Those Sexy Sontarans

The following may contain MAJOR SPOILERS from all episodes of Doctor Who, up to and including the most recently broadcast episode: "The Sontaran Stratagem"

Finally! For almost a year now I've been afraid the new Doctor Who was going to spiral into a mucky same-ness that it wouldn't be able to elope from. How many different evil businessmen can there be in the history of the universe? I think we've met them all now, Mr. Davies (et al).

Let's move on: Although it was yet another retread of the same plot, there were some real moments of greatness in last weekend's episode. I would love to see an original story come out of Doctor Who sometime soon, but if episodes like this are all we get, this was at the top of the heap. The family bits weren't so bad -- though regrettably more of the same. It's not surprising each companion has family situations that don't react well to the Doctor's presence... but I'm getting tired of seeing it over and over, which is mostly a result of the (regrettably) revolving door of sidekick actresses. It almost feels like the writers are trying too hard to appeal to adults sometimes. We know it's a kids' show guys, go ahead and forgo the family drama if you want. We're here for the Doctor and his Companion!

That being said, Donna's grandfather brings a nice bit of difference to the whole affair. He's delightfully sincere, and if we can keep from spending too much time with Donna's (Rose's) (Martha's) mother, he'll be able to redefine the concept of the Companion's Family, at least as far as my own expectations go. Then again, last time we saw him things weren't looking good for grandpa. I'm confident the Doctor can save him, but it's perhaps more worrying than I want it to be. Luckily I have a fresh episode of Battlestar Galactica between then and now to make the wait go by faster.

But back to the moments of greatness I mentioned: Glad to have Martha back. The bits with the Doctor assuming command of UNIT were top notch hilarity. The Sontarans? Marvelous. Creepy kid genius? What?? Where'd this guy come from? The way he revels in joining the Sontaran rituals at the end of the episode was ridonkulous -- doesn't he know they're going to end up killing him? Loved it.

So, anyway, this first part of "The Sontaran Strategem" was the best episode of the fourth series so far, for sure. Not having watched any of the older series until very recently, I am enamored of this unexpected new villain. But I reserve final judgment for next week. See you then!

Doctor Who airs Saturday nights in the UK on BBC1.