The Sensorites

The Sensorites is one story that seems to be very much overlooked, which is strange, as this story introduces many features which would become intrinsic to Doctor Who. For the first time, the story is set in the future. For the first time, there are scenes set on a spaceship. And for the first time, we have aliens portrayed as having a real culture, rather than being just ‘monsters’. Most importantly, the Doctor is not merely observing events or helping himself and his companions, for the first time he takes a truly active role in the events. In fact this is a very important story in the development of the programme.

The story is one of two races who do not trust one another. The fear of the titular aliens is very well realised in the first two episodes, with the dimply lit spaceship set. The shock appearance of the first Sensorite must have been truly frightening at the time. There is also a fantastic bit of direction and acting in this scene, where the camera follows Ian’s face and we see his reaction to the Sensorite. However, the Sensorites are portrayed increasingly sympathetically- their fear of loud noises and darkness is put across well by the actors and makes the audience see them not as monsters, but as people. The realisation of the Sensorites is very effective and the simplicity of the design is inspired, as they can appear as terrifying faceless apparitions at one point and meek bearded old men at another.

The human supporting cast are excellent, with the exception of Lorne Cossette as Maitland- thankfully he remains on the ship after the action transfers to the Sense Sphere. Stephen Dartnell deserves special mention for his performance as John. There are none of the histrionics and eye-rolling you would expect, had this been any other 60s science fiction programme. Ilona Rodgers as Carol is also solid, and her scenes with John are very poignant. The survivors of the previous expedition are interestingly depicted as half-crazed colonialists who still maintain the trappings of military discipline.

The regulars do their usual sterling work. Carole Ann Ford is easily the weakest performer of the quartet, but she is totally convincing here. Barbara is fast becoming one of my favourite companions, even though she has less to do here. And we come to the most interesting development in the character dynamics of Doctor Who. Ian is incapacitated for a time, and it and it is the Doctor, not Ian, who is the most physically active character in the story. We see him explore the aqueduct, find the cause of the poisoning and concoct a cure for the plague.

There are a few nit-picks. The Hartnell era has a reputation for fluffed lines which is unfair, but is fully justified here, as many characters are guilty of it. (Mind you, molybdenum is a bit hard to say!) Also, while I can accept that the Sensorites can survive in space without a pressure suit, it is implied that sound travels through space (of course, the Sensorites could be sending a radio transmission of the sound). We all take it for granted that everyone in the Universe speaks English, but writing messages to aliens in it is a bit much. This was also a problem in The Daleks, by the way!

However, this is a better story than The Daleks and therefore the best science-fiction story in the first season. As said, is very important in the development of the character of the Doctor- although, again, he is compelled to stay because the TARDIS is incapacitated, this is the Doctor as hero and enabler who has endured as a character until the present day.

NEXT: The Reign of Terror