Doctor Who and the Sensorites was the seventh adventure of the first Doctor. It’s a tale of trapped humans, scared aliens and thwarted ambition.
When the TARDIS dematerializes inside a human spacecraft, the Doctor, Susan [Carole Anne Ford], Ian [William Russell] and Barbara [Jacqueline Hill] find themselves on a Earth spacecraft with two dead bodies – only they’re not dead! They’ve been placed in a deep sleep by the Sensorites, the race that lives on a planet called the Sense-sphere, for reasons not immediately apparent.
The Doctor determines that the planet is rife with molybdenum. Apparently, one of the crew determined the existence of the rare element and his excitement opened his mind to the Sensorites who reacted not by killing them but by keeping their craft in place and causing them to enter a deep sleep. The Sensorites even kept them fed.
On the Sense Sphere, though, there are internal struggles as the First and Second Elders, who effectively govern the planet are being undermined by the City Administrator of the planet’s capitol and the population is being ravaged by a mysterious disease – possibly deliberately, by person or persons unknown.
Written by Peter R. Newman and directed by Frank Cox, The Sensorites is an average Doctor Who adventure that takes a potential war situation and twists it into a psychological struggle coupled with assassination. It’s six episodes [Stranger In Space, Unwilling Warriors, Hidden danger, A Race Against Death, Kidnap and A Desperate Venture] are somewhat repetitive, but the subtleties of the conflict between the Sensorites and the Earth crew and the bluntness of the City Administrator’s ambition make for an unusual tale.
The Sensorites are incredibly intelligent, with technology that enables them to remove the lock from the TARDIS – effectively sealing it. Unable to get back into their ship, the Doctor and his companions are forced to work out what’s going on and come up with a solution that will earn the return of the lock.
Although the writing is uneven and the performances a bit rushed – delivery of dialogue occasionally stumbles – and the sets very simple, the imagination that went into the production is impressive. Even the somewhat clunky Sensorite costumes manage to convey a sensitive species despite minimal detail work.
Although the Doctor’s curiosity and hubris will be familiar to new Whovians, the physical being – that of an old, eccentrically dressed, grandfatherly type – might be unusual. The idea, at the beginning of the series, was to have a hero who had to think his way out of trouble – a core element of the series that remained, even through more physically adept incarnations.
Features include: an excellent Audio Commentary [Russell, Ford, Cox, Joe Grieg [Second Sensorite], Martyn Huntley [First Human], Giles Phibbs [Second Human], designer Raymond Cusick, and make-up designer Sonia Markham – moderated by Tony Hadoke]; Looking For Peter [featurette: Tony Hadoke goes in search of the enigmatic Peter R. Newman]; Vision On [What exactly does a video mixer do?]; Secret Voices of the Sense-Sphere [Clive Doig reveals of the eerie Sensorite voices]; Photo Gallery; Production Notes Subtitle Option; PDF Materials: Radio times Listings and Original Design Drawings.
Grade: Doctor Who: The Sensorites – B
Grade: Features – A+
Final Grade: A-