Commander Strax's Q&A or Kids ask Strax was a webcast released exclusively to the official Doctor Who YouTube channel in 2013.
It starred Dan Starkey as Commander Strax being interviewed by children, and was in truth mostly a recording of a live event; the children in the story are not actors, but rather Doctor Who fans who got to ask questions to Starkey in-character as Strax. Two years later, the BBC would release another webcast with a similar premise, this time with Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor being interviewed.
Publisher's summary[]
Commander Strax of the glorious Sontaran Empire finds himself at the Monster Day Out, Cardiff, answering questions from miniature humans.
Plot[]
Strax is in Cardiff at the "Monsters' Day Out" to answer questions from "miniature humans" (read: children). Walking on-stage to enthusiastic cries of "Sontar-ha!" from the audience of children, Strax compliments them on a fine cry with which to welcome a warrior into a room before beginning to answer the questions.
To the first ("Why are you so small?"), he first answers that the humans are in no place to ask when they are themselves so small. He then launches into an explanation of Sontaran cloning, noting with a knowing smile that "as you can see", he was hatched from "a particularly handsome clone batch".
The next question is "Would you be upset if I called you Potato Head?", and Strax answers that Sontarans are much too courageous to be hurt by mere words, though he doesn't sound too convinced himself. He relates that he "calmly walked away" from the last human who called him such… after crushing him to a pulp with his bare fists.
Asked what he would do if he encountered a Weeping Angel, Strax answers that he would simply stare it out, and professes undying confidence in Sontarans' ability to win any kind of contest, staring contests included.
Finally, he is asked to make impressions of other Sontarans and ends up quoting from Commander Skorr before making an impression of Jingo Linx's raspy voice.
After the interview concludes, Strax commands the viewer to subscribe to the Doctor Who YouTube Channel, thereafter allowing him to "crush" them while they are so "distracted".
Cast[]
Crew[]
- Organised by Doctor Who Adventures
- Filmed at the Doctor Who Experience in Wales.
Worldbuilding[]
- Strax mentions Jingo Linx and Commander Skorr, quoting the latter's line, "This isn't war, this is sport!". He explains Linx's unusually high-pitched, raspy voice for a Sontaran as his having had some trouble with his chest.
- Strax states that he owns some laser monkeyss, to whom he will "introduce" whoever disagrees with his assertion of his own physical attractiveness.
- Live-sized cardboard cutouts of a pair of Silurians are present on-stage.
- Strax is asked what he would do faced with a Weeping Angel.
Story notes[]
- Large parts of this story were ad-libbed by Dan Starkey, though this may not have been the case of the specially-shot introduction.
- The short breaks the fourth wall, as it heavily features the Doctor Who logo and other merchandise. It is, for this reason, not considered a valid source by this Wiki.
- The story briefly elaborates on the circumstances that led to the Doctor forcing Strax to become a nurse (as related in Strax's first appearance A Good Man Goes to War), as Strax now mentions a detail not present in the original TV story that Strax's penance is not for his own sake only, but to restore the honour of his entire clone batch.
