The Sensorites

Frank Cox, Mervyn Pinfield

Directed by

Runtime

150 minutes

Time Travel

Future

Tropes (Potential Spoilers!)

Spaceship

Location (Potential Spoilers!)

Sense Sphere, Space

Synopsis

The Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan arrive in the TARDIS on board a spaceship. Their initial concern is for the ship's human crew, who are suffering from telepathic interference from the Sensorites, but Susan communicates with the Sensorites and finds the aliens fear an attack by the humans and are just defending themselves.

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6 Episodes

Strangers in Space

First aired

Saturday, June 20, 1964

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

UK Viewers

7.9 million

Appreciation Index

Synopsis

The 28th century. The TARDIS materialises on a spaceship orbiting a planet known as the Sense-Sphere, whose natives, the Sensorites, have trapped the ship's human crew in a state of paralysis.

The Unwilling Warriors

First aired

Saturday, June 27, 1964

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

UK Viewers

6.9 million

Appreciation Index

Synopsis

The Doctor and his companions are on board an Earth ship trapped in orbit around the Sense-Sphere when it is boarded by the Sensorites, who steal the lock mechanism from the TARDIS.

Hidden Danger

First aired

Saturday, July 11, 1964

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

UK Viewers

7.4 million

Appreciation Index

Synopsis

The Doctor and his companions are escorted to the Sense-Sphere where they attempt to negotiate with the Sensorites for the release of the TARDIS.

A Race Against Death

First aired

Saturday, July 18, 1964

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

UK Viewers

5.5 million

Appreciation Index

Synopsis

With Ian having fallen victim to the Sensorites' plague, the Doctor is desperate to find a cure. But the City Administrator is still determined to rid his world of aliens.

Kidnap

First aired

Saturday, July 25, 1964

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

Frank Cox

UK Viewers

6.9 million

Appreciation Index

Synopsis

The City Administrator is determined to destroy the Doctor and his friends and his paranoia prevents the Doctor's cure from being distributed.

A Desperate Venture

First aired

Saturday, August 1, 1964

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

Frank Cox

UK Viewers

6.9 million

Appreciation Index

Synopsis

While the City Administrator's schemes reach their climax, the Doctor and Ian venture into the tunnels under the city to discover the real cause of the Sensorite plague.

Characters

First Doctor

William Hartnell

Susan

Carole Ann Ford

How to watch The Sensorites:

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DVD

The Sensorites

VHS

The First Doctor (VHS) (Special Edition Box Set)

Reviews
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10 reviews

This review contains spoilers!

not entirely sure how i feel about this one tbh. i dont like the sensorite design much. i think the idea of the doctor going and fixing a planets problems is compelling. i liked in the aztecs that barbara was using her history knowledge, i would have liked it in this one if ian used his science knowledge more. the engagement between the humans and the sensorites, it seems like this is all taking place prior to the eventual conquest of the sensorite planet by humans, that's the vibe it gives. i think the gone mad humans were interesting but they needed to be more developed, not just brought out in the last episode. we needed a bit more time with them, as apparently they are what the story was inspired by. also the tardis team brings up the caste systems and it seems like they will develop this more but instead it is just dropped, no arguement that they should get rid of the caste system and we spend basically no time with the other castes, we have little understanding how sensorite society functions. this serial i think first marks the begining of doctor who canon, with the team refercing past episodes, the doctor expressing his dislike of weapons and the first(?) reference to Gallifrey, and ideas about susan and the doctor travelling before they met barbara and ian

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Review last edited on 16-12-24

It’s pretty solid! I dreaded watching it, when I first get around to it and after watching it, admittedly I don’t understand why this story is really looked down so much, sure it might be perhaps one of the weaker ones in this Season for me but honestly, it’s really solid. I think the pacing is alright, I always love a good 6 Parter and while this by no means is a perfect one, it doesn’t really drag like some other stories do. The Cliffhangers we get here are fairly good, with the standout being the first one. The build in suspense in the first Episodes are stellar, seeing the Doctor doing actually Science is great and of course as many pointed out this is pretty much one of Susan’s finest hour we got in the Show. I do think some plot points around the end of the story just kinda come out of nowhere and while not a bad idea, they do kinda lack the fleshing out.

But overall not really bad, not a personal favorite but yet another strong outing for Season 1!

Review last edited on 15-12-24

This review contains spoilers!

“Isn’t it a better thing to travel hopefully than arrive ?”

C’est captivant au début, mais chaque partie est moins bonne que la précédente, et l’histoire (même avec quelques touches brillantes) est de plus en plus grossière et seulement élevée par les interactions très touchantes de Susan avec son grand-père.

Pourtant, en soi, c’est un épisode qui a quand même de bons instincts. Susan grandit, et elle n'a jamais été aussi touchante que quand elle affronte la solitude et l’exil.

Mais c’est seulement (malheureusement) quand elle fait face à des aliens un peu neuneus dans un script dans l’ensemble assez médiocre qu’elle peut ENFIN avoir ce développement. Et non seulement ça prouve à quel point les 60’s sont carrément en retard.

Mais ça prouve aussi que Susan est à la fois l’une des compagnes les plus importantes et une de celles qui a été la moins bien écrite.

Review last edited on 10-11-24

I liked that Susan got her chance to shine! I also liked the finale, where Ian is glad the spaceship knows where it's going, and the Doctor, immediately on the defensive, goes for a Tumblr-style "okay, you know what? Fuck this. Fuck you. I'm abandoning you at the next planet we come to" approach

Review last edited on 2-10-24

This review contains spoilers!

I was pleasantly surprised revisiting this story how much I enjoyed it - I remember this being a very slow, drawn out story with not much happening but there's a lot more there. I'm a sucker for stories with political intrigue and while what is here is fairly surface level (the City Administrator is sceptical of the humans and wants them killed, the Elders disagree so he gets himself the position of Second Elder to achieve that goal) but it works. The early episodes have this dark ominous tone that really helps this story and I think helps to subvert expectations - all the aliens met so far have been evil (Daleks, Voord); and so this is subverted quickly when the Sensorites turn out to be friendly; if very different.

The other thing this story does well is that it's the best use of Susan in the whole TV series - if only because it takes advantage of her not being human for the first time. Her telepathy is what establishes a connection with the Sensorites and opens the door between the humans trapped on the ship and the Sensorites; and is crucial at finding the Doctor and Ian (lost in the aqueduct after being captured by the previous set of humans who were trying to poison the Sensorites).

I do think the slow pace broadly does hurt this story - especially between a pair of the top tier historical stories which have slightly quicker pace. Overall though this is worth a watch.

Review last edited on 22-07-24