Sontaran
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Template:Doctorwhorace The Sontarans are a fictional extraterrestrial race from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who.
The Sontarans made their first appearance in the 1974 serial, The Time Warrior. There, it was explained that they are a race that reproduces by means of cloning, with no females, and are a militaristic society obsessed by war. Sontarans are humanoid, with a squat build and distinctive dome-shaped head. They come from a high-gravity world, and "recharge" their energy through a probic vent at the back of the neck rather than consuming food. The Sontarans have been at war with the Rutan Host for millennia. At one point the Sontarans successfully invaded Gallifrey itself, but were driven out again after less than a day (The Invasion of Time).
The origins of the Sontarans have not been revealed in the television series. The Doctor Who role-playing game published by FASA claimed that they were all descended from the genetic stock of General Sontar (or Sontaris), who used newly developed bioengineering techniques to clone millions of duplicates of himself and annihlated the non-clone population. He renamed the race after himself and turned the Sontarans into an expansionist and warlike society set on universal conquest. However, this origin has no basis in anything seen in the television series and is not considered canonical.
At some point, the Sontarans encountered the equally expansionistic Rutan Host. The war between the Sontarans and the Rutans continued for several millenia, with both sides remaining fairly evenly matched and neither side interested in negotiating for peace. It was still ongoing at the time of The Sontaran Experiment, which takes place at least 10,000 years beyond the 121st century.
Other appearances by the Sontarans in Doctor Who include The Sontaran Experiment, The Two Doctors, and the spin-off videos, Shakedown and Do You Have A License To Save This Planet? They appeared in a skit for the BBC children's programme Jim'll Fix It titled, "In a fix with Sontarans", along with Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor and Janet Fielding as Tegan Jovanka.
They have also appeared in several spin-off novels, including Lords of the Storm by David McIntee and The Infinity Doctors by Lance Parkin, where the Doctor negotiated a peace between the Sontarans and the Rutan Host. General Sontar made an appearance in the latter novel. In The Crystal Bucephalus by Craig Hinton, the name of their planet was given as Sontar.