Heroes of Sontar (audio story)

Heroes of Sontar
Doctor:	Fifth Doctor
Companion(s):	Nyssa, Tegan, Turlough
Main enemy:	Sontarans Rutans (not seen) The Witch Guards
Main setting:	Samur
Key crew
Publisher:	[[publisher::Big Finish Productions]]
Writer:	Alan Barnes
Director:	Ken Bentley
Post production:	Jamie Robertson
Cover by:	Anthony Lamb
Release details
Release number:	146
Release date:	April 2011
Format:	2 CDs, 4 parts
Production code:	6H/D
ISBN:	ISBN 978-1-84435-558-7
Big Finish Doctor Who audio stories
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Heroes of Sontar was the one hundred and forty-sixth monthly Doctor Who audio story produced by Big Finish Productions. Released in April 2011, it was the first story in that year's trilogy of stories featuring the Fifth Doctor along with Tegan Jovanka, Vislor Turlough and an older Nyssa who rejoined them in Cobwebs. This was the first Big Finish audio story to feature the Sontarans.

Publisher's summary

Planet Samur was once a peaceful haven. Pilgrims journeyed across the seven galaxies to meditate in the courtyards of the vast Citadel that spanned its equator. It was Samur’s misfortune, however, to find itself situated on the furthermost frontier in the eternal war between the amoeboid Rutan Host and the belligerent, troll-like Sontarans…

Twenty years after detonating a bacteriological weapon over Samur, rendering it uninhabitable, the Sontarans are back: a select platoon of seven has landed here on a secret mission, carrying sealed orders given to them by Fleet Marshal Stabb.

The TARDIS has landed here, too, bringing the Doctor, Tegan, Turlough and Nyssa into the second great Battle of Samur. Fighting not only the Sontarans, but mystical mercenaries… and a deadly, decades-old curse.

Plot

to be added

Cast

• Fifth Doctor - Peter Davison
• Nyssa - Sarah Sutton
• Tegan - Janet Fielding
• Turlough - Mark Strickson
• Fleet Marshal Stabb / Trooper Jorr / Witch Guard - John Banks
• Field-Major Thurr / Adjutant / Orbital Command - Duncan Wisbey
• Sergeant Mezz / Trooper Nold - Alex Lowe
• Corporal Clun - Andrew Fettes
• Trooper Vend - Derek Carlyle

References

Culture

• The Latin phrase Dulci et decorum est pro patria mori (translated into English as "It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country") is inscribed on the scroll of honour of Brendon Public School, dedicated to the former students who were killed in wars.

Individuals

• Tegan's aunt Vanessa was seemingly fond of saying "bog off."
• Corporal Clun is 35 years old, which is very old for a Sontaran.

Planets

• The Doctor visited Samur approximately thirty years earlier.
• The planet Samur marked the point of the Sontaran's furthest incursion into Rutan space.

Timeline

• It is the Sontaran martial year 5709. It is unclear how the Sontaran calendar relates to the human Anno Domini calendar.

Notes

• This story marks the first appearance of the Sontarans in the Big Finish Doctor Who audio stories.
• This audio drama was recorded on 17 and 20 December 2010 at The Moat Studios.

Continuity

• This marks the first time that the Fifth Doctor faces the Sontarans in his personal timeline. He would later do so again in AUDIO: The Five Companions, PROSE: The Eight Doctors and PROSE: Lords of the Storm.
• Tegan claims that the Mara is no longer in her system. (AUDIO: The Cradle of the Snake)
• The Sontarans are still angry about "that Gallifrey incident." (TV: The Invasion of Time)
• Nyssa tells Tegan that she is married to a man named Lasarti and that they have three children named Neeka, Tegan and Adric, who is the youngest and a teenager. Furthermore, she implores Tegan not to tell the Doctor in order to maintain the Web of Time as he will not find out that she was married until shortly before his regeneration into the Sixth Doctor. (AUDIO: Winter)
• The Doctors refers to his encounter with Jingo Linx in the 13th century during his third incarnation. (TV: The Time Warrior)
• Nyssa mentions encountering the Rutans in Stockbridge in 1199. (AUDIO: Castle of Fear)
• Nyssa uses the name of her late father Tremas as her access password. (TV: The Keeper of Traken)
• Turlough refers to the underground complexes on Heiradi. (TV: Frontios)
• Turlough would later encounter the Sontarans for the second time on Alpha Serpens Caput in 2371. (PROSE: Lords of the Storm)
• Nyssa previously encountered the Sontarans in an alternative Death Zone on Gallifrey. This event has yet to take place in the Doctor's personal timeline. Notably, Nyssa does not appear to remember this incident. This is consistent with the Doctor's statement that her memory of her experience in the alternative Death Zone would most likely be hazy after she was returned to her rightful place in history, namely Terminus in the 35th century. (AUDIO: The Five Companions)

External links

• Official Heroes of Sontar page at bigfinish.com
• Heroes of Sontar at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
• DisContinuity for Heroes of Sontar at Tetrapyriarbus - The DisContinuity Guide