strax

The Battle of Zaruthstra, 4047 AD, and in the pit of war, amidst the gunfire and explosions, a young boy lies injured. A woman tends him but the lad desperately needs medical help. Time is running out and it looks like the situation is lost when a Sontaran appears. But then something remarkable happens. He removes his helmet and calmly asks, ‘Did somebody call for a nurse?’ We’ve just met Strax…

Also known as: Commander Strax
Home Planet: Sontara
Fact! Sontarans’ sworn enemies are the deadly Rutans.
First Appearance: A Good Man Goes to War
Latest Appearance: The Snowmen
Doctor: The Eleventh Doctor

Considering he’s a member of a clone race, Commander Strax is a remarkable individual. We’ve seen the Doctor encounter many Sontarans and whilst every other member of this belligerent species has been guided by a single-minded passion for war, Strax is a nurse. And a good one. We’ve witnessed him save the life of a child in a warzone, give medical advice to a weary soldier and Strax even had himself gene-spliced so he could be fit for all nursing duties. When baby Melody appeared to need a feed he proudly declared, ‘I can produce magnificent quantities of lactic fluid!’

I’ve declared war on the Moon!Strax

He told a puzzled Captain Harcourt why he was helping those he would normally attempt to destroy. ‘I serve a penance to restore the honour of my clone batch,’ he explained. ‘It is the greatest punishment a Sontaran can endure… to help the weak and the sick.’ It’s strongly implied that the Doctor invented this ‘punishment’ and was responsible for Strax’s switch from military commander to medic.

But the warrior within Strax still remains and he is no pacifist. At the Battle of Demons Run he threw himself into the fight with a gutsy enthusiasm and his bellicose background is never far from the fore, even when he’s addressing his patients. When one of them asked if he was going to be okay, Strax cheerily replied, ‘Of course you will, my boy! You’ll be up and about in no time! And perhaps one day, you and I shall meet on the field of battle and I shall destroy you for the glory of the Sontaran Empire!’

Strax helped the Doctor defeat the Great Intelligence in 1892 and during this adventure we saw how much he relishes working alongside him. Although exasperated by the Time Lord’s ‘retirement’ he was delighted when the game was once more afoot and even felt comfortable teasing his friend about his brief impersonation of Sherlock Holmes!