Doctor Who (1963) s12e09 Episode Script

The Sontaran Experiment, Part One

(DOCTOR WHO THEME) (OSCILLATING DRONE) (OSCILLATING DRONE) Ah, Doctor.
Are you coming or going? Or going or coming? I feel a bit like a Morse message.
Slightly scrambled.
Yes.
Well, let's get on with it.
These must be the refractors.
-Doctor? -Yes? I can see you're busy, but what about Sarah? Sarah? SARAH: Help.
-That sounds like Sarah.
-SARAH: Help me.
(YELPS) It's not only oscillating, it's ellipsing as well.
-You'd better give her a hand, Harry.
-Righty-o.
Hmm, I see the problem.
Focus gone a bit fuzzy.
(GRUNTING) Okay, old thing? Harry, I'm not a thing.
Doctor says it's the refractors.
Is it? Ow.
Say, you're not hurt, are you? Only my dignity.
(SARAH CLEARING THROAT) Ah, Sarah.
You're looking well.
Look, it's going to take some time to do the whole lot.
Why don't you two make the most of it? Make the most of what? Glorious day.
Beautiful unspoilt countryside.
No one has set foot here for thousands of years.
What you're trying to say is that you're busy and you'd like us to push off.
I'd phrase it more elegantly myself, of course.
Yes.
Oh, well.
Might as well have a recce while we're here.
Coming, old th? Coming, Sarah? (ELECTRONIC BUZZING) Enjoy yourselves.
Trafalgar Square should be that way.
Trafalgar Square? If this is Piccadilly.
You're joking.
Aren't you? Mind the traffic.
(ELECTRONIC BUZZING) Trafalgar Square, my foot.
Not a pigeon in sight.
Well, I don't suppose many of our feathered friends survived, you know.
Not much in the way of life, is there? It's rather creepy.
It doesn't seem like Earth at all.
I don't know.
Nice and tidy, anyway.
No lolly sticks.
It's not what I expected.
Well, it'll all change when they get down from Nerva.
Their animal botanic section's packed with stuff.
What's that? -What? -Shh.
Listen.
I can't hear anything.
(FAINT WHIRRING) It's over there.
Oh, come on, Sarah.
You're imagining things.
Look, Sarah, there's been no life on Earth, not of any size, for 1 0,000 years.
Now, look, we don't know that, do we? There could be anything here.
-Such as what? -I don't know.
Mutations.
Creatures.
Come on.
(DOCTOR HUMMING) Keep him covered, Zake.
I'll get the others.
Hey, Sarah, come and have a look at this.
-Whoops.
-SARAH: Harry.
Harry, are you all right? Hey, Krans.
Krans.
I've just seen some guy.
-A stranger.
-What? Zake's watching him, down by that circle.
-I thought maybe Vural ought to know.
-No, no, no, he's out looking for grub.
-Down by the circle, eh? -Yeah.
Hey.
Could be it's something to do with this mess, eh? Well, we'll soon find out.
No bones broken, I don't think.
All the same, I'm stuck, aren't I? Harry.
Harry, there's something wrong here.
The edge of this hole's been covered.
Well, of course it has.
That's why I fell Oh, yes.
I see what you mean.
-A deliberate trap, eh? -Shh.
I'm going to fetch the Doctor.
All right, well, I'll I'll wait here then.
(WHIRRING) (BEEPING) (SCREAMS) Harry? Hold it.
Is he a friend of yours? He's killed Zake.
No (FIRING) Doctor.
Doctor? Sarah? Hey, who's there? Hey.
Look here.
Doctor.
Harry.
Harry, I can't find him Harry? How long before the dope wears off? KRANS: He's coming round now.
Cut him loose, Erak.
But leave his hands tied, eh? Right.
All right.
Now talk.
Certainly.
What would you like me to talk about? What have you done with our crewmates? (FAINT WHIRRING) (MUFFLED SCREAM) (BEEPING) -What on earth -Shh.
Who are you? Where are you from? That's just what I was going to ask you.
Okay, my name is Sarah.
What's yours? Sarah.
-What's your name? -Roth.
Do you live here, Roth? No, those are space clothes, aren't they? I covered this, you understand, to catch the machine.
-Tell me about the machine.
-No.
Why are you so frightened of it? -The machine serves him.
Captures my crewmates.
-Well, serves who? The thing in the rocks.
I'll not get caught.
No, not again.
No, wait.
What thing in the rocks? The alien in the rocks.
The machine captures us.
Takes us for torture.
I got away.
See? Those are burns, aren't they? -Did the alien do that? Is that what you're saying? -He killed Heath and Splear.
I got away.
You understand? I think I'm beginning to.
-Look, take me to these rocks.
-No.
Oh, look, Roth, you've got to help me.
I came here with two friends and they both vanished, you understand? -I mean, you understand? -I saw.
-Then it was you following us? -One of your friends is with Vural.
-Vural? -He was in the circle.
I saw them take him.
-Then you know where the Doctor is? -Yeah.
-I told you, I just got here.
-How, eh? We've seen no ship.
I didn't use one.
I came by transmat beam.
That's a lie.
That's the truth.
Who are you? Vural.
-I'm the leader of this party.
-Ah.
-Now, where'd you find him? -We first saw him creeping about that circle.
-Not creeping, I was repairing -KRANS: Shut up.
By the time we caught up with him he was bent over Zake.
-ERAK: He killed him.
-I didn't kill him.
I heard a cry and found him with his neck broken in the gully.
An accident, I imagine.
-You say you came here by transmat beam? -That's right.
There's no transmat system on this planet.
The Earth's been junked.
Temporarily abandoned perhaps, but not junked.
Oh, no.
It's worn out, useless and too far from the freight routes.
Nobody comes here, so there's no transmat system.
-Check? -KRANS: Check.
So you better start telling the truth or you might find things getting a little rough.
I'm sorry to keep contradicting you, but there is a transmat beam from Space Station Nerva.
-From where? -Space Station Nerva.
-Is he crazy? -Ajoker.
You don't expect us to believe that.
Nerva, transmat beam, Earth.
It's as simple as that.
Why don't you believe me? Because Nerva doesn't exist, that's why.
There's no such place.
Fascinating.
You don't believe it exists, yet you've obviously heard of it.
-Everybody's heard of the lost colony.
-Lost colony? Ah.
You mean it's become a legend, like lost Atlantis? Like what? Lost Atlantis.
It's a legendary city.
A go Never mind.
This is extremely interesting.
Are you going to cut me loose? -No, we're going to get the truth out of you first.
-ERAK: Too right.
Very colonial.
You are from a colony, I take it? GalSec.
Of course, on Nerva they know that various colony ships left Earth.
They'll be delighted to know that they're not the sole survivors of the human race.
-You are human? -What do you mean? -Of course we are.
-Oh, no offence, no offence.
Do you mind if I take a close look at that? DOCTOR: Hmm.
I'd say it's not a product of human technology, eh, Vural? You're a freak.
(SHRILL BEEPING) (BEEPING) (HUMMING) I say let's get rid of him now, and save ourselves the trouble later.
Krans? If he had landed by ship, we'd have heard.
-Maybe he did come by transmat beam.
-From Nerva? -Maybe.
-Aye, I remember the old story.
Back in the days of the expansion, a bunch of survival sleepers went to the Space Station Nerva to wait for the Earth to cool down again.
So? Earth's cooled down and they've never come back.
And Nerva's never been found.
It's just a story.
Yeah.
I reckon if it ever existed, it got burnt up in the sunburst.
You know what makes me half-believe him? It's such a crazy story, that's what.
You mean, if he was making it up he'd think of something better? -Check.
-Never.
-I'll question him again.
-No.
I'll handle this.
(EXCLAIMS) (ROTH SHUSHING) It's just a ways down there.
-Well, what are we waiting for? -No, no.
Look, Roth, if you're in Vural's crew, why are you so frightened of him? He's been to the rocks.
I saw.
I saw.
Well, what do you mean, ''you saw''? The alien let him go.
You understand? Vural's hooked.
Right.
How long have they been in deep freeze on Nerva? Oh, 1 0,000 years.
(SCOFFS) -And you woke up before the others? -Well, no.
I'm a sort of travelling time expert.
As you can see, Earth's been habitable for several thousand years, but they didn't wake up.
Why? Clock stopped.
Overslept.
So here I am.
-Clock expert? -Well, horologist, actually.
And chronometrist.
I just love clocks.
Atomic clocks, wall quartz clocks, grandfather clocks -He's still lying.
-VURAL: Shut up, Erak.
-cuckoo clocks.
-You got any proof? Well, no.
But then I didn't expect to meet anybody.
I understood Earth wasn't inhabited.
Yes, that's what we thought until we got a distress signal from around here.
A mayday? Then you're a military expedition, I take it.
Yeah, one of our GalSec fighters went missing.
We picked up a distress call and came down for a look-see.
Soon as we stepped from the ship, it was vaporised.
Nine of us were stuck here.
Nine? Where are the rest? Vanished.
And we reckon that that circle of yours has got something to do with it.
Oh, rubbish.
That's just the reception point for the transmat beam.
-Let's kill him now and get it over with.
-KRANS: No.
VURAL: That's wild talk, Erak.
Apart from killing me, you should treat me as an honoured guest.
Why? Well, you don't want to be stuck here forever, do you? Go on.
I might consider helping you.
-And how do you reckon to help us? -Simple.
I finish refocusing the matter beam, then we all pop up to Nerva, you get in touch with your headquarters and they send a ship for you.
Listen, if you are one of the old people, we're not taking any orders from your lot.
While you were dozing away, our people kept going and they made it.
We've got bases all across the galaxy now.
You've done nothing for 1 0,000 years while we made an empire.
You understand? Oh, absolutely.
We're not taking any of that Mother Earth rubbish.
Hey, look.
It's Roth.
Hey, Rothy.
Hey.
-Hey, Rothy.
-It is Roth.
Come on.
(ERAK YELLING) KRANS: Roth.
ERAK: Hey, Roth.
Good girl, Sarah.
Who's your fast friend? Come on, Doctor.
I'll explain later.
Roth.
I've got cramps.
He's bunked.
I saw him.
Plain as daylight.
Oh, why'd he run like that? Why'd he run from us? He must have gone bush.
(VURAL SCOFFS) VURAL: Hey.
That freak.
He's got away.
All right, get your guns.
Doctor, the pit's this way.
I've lost my sonic screwdriver.
I feel absolutely lost without it.
I found your sonic screwdriver.
Doctor, the pit.
Shh.
What would I do without you? Any luck? Nothing.
Keep your eyes peeled.
He can't have got far.
-He couldn't have climbed out.
-Not without help.
That machine you told me about, could that have lifted him? No, he'd already gone by the time the machine came.
Excuse me.
-Terullian drive.
-What? The machine.
Now, that's very interesting, because there's no terullian to be found in this galaxy.
-Yeah, yeah.
-Who Alien.
Alien.
You understand? Yes, don't you worry about it, old chap.
He's half-demented with shock.
He's been tortured, badly by the look of it.
He's terrified of everyone now.
Especially his old crewmates.
Yes.
And I can't say I blame him for being wary of friend Vural, at any rate.
You know, it's absolutely typical of Harry.
How anyone in his proper mind could fall down a whacking great subsidence like That's it.
-What's it? -Subsidence.
A sewer or something.
-Maybe it's the Central line.
-I'm not with you.
I mean, there must be some way out at the bottom.
Hang on, Sarah.
I'll just go down and take a look.
-You be careful, Doctor.
-Don't you worry, Sarah.
You break a leg or something, we'll never get you out.
DOCTOR: It's perfectlysafe.
(SARAH SCREAMS) SARAH: Doctor.
Doctor.
(BOTH GASPING) (BEEPING) Sarah? Sarah? Sarah, are you there? (ROTH PANTING) (STYRE GROWLING) Linx.
(DOCTOR WHO THEME) (STYRE GROWLING) Linx.
The female of the species.
(BEEPING) Yikes.
A Sontaran.
Can't be.
You were destroyed in the 1 3th century.
You were blown to smithereens.
STYRE: You may have seen one of us.
SARAH: But you're identical.
-The same ugly -Identical, yes, the same, no.
I am Styre.
Field Major Styre, as you will address me, of the Sontaran G-3 Military Assessment Survey.
And your opinion of my looks is of no interest to my programme.
Female number one, first assessment.
Would appear to have no military justification.
Offensive value therefore nil.
You won't get me.
You won't torture me again.
(SARAH SCREAMING) Why did you make that disagreeable noise? You killed him.
That is my function.
I am a warrior.
-Murderer.
Murderer.
-Silence.
The moron was of no further use to me.
I had already tested him.
You, as a female, are far more interesting.
And soon, I will have the rest of your companions.
Hello? Sarah? Oh, it's you again.
Can't say I'm delighted.
It's no use pretending.
Just keep climbing, nice and quiet.
If you insist.
Sarah? Sarah, old girl, you here anywhere? (MAN GROANING) Sarah, where are you? -All right, old chap? -No.
It's all right, old chap.
I'm not going to hurt you.
Let's have a look.
Water.
Krans.
Go on, and no tricks now.
-Behind you.
-I said no tricks.
(BEEPING) (WEAPONS FIRING) (WHIRRING) Look here, old chap, I'm going to have to go and get help.
You understand? The Sontaran put you here? What for? Do you know why? To To die.
Die? Are there many more of you? (SNIFFING) No, it's not the Central line.
When I ambushed the GalSec ship, there were nine survivors.
I have already used up five of them and I have been studying the free behaviour patterns of the remaining four.
-So? -So it is useless lying to me.
I know you were not on that GalSec ship.
Where do you come from? What is your planet of origin? -Earth.
-That is a lie.
There has been no intelligent life on this planet since the time of the solar flares.
-How do you know? -I have the reports.
-They can't be wrong, can they? -Silence.
You are nothing, do you understand? You are a mistake and must therefore be eliminated.
According to my data you should not exist.
(ELECTRONIC WHIRRING) -Sarah? -SARAH: Harry.
Over here.
-Sarah.
-Well, come on.
Help me.
Oh, hang on, old thing.
(ELECTRONIC BUZZING) (EXCLAIMING) (ELECTRONIC BUZZING) I can't get in.
-There must be a force-field.
-Eh? That's it.
He's locked me inside a force-field, Harry.
It's no good.
Well, don't you worry, old thing.
I'll find a way.
I'll get you out of there if I have to knock his bally head off and grab his keys.
Just don't you worry, Sarah.
(BEEPING) G-3 Intelligence.
G-3 Intelligence.
Field Major Styre reporting from Earth base.
Well, Styre? STYRE: My report, Marshal.
Get on with it then.
As we knew, the Earth has not been repopulated.
I have therefore carried out my instructions and lured a group of humans to the planet for testing.
The results of my experiment indicate that they are puny beings, with little resistance to physical stress, and are totally dependent on organic chemical intake for their energy supply.
Thank you, Styre.
Then your report is complete.
Not quite, Marshal.
Why must there be any delay? Some inconsistencies have arisen, small mistakes that will soon be eliminated.
My final intelligence report for the assault will be with you within the hour, Marshal.
It must be, Styre.
It must be.
Very good, sir.
Experiment seven.
Subject: female.
Project: resistance to fear.
(BEEPING) (HISSING) (SCREAMING) (SQUISHING) DOCTOR: Sarah.
Sarah.
Listen to me, Sarah.
It's not real.
Do you understand? Nothing is happening to you.
It's only in your mind.
Fight it, Sarah.
Fight it.
(SCREAMS) Oh, Sarah.
Very touching.
You unspeakable abomination.
Words, Earthling, will never prevail against Sontaran might.
-Why did you do it to her? -I did nothing.
I merely resurrected those things which lay buried in the depths of her pathetic little mind.
She was a victim of her own fear.
And now, your turn.
Well done, Harry.
Worm.
Now we know what happened to our mates.
We've still got a chance.
If this thing intended to kill us (STYRE GROWLING) Might have been the best thing.
Good.
The final batch of material.
-But not me.
No, not me.
-All of you.
But I helped you.
I did everything you said.
-KRANS: What? -You said you'd save me if Oh, why should I save you? A traitor to your own miserable kind.
Why, you stinking, lousy swine, Vural.
You tried to do a deal with this thing? It was all I could do.
It gave us more time.
That first night, he was gone for hours.
Lost, he said.
-No, I did it for us.
-Enough of this bickering.
Doctor.
Not both of them.
Murdering swine.
Field Major Styre, Sontaran G-3 Military Assessment Survey.
Experiment five: human resistance to fluid deprivation.
Data: subject died after nine days, seven hours.
Impairment of mental faculties, motor reflexes and physical coordination noted after only three days.
Conclusion: dependence on fluid is a significant weakness which should be exploited in our attack.
STYRE: As a rider to the above, we should also like to take into account the successful conclusion of experiment four, where immersion in the fluid H2O produced asphyxiation in less than three minutes.
Conclusion: this species has little resistance to immersion in liquids.
-Doctor, I thought you were both dead.
-Not me.
Piece of the synestic locking mechanism from Nerva's rocket.
Popped it in my pocket.
-Fortuitous.
-Foresight.
You never know when these bits and pieces will come in handy.
Never throw anything away, Harry.
Where's my 500-year diary? I remember jotting some notes on the Sontarans.
-It's a mistake to clutter one's pockets, Harry.
-Yes, Doctor.
What's Styre doing here? Well, he's killing people.
He's on some kind of ghastly experiment.
Look what he's done to Sarah.
Harry, Sontarans never do anything without a military reason.
You look to Sarah.
-And what are you going to do? -Find out what's behind all this.
Experiment eight: resistance to pressure on the human breast cage and muscular strength.
Are you prepared? What are you up to, you lump of filth? You are holding a gravity bar.
At the moment it is a mere 40 pounds, Earth weight.
I will increase that weight to 200 pounds.
(ERAK GRUNTING) (ERAK AND KRANS GRUNTING) Hello.
Hello.
(BEEPING) Don't be alarmed, old thing.
Not going to hurt you.
Everything's going to be all right.
(WHIRRING) VURAL: Please.
-Please.
-You murdering fiend.
He is not your friend, he is a traitor.
Yet you struggle to save his life.
(BEEPING) Enough.
I must delay the experiment.
(WHISPERING) Erak, the knife.
The knife.
(BEEPING) Styre.
Field Major Styre, I order you to report.
This is Field Major Styre, sir.
Styre, your constant delays are causing alarm.
We must have your report.
I am just completing my final experiment, the compressibility test of human tissue.
The entire invasion fleet is being held up.
How much longer must we wait? STYRE: My programme was ordered by the Grand Strategic Council.
The invasion cannot begin until all experiments are analysed.
Then get a move on, Styre.
The fleet is waiting for my signal.
Very good, Marshal.
(BEEPING) -Doctor.
-Ah, Sarah, feeling better? No, don't tell me.
No time.
We've got an invasion on our hands.
Invasion? Oh, you mean Styre? Him and thousands exactly like him.
SARAH: They're going to invade Earth? The entire galaxy suddenly acquired some strategic importance in their endless war against the Rutans.
HARRY: Why on earth is Styre torturing people? He's making an assessment of human physical limitations.
Sontarans are very methodical people, and that might give us a slight advantage.
-Oh, I hadn't noticed, frankly.
-What are you going to do? I'm going to take him on in single combat.
It's the only way.
You're what? Sontarans never turn down the chance to kill someone.
-Well, you're not going to let him kill you? -Well, I hope not.
I'm going to try and tire him out.
He's pretty unwieldy for all his strength and he's not used to Earth's gravity.
The thing is, if I can get him exhausted, he'll have to go back to his ship to reenergise.
-Are you with me? -Just about.
While I keep him busy, I want you to get into his ship.
Now, once you're inside, this is what I want you to do, Harry.
Increase to 600 pounds.
Styre.
Still about your butcher's ways, Styre? You? But I killed you.
Another mistake, Styre.
You've fallen right into our trap.
-Trap? -Yes.
Those people you've been so cleverly evaluating are not Earth warriors, they're our slave class, the lowest form of human intelligence.
You lie.
Do you think those puny creatures could conquer half a galaxy? No, Styre.
I represent the true warrior class.
Evaluate me if you dare.
DOCTOR: Ah.
Is that the Sontaran way? The mighty warrior sheltering behind his gun? I challenge you, Styre.
Single combat.
Or are you afraid? Afraid? A Sontaran afraid? All right, come to your death.
(WHIRRING) DOCTOR: Styre, it's not over yet.
(STYRE PANTING) I'll finish with you later.
(GROANING) You're weakening, Styre.
You're weakening.
STYRE: Am I? I shall kill you all now.
But first, I have more important tasks to perform.
-Is this what you meant? -It had better be.
-Let's get out of here.
-Doctor, Styre's killed Vural.
He saved your life.
I know.
Everybody out.
Fast as you can.
Come on.
(EXPLOSION) What happened? Ask Harry, he did it.
What did I do? What is this thing anyway? It's a sort of terullian diode bypass transformer.
-Oh.
-Yes.
Sontarans, as I told you, sometimes need to feed on pure energy.
And by removing that, you altered things slightly and the energy fed on him.
That's taken care of one of them, but what about the rest of the invasion fleet waiting to blast us out of the galaxy? Yes.
Well, I'll just attend to that.
Styre, your report? The intelligence What is this? Your Waterloo, Marshal.
Your intelligence mission has been destroyed and your invasion plans are in our hands.
One move across the buffer zone, Marshal, and your entire fleet will be destroyed.
We shall destroy your planet.
What? Without Styre's report? Next time, Earthling, we shall utterly destroy you.
Not today, thank you.
Brinkmanship, I think they call it.
Sure you won't join us? No, we'll wait till that lot from Nerva get here.
Thanks all the same.
Don't trust those transmat beams.
They never worked too good.
As you wish.
I should stand back if I were you.
(OSCILLATING DRONE) I mean, it should be all right.
But you never know, quite, do you? (OSCILLATING DRONE)
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