Can there truly be peace between the Rutan Host and the Sontaran Empire? We find out in the Rutans vs Sontarans finale…
First mentioned back in 1970, the conflict between the Sontaran clone warriors and the gelatinous gestalt of the Rutan Host has raged for centuries. The Doctor’s adventures have brushed up against the conflict over the years, both on screen and in the series’ extended universe.
In 2025, Big Finish dug into the endless enmity for the four-part audio drama series Sontarans vs Rutans, and this year we’ve been exploring the opposite angle: Rutans vs Sontarans and the fate of one Rutan cruelly split off from the collective.
Peace at Last
This final instalment brings matters to a head as it begins with the most unlikely of events, a peace conference between the two warring sides during a ceasefire. The event that has brought them to the negotiating table? An explosion on Shield, the Sontaran’s second largest stronghold, with the cost of 35 million lives.
The story begins as the Sontaran delegation arrive, with Charley Pollard greeting the crusty General Greff (Dan Starkey) and his unusual assistant Scur (Jonathon Carley), who’s seemingly been freshly cloned for the occasion.
C’rizz (Conrad Westmaas), on the other hand, is assisting the Rutan ambassador (Cecelia Appiah). They too have suffered badly, with a genetic weapon unleashed upon them which killed 10 million and forced the survivors to flee their bio-luminescent hives.
And the Doctor? Suspicious of motivations all around, he’s posing as a journalist for Knitter’s Monthly which allows him to poke around and ask questions…
In Summary
With its layers of intrigue and a disaster triggering peace talks, it feels like there’s a nod to Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country here, as well as the political shenanigans of Babylon 5. Writer Tim Foley balances all the elements and creates an interesting tale, as well as drawing the mini-series to a satisfying conclusion. There are call backs to the two middle parts, as well as a clever reference to the Fugitive Doctor tale which served as Melmoth’s origin story while still preserving continuity.
As Paul McGann’s Doctor takes an investigative background role, he finds himself interacting with the sparky journalist Selina Carr (Ajjaz Awad) and their scenes are very entertaining. Embedding Charley and C’rizz with the two delegations provides lots of fun too, allowing them to rendezvous and pool information. Of the pair, C’rizz gets the stronger scenes as he appears to make a connection with his ambassador.
With reflections on war and the realities of moving beyond it, there’s ample thematic meat to chew on here. Of course, we won’t spoil the outcome, but there’s certainly scope for Big Finish to return to this conflict in the future… and we hope that they do.
Doctor Who: Rutans vs Sontarans: Peace at Last is available on CD or download to own from Big Finish now.
Catch up on our reviews of last year’s Sontarans vs Rutans, and the earlier episodes of Rutans vs Sontarans.