The Sensorites (TV story)

The Sensorites
Doctor:	[[doctor::First Doctor]]
Companion(s):	Susan Foreman Barbara Wright Ian Chesterton
Main enemy:	Second Elder
Main setting:	28th Century
Key crew
Writer:	Peter R. Newman
Director:	Mervyn Pinfield (episodes 1-4), Frank Cox (episode 5-6)
Producer:	Verity Lambert
Release details
Release number:	7
Premiere broadcast:	20th June - 1st August 1964
Format:	6 25-minute Episodes Strangers In Space The Unwilling Warriors Hidden Danger A Race Against Death Kidnap A Desperate Venture
Production code:	G

Summary

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 that the aliens are fearful of an attack from the humans and are just defending themselves. Travelling to the Sense Sphere (the Sensorites' planet) the Doctor then seeks to cure an illness the Sensorites and Ian have succumbed to, but finds that this has been caused by deliberate poisoning. The political maneuvering of the Sensorite City Administrator adds an additional threat to the TARDIS crew as he seeks to discredit and implicate them

Cast & Characters

• Dr. Who - William Hartnell
• Ian Chesterton - William Russell
• Barbara Wright - Jacqueline Hill
• Susan Foreman - Carole Ann Ford
• John - Stephen Dartnell
• Carol Richmond - Ilona Rogers
• Captain Maitland - Lorne Cossette
• First Sensorite - Ken Tyllsen
• Second Sensorite - Joe Greig
• Third Sensorite - Peter Glaze
• Fourth Sensorite - Arthur Newall
• First Elder - Eric Francis
• Second Elder - Bartlett Mullins
• First Scientist - Ken Tyllsen
• Second Scientist - Joe Greig
• Warrior - Joe Greig
• Commander - John Bailey
• First Human - Martyn Huntley
• Second Human - Giles Phibbs
• Sensorite - Anthony Rogers (uncredited)
• Sensorite - Gerry Martin (uncredited)

Crew

• Writer - Peter R. Newman
• Director - Mervyn Pinfield (episodes 1-4), Frank Cox (episodes 5-6)
• Producer - Verity Lambert
• Script Editor - David Whitaker
• Designer - Raymond Cusick
• Assistant Floor Manager - Dawn Robertson
• Assistant Floor Manager - Val McCrimmon
• Associate Producer - Mervyn Pinfield
• Costumes - Daphne Dare
• Incidental Music - Norman Kay
• Make-Up - Jill Summers
• Make-Up - Sonia Markham
• Production Assistant - David Conroy
• Special Sound - Brian Hodgson
• Studio Lighting - Peter Murray
• Studio Sound - Jack Brummitt
• Studio Sound - Les Wilkins
• Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire
• Title Music - Ron Grainer

Notes

• All episodes exist in 16mm telerecordings
• Negative film prints of all epsisodes where recovered from BBC Enterprises in 1978
• Jacqueline Hill does not appear in episodes 5 and 6 as she was on holiday while they were filmed
• This story was nearly cancelled as a result of a studio dispute
• Hidden Danger was postponed for one week due to a sporting event
• Stephen Dartnell appears as John. He had previously appeared as Yartek in The Keys of Marinus
• John Bailey, later to feature as Edward Waterfield in 1967's The Evil of the Daleks has a role here as the Commander
• Designer Raymond Cusick used almost all curves in his sets for the Sense Sphere, feeling that this would give a more alien look
• Russell T. Davies has acknowledged the Sensorites as an influence on the basic concept of the Ood in "The Impossible Planet" and "The Satan Pit."

Ratings

• Strangers in Space - 7.9m viewers
• The Unwilling Warriors - 6.9m viewers
• Hidden Danger - 7.4m viewers
• A Race Against Death - 5.5m viewers
• Kidnap - 6.9m viewers
• A Desperate Venture - 6.9m viewers

Myths

• The Humans responsible for poisoning the water supplies were part of a group called INEER. (The initials INEER were meant to be the end of the word Engineer.)
• Arthur Newall appeared in Doctor Who as a Dalek. (He in fact appeared in this story as a Sensorite.)

Location filming

• This story was filmed at BBC Television Centre Studio TC3, and Lime Grove Studio D

Continuity

• Dialogue suggests the Doctor has only 1 heart at this stage of his life.
• Despite travelling together for years the Doctor and Susan have never argued.
• Dialogue seems to confirm Susan and the Doctor are from the same planet, indicating that she was born on Gallifrey.
• Susan has telepathic abilities which the Doctor is not aware of however it is suggested that many of those on Gallifrey have such abilities as the Doctor suggests her skills could be perfected if she gets home.
• Gallifrey is similar to Earth but the sky at night is burnt orange and the tree leaves are bright silver.
• The Doctor once argued with Henry VIII as he wanted to be sentenced to theTower of London where the TARDIS was located.
• The Doctor and Susan encountered telepathic plants on the planet Esto.

Discontinuity

• During episode 1 while the Doctor is delivering his lines the camera hits the table in front of him.
• The drill marks are visible before Maitland starts to use the drill.
• It is stretching credibility to the extreme to suggest that the Sensorites can only recognise each other by the sashes they wear.
• Despite this story being set in the 28th Century the astronauts wore contemporary looking space suits. Not a trend which is seen in other stories set in this time period.

Story novelisation

• The story novelisation was published as Doctor Who: The Sensorites in July 1987 ISBN 0426202953. The story was written by Nigel Robinson and was number 118 in the series of 156 Doctor Who novels published by Target Books.

DVD, video, and audio releases

• Video Release - Released as Doctor Who: The Sensorites

UK Release: June 2000 / US Release: October 2003

PAL - BBC Video BBCV7276

NTSC - Warner Video E1852

Released as part of The First Doctor Collection boxset in the UK - BBCV7278.

Released as part of The End of the Universe Collection in the US.

External links

BBC Episode Guide Page with video clips

Story synopsis at the Doctor Who Reference Guide

A Brief History of Time Travel

Encylopedia of Fantastic Film and Television

BBC Production Information