Doctor Who: 10 One Off Monsters Who Should Return (And The Stories They Need)
7. The Rutans
The Sontarans are back in Doctor Who in full force. Having their own two part story in series four (The Santaran Stratagem and Poison Sky), appearing as part of the Alliance to trap the Doctor in The Pandorica Opens and a Sontaran nurse called Strax proving to be a some-time companion who brings comedic gold to the screen. What, then, of the Rutans? The race that the Sontarans have been engaged in war against for so long? The Sontarans in The Poison Sky confirm they are still at war, so why shouldnt we see the conflict itself?
The Rutans only appeared in the Tom Baker story Horror of Fang Rock, where one Rutan proved to quite deadly by itself. While they appear naturally as green jellyfish-like creatures, they can shape shift which makes their warfare more covert than the Sontaran all-out attack. The Doctor can land right in the middle of a battle, each side trying to obtain the Tardis and travel back to the very start and eliminate the enemy before the war can truly begin. The Doctor is given the option of picking between either side or trying to strike peace between bitter rivals.