The Sensorites [2.2]

The TARDIS crew land in a spaceship which is under some kind of psychic attack from the titular ‘Sensorites’. The crew appear dead, there’s a zombie in the cupboard and a grizzly alien is looking through the window. With the lock from the TARDIS stolen by the Sensorites, the Doctor and co are trapped. If they want to break free, they will have to cut some sort of a deal with the aliens.

As good fortune would have it, the Sensorites are more civilised than first appears. They have their distinct reasons for keeping the spaceship locked down, but are more than happy to discuss it... and discuss it... and discuss it. Meanwhile, Ian gets poisoned and there are monsters in the sewers.

The Majesty

Conceptually, the Sensorites are a fascinating race. Physically, they are just actors in pyjamas and silly masks, but they are written from a mature perspective, as being truly alien. This comes across again and again, from the throwaway comments about a caste system; from the First Elder musing about how they themselves might appear ugly to the humans, and from the City Administrator's irrational fury at their ‘silly names’ for each other. Their fear of the dark and of loud noises undermines any fear element – just shout at them and they’ll drop their guns – but again it adds to the sense that there are not just pseudo-humans, like the Thals, for example.

Apart from the concept of the Sensorites, there’s not a huge amount to write home about, but it is nice to see Susan get a bit more to do. She develops telepathic abilities, has a flaming row with the Doctor (the first ever, he says), nostalgically describes her planet ("burnt orange skies and trees with bright silver leaves") and delivers the ‘moral’ of the story to the First Elder (Trust has to be earned.)

The Misery

It really feels like nobody was paying attention to the filming of this story. There are innumerable errors, fluffs, goofs and slip-ups. Some are funny – Carol stands too close to the Doctor so that when he turns and sees her he jumps out of his skin – but most are just sloppy. There are TV studio lights clearly visible in the back of the shot, the mike comes into frame a lot, the cameras bump into the furniture, the walls are wobbling, the ambient sound from one scene runs several seconds into the next and is abruptly cut... It’s not due to budget, it’s due to carelessness. It’s difficult to get engrossed in a story when the production team were so haphazard about it at the time.

That aside, there’s just way too much chat, and not enough action or suspense. The final episode is very rushed; there is no pay-off for our main villain; there’s some major plot holes (Ian can pilot a space-ship now?) and the actual appearance of the Sensorites is pretty lame.

Magical Moments

• The cliffhanger for Episode One provides one of the only moments of tension in the story. The Sensorites are coming. Everybody keep quiet... Silence. So much silence. And then at last – boom – a face at the window, peering in. It’s a brilliant cliffhanger, though as I've seen noted elsewhere, you do wonder if he's going to wave cheerily, get a mop and bucket and start cleaning the window.
• The shot in Episode Two, in which we properly see the Sensorites for the first time, opens on a close up of their feet. And yes – one of them is accidentally standing on the other ones foot. That’ll be the end of any tension then!
• Susan’s teenage anger at the Doctor (“I’m not a little child any more”) is great.
• The cliffhanger for Episode Three is also a nicely done scene. Ian is poisoned. We, as an audience, get the idea long before the Doctor or Susan, and there is a lot of suspense while he coughs and then apologises, and then coughs again.
• There’s a nice montage scene as the Doctor is analysing the water for poison. It might be the first montage on Dr Who, so it’s enjoyable to see it being used as an effect!
• The Doctor has a delightful understatement after being knocked down by an invisible monster: “Something hit me under the heart. It was most unpleasant!”
• ‘Dumbest Moment of the Story’ Award goes to Random-Sensorite-At-The-Back, who comes out with the line: “I heard them over... over... talking” and then quickly crosses his arms in cringing shame and embarrassment. Shocking!
• Susan has a chuckle to herself as she imitates a Sensorite running away from the Doctor: “Flip flap!”
• The Doctor is given a remarkably nice cloak. The way is it made use of to counter claims of murder is a nice bonus, but I just like the cloak.

In Summary
This story was written as a thoughtful exploration of what an alien culture might look like. It then was subjected to development by a half-baked production team who were rather keen to get off home and have a mug of Horlicks. The result is a slap-dash affair that really drags out the middle of the story, that rushes the conclusion and that leaves you feeling quite unsatisfied. It’s not as illogical as Edge of Destruction, but it’s six dreary episodes.

Overall: 2.2