Doctor Who: Sontarans VS Rutans: The Children of the Future from Big Finish Review

With Big Finish continuing their celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Sontarans, they turn their attention to the team who first met them with The Third Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith along with the Brigadier meeting the foes of their old enemies, this time the Rutans.

Tim Foley’s script wastes no time in throwing us into the uneasy espionage that underpins this tale with both Sarah and the Brigadier looking into the strange behaviour of their friend The Doctor. When they follow the Doctor, they soon find themselves at the ruins of Irongron’s castle last seen getting destroyed at the end of The Time Warrior. It was a nice touch from Foley to call it Lindsey’s Castle, naming it after the original actor to play Linx, the first Sontaran we ever saw, Kevin Lindsey.

The Doctor realises he’s been followed and when Sarah and the Brigadier arrive on the scene he allows the soldiers there to let them in and we soon discover that the soldiers are from the future when the Sontarans invade. However, Sarah isn’t convinced thanks to the inclusion of a recorder she was gifted from the Doctor who comes after the soldiers. Of course, this doesn’t fool Sarah and the Brig and they soon discover that these soldiers are Rutans, using leftover tech from Linx’s invasion to invade the past.

Foley’s story does feel a little brief, but fun nonetheless. He decides to focus on the relationship between the Doctor and Brigadier which is to the story’s credit as the pair finally face the horrible actions the Brig took against the Silurians when the Doctor was trying to help them as the Third Doctor begins to face his upcoming regeneration. I like the idea that the Doctor seems to know when a regeneration is impending and the desire to help the Rutans does feel totally in keeping with the Doctor, especially when you discover that he wants to help them to redeem himself for when he couldn’t help the Silurians.

Tim Trelor continues to impress as the Third Doctor, effortlessly stepping into the late Pertwee’s Cuban-heeled boots and bringing the popular incarnation back to life. Likewise, Sadie Miller is fantastic as Sarah Jane, her mother would be proud of how she has stepped up to the role, having watched Elisabeth Sladen’s series with Jon Pertwee, Miller deserves plenty of praise for recreating Sladen’s original performance which changed when Tom Baker took over.

And I also really liked how Foley brought into play the fact that Sarah still doesn’t know whether or not she can trust the Doctor. When she first met him she thought he was behind everything the Sontaran Linx was doing and it isn’t until we get to halfway through Death to the Daleks that she starts to trust the Third Doctor. It’s a nice little inclusion that also goes a long way to highlighting the relationship between the Doctor and the Brig.

Speaking of the Brig, the success of this story is largely thanks to the tremendous performance of Jon Culshaw as the Brigadier. He seems to have this supernatural accuracy with his voice and we can completely believe that it is Nicholas Courtney delivering these lines. Everyone involved should be very impressed with the hard work they’ve put in here.

The Children of the Future continues the Sontarans VS Rutan’s storyline brilliantly and puts a nice solo focus on the Rutans. The Doctor’s actions are much more in keeping with the character than the last entry into the series and it’s clear how much Foley likes the relationship between the Doctor and the Brigadier. Following on from the so-so sixtieth anniversary storyline Sontarans VS Rutans is shaping up to be one of the best celebratory stories from Big Finish.

You can pick up Doctor Who: Sontarans vs Rutans: The Children of the Future from Big Finish on both digital and CD now.