The Poison Sky

"The bravery of idiots is bravery nonetheless."

Writer: Helen Raynor

Format: TV

Broadcast: 03 May 2008

Series: 4.05

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Donna, Martha

Synopsis

As the Sontarans choke the Earth, the Doctor battles to keep both Martha and Donna alive. As the truth behind the Sontaran's plan is revealed, the Doctor faces impossible odds to save the planet and humanity from falling into the hands of his old enemies...

Verdict

The Poison Sky was an excellent episode to conclude the story already started in The Sontaran Stratagem and continue our way on our Series 4 rewatch of the modern era. Don't be fooled by the blog dates as we actually waited over a week between episodes to finish off this story and that was unique for me in a rewatch. The only time I would wait a week between parts of a multi-episode story is on broadcast when that's forced so this was unique and really allowed me to judge this episode by itself. Of course, I've seen it several times before and knew everything that was happening, but it was fun to look back. Martha is out of action for much of the episode with her Sontaran clone in her place, and it's always fun to see the giveaways that she isn't the real deal. It's clear the Doctor knows right from the off and his explanation when he gets to the real version about the hair follicle and her just smelling was great stuff. I liked the delay of the clone giving the code red about Sontarans to UNIT and the battle between this organisation and the Sontarans is an excellent clash. It really was a long time coming and having the human soldier mindset come up against a species bred for war was delightful. The Doctor was always going to have a losing battle when trying to maintain peace as it was clear that with the ATMOS gas on the rise in density, UNIT would go to arms despite the Doctor's warning that it was a losing battle. You'd think that if the Doctor warranted a salute in the previous episode, they would listen to what he had to say given his track record! The humour that came from Donna in this episode was sublime as she was the Doctor's weapon on board the Sontaran ship, and the three fingers comment still makes me laugh to this day. I also love the reference to The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances when the Doctor adorns the gas mask. I remember bursting out laughing on broadcast and actually rewinding to that point to rewatch immediately after the episode finished so that brings back fun memories. The use of the Valiant to help clear the gas initially and then the Doctor's rigged device to cover the planet was nicely done and I was really impressed with the special effects. I think it's quite fun to have the Sontarans basically cowering away above the planet and the Doctor confronting them as cowards about that was brilliant. He knew he'd get a bite and the mentioning of the never ending war with the Rutans was terrific. I loved the idea of the Sontarans turning the Earth into a clone world and their boasting about getting the TARDIS was fantastic. I liked the destruction of Luke Rattigan from thinking he could take himself and the other geniuses to an Earth 0.2, and his decision to do something clever with his life and wipe out the Sontarans at the last moment was very good. I've always been a little uncomfortable with the Doctor's decision to push him into doing that with his departing comment, but it's an emphatic end for the Sontarans. The cliffhanger finish with Martha staying on board the self-flying TARDIS is great stuff too! Overall, a really strong episode. 

Rating: 9/10