Serial G, in six parts:
- Strangers in Space - 6/20/64, 7.9m viewers
- The Unwilling Warriors - 6/27/64, 6.9m
- Hidden Danger - 7/11/64, 7.4m
- A Race Against Death - 7/18/64, 5.5m
- Kidnap - 7/25/64, 6.9m
- A Desperate Adventure - 8/1/64, 6.9m
Sound Bytes:
"This story has a lot going for it, including some interesting concepts and, proving that aliens are not always monstrous, the rather charming Sensorites. The drawback is that it doesn't fully sustain its six episode length." - review from The Handbook: The First Doctor by Howe, Stammers and Walker (Virgin, 1994)
"It veers from sinister to unintentionally hilarious, with everyone fluffing their lines." - review from The Discontinuity Guide by Cornell, Day and Topping (MonkeyBrain Books, 2004)
Comments:
The operative word for The Sensorites is bland. Not bad, necessarily, but bland.
Perhaps the biggest problem with the serial is its cast of guest characters -- they're all so inept that it's hard to get too invested in them. The humans on the spaceship, for instance, are so weak-willed that they cannot even begin to resist the mental domination of the Sensorites. Meanwhile, the Sensorites themselves can be rendered helpless by darkness and loud noises. Even the mysterious villains of the piece are lame; they resort to underhanded and weedy tactics, and are ultimately defeated very easily.
Rarely have I encountered a work of fiction populated so exclusively by such lame, hopeless characters. No wonder they're all amazed by the Doctor and his competence...
The serial is also a little weak on the visual side. In the first Dalek story, the production team really stretched the program's limits through the use of ambitious special effects and interesting cinematic touches (like "Dalek's eye" point-of-view shots). By comparison, The Sensorites is directed and designed in a very straightforward and dull fashion. It doesn't help that the story takes place almost entirely in featureless indoor environments; this is really cold, sterile science fiction stuff. I usually prefer Doctor Who when it's more gothic or horrifying. This is like a mediocre episode of Star Trek.
And yet, I can't bring myself to really bomb The Sensorites. I must admit that I enjoyed re-watching it for the purposes of writing this review. Once again, I found myself admiring the original TARDIS crew -- they all tend to behave in a very naturalistic fashion, displaying genuine emotions. By contrast, Tom Baker's Doctor is usually strange and remote, and characters in the new Doctor Who do absurdly unreal things like chatter about Scooby Doo during moments of extreme tension. Only the Hartnell era consistently features "normal" people behaving in a normal way (under strange circumstances, of course).
The mystery elements of The Sensorites are a highlight, too. In the beginning, the Sensorites' motivations are kept secret; later on, the unknown "real" villains provide fodder for speculation. Unfortunately, the serial goes on a little too long, and stretches these mysteries a little too thin. But they're still pretty interesting.
I also like the Sensorites themselves. Doctor Who fans -- who are always eager to disrespect their own favorite TV show in order to appear "cool" -- tend to chuckle at their make-up. Fair enough; the Sensorites are a little silly, and even Susan has a good laugh at their big round feet. But I can certainly name plenty of dumber-looking aliens from the later history of Doctor Who (the Functionaries and the Taran Beast spring to mind). The Sensorites might not light up the screen, but I think they work as aliens.
Speaking of Susan, this is supposed to be one of her centerpiece stories, since she gets to use her telepathic abilities to communicate with the Sensorites. Unfortunately, the Doctor rudely smacks her down the moment she tries to befriend the creatures. So, in the end, Susan doesn't really get to do much except use her telepathy to guide Barbara through some tunnels. Hardly riveting, is it?
I'm afraid that Susan must be judged as the principal failure of the Hartnell era, even though I like her. Her potential was not fully realized until years later, in spin-offs like Kim Newman's novella Time and Relative and the first of Big Finish's Doctor Who Unbound series.
Despite these disappointments, I still think The Sensorites has some integrity, and it's remarkable among Doctor Who stories for depicting an alien culture that isn't purely evil and aggressive. Plus, as a bonus, it ends with the Doctor throwing a completely irrational hissy fit after Ian teases him about being unable to pilot the TARDIS. It's a priceless tantrum that always reminds me of why I think Hartnell is the man.
I'm tempted to give The Sensorites a solid "B", but I have to mark it down because just about every actor in it mangles at least one line of dialogue.
Grade: B-
Next Serial: The Reign of Terror