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S13E02 " War of the Sontarans" BBC1 6.10-7.10pm 7th November

Rate "War of the Sontarans"

  • Sontar-Ha!

    Votes: 5 11.6%

  • 9

    Votes: 10 23.3%

  • 8

    Votes: 14 32.6%

  • 7

    Votes: 7 16.3%

  • 6

    Votes: 2 4.7%

  • 5

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • 4

    Votes: 1 2.3%

  • 3

    Votes: 1 2.3%

  • 2

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Sontar-Blah!

    Votes: 3 7.0%
  • Total voters
    43
Saul said:
Didn't enjoy this episode as much as last week but this series certainly feels more Doctory than the last two. I like to see the Doctor more up front and center.
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That's the show's biggest improvement since last two series. The Doctor is recognizeably the Doctor, having an agency and commanding the screen when she's in. It was especially good this week as she was on her own, and again showed that maybe Chibnall should never had her travel with any companion in the first place, not if they were all going to be sidelined by the end of every series.
 
Mr Awe said:
A couple of things upon reflection:



Really, all the Sontarans take a nap at the same exact 7.5 minute interval? One advantage of having such a short sleep/recharging cycle is that it's easier to make non-overlapping shifts! With that ratio, 7.5 minutes out of 27 hours, you can create 216 non-overlapping shifts. With humans, we sleep 8 hours out of 24, and can only create 3 non-overlapping shifts! Even human military's would never had a time when everyone is asleep, especially during a war! Maybe the Sontarans were overconfident? But still.
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Well, since the Sontarans come from clone batches, this batch, "born" at the same time are on the same cycle.
 
I was surprised at this one in more ways than one. A proactive Doctor is a fun Doctor to watch, and it sure didn't escape notice that she wasn't held down/back by an army of companions. I'm not sure how the First and Fifth Doctors managed to work with a larger TARDIS crew, but at here it shows again that a 21st century TARDIS team is too full with four.

Dan Starkey's return was surprising and welcome as well. I mean, he always makes his dialogue both hilarious and terrifying. I wonder if they wrote his Sontaran with him in mind?

But overall another satisfying chapter and looking forward to more. This could be the "Key to Time" of this era. Keep it coming.

Mark
 
So, doesn't just maintain the high level, but reaches even higher. Thoroughly entertaining throughout. Music, FX, direction all stellar. Karvanista even more enjoyable, villains even more menacing and intriguing, Dan starting to engage, and yes, as practically everyone else has said, so good to see Whittaker's Doctor finally being proactive, finally driving events.

The single-mindedness of the Sontarans, to the point they never once looked behind them, was amusing, and I always enjoy a little satirisation of military attitudes and habits. The same issues apply as with the first episode, but they're easier to overlook in this one, and it does actually feel like all this is going somewhere. I also found the audio mix problematic at times, effects and music overpowering dialogue, but that's far from unique to Who; a little acknowledgement that many people don't have the latest cutting edge surround sound tech would not go amiss in film and TV.

One last random thing, and it's possible I didn't register it or it's slipped my mind, but what happened to the gent from the 1820s? He appeared on Planet Time, Yaz spoke to him, then he just...vanished. Wasn't seen again. Plot just needed us to know he was there, then he got put into storage until his services are required again, maybe. Have to admit I love the inclusion of these real-life inexplicable tunnels - which I hadn't heard of before - and really hope they serve a satisfying purpose.

This is genuinely good, fun, interesting stuff, and I'm crossing everything that Chibnall can stick the landing, for his sake as much as anything else. Four more episodes to find out...
 
Well, this was... better. I'm cautiously optimistic for the rest of the series now. And, yes, this Doctor is better on her own.
 
Having just rewatched - one thing I did notice the second time round was the conversation between Dan and the Doctor over the comm link aboard the Sontaran ships.

They kept talking at the same time - saying exactly the same thing. Kinda reminds you of when she met the Fugitive Doctor last year…
 
I remember when people used to say Trek was too 'splodey and running around, and not thoughtful enough. I get that now. No thime to think. That said, it was fine, better than most of Chibbers' stuff.

Tomalak said:
My working theory is that the Guardians are behind the Timeless Child stuff.
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I concur.

Emperor-Tiberius said:
That's the show's biggest improvement since last two series. The Doctor is recognizeably the Doctor, having an agency and commanding the screen when she's in.
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And I concur with this too.
 
matthunter said:
DenOfGeek put it best - Sontarans don't care about who they are fighting, or if they are fighting effectively. They just like being in a fight. So the idea that some of your fellow potatoes might be mixing it up whilst you're on a 7.5 minute nap is unconscionable - either all of you are awake for the scrap, or you aren't.

I think it's implied that the Lupari are set on this "species bond" only recently as a reaction to the Flux, so they wouldn't have bothered with previous stuff. I wouldn't be surprised if we eventually find out that it's the Doctor who set up the species bond in the first place - retroactively, at the end of this series.
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I'm thinking that they bond to doomed species.

So they might bond, unbond and rebond to dozens a species a month trying to keep ahead of some Dalek Master Plan to wipe out a corner of the universe.

Maybe they get off on a species they are bonded to dying out, but they're guilty about it?

I was thinking about the Rutans.

What if their standard move is to pretend to be the Doctor if there's not a lot of them, in the face of a Sontaran vangard?
 
Veeza said:
Having just rewatched - one thing I did notice the second time round was the conversation between Dan and the Doctor over the comm link aboard the Sontaran ships.

They kept talking at the same time - saying exactly the same thing. Kinda reminds you of when she met the Fugitive Doctor last year…
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While I don't doubt there is something special/unusual about Dan I'd be amazed if Chibnall pulled the same trick again. Worth noting that Dan has actual parents, although I guess they could have adopted him as a small child if you wanted to make that work.
 
Starkers said:
Worth noting that Dan has actual parents, although I guess they could have adopted him as a small child if you wanted to make that work.
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Does he though? They conveniently appeared out of nowhere and then disappeared after helpfully giving him information they couldn't have known about how to fight the Sontarans.
 
Lonemagpie said:
Personally I'm thinking segments of the Key To Time in humanoid form here and there for this one...
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That would make a lot of sense, so Dan, Vinder, Claire, Diane(?) maybe even Yaz?

I'm also calling it now the Planet Time was Earth all along!

StCoop said:
Does he though? They conveniently appeared out of nowhere and then disappeared after helpfully giving him information they couldn't have known about how to fight the Sontarans.
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Plus a wok! Fair point though, be amusing if, much like Karvanista's wrinkle in time turns out to be the Doctor manipulating things in the future, she also finds time to track down Dan's mum and dad, give them all the info on the Sontarans and then as a parting shot says "And don't forget the wok!"
 
matthunter said:
I assumed it's meant as a psychic representation of the TARDIS in its current wonky state.
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Yup, I had the exact same thought after seeing it. I'm hoping we'll see more of that imagery as the season progresses.

Starkers said:
That would make a lot of sense, so Dan, Vinder, Claire, Diane(?) maybe even Yaz?
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I love that idea. Hopefully not Yaz but I can see that happening with the rest and others we haven't met yet.

Starkers said:
I'm also calling it now the Planet Time was Earth all along!
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Gods, I hope not! That's just as bad as the theory about the human race evolving into the Time Lords.
 
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