make up is Mike from the Young Ones!

All special effects are again excellent and the ships in the Sontaran fleet looked excellent.

I did like the storyline in this one although I feel that obviously this episode is more about setting the ground work for the episode to come which I am sure will be explosive in more ways than one.    

7 out of 10

 

Name: Julie Bayman | Age:54

How lovely to have Martha back!  Viewers of Torchwood will know that on the Doctor’s recommendation she now works for UNIT (Unified Intelligence Agency).  She is now a fully qualified doctor and she is engaged to Tom Milligan, the doctor that she met in the final episode of series three, THE LAST OF THE TIME LORDS and the Doctor gets some funny lines this week; after teleporting himself onto the Sontarans space ship, one of the Sontarans sees
him and calls out “We have an intruder!”  “Oh, how did he get in, intruder window!” the Doctor quips before running off  (it made me laugh, it’s a very old joke, but it’s the way he tells them!)  Also the Sontarans are back!

The episode begins in modern day Earth: A journalist is killed when her car drives its self into the bay.  The car was being controlled by an ATMOS, which stands for atmospheric omissions system and it is fitted to the car with a sort of Satellite Navigation screen fitted to the dashboard.  You tell it where you want to go and it takes you there, but it has a nasty habit of killing people, particularly journalists who poke their nose into the Rattigan Academy affairs.  The Rattigan Academy is basically a school for geniuses and it is run by Luke Rattigan an eighteen year old, who is a genius and a millionaire and he owns the factories, which make the devices.
Back at the TARDIS the Doctor is letting Donna have a go at flying the time machine (a rare sight, as far as I am aware) when a mobile phone starts to ring - Its Martha’s and it is Martha on the other end (she left her phone with the Doctor when she left at the end of the last series) she is calling him back to Earth.

After a lovely reunion with Martha, the Doctor is surprised to find that
Donna and Martha get on really well;  “ He’s too thin, give him a hug and you get a paper cut!” Donna tells her.  Martha has called the Doctor back because she wants his expert opinion on the ATMOS. She takes him to UNIT headquarters to meet Colonel Mace and he takes an instant dislike to him because he carries a gun, but Martha is quick to remind him that he is not there all of the time, but she is and she does not carry a gun.  Colonel Mace suggests that the Doctor should go and see Luke Rattigan at the Academy, “House full of geniuses, I wouldn’t mind going there – I get lonely” the Doctor tells him. The doctor summands Donna to go with him but Donna tells him that she is going home, he misunderstands her and thinks that she is leaving so he makes a lovely speech, only to be replied with “You dumbo, you great big out of space dunce!”  “Yeah” the doctor replies
when he realizes what he has done.  On arrival at the Rattigan Academy the Doctor is very excited by all the scientific equipment and he points out, “With all this stuff you could move to another planet or something”.  He becomes very dark and he soon has Luke worked out, he knows that Luke did not invent the ATMOS devices on his own and he soon discovers that the Sontarans are behind it.

The Sontarans are potato headed short creatures and they wear Armour. Their heads are the same shape as their helmets and they have a week spot at the back of their necks, so they always have to face their enemy.  They are clones and their purpose is to fight wars, in fact they enjoy it.  They are secretly cloning the workers of the ATMOS factory and some of the soldiers at UNIT and they are using them to replace the original people, including Martha.  They were last seen on screen in 1985 in THE TWO DOCTORS, but they
go back much further than that.  Their leader is General Staal and their plan is to destroy the Earth by gassing everyone.  This is done with the ATMOS, which have been fitted to half of the cars in the world; they hoped to have fitted them to all the cars in the world (eight million of them according to the Doctor) but when they discover the Doctor trying to remove an ATMOS from Donna’s Grandfather’s car, they decide to go ahead with their plans early.  The episode has a dramatic ending with the Doctor trying to save Donna’s Grandfather from being gassed as he is trapped inside his car.
There is gas spewing out from all the cars in the street and from cars all over the world.  The Doctor stands in the middle of the road unable to do anything as all around him the air is filled with gas.

This was part one of a two part series.  I liked the fact that Martha and Donna got on with each other and Martha warned Donna that the Doctor is like “fire” stand too close and people get burnt.  Not long after that Donna’s family are in mortal danger.  It was good to have Bernard Cribbins back as Donna’s Grandfather and I was glad that Donna’s mother didn’t slap the Doctors face when she met him again, although she didn’t seem too pleased to see him, understandably.  General Staal was played by Christopher Ryan from THE YOUNG ONES, I recognized his voice and I found it difficult to dislike him.  Martha has grown up and moved on from the Doctor, although they still
have a special bond and as I said at the beginning of this review it was lovely to have her back.  I have also said in my last three reviews that I am warming to Donna and I think I have got used to her now, she is certainly good for the Doctor and she makes him think, especially about his actions.
I wonder if the story is trying to tell us that there are too many cars on the road or maybe it is just trying to make us all look at our Satellite Navigation systems differently!

Marks:  8/10

 

Name: Fiona Taylor | Age: 13

The Sontaran Stragem is a slightly tedious and quite uneventful episode, which sees the Doctor reunited with Martha. The story starts with a mobile phone (the one Martha left the Doctor at the end of the Third Series) ringing while the Doctor is teaching Donna how to fly the TARDIS. Once he answers it, he finds that it is Martha, and she wants him to come back to earth, as there is some alien threat on the planet. After a rather awkward meeting with Martha, the Doctor and Donna head to Atmos headquarters, which is being taken over by UNIT. Once there, the Doctor finds out that all over the world 52 people died yesterday simultaneously when they were in their cars. The only similarity between the people was that their cars were all fitted with Atmos, which looks like it’s some alien threat…

Some of the dialogue from this episode was really witty and the scene where the Doctor, Donna and Martha all meet for the first time was suitably awkward and very entertaining. The Sontaran were very well created, the acting and special effects were excellent, as was the set. The episode was cut at the right part, to provide a very good cliff-hanger. The fact that Martha was cloned by the Sontaran added quite a good twist, and I can't wait to see what happens to her next and what the purpose of it was.

There did not seem to be that much of a plot and because this is a two-parter it may not emerge until the next episode. However, a lot of the script was quite pointless and drawn-out, to try and make it worth having a sequel. Martha has definitely moved on from the Doctor, but seems to be a lot cockier and more irritating, which did not make her return all that enjoyable. The Atmos device is a really good idea, but due to the fact that hardly anything happened in the episode, I was left wondering what the point of it was, instead of being really excited for the next instalment.

My favourite quote was from the Doctor “People don’t question things do they? They just think ooh-err it’s a thing!”  I thought that was a very Doctor-ish thing to say, and made me laugh…  

Overall this was a poor and ordinary episode, which will hopefully be followed by a much better second part. My Rating for this episode is 5/10.

 

Name: Emily Cook | Age: 14

Martha’s back! She rings the Doctor and tells him that she’s bringing him back to earth. Little do they know that an old enemy of the Doctor’s lies in wait…

 

Summary: A company producing ATMOS sat-navs (created by Luke Rattigan) are leading people to their final destination. The Doctor is letting Donna fly the TARDIS when he gets a call from Martha saying she needs him on earth. After a brief reunion with the Doctor and Martha and Donna and Martha (who don’t fight) being introduced to each other, Martha takes them to Blue Skies industries (coincidentally Blue Skies laboratories was the name given to the place where cybus weapons where made) run by UNIT. The Doctor’s expert advice is needed. The Doctor still has a strange grudge against UNIT where he used to work. Meanwhile, two soldiers – Private Harries and Private Gray – go into an isolated room where there is a strange metal tank. It opens up and it is filled with green goo. Suddenly a freaky white creature comes out of the water. It seems to be some sort of embryo. Suddenly a Sontaran walks in and orders the two soldiers to be taken away to be processed into baddies. The Doctor continues working (asking all UNIT officers with guns to please step away from him) and talking to Martha. Donna comes in and tells the Doctor that she has found an empty folder – no one has been off sick!

Donna asks Martha is she thinks she should warn her mum about ATMOS and they begin to talk about life with the Doctor. Martha warns Donna to tell her family after what happened to hers. Meanwhile, the Doctor wants a visit with the boy genius Luke Rattigan and calls Donna to go with him. Donna tells the Doctor that she wants to go home. Thinking that she means she wants to stop travelling with him, the Doctor tells Donna how good she’s been, only to realise that she’s only popping home for a visit. At the same time Martha is called down to see Colonel Mace by the two processed soldiers. She gets trapped in the isolated room with the green goo tank. All the lights go off making it even more sinister. Donna goes home and sees her Granddad and tells him more about the Doctor. Then Sylvia comes in and starts twittering away.

The Doctor and Ross Jenkins arrive at Rattigan Academy and talk to Luke. The Doctor notices a teleport and un-invitedly uses it find himself at Sontaran headquarters, and immediately coming back brining as Sontaran with him. Seizing any moment he’s got the Doctor used a badminton bat and shuttle cock to attack the Sontaran and gets himself and Ross away safely. The ATMOS lead Ross and the Doctor to their final destination, but once again the Doctor saves them. The Sontaran takes Luke to headquarters and they make battle plans. The Sontarans find out that the Doctor is about and want to be the ones to kill him. Martha is also faced with a Sontaran and she find out that they are cloning her. Martha’s evil clone comes to life. The Doctor goes to find Donna and tells her that she wont believe the day he’s having. He looks at the ATMOS on her car, and is introduced to Wilfred Mott and Sylvia Noble who already know him. All of the ATMOS systems on the cars are activated by the Sontarans and begin to give off fumes. Wilfred in trapped inside of the brink of death and…………………………that’s where the episode ends.

 

Highlights: This episode had many highlights. Donna was going back home. Martha was back. The Sontarans were back and it was a two parter. I always like to see the companions go back home a face their family and although Martha was particularly my favourite companion last year I was interested to find out what happened to her. As for the Sontarans – I know they have been in Doctor Who before but I am no where near old enough to remember them. I was just intrigued by seeing these strange potato like monsters and wondered what they would be like. I think that two parters always work best. The story lines are always in much greater depth and the cliff-hanger always leaves you thinking about what will happen (not that I don’t think about Doctor who every second of my life anyway).

The first highlight was seeing Donna fly the TARDIS. Out of all the companions the Doctor’s had and he trusts Donna to fly the TARDIS – the one companion most likely to crash the TARDIS, but then I guess the Doctor has to do different things with companions otherwise it would be boring for us to watch.

The Doctor was really begging with Martha to not fight with Donna so I think it was really good when they just got on really well. However it would have been fun to watch a bit of bitchy girl fighting. Martha looked and acted a lot more grown up. I never really liked her before (she was the companion after Rose), she was all a bit too wide eyed and innocent, but as the series went on she became different. And after being in Torchwood and now back in Doctor Who she seems to have matured and I think I like her a bit better now. Torchwood did her some good. It wasn’t at all a shock hearing Martha was engaged to Tom Milliagan. I knew she had a boyfriend and I could tell it would be him. The Doctor was also a bit nicer to Martha,which she deserves now. I loved it when Donna asked for a salute from Colonel Mace. She never likes to be missed.

Not actually seeing the Sontarans for the first half of the episode but only hearing their voices reminded me of old Doctor Who. Not that I have seen many episodes, but that and older sounding Sontaran music made it all the more weird. The scary white embryo thing from the tank of green goo made em jump. It was one of those simple things that is all the more freaky (just like the family of blood tipping their heads to one side and sniffing last year). The simple things work best. Private Harries was really brave to call the Sontaran short (even though that’s what we were all thinking) but it is fantasic to see an alien shorter than me (and many other people over five-foot) for once.

One of my main highlights from this episode is Donna telling the Doctor she is going home and he assumes that she is going for good when really she just wants a visit. The best bit was her response. "You dumbo". Donna really is fantastic. I really like the bit where she was walking down her home street and there were flashbacks to her adventures with the Doctor. I am really looking forward to Donna’s story ark. It’s going to be great.

Wilfred Mott (Donna’s ‘Gramps’) is so sweet, how he tells Donna that he’s the one she can trust (not the Doctor) and how he knew it was aliens al along. As for Sylvia – she does not have a clue. She gets Donna to cut out Tesco coupons. You have to laugh at it really. I found Luke Rattigan a bit freaky. I loved the way the Doctor handled him and talked to him, but also how Luke always had an answer back to the Doctor. I always laugh when I imagine Luke calling the Doctor ‘Mr conditinal-clause’.

The Doctor is amazing. Just the way he plans to do something and talks right up to the very second before he’s about to do something e.g using a teleport. And the Doctor’s good at badmidton. What a shot though at that Sontaran’s head. I want him to give me lessons! The Sontarans really do look like potatos as Ross pointed out. It was a very human thing for Luke to ask the Sontarans how they tell each other apart. I was asking the exact same question myself.

I love it how every single alien race want to be the ones to kill the Doctor. It’s sort of like a competition between themselves. Who ever kills the Doctor will be king of all alien life forms of something. I don’t exactly love the fact that their aim is to kill the Doctor, just how every one seems to want to a never succeeds.

Does anyone else think that the strange metal balls floating around the Sontaran HQ looked a bit like to Toclafane or is it just me?

Another really good part was when the Doctor told Ross the disobey the ATMOS and was really clever by telling the ATMOS to ignore everything he says then tells it to drive into the river. No one other than the Doctor would have though tot do that quickly enough. And then they were expecting a big explosion and there was a tiny one. I loved the Doctor’s comment ‘is that it’.

After watching this episode again I asked my self the question how did the Doctor know where Donna lives – then I remembered that he was in her street on christmas eve. Then after watching that episode again I noticed that he never actually sees her walk into a particular house. The Doctor’s psychic powers are good. It was really good to see clone of Martha. There haven’t really been any clones. Freema did act her clone quite well acctually. She seemed to walk and talk differently. When the Doctor was telling Martha information about Code Red I was just thinking NO! Stop giving information to the bad side. The Sontarans are clever.

Bernard Cribbins was in the Voyage of the Damned as well as playing Donna’s grandpa but I didn’t realise he was actually playing the same person. It a wise move though. He has too much of a familiar face to play different rolls in the same programme. The Doctor and Wilfred saying ‘It’s you too each other’ and seeing Donna’s horror stricken face was another main highlight for me. Then Sylvia coming out and saying ‘it’s you’ aswell was really unlike any other ‘Doctor meeting companion’s family’ we have ever seen before. Poor Doctor. He hasn’t really had any luck with the mothers.

Finally, all of the fumes coming out of the cars and Wilfred being trapped inside was a classic cliff-hanger. What it is that the Doctor seems to have seen through all the fumes? What will happen to Wilfred? Will the Doctor defeat the Sontarans? All I can say is, it’s a good job that Martha called the Doctor as she is really in a lot of danger. Or maybe the danger follows the Doctor.

 

Favourite Bit: Donna telling the Doctor she’s going home – for a visit! And Donna, Sylvia, Wilfred and the Doctor by the car and hearing a chorus of ‘It’s you!’

Favourite Quotes: "Give him a hug and you’ll get a paper cut."

"He’s wonderful. He’s brilliant, but he’s like fire. Stand too close and you get burnt"

"You dumbo – you know what you are. A great big alien dunce!"

"How did he get in? In-tru-der window?"

"It’s like a potato. A baked potato. A talking baked potato!"

Rating: 8/10