Last Alteration: Sunday 07 April 2013
The Sontaran Experiment
| Postbridge, Dartmoor Filmed: 26-28 Sep 1974 | Manaton, Dartmoor Filmed: 29-30 Sep, 1-2 Oct 1974 |
Articles relating to the story
12 Aug 2006: Restoration Team Article - Details on the DVD release of the story. (#37, released 9 Oct 2006)
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The Sontaran Experiment ★★★★
A short, sadistic two-parter shot on Dartmoor, in which Tom Baker broke his collarbone
- Patrick Mulkern
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Season 12 – Story 77
"Words, Earthling, will never prevail against Sontaran might" - Styre
Storyline The Doctor, Sarah and Harry travel to Earth via the Ark's matterbeam to repair the system's faulty receptors. The planet has become a barren heath, but it is not entirely uninhabited. A spaceship crew from the colony GalSec have been ambushed by Field Major Styre of the Sontaran G3 Military Assessment Survey. Via a series of cruel experiments, he's studying humans' physical limitations, prior to an invasion of the galaxy. The Doctor challenges Styre to a dual in a bid to stymie his plans…
First transmissions Part 1 - Saturday 22 February 1975 Part 2 - Saturday 1 March 1975
Production Location (OB) recording: September/October 1974 at Hound Tor, near Manaton, Dartmoor; and Headland Warren, near Postbridge, Devon
More like this
Cast Doctor Who - Tom Baker Sarah Jane Smith - Elisabeth Sladen Harry Sullivan - Ian Marter Field Major Styre/The Marshal - Kevin Lindsay Vural - Donald Douglas Krans - Glyn Jones Erak - Peter Walshe Roth - Peter Rutherford Zake - Terry Walsh Prisoner - Brian Ellis
Crew Writers - Bob Baker, Dave Martin Incidental music - Dudley Simpson Designer - Roger Murray-Leach Script editor - Robert Holmes Producer - Philip Hinchcliffe Director - Rodney Bennett
RT Review by Patrick Mulkern "Linx…" gasps Sarah, with a shudder, as an alien warrior emerges from a familiar golfball spaceship and removes its helmet to reveal a leering face beneath. A spine-tingling cliffhanger - the perfect blend of direction, performance and music.
(In 1975, I reacted with the same thrill of horror and recognition as Sarah, but I recalled Linx from the year before simply as a "time warrior", so the eponymous "Sontaran" hadn't acted as a spoiler. How marvellously uninformed we could be back then!)
Like the titular troll, this two-parter is short, taut and sadistic. It dovetails with The Ark in Space - in a season so interlinked that Harry doesn't even have time to change his clothes - and serves almost as an al fresco breather before Genesis of the Daleks.
Much of season 12 was pegged out by former producer Barry Letts, with Robert Holmes commissioning and fine-tuning scripts. The latter wanted to reuse his own creations, the Sontarans, so writers Bob Baker and Dave Martin were pretty much handed the monster, the Ark continuity and an all-outdoor setting. The Sontaran Experiment was recorded entirely on location, before The Ark in Space, making it Tom Baker's second production and the debut of producer Philip Hinchcliffe.
Rodney Bennett, also new to Who, takes the unusual step of treating the drama as an OB (outside broadcast), recording all the action straight onto videotape, as opposed to the standard practice of using film cameras on location. It gives the serial a freshness and immediacy. It could almost have been made yesterday.
Part one unfolds like a geography field trip going disastrously wrong. After some amiable banter, our heroes separate on the born-again Earth (Dartmoor). "Trafalgar Square should be that way," says the Doctor, not necessarily in jest. Harry tumbles into a ravine, the Time Lord encounters some grizzled colonists with South African accents, and Sarah is lassoed by a buzzing, burbling robot - a collision between a washing airer and a robot from the Smash potato ads.
The Sontarans have had a makeover. If Linx resembled a jacket potato, Styre and his Marshal are more like pebbles. Despite his heart condition, it's still Kevin Lindsay labouring away under the latex mask, delivering another terrific performance. He gives acid edge to such lines as "Ah, the female of the species", "The moron was of no further use to me" and - my favourite - "Worm!"
In his memoirs, Jon Pertwee described Lindsay as "a very funny and witty man… gay and very camp… who wore the most luxuriant clothes you could possibly imagine." The actor died in April 1975 not long after this story aired.
Stuntman Stuart Fell wore the Sontaran suit for several scenes that didn't require a "performance", just as Terry Walsh stood in for Tom Baker in numerous shots, after Baker fractured his collarbone. Indeed, the impressive final duel between the Doctor and Styre is almost entirely enacted by Walsh and Fell.
Happily, impetus and panache prevail over problems with plot logic. Quite why the Sontarans need to experiment on humans before invading their territories is unclear. Are they just responding methodically to sadistic urges? And the Doctor's dismissal of the Marshal ("Brinkmanship, I think they call it") is less than reassuring. We're left worrying that Vira and her buddies, beaming down from the Ark, may soon have an almighty battle on their hands.
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The Sontaran Experiment
Average audience: 10.75 million average ai: 28.
Arriving on a desolate and windswept Earth the Doctor starts realigning the transmat refractors while Sarah and Harry go off to explore. Harry slips and falls into a pit and Sarah runs back to the Doctor to get help. The Doctor, however, has been captured by a trio of shipwrecked Galsec space travellers who were lured to Earth by a phoney distress call. Sarah, unable to find the Doctor, makes friends with a fourth space traveller, Roth, who tells her of the alien in the rocks who is experimenting on them. Before long, Sarah and Roth are recaptured by a robot and dragged off to the rocks.
Harry finds his own way out of the pit via a series of underground tunnels and emerges close to an outcrop of rock. He watches as Sarah and Roth are presented to the alien who turns out to be a Sontaran.
Field-Major Styre is part of the Sontaran G3 Military Assessment Survey, experimenting on the humans to try and determine their resistance to battle as Earth had now taken on a strategic importance in the Sontarans' ongoing war with the Rutans. The Doctor interrupts Styre's experiments and challenges him to unarmed combat. The Sontaran readily agrees but has not realised that Earth's unfamiliar gravity will give the agile Doctor the advantage. While the Doctor is keeping Styre occupied, Harry enters the alien's spacecraft and removes the terrulium diode bypass transformer, so that when Styre, exhausted by the fight, returns to revitalise himself, he is instead destroyed, drained of all his energy.
As a final warning to the main Sontaran fleet, the Doctor sends a message to them, telling of their emissary's destruction and warning that without Styre's report they cannot know the strength of human resistance and so had better look elsewhere - brinkmanship at its most effective.
The Doctor and his friends use the transmat with the intention of returning to the beacon - they have good news for Vira.
Synopsis from Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor Handbook by David J. Howe, Mark Stammers and Stephen James Walker, reprinted with permission; further reproduction is not permitted. Available from Telos
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Doctor Who and the Sontaran Experiment
Sets: Target Collection
3.83 / 5 574 votes*
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TV Episode: "The Sontaran Experiment"
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Landing on Earth, now a barren, desolate planet, Sarah, Harry and the Doctor are unaware of the large, watching robot. The robot is the work of Styre, a Sontaran warrior, who uses all humans landing here for his experimental programmes.
What has happened to the other space explorers who have come here? Why is the Sontaran scout so interested in Earth and is brutally torturing humans, including Sarah Jane? Will the Doctor be able to prevent an invasion and certain disaster, and save both Earth and his companions?
View Rating Distribution
Ratings are from TARDIS Guide members only.
Fourth Doctor
Field Major Styre
Harry Sullivan
Other adaptations of this story:
Classic Who S12 • Serial 3 · (2 episodes)
The Sontaran Experiment
Where to read Doctor Who and the Sontaran Experiment:
A brief history of the Sontarans
November 02, 2021
Locked in an interminable war with the Rutans, the Sontarans are clone species from the planet Sontar. Devoted wholly to warfare, they have clashed with several different incarnations of the Doctor. Their skirmishes have ranged from experimenting on humans to an attempted invasion of Gallifrey!
From their first appearance to the ongoing adventures of Strax, here’s the complete history of the Sontarans ahead of their return in War of the Sontarans !
Claiming the Earth for Sontar The Time Warrior
Forced onto Earth by damage to his ship, Commander Linx claimed Earth for the glorious Sontaran Empire. Given he landed in the middle ages, he could easily have overwhelmed the local population with his advanced technology. This advantage also proved to be Linx’s undoing, as the 13th Century lacked the resources and intelligence to repair his ship! Teaming up with a baron, he hatched a scheme to steal scientists from the future - Unfortunately for Linx, these disappearances caught UNIT’s attention and the Doctor was soon hot on the trail!
The Time Warrior is a story full of firsts. Not only is it the debut story of the Sontarans, but also the Doctor's friend Sarah Jane Smith !
A Research Mission The Sontaran Experiment
When the Doctor next encountered the Sontarans, it was in Earth’s future, after it had been abandoned due to solar flares. Astronauts began returning to the now healed world, summoned there by a distress beacon. Except, no one was actually in distress. It was a trap by the Sontaran Field Major Styre! Styre had been sent to experiment on the humans - hence the episode title - to discover their weaknesses to aid in their forthcoming invasion.
Taking on the Time Lords The Invasion of Time
In their previous two appearances, the Sontaran military might have been hinted at but never shown. In The Invasion of Time , we finally got to witness their armies in action, as they invaded Gallifrey! Having just repelled an attempt to occupy Gallifrey by the Vardans, the Doctor thought he’d save the day. Little did he know the Vardan invasion was simply the first stage of the Sontaran’s plan to take Gallifrey for themselves!
Making a play for Time Travel The Two Doctors
Having failed to topple the Time Lords, the Sontarans settled for the next best thing, unlocking the secrets of time travel for themselves. Kidnapping Dastari, an old friend of the Doctor, they aimed to force him to give up the knowledge of stable time travel. Unfortunately for them, their plan was interrupted by two different incarnations of the Doctor! Joining forces, the Second and Sixth Doctors quickly brought the Sontaran’s scheme to a close.
Dishonourable Combat The Sontaran Stratagem
For a species obsessed with honourable warfare, the Sontaran’s betrayed their own code in this attempt to conquer Earth. Using ATMOS, a device that seemed to prevent cars from polluting the planet, the Sontarans intended to alter Earth’s atmosphere to become a Sontaran Hatchery!
Revamped for the revived series, this two-parter introduced the Sontaran’s famous war cry. All together now! Sontar-ha! Sontar-ha! Sontar-ha! Sontar… you get the idea.
Part of the Alliance The Pandorica Opens
Throughout the universe, species that would usually attempt to kill each other came together in an alliance. They were united by a single purpose, to save the universe. They foresaw that the Doctor’s exploding TARDIS would wipe out all of reality, and did the only sensible thing. They warned the Doctor, explaining what they knew, and enlisted his massive intellect to save the universe.
Just kidding, they laid a trap for the Doctor and locked him in a box. He was in there for less than an hour. It wasn’t the best plan.
Enter Strax A Good Man Goes to War
Up till this story, the Sontarans had been the Doctor’s enemies. That all changed with Strax, a Sontaran forced to be a nurse to redeem his clone batch’s honour. Enlisted by the Doctor to help rescue Amy Pond and her child, Strax was thrilled to put down the medical scanner, and pick up his rifle once again! Unfortunately, Strax died defending the young Melody Pond…
Strax: Resurrected The Snowmen
Luckily, his death didn’t stick. Resurrected by Madame Vastra, Strax had taken up residence in Paternoster Row as her butler. Strax wasn’t the only alien who had decided to live in Victorian London. The Doctor had retired there as well, following the traumatic departure of Amy and Rory. With Vastra and Jenny, Strax teamed up with the Doctor and Clara to take on Dr Simeon and his sinister snowmen.
Seeing Red The Crimson Horror
Strange disappearances? Corpses with red skin? The image of the Doctor in a dead man’s eye? Sounds like another case for the Paternoster Gang !
Strax wanted to take a more direct, and explosive-centric, approach to investigate Sweetville, a model village led by Mrs Gillyflower. Sadly for everyone’s favourite Sontaran Butler, Vastra opted for the stealthier approach. Jenny was sent in undercover, and she managed to track down the Doctor. When she and the Doctor were trapped, Strax came to the rescue, in a very Sontaran way.
Death of the Family The Name of the Doctor
In an episode full of revelations, we learnt a great deal about how Strax had adapted to living on Earth. He regularly travelled to Glasgow and wrestled with a man called Archie! While Strax had acclimatised to his life on Earth, it was nearly taken from him. When the Doctor was removed from the timeline, Strax forgot who Vastra was, as it was the Doctor’s influence that brought them together. Strax tried to murder Vastra, who killed him in self-defence. Luckily, the Doctor was restored and the gang reunited, but things were looking dicey for a moment!
Brand New Doctor, Same Old Strax Deep Breath
Having now survived two deaths, Strax was on hand when the recently regenerated Twelfth Doctor crashed by the banks of the Thames, bringing Clara and a T-Rex with him! This new Doctor confused Strax and Clara, although she was more offended by this than Strax. With a new spate of murders in London, Strax - along with the rest of the Paternoster Gang - was on hand to help this new Doctor investigate!
Prepare for war! War of the Sontarans
In the Crimean War, the Doctor discovers the British army fighting a brutal alien army of Sontarans, as Yaz and Dan are thrown deeper into a battle for survival. What is the Temple of Atropos? Who are the Mouri?
Get ready for War of the Sontarans , premiering 7th November. Find out where you can watch here
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The Sontaran Experiment: Part Two
- Episode aired Mar 1, 1975
The Doctor learns that Styre has been experimenting on the Galsec crewmembers to pave the way for a Sontaran invasion of Earth and decides the only way to halt his plans is to challenge him ... Read all The Doctor learns that Styre has been experimenting on the Galsec crewmembers to pave the way for a Sontaran invasion of Earth and decides the only way to halt his plans is to challenge him to a duel. The Doctor learns that Styre has been experimenting on the Galsec crewmembers to pave the way for a Sontaran invasion of Earth and decides the only way to halt his plans is to challenge him to a duel.
- Rodney Bennett
- Dave Martin
- Sydney Newman
- Elisabeth Sladen
- 7 User reviews
- 3 Critic reviews
- Sarah Jane Smith
- Harry Sullivan
- Sydney Newman (uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Did you know
- Trivia Kevin Lindsay found the Sontaran costume very demanding to wear. His discomfort was exacerbated by a heart condition which would result in his death just six months later.
- Goofs When The Doctor leaps onto Styre from behind, the machete goes flying out of Styre's hands, obviously to land fairly far away, but in the next shot it's right beside Styre's hand as he gets up.
- Connections Referenced in RetroBlasting: Who's the Doctor: Talking Outside the Box - Episode 3: The Sontaran Experiment (2020)
User reviews 7
- joestevensus-10727
- Dec 10, 2019
- March 1, 1975 (United Kingdom)
- United Kingdom
- BBC (United Kingdom)
- Hound Tor, Manaton, Devon, England, UK
- British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Technical specs
- Runtime 25 minutes
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Doctor Who and the Sontaran Experiment (novelisation)
Doctor Who and the Sontaran Experiment was a novelisation based on the 1975 television serial The Sontaran Experiment .
- 1 Publisher's summary
- 2 Chapter titles
- 3 Deviations from televised story
- 4 Writing and publishing notes
- 5 Additional cover images
- 6 British publication history
- 7 Audiobook
- 8 External links
Publisher's summary [ ]
Landing on Earth , now a barren, desolate planet, Sarah , Harry and the Doctor are unaware of the large, watching robot . The robot is the work of Styre , a Sontaran warrior, who uses all humans landing here for his experimental programmes.
What has happened to the other space explorers who have come here? Why is the Sontaran scout so interested in Earth and is brutally torturing humans, including Sarah Jane? Will the Doctor be able to prevent an invasion and certain disaster, and save both Earth and his companions?
Chapter titles [ ]
- Unknown Enemies
- The Experiment
- Mistaken Identities
- The Challenge
- Duel to the Death
- A Surprise and a Triumph
Deviations from televised story [ ]
- Unlike the televised story, in which the Doctor, Sarah, and Harry use Space Station Nerva 's transmat to come down to Earth, they arrive in the TARDIS, which is then accidentally returned to Nerva by the transmat.
- Nerva is consistently referred to by the Doctor and other characters as "Terra Nova".
- Despite being called Styre on the back cover, within the text the Sontaran refers to himself as Sontaran Military Assessor Styr.
- After falling down a hole, the Doctor has a dream about rats chewing their way into the TARDIS.
- Harry initially believes the Sontaran to be a Golem.
- The Sontarans are described as cyborgs with reptilian skin and talon-like claws.
- The Sontaran robot is called a Scavenger and is described as hovering and octopus-like. It is much more sophisticated than the version seen in the televised story.
- Styr's energy weapon is built into his armour, and described as "concealed" by the armour.
- The Sontaran ship is much larger than the ones seen in the televised version, and a description of its interior as multi-chambered is given. It is also apparently patrolled by smaller versions of the Scavenger.
- Inside the Sontaran ship, Harry discovers two more Sontarans, apparently hibernating.
- Sarah destroys one of the patrol robots with the Doctor's sonic screwdriver .
- Much of Erak and Krans 's parts are exchanged, making Krans the more aggressive character. (He is described as big and burly, whereas on-screen he is below average height.)
- The Doctor falls down the crevice when the Scavenger lassos Sarah and Roth while they are lowering him with his scarf.
- Zake dies when the Scavenger stops him short with a lasso and causes him to break his neck, rather than falling down a crevice.
- Styr is referred to several times as having an inky black breath.
- Styr's experiment on Sarah is more elaborate within the budget-free constraints of the novelisation, with her hallucinating drowning, being burned alive in a desert and attacked by a horde of ants. She is imprisoned in a cave rather than tied to a rock, and when Harry enters the cave he is affected too, imagining himself being attacked by a demonic Sarah. The experiment has already begun when Harry first finds her.
- There is an extra scene of the Doctor meeting Harry and finding out about the Sontarans before going off to find Sarah. (A version of this was scripted for the televised version, but apparently never filmed.) The Doctor is briefly trapped in the force-field at the cave mouth.
- Styr's superior is referred to as the Controller rather than the Marshal . It is revealed that Styr is delaying submitting his report because he is enjoying the experiments.
- On-screen, Roth refers to two GalSec crewmen killed in the experiments as Heath and Splear . Here, both Roth and Krans refer to Warra and Henk instead.
- The Doctor and Styr start their fight unarmed and both later use the gravity bar as a weapon.
- Styr kills Vural by knocking him over a cliff edge rather than stabbing him. He then throws the Doctor off the edge but he survives because part of the Scavenger's levitation system slows his fall.
- The Doctor weakens Styr during the fight by pouring the contents of a hip-flask into his probic vent .
- The Doctor speculates that the Sontarans are trying to occupy Earth for its terullian deposits formed by the solar flares and later discovers it is part of an alliance with another cloned race, the Hyperioi . There is no mention of the war with the Rutan as on-screen.
Writing and publishing notes [ ]
- Ian Marter suggested novelising this two-parter which no-one else was interested in doing.
- Marter also portrayed the character of Harry Sullivan in the story. He had previously adapted The Ark in Space , in which he had also appeared. These two books are unique as being, to date, the only examples of a Doctor Who actor adapting his own TV stories. Marter would go on to write numerous other novelisations for Doctor Who before his death in 1986 (with posthumous publications continuing for more than a year thereafter).
- This was the first time a two-episode story was adapted for a novel. It established it was possible to expand the somewhat scant material of a two-parter into a full-length novel, opening the door for later adaptations of the other two-parters in the series.
Additional cover images [ ]
British publication history [ ]
First Publication:
Audiobook [ ]
This Target Book was released as an audiobook on 7 July 2016 complete and unabridged by BBC Physical Audio and read by Jon Culshaw .
The cover blurb and thumbnail illustrations were retained in the accompanying booklet with sleevenotes by David J. Howe . Music and sound effects by Simon Power .
The audiobook version was reissued as part of The Second Monsters Collection on 28 January 2021 .
External links [ ]
- On Target a comprehensive guide to the Target novelisations by Tim Neal
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IMAGES
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The Sontaran Experiment is the third serial of the 12th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was originally broadcast on BBC1 on 22 February and 1 March 1975.. The serial is set on Earth more than 10,000 years in the future, immediately after the events of The Ark in Space.In the serial, the Sontaran Field Major Styre (Kevin Lindsay) performs experiments on ...
Information about locations used in the Doctor Who story The Sontaran Experiment(DW), from The Locations Guide to Doctor Who, Torchwood, and the Sarah Jane Adventures ... Classic (1963-1996) New (2005-present) Torchwood SJA Miscellaneous Locations Overview Alphabetical List Chronology Search for Location Search near Address Reference Filming ...
The Ark in Space. The Sontaran Experiment was the third serial of season 12 of Doctor Who. Shot entirely on location, it was the shortest story of the 1970s, with only two episodes. An outdoor shoot, all scenes were unusually recorded on videotape rather than film. Script editor Robert Holmes was not a fan of six-part stories, believing that ...
Relive some highlights of the Fourth Doctor serial 'The Sontaran Experiment'! 🥔 Subscribe to Doctor Who for more exclusive videos: http://bit.ly/SubscribeTo...
The Doctor, Sarah Jane and Harry teleport to Earth to ensure the planet is safe for the survivors on board Nerva Beacon to return and reinhabit their world. A Sontaran named Styre has captured a group of humans and is conducting experiments on them to discover the human body's weaknesses, as part of the Sontaran's goal for domination of the galaxy.
The Sontaran Experiment was recorded entirely on location, before The Ark in Space, making it Tom Baker's second production and the debut of producer Philip Hinchcliffe.
The Sontaran readily agrees but has not realised that Earth's unfamiliar gravity will give the agile Doctor the advantage. While the Doctor is keeping Styre occupied, Harry enters the alien's spacecraft and removes the terrulium diode bypass transformer, so that when Styre, exhausted by the fight, returns to revitalise himself, he is instead ...
Landing on Earth, now a barren, desolate planet, Sarah, Harry and the Doctor are unaware of the large, watching robot. The robot is the work of Styre, a Sontaran warrior, who uses all humans landing here for his experimental programmes. What has happened to the other space explorers who have come here? Why is the Sontaran scout so interested in Earth and is brutally torturing humans, including ...
The Sontaran Experiment: Part One: Directed by Rodney Bennett. With Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen, Ian Marter, Donald Douglas. The Doctor, Sarah and Harry teleports to Earth to ensure the planet is safe for the survivors on-board Nerva Beacon to return to Earth and re-inhabit their world. Only to find a Sontaran named Styre has captured a group of humans and conducting experiments on them to ...
Doctor Who and the Sontaran Experiment. Unowned ⊕Save to Wishlist. Landing on Earth, now a barren, desolate planet, Sarah, Harry and the Doctor are unaware of the large, watching robot. The robot is the work of Styre, a Sontaran warrior, who uses all humans landing here for his experimental programmes. What has happened to the other space ...
The Sontaran Experiment. When the Doctor next encountered the Sontarans, it was in Earth's future, after it had been abandoned due to solar flares. Astronauts began returning to the now healed world, summoned there by a distress beacon. Except, no one was actually in distress. It was a trap by the Sontaran Field Major Styre!
Landing on a newly healed Earth, the Doctor, Sarah Jane and Harry figure out their surroundings.Find out where to watch #DoctorWhoFlux here ️ http://doctorw...
The Sontaran Experiment: Part Two: Directed by Rodney Bennett. With Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen, Ian Marter, Kevin Lindsay. The Doctor learns that Styre has been experimenting on the Galsec crewmembers to pave the way for a Sontaran invasion of Earth and decides the only way to halt his plans is to challenge him to a duel.
Anglophenia. 'Doctor Who': The Evolution of the Sontarans. The Sontarans are one of science fiction's gnarliest creations. They're squat and thuggish clone warriors, whose dense musculature and wedge-like frame are the direct result of the greater gravitational pull of Sontar, their home planet. Being a clone race, you'd think there wasn ...
The Sontarans were a humanoid race of belligerent and militaristic clones from the planet Sontar, created by the Kaveetch. They waged an eternal war throughout Mutter's Spiral against the Rutans, though they made no effort to change this nor did they want peace. The Sontarans were humanoids with large, bulbous heads and short stocky bodies; humans who met them, such as Sarah Jane Smith, Clyde ...
Doctor Who and the Sontaran Experiment was a novelisation based on the 1975 television serial The Sontaran Experiment. Landing on Earth, now a barren, desolate planet, Sarah, Harry and the Doctor are unaware of the large, watching robot. The robot is the work of Styre, a Sontaran warrior, who uses all humans landing here for his experimental programmes. What has happened to the other space ...