The Sensorites

The TARDIS lands inside a spaceship in orbit around the planet Sense Shpere. At first the TARDIS crew believe that the ship's crew - Captain Maitland and Carol - are dead, but then realize that they are merely in some form of suspended animation and manage to revive them. Matiland, Carol and a third crewman, John, are captives of the Sensorites who live below on the Sense Sphere, and although they are being kept prisoner they have not been killed. The Sensorites do not want the Earth ship to leave lest they return with more humans bent on plundering their world, and they even go so far as to steal the lock of the TARDIS and maroon the Doctor and his companions as well. Susan realizes that the Sensorites are a telepathic species and is able to communicate with them directly, resulting in the travellers going down to the Sense Sphere in an effort to broker a peace and secure their freedom, but there is more going on on the planet than meets the eye.

At six episodes in length The Sensorites is a pretty long tale to tell, and to watch all in one go. I had to break it up over a couple days while away on a work junket, taking in one before bed, one at breakfast and a couple more at lunch and so on. First time I ever saw it, though, I watched it on a Saturday afternoon spending almost three hours on the couch taking in the tale as it slowly unfolded. The pace just plods along for the first two episodes with the action confined to the bridge and two short corridors of the Earth ship - it's a claustrophobic start but it's a little hard to swallow that the TARDIS crew were standing within meters of the ship and did not notice the Sensorites burning the lock out of the door (more on THAT little tidbit shortly). And when the Sensorites appear within the ship Ian and Barbara make a real meal out of walking down one corridor and up the next looking for them, dragging the scene out for a couple painful minutes.

The Sensorites themselves are an interesting people; out of the three "monsters" of the season they are not evil conquerors like the Daleks nor are they like the murderous Voords; they are a peaceful species who seem to just want to be left alone, going so far as to imprison anyone who might betray the secrets of their world. The last time they met people from Earth they were stricken by a disease which they assume was brought by their visitors so they are understandably wary. There is division amongst them as well, with the First Elder being reasonable and wanting to end hostilities, but the City Administrator (the Rob Ford of the Sensorite Nation) remaining suspicious and forming his own plots against the TARDIS crew.

Susan not looking silly at all

Barbara does not come down to the planet with the others and spends episodes four and five on the spaceship much as the Doctor was out of sight for a couple episodes of Keys of Marinus to allow the actor a break from shooting. This makes for a convenient way to give other characters a bit more screen time, most notably Susan. She's resenting being treated like a child by the Doctor; her intelligence vastly out paces Ian and Barbara when it comes to book smarts but she is still terribly naive about things which makes her grandfather have to rein her in from time to time. Her latent telepathy comes to the forefront this time, although it was hinted at in The Edge of Destruction when she felt another presence on the TARDIS during its blackout; now she can communicate with the Sensorites by touching her temples and talking off to the distance. Good thing she does that, she'd look silly doing anything else. She's allowed a moment of nostalgia for her home planet, too, telling the First Elder about the silver leaves in the moonlight and her desire to see it again one day. She's not in any hurry, really, she's enjoying the travels, just not being treated like the junior member of the crew. At least she doesn't lose her shit this time.

Interesting that the TARDIS appears to be vulnerable to attack by the Sensorites with the lock so easily cut away. So far the Doctor has not made any claims about the ship being invincible, we have only Susan's warning to Ian that if the lock is tampered with it will melt. There was no sign of melting here, but to see the ship incapacitated like this in the early days would be interesting for viewers, maybe a bit scary for the kids. The TARDIS is, in effect, home for the crew, and to have one's home attacked is a frightening prospect. It makes the premise of Sorcerer's Apprentice now look a bit out of sorts; if the ship was capable of protecting itself in the novel it should have here, but here comes retcon to suggest that the erratic nature of the TARDIS systems is not limited to its inability to blend in with its surroundings or to steer straight, bit its defence systems are prone to sporadic outages as well. As a theory it fits, but given that Apprentice and other novels are non-canon its really up to the reader or the viewer to decide which to accept.

There was always the cry about the show being underfunded or running over budget - this has been said no matter who was the Doctor or who was producing it - but really, this could have been trimmed down to four parts instead of six to save a few bucks.. Aside from the slow scenes tiptoeing around inside the Earth ship one of the other scenes that could go would be the awkward opening bit inside the TARDIS where the whole season is recapped. This isn't even the season finale so why the scene was included is beyond me. If it's purpose is to show how the Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan have become a bit of a family over the series there's no real need to say it; witness how the Doctor was willing to leave Barbara behind in the Dalek city or toss both her and Ian off the ship in the early episodes, but now they all watch out for and care for each other. They've come a long way, and the season finale is right around the corner.

NEXT EPISODE : THE REIGN OF TERROR