10 Biggest Events In Doctor Who That You Never Got To See

3. The Sontaran-Rutan War

Doctor Who Time Warrior Sontaran
BBC

This war between these two species was once described by the Doctor as a pointless waste of time, as the Sontarans were simply obsessed with the fight and not the victory. There are a few conflicting accounts of how the war began, with the Seventh Doctor suggesting that the Sontarans were already sweeping across Mutter's Spiral, with only the Rutans opposing them. Another theory has the Rutans starting the war out of boredom.

While the Doctor has witnessed several battles as part of the war on Earth, the actual fighting has never been shown on-screen. The Sontarans even managed to harbour a grudge against the Time Lords as a species for ensuring that the Last Great Time War was time-locked, meaning that species without time travel technology could not fight.

The war with the Rutans on the other hand was at least several centuries old, although a definitive start date had never been identified. Different witnesses give different dates, with as early as 8000BC suggested as a beginning, while other accounts place the start in the 26th century. The latter is less likely, as in 2009 AD the Sontarans attempted to conquer Earth by using ATMOS Sat-Nav devices. The end goal was to convert the planet into a new hatchery for Sontaran Clones to fight, which suggests that the war had already been raging for millennia before this date.

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Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"