Doctor Who : Bred for War - The Sontaran Collection (The Time Warrior / The Invasion Of Time / The Two Doctors / The Sontaran Experiment) [1973] [DVD]

We’ll get the weakest one out of the way first. The Invasion Of Time is too long, and sees the worst depiction of the Sontarans in the show’s history. It’s a story with some merits, but it’s nowhere near the highlight of this box set.

Instead, it’s better to spend your attention on The Sontaran Experiment, a short adventure from the Tom Baker era. It’s flawed, but still very good, filmed entirely on location. This helps, and the adventure clearly benefits from breaking away from the usual maze of corridors.

The Time Warrior, which introduced the Sontarans for the first time, is the undoubted highlight here. Starring Jon Pertwee as the Doctor, and introducing Sarah-Jane Smith to the show, it’s a well-written, strongly-realised adventure, and a must for fans of the classic series.

The Two Doctors, meanwhile, stars Colin Baker and Patrick Troughton, and it’s a bit of a muddled affair. It’s great to see Patrick Troughton’s return to the show, and it’s certainly a harsher, slightly nastier adventure than we’re used to seeing from Doctor Who. But the narrative doesn’t gel particularly well, even though the Sontarans again prove themselves as one of the most underrated villains in the show’s history.

All of these stories have also enjoyed individual releases, but if any are missing from your collection, then the Bred For War box set is certainly worthy of your time. And let’s hope that we’ve not seen the last of the revived Sontarans either. The Doctor’s world might not be better with them in it, but on our side of the television, they’re one of the finest races of monsters he’s ever had to face.

The Sontarans are the militaristic clone species from the planet Sontar who made their first appearance in 1973 in the Who serial "The Time Warrior".

They are tipped to re-appear in the new fourth series of Doctor Who.

Features four Sontaran stories: "The Time Warrior", "The Invasion Of Time", "The Two Doctors", and "The Sontaran Experiment".

Extras included:

Invasion of Time
Commentary -With actors Louise Jameson and John Leeson,
'Out of Time' - artistes and production crew recall the making of this story. With actors Louise Jameson, John Leeson, Chris Tranchell and Milton John
Deleted Scenes Deleted scenes from the film sequences for episodes five and six.
The Changing Face of Gallifrey: A look at how the portrayal of the Time Lords and their home planet of Gallifrey changed over the years.
The Elusive David Agnew Who is the mysterious David Agnew, the writer of this story? Script editors Terrance Dicks and Anthony Read try to get to the bottom of the mystery…
CGI Effects
Continuity BBC1 continuity announcements from the story's transmission.
Photo Gallery
Coming Soon trailer.
Easter Egg
Radio Times Listings in Adobe PDF format for viewing on PC or Mac.
Programme subtitles.

The Two Doctors
Commentary -With actors Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant
A Fix with Sontarans from a 1985 edition of Jim’ll Fix it starring Colin Baker and Janet Fielding
Behind the Sofa: Robert Holmes and Doctor Who
Beneath the Lights – 25 minute look behind the scenes
Beneath the Sun – 35 minute featurette on location in Spain
Adventures in Time & Spain
Wavelenght – half hour Radio 4 schools programme
Photo Gallery

The Sontaran Experiment
Commentary -With Elizabeth Sladen
Built For War – Documentary that looks into the development of the Sontaran, featuring contributions from Terrence Dicks, Elisabeth Sladen, Anthony Read, Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant.
Photo Gallery

Time Warrior
Commentary - Terrance Dicks and Elisabeth Sladen
Beginning the End - the interviews are shot at the story’s location of Peckforton Castle.
Trails and continuity
Stills gallery a Coming Soon trailer
A reproduction of the 1974 Doctor Who Annual
The Radio Times listings
The Time Warrior, a cover story both in PDF format.
Plus two Easter Eggs on this DVD