The Unusual Suspects

Introducing the new-look Sontarans. Personally, I'm still more scared by Donna. More here...

Comments

[Dave Sanders]

Donna looks dumpier than Mike Thewarlikeperson does. What's wrong with this picture?

[TM]

Sorry, but this update is naff. The first Sontaran from Time Warrior was more realistic than this! Looks plastic and what's with the massive plastic Action Man gun in the other image?!

[Dave Sanders]

And since Sontarans are all clones, what does it need that honking great armoured posing pouch for?

Kevin Lindsay's pacemaker could have this one any day.

[Griffin]

"Hmm...upgrades"

-Neo, from a paticular sequel nobody cares one fuck about...

[DaveAA]

"What's wrong with this picture?" Well for starters his collar's crooked and he looks more scared than scary. He looks like he should be some bumbling comedy villain in SJA. Plus there's too many companions.

[Stu]

I'm not sure about the suit but the thing you have notice about the new Sontaran is how close it is to the original -- they've really not bothered to redesign that head at all ...

[Iain]

I don't mind the general look of the mask - it's pretty close to the original, and far more impressive than, say, Shakedown was. But the suit's absolute guff - a sort of half-arsed Batsuit for rugby league players.

They really designed a fantastic Sontaran costume last year - and stuck a rhino in it instead...

[Paul Greaves]

Frankly, as with all previous Sontarant redesigns, the original is still the best. The head looks too plastic and shiny, the suit is the wrong colour (light blue does not equal menacing in my book) and looks like an out of shape pump up bed.

Damn you Neil, posting this six minutes before I did (2.25am!) I thought I might have some breaking news for once :)

[Paul Greaves]

And as for there being too many companions... Get used to it. By the time we reach the last three episodes of Series 4 we're going to have to deal with the Doctor, Donna, Martha, Rose, Mickey, Jack, Sarah and (knowing my luck) Jackie and K9!

Can't wait...

[Rassilon]

Pretty much agree with whats been said regarding costume with the uneven collar & the better Judoon one.

But looking at the picture I can't help but think when looking at the Sontarans offset & mismatched eye size's... Lee Majors aka The Six Million Dollar Man\Fall Guy.

[TimC]

I don't mind the new suit, but those little plug ears are just too cute.

Anyone here going to the Terrance Dicks (or should that be Terran Cedicks?) day in Bradford, by the way? - http://www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/Television/TV_Event.asp

[James Coleman]

I love having more than one companion. More relationships to discover and explore.

And the sontaran looks too clean. He should be grimy!

[TM]

Donna's also back in her medical outfit :D

---

Blue outfit, like a pump-up bed.
Penis pouch.
Shiny head.
Pug ears.
Wonky neck.
Plastic neckbrace.

---

Linx from T.W. could beat this one down anyday. I'm only hoping they aren't as camp as they were in the Two Doctors. Remember the marching and the hands on hips? "A Fix with Sontarans" is also a good example of gay agenda.

Oooh, I can only see three fingers. I hope this is the case because after Time Warrior, they suddenly had 4!

[TM]

AGH! SHOOT ME NOW!

I meant Martha :)

[Kevin Wilson]

Reinventing Dr Who - yes.
Reinventing Cybermen - yes.
Reinventing the TARDIS - yes.
Reinventing Sontarans - NO!! Black leather and a cast iron helmet beats plastic looking armour any day. Didn't Sontarans also have a more mottled skin tone back in old Who? The Judoon did the Sontaran uniform so well I thought they were our favourite pudgy villians.

I have grave reservations about Catherine Tate pulling off the Donna character for a full season. The character seemed a bit oblivious in The Runaway Bride - most of the Doctors companions have had a bit of a clue before heading off with him.

[TM]

Kevin: I think Donna will be a breath of fresh air. I mean, Rose & Martha were great, but they were all soppy about the Doctor. Finally we have an older companion (like in Classic Who) who won't be all over him. Plus, we may have the odd arguement due to huge personalities.

[Simon]

It's the Cybermen all over again.

1) Publicity phot releaed.

2) Coments that follow: "They look terrible." "They look terrible." "They look terrible." "They look terrible."

3) Episodes air.

4) 95% of complaints about they way they look vanish.

[TM]

Being a fan of the Sontarans, I'm sure I'll grow on them / when the episodes air. But they do look naff in the photos. Maybe in the episode with the correct lighting, sets etc, they'll work.

[Nigel]

"4) 95% of complaints about they way they look vanish."

... because the disappointments with the costumes were as nothing compared to the stomp-dancing episodes themselves?

Urg. It could be worse I suppose, though I think the baldy Donna character in blue looks more like a Sontaran than the talentless lump on the left.

[Brendan Kennedy]

I really don't think Catherine Tate is a talentless. Her comedy show is pretty samey and the humour rarely appeals to me, but she's a fantastic actress. In her more subdued performances she can genuinely convey emotion and she's going to be fantastic in the more comedic scenes of the show.

About the Sontaran itself. I could do without the powder blue and the slightly bewildered expression on his face. Maybe he's just after stumbling from the clone farm to the photoshoot and doesn't have a clue as to what's going on.

[Dave Sanders]

Linx will always be the best-looking Sontaran because of the way the neck and head exactly fit the shape of the helmet and collar - as well as being more alien, it gives the impression that the entire padded suit is taken up by the body.

Where's Terry Walsh? I think Chris Ryan could use a stunt double for that wonky collarbone.

[TM]

The judoon looked amazing, but I think they got the costumes mixed up. The Judoon one would really suit a sontaran, and this would do on a Judoon (just change it to black).

[User Name]

Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[Paul S]

Won't batman want his suit back?

Not liking it at all. Shame really.

[Liam Hutchinson]

Tis crap I tells you! Looks bloody awful! Let us just focus on the good news: Peter Davison this November!

[Rob H]

A more sorry bunch of whinging moaners I have rarely seen. I thought I'd accidentally logged onto Outpost Gallifrey. I'm sure, much like the Cybermen, the Daleks, the TARDIS and everything else bar the Slitheen and spider-Lazarus since 2005, it will look fantastic on screen.

[Griffin]

Yep, it'll look awesome, but RTD will write it, so the c*nts have another reason to dislike it..

[Simon]

Even better Helen Raynor is writing it...

Me I'm waiting until 7.95ish on Xmas Day before making my mind up, but then I'm the crazy kind of guy who wants more than a harshly lit publicity photo to go on.

[Rob H]

You'll be waiting for a long time for the Sontarans on Christmas Day I'm afraid!

[Simon]

I'm pretty sure they'll be in the "Coming Soon" trailer at the end of the Xmas episode. (Hense the 7.59ish)

[Dave Sanders]

Oh, Helen Raynor. Cloning by DNA lightning transmission. Central Park on a football pitch. Can't bloody wait. Couldn't it be Jacqueline Raynor instead?

Given that nobody under thirty remembers the old Sontarans (which leaves all the moany old c*nts like us), why keep tempting providence with rubbish publicity shots like this one that never convey how the finished episodes will look?

[Marble]

Moany c*nt and proud of it.

[Leigh]

Dear me - absolute, total rubbish. I haven't felt less intimidated by anything since... well, I haven't felt less intimidated by anything.

Is somebody getting the DW and SJA scripts mixed up these days? The Trickster in that last episode of SJA was about 300 times scarier and more effective than the old lady with elephantiasis in this picture.

[Rob H]

Leigh, is a photo of a Dalek doing nothing, shot in harsh lighting, scary? Absolutely not. It's what the writer does with it that makes it scary. Consider the statues in Blink. A decent writer could make you afraid of a pen cap.

Honestly. People do like a good moan don't they!

[Julian Joolz]

Rob H, the problem is the moaners on here have lost all sense of perspective. They consistently slag off the new series, in all of the areas it does really well; you know, the kind of thing all the imported sci-fi does so badly - story and plot - action and adventure - no evidence anywhere else of these crucial elements in "those" shows. It leads me to suspect that quite a lot of them are Davison-Era Fans, who were always something of a problem, even when the 5th Doctor's stories were airing. Most of them just didn't have a clue. Eventually they will come to recognise how great this new version of the series is, just like the thinking part of the population, but by then it will be a little too late.

Me, I'm off now to start watching the Complete Series 3 boxset, the best season, ever....Fact.

[Dave Sanders]

Here he comes with his sanctimony
(na naa-na)
Shooting right down Peter Davisony
(na naa-na)

[Rob H]

I concur Julian. Probably 20 years after it's originally aired and is no longer 'mainstream' and 'cool', and is therefore acceptable to their 'developed and acute' palettes.

Don't you just 'love' printed 'sarcasm'?

I have to wait for Christmas for the Series 3 Boxset. Not because I can't afford to buy it now, but because if I do my girlfriend won't have a clue what to buy me for Christmas!

[Simon]

I honestly believe that *some* (and let me repeat) SOME, of the criticism that comes from old-school fandom comes purely from the fact the series is a massive, mainstream success and no longer a secret little club for the couple of thousand people who stayed with it from 1989 to 2005.

It must be terribly galling to have to try and cope with the fact that all of faults which are quite clear to them; "pop culture references!", "companion's families!", "emotion!" etc. etc. never bother the other 99.5% of the people watching.

And let's not even start on the fact that the BBC would rather put the series on hold for a year than risk losing having RTD in charge. If only he'd go then Philip Hinchcliffe could come back and all would be right with the world again...

[James Coleman]

Leigh: I too have found the Sarah Jane scripts to be very good. Four stories in and it just keeps getting better. "Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?" is absolutely incredible, and the sort of script we need to have more of in Who, and in television in general. It's by Gareth Roberts, whose scripts definitely get better with each one, and I'm really looking forward to his contribution next year.

[James Coleman]

Simon: I think you're partly right there: it is irritating when you can see faults that no-one else can see, such as with Heroes (why can no-one see what utter tripe it is?). Also there are bound to be a few who do miss the days when they could pride themselves on having their own TV show which was wonderful but no-one else could look in on.

But for the most part I think the people on here do genuinely love the show, and are simply reacting to risky decisions which could damage the show.

And I for one haven't noticed too many complaints towards emotions being shown, and pop references are only complained about when they are over-abundant (with reason: after all, through all of time and space why continually make references to our small period of time?), and the companion's families are only complained about when you get over use of irritating characters like Jackie. I have barely seen any complaints about Martha's family.

[John Williams]

Are we destined to keep endlessly debating this load of cock about underlying motives for people's opinions, either pro or anti the series?

Just because a few people moan about a monster costume isn't the greatest reason to start the eternal argument all over again.

[Neil]

Here fucking here.

[Rob H]

You're absolutely right. Let's all pack it in right now!

...

So...

Anyone doing anything nice this weekend..?

[TimC]

Doing final product development and fundraising for my new brand of Who-themed 'Whodoo' voodoo dolls. The proposed initial range will include RTD; Billie Piper; Freema Agyeman; Catherine Tate; pretty much anyone else involved in the programme who's female, gay or otherwise threatening; and Your Mum. Are you in?

[John Williams]

Great weekend ahead. Larging it on the A1(M) with Who fans - what could be better?

[Rassilon]

Probably underneath the TR7 fault finding\fixing her.

That or painting the bathroom or hand delivering a second copy of a medical report Sunday night\Monday morning, that Royal Mail managed to lose.

[LizR]

I shall be moaning about new-Who on a few selected forums...er, I mean, putting some sausies on the barbie and opening a few tinnies.

[Steve H.]

The Sontaran looks scary enough, but why is the Doctor giving Donna such a weird look?

Oh wait...

[Leigh]

What's with the ambush? All I said was that the Sontaran looks rubbish. And I'll happily stand by that opinion (I thought those were still allowed) until it's proven to be groundless, which may be when the episode airs and we see the new Sontarans in action, or it may not. Me, I can't shake the feeling that they'll still look inappropriately comical.

This is nothing to do with old-school fanboyism, I was only a passing fan at best back in the '80s and it's the new series that's rekindled my interest in DW both old and new. The vast majority of the new and updated monsters have been ace - this picture, however, suggests impending wankness and I didn't realise I'd be incurring the wrath of the Real Actual DW Elite by venturing an opinion on that.

[Rob H]

The Real Actual DW Elite apologises for all wrath incurred.