Day 7 - The Sensorites

The end of a long week. I’m glad to have the dog again tonight. It’s nice to have the rhythm of walking him when I get back to the apartment, and as soon as he is finished eating all he wants to do is snuggle. That’s all right with me.

Episode 1 – Strangers in Space

What a long recap we get to start this episode. The crew recount, quite succinctly, everything that has gone before, and we also get our first clue of previous adventures; with Henry VIII no less. The Doctor does seem to like annoying the Tudors, although it would be surprising if he married this one. (Who knows what he might have done with one of the wives however!)

It’s a very strange start to this story. There are a whole slew of mysteries for the regulars to investigate. Where and when are they? Who are these people? Are they dead, or simply sleeping? As some of these questions get answered we are presented with even more. What or who are the Sensorites? Are they good or evil? How are they affecting the spaceship crew, and will it affect our regulars?

This is our first foray into the future, and the first time we have been on a first spaceship (other than the TARDIS of course, which doesn’t really count). Amazingly the description of what England is like in the 28^th century is the same as accepted in so many future stories as well. I have always been a big fan of the future continuity of Earth presented in Doctor Who, and it’s a real surprise here to have it established so early. I’m sure that a part of that is because this story, as some of the later stories that cover similar ground, such a “The Mutants” are all inspired by the British Empire, especially in its decline, and the good and bad parts of colonization are addressed here.

“There’s not an ounce of curiousity in me, dear boy”! That’s as blatantly wrong as any of the 11^th Doctor’s fibs to Amy in “The Beast Below”. Unlike Ms Pond, of course, Ian and Barbara know him well enough now to call him on it.

Great cliffhanger, as we finally get to see a Sensorite drifting past the window. What strange creatures they are. I want to know more.

Episode 2 – The Unwilling Warriors

The mystery deepens as the humans still cannot work out what the Sensorites might want, and whether they mean them any harm. They look very menacing advancing on Ian; even though he is armed and they are not. Part of that impact, for me, is the music that accompanies things, and makes the aliens seems more intimidating that they should be.

At times it seems that the crew of the spaceship have rubbed off the on TARDIS crew, who, initially, are more inclined to believe that the Sensorites mean them no harm. As the episode continues, and the crew become more insistent and they see the damage done to John, they start to doubt that initial belief and view the Sensorites as the monster of the tale.

Finally our answers are provided as the Sensorites speak. Their reasons for their actions make a lot of sense. And, as discussed earlier, they are very familiar from later “Earth Empire” type stories – fear of the planet being gutted by humans, and that they would contaminate. As the decline of the British Empire had led to criticism of earlier colonial practices, this seems like a reaction to that, and amply demonstrates the impact on the natives of these actions.

Episode 3 – Hidden Danger

This story has a very unusual structure. It really stands out from all the stories that I have watched so far. Peter R Newman doesn’t have the same feel for the adventure serial that Nation had, or this historical epic that Lucarotti had. But at the same time it is full of interesting ideas and concepts.

In this story Susan finally seems to be getting more to do. She had a wonderful scene in The Aztecs where she refuses to marry anyone other than someone of her choice, but here she gets to take charge more, and show the experience and intelligence that made her The Unearthly Child of the opening episode. Her debate with the Doctor is spirited and effective, and it’s great to see Carole Ann Ford given a wider range.

A strength of this story is how well the history of Sensorite dealings with humans  is drawn. It gives them a very clear motivation for their behavior in the initial episodes; fear of exploitation and contamination based on past experience. They seem to be a very timid people in general, and their experience of other races has not been good. Despite their actions in the story so far, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for them as they cowered away from Ian’s aggressive body language.

Episode 4 – A Race Against Death

This is a very peculiar episode. It’s full of scenes showing plotting aliens who all look very similar; so much so that a major plot point revolves around it. Slotted between these scenes are rather too many shots of Susan mopping Ian’s brow (so much for my earlier comment about her role getting stronger!) and montages of the Doctor being a research scientist (which is much more in character and lovely to see, reminding me of several scenes we will see in the future). Despite this strange structure, it all holds together and makes for interesting viewing.

I find it fascinating that the Sensorites makeup and masks have some individuality, and are not all identical, which often happens with tthis type of alien. There are some definite efforts being made here to make them distinguishable from a makeup point of view, even if the script goes somehwat towards downplaying it.

This episode sees an interesting turning point in the series. Tat Wood and Lawrence Miles point it out in the “About Time” books, and I hadn’t really thought much about it before. But watching in order I see their point. For the first time we see the Doctor actively going to search for the source of trouble, as he does again in the next episode. There is no real need for him to do so. He has diagnosed the poisoning, and the Sensorites would likely allow them to leave at this point. But instead he goes to find the source of the tainted water, because he wants to help this civilization. This is far more like the Doctor that we all know and love, and very different from the Doctor who picked up a rock in “The Forest of Fear”.

Episode 5 - Kidnap

In watching this episode, it’s easy to see why Russell T Davies links the Ood with the Sensorites. When they raise the small monocle like devices to their heads to communicate it is very reminiscent of the natural Ood and their handheld hindbrain.

There is a lot of Sensorite-only dialogue in this episode. The actors have to work very hard to make it compelling, since they are basically limited to voice acting, with limited body movement to communicate what is going on, covered as they are behind masks which hide their eyes and mouths. On the whole they do an excellent job.

There’s more name-dropping in the episode, as we hear of Beau Brummel’s admiration of the Doctor’s dress sense. Not for the last time, either! But on his occasion it is rather more defensible.

Despite how much I love Jacqueline Hill, it was only when Susan and Ian kept discussing Barbara in this episode that I realized it has been a couple of episodes since we have seen her. That’s a testament to the interest that this story has held for me; despite its reputation, there is much to enjoy here, and lots of interesting ideas. And I cannot bedgrudge the holiday either, given how hard she has worked on the series so far.

Episode 6 – A Desperate Venture

Hooray! Barbara’s back. And as soon as she appears she is immediately suspicious of all that has gone on in her absence. She takes charge quickly and is convinced that, despite the First Elder’s beliefs, Ian and the Doctor are in serious trouble. Her plan to rescue the Doctor and Ian is great, and makes use of the character development we saw with Susan earlier.

Our first description of Gallifrey shows up. It’s a lovely surprise. Susan talks with great fondness for the burnt-orange sky and silver leaves of home, and expects to go back sometime. But as we know, she doesn’t (unless the woman in The End of Time is really Susan; which I would prefer to her being the Doctor’s mother).

The discovery of the crew of the destroyed spaceship, as the “villains” behind the poisoning shows the perils of non-communication between species, just as the Sensorite’s reactions in the earlier episodes demonstrated similar perils. In this case, however, the impact has been even worse, as the crew have been driven quite insane. It’s quite sad really, and it shows how the Doctor and is companions have changed things for the better on the Sense Sphere that the Sensorite leaders understand what has happened and allow the mentally ill men to be returned home to Earth.

The final wrap up to the story contains several plot threads, perhaps showing that story arcs were being considered even in 1964. Susan talks about wanting to belong somewhere, which we know she will soon find. More surprisingly, the Doctor loses his temper with Ian, and threatens to throw him out of the ship at their next port of call. It will be interesting to see if this is a manufactured cliffhanger, or more development.

I liked the model shot of the rocket heading back to home at the end, carrying a crew who deserve the rest that awaits them there.