Doctor Who: 5 Unfairly Forgotten NuWho Stories

After seeing the vitriolic response on Doctor Who forums to her previous story, 'Daleks in Manhattan' and 'Evolution of the Daleks', Helen Raynor wrote another two-parter about pugnacious little troll creatures who invade a place with an air of clueless pomposity and make it toxic. No guesses where she got her inspiration.

'The Sontaran Stratagem' and 'The Poison Sky' was an extra treat in the midst of a great fourth series of revived Doctor Who. It introduced the redesigned Sontarans to the modern series, featured the first major appearance of UNIT and even threw in a returning companion for good measure. The story brilliantly captured the Sontarans as master strategists, infiltrating the Earth without a single Sontaran setting foot on it until the final assault. The story also pulled off the classic Doctor Who trick of making everyday objects scary - in this case, Sat Navs - and even managed some hefty emotional weight for Donna as she confronted the risk she was putting her family at by running off with the Doctor.

Why it's forgotten: The stories that stick in people's minds are typically the scariest, but the Sontarans (on their own) aren't all that threatening. Hell, one of them even has an ongoing role as comic relief. They make up for their absurd Napoleon complex by being excellent strategists who can invade and subjugate a planet through tactics and firepower, not by their presence. This makes for an entertaining story, but not a scary one and that seems to have undermined this excellent story.