| THE SENSORITES by Peter R. Newman |
| Story 7 Synopsis: Landing on a spaceship, the TARDIS team find the ship's crew paralysed with fear. They are in orbit near the Sense-Sphere, the home of the Sensorites, who are keeping the crew as virtual prisoners, in suspended animation. When the Doctor and co decide to leave them to their fate, they find the lock of the TARDIS has been removed. The Sensorites arrive. The crew have discovered that Sense-Sphere is rich is Molybdenum, and the telepathic Sensorites don't want to be exploited. They are also dying out mysteriously. The Doctor, Ian and Susan are taken to the Sense-Sphere, where Ian falls victim to the same illness that is killing the Sensorites. The Doctor diagnoses atropine poisoning, and sets to work on a cure. But some of the Sensorites are distrustful of the humans, and plot to kill them. The Doctor finds that survivors from a previous mission are causing the damage, and he is thus able to stop the Sensorites being plagued. The Sensorite insurgents are foiled. The Earth team leave Sense-Sphere to the Sensorites. |
| Review:- After the trauma of the bloody society of The Aztecs, we move to mental struggles in space, and the future. The Sensorites are a pretty harmless race of telepaths, but the old "dislike of the unlike" springs to the fore here, in amidst a tale of chemistry in action. It's a strange story really, with a couple of episodes on the ship, before we get down to the planet and the mystery and intrigue there. As a race, the Sensorites seem to have quite a dull culture, which makes it such a shame that humanity is presented as a lively threat to them. It is, of course, not emphasised that the City Administrator fears the humans will destroy the sensorites, but that the events he starts on lead to a change in their society, which are inspired by human cunning. The sets are quite impressive, and there seems a roundel-like quality to some of it. John gives the best acting of the guest cast, which isn't hard when Carol is so useless. As an examination of greed, and mental strength, this is a rather bold story, and it's a shame that it is so overlooked. The end is rather rushed, and the final episode seems to have more than enough plot - in contrast to the padded first episode. As this was partly written because Carole Ann Ford had been tempted to play Susan because of the telepathy angle, it is a shame that it is hardly addressed, and that she seems such a weak actress. One final point - some critics have rhapsodised about a piece of direction in the first episode, where our regulars leave the ship, with the camera moving through the doors in one take. This is nothing special, and it drew my attention to the first of two big flaws in the episode. The TARDIS lands in the same room as the control desk, where Maitland and the others are. Despite this, Maitland & co never notice or query the TARDIS. Equally, when the lock is removed, though Barbara smells burning, she never thinks to turn around and see the theft of the lock! Further, at the end of the episode, Maitland says the distinctive sound is always heard when the Sensorites arrive. Yet no-one heard them when they came and took the lock! It's not perfect, but it's decent enough in its own way. |
| Disclaimer: I've read the book, and seen the video. |