The very existence of this story is a bit of an anomaly, of course. Our last two-part story was The Rescue, all the way back in 1965. I suspect, but don't know for certain, that it exists because if it hadn't, we would have had a six-parter in the place of Ark and Experiment, and I'm sure everyone knows how Hinchcliffe and Holmes felt about the proliferation of six-parters in the previous seasons. This season's actually shorter overall, at a mere 20 episodes, but with the interpolation of this, we still come out at the same number of 5 stories as we did for the previous four years.
I don't seem to hear The Sontaran Experiment get talked about a whole lot, which is understandable given its short runtime. However, I still found it a load of fun. The location filming looks fantastic, and it's nice to have Kevin Lindsay back again, to remind us that the Sontarans are supposed to be clones. Tragically, this would prove to be Lindsay's last role for television, as he would pass away just months after broadcast at the appallingly young age of 51. It was nice having such a classy actor appear on this show twice.
It's interesting how neatly this dovetails into the previous serial, showing us the Earth that Vira and friends left behind. The idea that we're looking at a heath where Central London used to be is a very fun conceit. Following up on another thread from that story, we actually meet some of those famous colonists, and discover that they think the Ark is a legend. This is a really cool expansion upon the world that was introduced in the last story. It also picks up on the theme of human nature once more, this time showing Styre's ghoulish efforts to test the boundaries of human endurance. He gets a lot more than he bargains for, as exemplified in the scene where Krans and Erak struggle to prevent the gravity bar from crushing Vural. Styre observes with amusement that they struggle so hard to save Vural's life even though he's betrayed them. Of course, no matter how many experiments he runs, Styre, a member of a highly ruthless and utilitarian society, simply cannot understand the human desire to do good.
If I had to pick on this story for one thing, it would be the length. At only about 50 minutes, there simply isn't enough time to build up to anything big, and the ending where Styre dissolves before our eyes, while memorable, feels a bit unrewarding. Still, I found this a fun little story, and certainly not a flat note in this great season.
Genesis of the Daleks is next.
(Modified from the original posted at Gallifrey Base on 16 April 2021.)
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