History Recap / DoctorWhoS30E4TheSontaranStratagem

* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: All the Sontarans talk about the "delight of battle" and how a "good soldier" joins the tray personally. The Doctor points out that hiding and stopping bullets are very unlike them. "A Sontaran should ''face'' bullets with ''dignity'', shame on you!"

* {{Cliffhanger}}: Wilf is trapped in the car as the ATMOS devices are activated . . .

** To [[Recap/DoctorWho2007CSVoyageOfTheDamned "Voyage of the Damned"]] (when Donna's grandfather met the Doctor) and [[Recap/DoctorWho2006CSTheRunawayBride "The Runaway Bride"]] (when Donna's mother met the Doctor).
** And [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E6Dalek "Dalek"]] (the "In-tru-da window" [[IncrediblyLamePun pun]] made by Henry van Statten).

-->'''Luke Rattigan:''' How . . . do you tell each other apart?\\

* EveryCarIsAPinto: {{Subverted|Trope}} when the ATMOS in the Land Rover suffers from the LogicBomb, the Doctor and Ross Jenkins run for cover . . . then the sat nav system fizzles and sparks a little bit.

* FailedAttemptAtDrama: Donna says she's going home. The Doctor gives her the big speech about everything he wanted to show her, how she's saved his life, how he was so very grateful for her company and . . . [[CrowningMomentOfFunny "you're just popping home for a visit, aren't you?"]] Also a stellar example of TheDayTheMusicLied.

** The ATMOS satnav repeatedly saying [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E11TurnLeft "Turn Left"]].

** Later . . .

'''Staal:''' . . . You said you didn't know his name.\\

* {{Pun}}: "We have an intruder." The Doctor responds with: "How did he get in? In-tru-da window?", referring back to [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E6Dalek "Dalek"]].

* StrangeMindsThinkAlike: The Doctor comes up with the same "In-tru-da window" pun that Henry van Statten used back in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E6Dalek "Dalek"]] -- which he was not present to hear.

->''"Martha, Donna. Donna, Martha. Please don't fight. I can't bear fighting."''

The one where Martha returns for the first time.

%%* OutOfCharacterAlert

The one where the talking potatoes come back.

* [[ArtisticLicenseGunSafety Artistic Licence - Gun Safety]]: The Sontarans use cordolane signals that render ordinary firearms useless, and this is said to work by expanding the copper jackets of the bullets so that they can't leave the barrel. In reality, such a malfunction often causes the affected weapon to explode; the stuck bullet denies the burnt gunpowder gases any safe exit, so they exit unsafely instead by bursting the chamber or barrel. Fortunately for the UNIT soldiers, in the episode it only results in the same click you'd get from a dry fire.

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: The 10th Doctor's notorious loathing of guns leaks into the people that carry them. He is snotty towards Colonel Mace, a ReasonableAuthorityFigure, also Ross, a NiceGuy grunt, because they carry guns. He says that people who carry guns are usually bad guys, but Martha gives him an earful for this. The Brigadier, who the Doctor later wishes was involved in the situation, is the exception to this rule.

** The ATMOS Sat Nav repeatedly saying [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E11TurnLeft "Turn Left"]].

--->'''Luke:''' You can't say "ATMOS system" 'cos it stands for Atmospheric Omission System. So you're saying, "[[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Atmospheric Omission System System]]". Do you see, Mr. ''Conditional Clause''?
* GunsAreUseless: The Sontarans' AppliedPhlebotinum prevents guns from being fired in their presence. TechnoBabble explains that it's because of the bullets' copper jackets.

* ICantFeelMyLegs: Staal's BoomStick shoots paralyzing beam.
* IdiotBall:

* {{Pun}}: "We have an intruder." The Doctor responds with: "How did he get in? In-tru-da window?" referring back to [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E6Dalek "Dalek"]].

* WhatTheHellHero: Martha, who's grown to know and like Colonel Mace, calls out the Doctor for his [[BlueAndOrangeMorality attitude towards Mace.]]

* YouDidntAsk: UNIT phoned ahead to tell Luke that "the Doctor" was coming to see him. Luke hears this as "the doctor", and thus when General Staal asks him who the Doctor is, he responds with "He didn't give his name." Later, after the Doctor and Ross have left in a hurry, and the Sontarans are trying to find them:
-->'''Luke:''' That doctor, he was in a UNIT jeep.\\
'''Staal:''' . . . You said you didn't know his name.\\
'''Luke:''' I don't, he just said "doctor".

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: The exploding ATMOS was supposed to be a more impressive faire, but it would've been too expensive to blow up the Rover (and the Army wouldn't like it, either), so it was rewritten to have the ATMOS controller give a few sparks. It also fulfills the RuleOfFunny.

* ArtisticLicenseGunSafety: The Sontarans use cordolane signals that render ordinary firearms useless, and this is said to work by expanding the copper jackets of the bullets so that they can't leave the barrel. In reality, such a malfunction often causes the affected weapon to explode; the stuck bullet denies the burnt gunpowder gases any safe exit, so they exit unsafely instead by bursting the chamber or barrel. Fortunately for the UNIT troopers, in the episode it only results in the same click you'd get from a dry fire.

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: The 10th Doctor's notorious loathing of guns leaks into the people that carry them. He is snotty towards Colonel Mace, a ReasonableAuthorityFigure, also Ross, a NiceGuy grunt, because they carry guns. He says people that carry guns are usually bad guys, but Martha gives him an earful for this. The Brigadier, who the Doctor later wishes was involved in the situation, is the exception to this rule.

-->'''Luke Rattigan:''' How... do you tell each other apart?\\

* EveryCarIsAPinto: {{Subverted|Trope}} when the ATMOS in the Land Rover suffers from the LogicBomb, the Doctor and Ross Jenkins run for cover... then the sat nav system fizzles and sparks a little bit.

* ExactWords: The ATMOS in the UNIT jeep was programmed to do precisely the ''opposite'' of what The Doctor tells it. So he tells it to drive ''into'' the river.
* FailedAttemptAtDrama: Donna says she's going home. The Doctor gives her the big speech about everything he wanted to show her, how she's saved his life, how he was so very grateful for her company and... [[CrowningMomentOfFunny "you're just popping home for a visit, aren't you?"]] Also a stellar example of TheDayTheMusicLied.

** Later...

* HarsherInHindsight: (Or HilariousInHindsight depending on how you view it): The situation presented in the cold open of a woman being driven to her death due to an unknown force essentially hacking her car and taking it over. With the development of "driver-less cars" that are controlled through computers, this could plausibly soon be a case of TruthInTelevision.

** Martha walks into a secluded area with a couple of grunts that only ask for her security clearance before escorting her away. This is ''after'' she suspects hypnotism and is going to talk with Colonel Mace. You'd thinking traveling with The Doctor would make her more GenreSavvy.

* {{Pun}}: "We have an intruder." The Doctor responds with: "How did he get in? In-tru-da window?" referring back to "Dalek".

-->'''The Doctor''': It's been a long time since someone said 'no' to you, isn't it?

[[caption-width-right:350:Doctor Who does Film/AnInconvenientTruth!]]

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: The 10th Doctor's notorious loathing of guns leaks into the people that carry them. He is snotty towards Colonel Mace, a ReasonableAuthorityFigure, also Russ, a NiceGuy grunt, because they carry guns. He says people that carry guns are usually bad guys, but Martha gives him an earful for this. The Brigadier, who the Doctor later wishes was involved in the situation, is the exception to this rule.
* BluntMetaphorsTrauma: Rattigan remarks that something is "cool" and Skool remarks "Is the temperature significant?"
* TheBrigadier: Colonel Mace is a leading figure in [=UNIT=] which is a military organization in charge of Homeworld Security. He's a pretty nice guy. The trope namer himself doesn't appear -- he's stuck in Peru.

** To "Voyage of the Damned" (when Donna's grandfather met the Doctor) and "The Runaway Bride" (when Donna's mother met the Doctor).
** And "Dalek" (the "In-tru-da window" pun made by Henry van Statten).

* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: Staal introduces himself as "Staal the Undefeated." The Doctor points out the lack of foresight, pointing out that if he is defeated, he'll have to be called "Staal the Not-Quite-So-Undefeated-Anymore-But-Never-Mind."
* DittoAliens: Staal and Skorr,them being clones, have only minor differences. Check Luke Rattigan's reaction when Skorr removes his helmet:

* TheDragon: Commander Skorr is the field commander.

* FailedAttemptAtDrama: Donna says she's going home. The Doctor gives her the big speech about everything he wanted to show her, how she's saved his life, how he was so very grateful for her company and... [[CrowningMomentOfFunny you're just popping home for a visit, aren't you?]] Also a stellar example of TheDayTheMusicLied.

* GodwinsLaw: Ross the UNIT soldier compares Rattigan's followers to Hitler's youth. It has dawn excercise and special diets and stuff.

--->'''Luke:''' You can't say "ATMOS system" 'cos it stands for Atmospheric Omission System. So you're saying, "[[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Atmospheric Omission System System]]." Do you see, Mr. Conditional Clause?

* MurderByRemoteControlVehicle: The episode starts with a journalist being killed by his own car when its emissions reduction system (part of a planet-conquering ploy by the eponymous Sontarans) takes over. The Doctor is then himself trapped in a car controlled by a murderous AI, but escapes by using a LogicBomb. (The AI had been programmed to kill the Doctor and to disobey any order the Doctor gave it, so the Doctor ordered it to kill him.)

* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: All the Sontarans talk about the "delight of battle" and how a "good soldier" joins the tray personally. The Doctor points out that hiding and stopping bullets are very unlike them. "A sontaran faces bullets with dignity. Shame on you!"

-->'''Doctor''': It's been a long time since someone said 'no' to you, isn't it?

* TakeThat: To TheEighties in one way or another.[[note]]The Doctor's response is so vague that it could reference ''any'' person involved with a negative 1980s event; it could be Creator/JohnNathanTurner, Creator/EricSaward or Michael Grade in relation to the DWU; hell, it could even be a UsefulNotes/ColdWar joke, or a joke about [[DeaderThanDisco the fashion and music]].[[/note]]

* NerdInEvilsHelmet: Luke Rattigan clearly wants to be some kind of Bond villain, and is just clearly trying way too hard.

** UNIT has ''all'' their vehicles fitted with ATMOS when they suspect there's something wrong with it. Ross is kind enough to lampshade this when The Doctor asks. They can't get rid of them until they have proof.

* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: Staal introduces himself as "Staal the Undefeated." The Doctor comments on the nickname's lack of foresight, pointing out that if he was defeated, he would have to be called "Staal the Not-Quite-So-Undefeated-Anymore-But-Never-Mind."

** At the start of the episode Jo Nakashima is protesting at how dangerous cars with Atmos are, and then proceeds to get into one.

* ArtisticLicenseGunSafety: The Sontarans use space magic to render ordinary firearms useless, and this is said to work by expanding the copper jackets of the bullets so that they can't leave the barrel. In reality, such a malfunction often causes the affected weapon to explode; the stuck bullet denies the burnt gunpowder gases any safe exit, so they exit unsafely instead by bursting the chamber or barrel. Fortunately for the UNIT troopers, in the episode it only results in the same click you'd get from a dry fire.

%%* NerdInEvilsHelmet: Luke Rattigan.

* MurderByRemoteControlVehicle: The episode starts with a journalist being killed by his own car when its emissions reduction system (part of a planet-conquering ploy by the eponymous Sontarans) takes over.

* RedShirt: Red Berets, in this case; the UNIT soldiers are easily-killed foot soldiers for the good guys.

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: The 10th Doctor's notorious loathing of guns leaks into the people that carry them. He is snotty towards Colonel Mace, a ReasonableAuthorityFigure, also Russ, a NiceGuy grunt, because they carry guns. He says people that carry guns are usually bad guys, but Martha gives him an earful for this.

* TheBrigadier: Colonel Mace is a leading figure in [=UNIT=] which is a military organization in charge of Homeworld Security. He's a pretty nice guy. The trope namer himself doesn't appear.

* ChekovsGun: Both the racketball in Luke's office and the rubber mallet used to whack the TARDIS console are used again to incapacitate Sontarans.

* TakeThat: To TheEighties in one way or another.[[note]]The Doctor's response is so vague that it could reference ''any'' person involved with a negative 1980s event; it could be Creator/JohnNathanTurner, Creator/EricSaward or Creator/MichaelGrade in relation to the DWU; hell, it could even be a UsefulNotes/ColdWar joke, or a joke about [[DeaderThanDisco the fashion and music]].[[/note]]