Doctor Who/Recap/S1/E07 The Sensorites
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It all started out as a mild curiosity in the junkyard and now it's turned out to be quite a great spirit of adventure.
—The Doctor
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Time for another space adventure as the TARDIS gang appear on an Earth spaceship orbiting the planet Sense-Sphere in the 28th century. The crew of the spaceship all appear to be in comas, which it turns out have been induced telepathically by the planet's denizens, the Sensorites. The Sensorites then steal the TARDIS's lock mechanism, trapping the travellers on the space ship.
Eventually, the Sensorites bring most of the travellers down to the planet where it transpires that a fatal disease is spreading like wildfire among the Sensorites, and immediately, Ian comes down with it as well. The Doctor investigates despite the interference of the City Administrator, and eventually discovers the deranged survivors of a previous Earth expedition, who have been poisoning the water supply with Deadly Nightshade. The Doctor whips up a cure and all is well.
Due to the similar design of the Ood in the new series, In Planet of the Ood Sense-Sphere is shown to be in the same system as Oodsphere.
Tropes
- Acting for Two: Several of the Sensorite actors play what are clearly intended to be different characters in different episodes.
- Bald of Evil: Inverted - the "bad" Sensorite is the one with most hair on the top of his head.
- Continuity Nod: One of the first clear signs of continuity in the series is that near the beginning, the Doctor and companions mention nearly all of their previous adventures together and how they've developed during the journey. Makes sense for an episode near the end of the first series.
- Counting to Three: Well five really.
- Ditto Aliens: Bizarrely, invoked by the Sensorites on themselves. They themselves cannot effectively tell the differences between each other, and relies on sashes and other decorative garb to identify important individuals. It allows the City Administrator to steal the Second Elder's identity after killing him.
- Dramatic Irony: The City Administrator spends nearly all of his screentime trying to kill the Doctor et al, and yet after killing the Second Elder and indirectly framing the Doctor for it he gets a recommendation for a promotion from the Doctor himself for his trustworthiness. Ian even comments on this.
- Hypocritical Humor:
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Doctor: I learned not to meddle in other people's affairs years ago... There's not an ounce of curiosity in me, my dear boy. Tell me, why are you in danger? |
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- I Have Your Wife: The City Administrator tries this on the Second Elder.
- Indy Ploy: The City Administrator's general plan is "kill the humans". He never really works out the details.
- Magic Antidote
- Neutral No Longer: The moment when the Doctor decides to investigate the aqueduct to find the source of the atropine is the first time that he does something out of altruism without being forced into it, a major point in his transformation from untrustworthy vagabond mad scientist to the hero we know and love.
- Noodle Incident: That hilarious quarrel with Henry VIII that The Doctor recalls (that apparently took place when it was just him and Susan travelling).
- Pstandard Psychic Pstance: Susan whenever using telepathy.
- Psychic Powers: Susan
- Inner Dialogue: What it looks like John is doing in episodes 1 and 2. He's actually communicating with the Sensorites trying to get him to kill Susan and Barbara.
- Water Source Tampering: The Sensorites are being affected by a disease that the good guys later trace to a human expedition poisoning their water supply.
- Weaksauce Weakness: The Sensorites are terrified of the dark and physically pained by raised human voices.
- Xanatos Speed Chess: Again, the Administrator.