Editing Sontaran (section)

===Culture===
[[File:Sontaran.jpg|thumb|left|Kevin Lindsay as Commander Linx, the first Sontaran shown, in ''[[The Time Warrior]]'']]

The Sontarans are a race of humanoids with a stocky build, a distinctive dome-shaped head, and they have only three fingers on each hand, though some members of their species do have five fingers. Their musculature is designed for load-bearing rather than leverage, because of the high gravity on their home planet. Ross Jenkins in "[[The Sontaran Stratagem]]" describes the main Sontaran villain, General Staal, as resembling "a talking baked potato", whilst in sequel episode "[[The Poison Sky]]", Colonel Alan Mace likens the Sontarans to "trolls". Sontarans come from a large, dense planet named Sontar in the "southern spiral arm of the galaxy" which has a very strong gravitational field, which explains their compact stocky form.<ref name="ScienceDW">{{citation |author=Paul Parsons |title=The Unofficial Guide: The Science of Doctor Who |publisher=Icon Books |year=2006}}</ref> They are far stronger than humans and, in the recent series, are shorter than the average human male.

The Sontarans have an extremely militaristic culture which prizes discipline and honour as its highest virtues; every aspect of their [[Draco (lawgiver)|draconian]] society is geared toward warfare, and every experience is viewed in terms of its martial relevance. In ''[[The Sontaran Experiment]]'', the Fourth Doctor comments that "Sontarans never do anything without a military reason." In fact, to die heroically in battle is their ultimate goal. Aside from a ritualistic chant ("Son-tar-ha!") in "The Sontaran Strategem"/"[[The Poison Sky]]", they are never seen to engage in any activity that would be considered recreation, though a few offhand comments by Commander Skorr in "The Poison Sky" suggest they do consider hunting a sport. According to their creator Robert Holmes, Sontarans do have a highly developed artistic culture, but have put it on hold for the duration of the war, while the opening chapter of the novelisation of ''[[The Time Warrior]]'', based on Holmes' incomplete draft, refers to Linx listening to the Sontaran anthem while his spaceship is in flight.

The Sontarans depicted in the series have detached, smug personalities, and a highly developed sense of honour; on multiple occasions, the Doctor has used his knowledge of their pride in their species to manipulate them. In "The Sontaran Stratagem", the Doctor nevertheless referred to them as "the finest soldiers in the galaxy".<ref name=Experiment/><ref name=Poison/>

Although physically formidable, the Sontarans' weak spot is the "probic vent" at the back of their neck, through which they draw nutrition.<ref>described as "pure energy" in ''Sontaran Experiment'' </ref> It is also part of their cloning process. In Earthlike atmospheres, the Sontaran armour suit requires a change of gases every 27 hours, also conducted through the probic vent. The vent also provides an incentive to continue moving forward in battle since retreat would expose this area to their enemies. They have been killed by targeting that location with a knife (''[[The Invasion of Time]]''), a screwdriver ("[[Shakedown: Return of the Sontarans]]"), and an arrow (''[[The Time Warrior]]''). Even something as simple as a squash ball aimed at that point ("[[The Sontaran Stratagem]]"), contact by the heel of a shoe ("[[The Last Sontaran]]"), or a blow from a [[hammer]] or a [[wok]] ("[[War of the Sontarans]]") is capable of incapacitating them temporarily. They are also vulnerable to "coronic acid" (''[[The Two Doctors]]''). While the Sontarans wear protective helmets in battle, to fight without their helmets, or to be "open-skinned," is an honour for the Sontarans.

In the episode "The Poison Sky", it is revealed that the Sontaran Empire have been at war with the [[Rutan Host]] for more than 50,000 years,<ref>{{cite episode |title= [[The Poison Sky]] |series= [[Doctor Who]] |credits= Writer [[Helen Raynor]], Director [[Douglas Mackinnon]], Producer [[Susie Liggat]] |network= [[BBC]] |station= [[BBC One]] |location= London |airdate= 2008-05-03}}</ref> and which, at a time around 2008, they are losing. The war is still raging at least 20,000 years later, in the serial ''The Sontaran Experiment''. It was joked that the two species have been at war for so long, they had almost forgotten the reason why. (''[[The Two Doctors]]'')

Most of the Sontarans depicted in the television series have had short names, many beginning with an initial 'st' sound. Examples include Styre (''[[The Sontaran Experiment]]''), Stor (''[[The Invasion of Time]]''), Stike (''[[The Two Doctors]]''), Staal ("[[The Sontaran Stratagem]]" / "[[The Poison Sky]]"), Stark ("[[The Pandorica Opens]]"), [[Madame Vastra, Jenny Flint, and Strax|Strax]] and Stenck ("[[The Vanquishers]]"); others are Skorr ("The Sontaran Stratagem" / "The Poison Sky"), Ritskaw and Kragar ("[[The Halloween Apocalypse]]"), Skaak ("[[War of the Sontarans]]"), Linx (''[[The Time Warrior]]''), Varl (''[[The Two Doctors]]''), Jask ("[[The End of Time (Doctor Who)|The End of Time]]") and Kaagh (''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]''). Elements of the Sontaran military structure mentioned in the series include the "Sontaran G3 Military Assessment Survey" and the "Grand Strategic Council",<ref name=Experiment>''[[The Sontaran Experiment]]'', Writers [[Bob Baker (scriptwriter)|Bob Baker]] and [[Dave Martin (screenwriter)|Dave Martin]], Director [[Rodney Bennett]], Producer [[Philip Hinchcliffe]]. ''Doctor Who''. [[BBC One]], London. 22 February – 1 March 1975.</ref> the Ninth Sontaran Battle Group,<ref name=Two>''[[The Two Doctors]]'', Writer [[Robert Holmes (scriptwriter)|Robert Holmes]], Director [[Peter Moffatt]], Producer [[John Nathan-Turner]]. ''Doctor Who''. [[BBC One]], London. 16 February – 2 March 1985.</ref> the "Fifth Army Space Fleet of the Sontaran Army Space Corps",<ref name=Warrior>''[[The Time Warrior]]'', Writer [[Robert Holmes (scriptwriter)|Robert Holmes]], Director [[Alan Bromly]], Producer [[Barry Letts]]. ''Doctor Who''. [[BBC One]], London. 15 December 1973 – 5 January 1974.</ref> and the "Tenth Sontaran Battle Fleet".<ref name=Stratagem>"[[The Sontaran Stratagem]]", Writer [[Helen Raynor]], Director [[Douglas Mackinnon]], Producer [[Susie Liggat]], Executive Producers [[Russell T Davies]], [[Julie Gardner]], [[Phil Collinson]]. ''Doctor Who''. [[BBC One]], Cardiff. 26 April 2008.</ref> Military titles include Commander,<ref name=Warrior/><ref name=Stratagem/> Group Marshal,<ref name=Two/> Field Major,<ref name=Experiment/> and General.<ref name=Stratagem/> [[Agnomen]]s include "the Undefeated", "the Bloodbringer", "the Avenger", and "the Slayer".<ref name=Stratagem/>