The Last Sontaran

"One Sontaran is all it takes."

Writer: Phil Ford

Format: TV

Broadcast: 29th September-6th October 2008

Series: SJA 2.01

Featuring: Sarah Jane, Luke, Maria, Clyde 

Synopsis 

Reports of strange lights around the Tycho Project's radio telescope lead Sarah, Luke, Clyde and Maria into a terrifying forest encounter. Sarah comes face-to-face with her oldest enemy. Meanwhile, Maria wrestles with a huge decision when her dad is offered a new job in America.

Verdict 

The Last Sontaran was an oustanding adventure to kick off the second series if the Sarah Jane Adventures! I think it just about ranks as my favourite story to date from the spinoff series and I love how it deals with the after effects of the Doctor's actions in The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky. It pretty much served as a sequel to that fantastic story and I think it definitely helped that I only recently watched it around a week or so ago. The references to it in the story, along with a flashback of the Sontaran ship's destruction, were terrific and I thought Commander Kaagh was an excellent Sontaran. We've had numerous individual Sontarans in the past and I think it was good to see how frustrated this one was getting with Sarah and co running him ragged through the woods and at the scene of Tycho Project. He was very annoyed and I think that added to him being a good character. He's obviously a Sontaran but even for a clone race, we've encountered very different personalities amongst the race and Kaagh here was just another on the list. I was intrigued by the cloaking that he was able to use as I can recall a Sontaran using that ability before but it was just another attribute to their impressive list of skills. As well as a return for the Sontarans, this story was also significant for saying farewell to Maria as a regular character. It's a shame that the actress had to give up her role due to her GCSEs, which is of course understandable, as the relationship she was building with Sarah Jane really was wonderful. Sarah's reaction to Maria telling her about the move to America seemed to mirror that of the Fourth Doctor's reaction to Sarah mentioning leaving in The Hand of Fear. I thought that was very clever writing. Sarah Jane's reaction to seeing that she was up against the Sontarans was incredibly good and really sold how fearful of an enemy they were. We've had the Slitheen show up twice in the Sarah Jane Adventures but she's been able to deal with them along with the help of her young team but with a Sontaran in town, she immediately wanted to retreat and call in UNIT. She believed it was simply too big of a task but Sarah Jane actually ended up handling it wonderfully. I mean, she got lucky with the arrival of Alan and Chrissie to strike a heel into Kaagh's probic vent but when has the Doctor been without some luck? I really liked the references to Invasion of the Bane, Revenge of the Slitheen, Eye of the Gorgon, Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane? and The Lost Boy and I also thought that this was Luke's best showing in a story yet. He seems to have come out of a bit of a shell from the first series and I like how he is showing a bit more emotion now. He didn't want Maria to leave and his friendship with Clyde seems to have been much enhanced in the break between each series. I loved the references to The Time Warrior and The Sontaran Experiment especially with Sarah talking to Kaagh and mentioning the ongoing war with the Rutan Host. Clyde's refusal to refrain from calling a Sontaran a spud or potato was good and I liked his confidence in being chased by an alien that Sarah Jane feared. The ending was very good and I liked that it ended in sight of the Tycho Project. Professor Skinner was soon brought around and Chrissie now knew about the aliens in Sarah's life, but Kaagh was sent flying back defeated by Sarah Jane and her half-forms. Overall, an excellent story!

Rating: 9/10