Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time!
ALL ALIENS AREN’T MONSTERS!
This is a weird story in the sense that the first two episodes are completely different from the remaining four. Part One is a tense and exciting thriller mystery inside a cramped spaceship and one of the best single episodes within the First Doctor's era; it's a near-perfect mix of acting, music, sound design, direction, and camera work. The opening episode is a base-under-siege prototype that would work just as well with, say, the Second or Tenth Doctors.
I love how the characters take some time to reminisce about their previous adventures, including ones that we haven't heard about before or since.
The Part 1 cliffhanger is another classic one. I'm sure it terrified thousands of kids back in the day!
Part 3 is where the narrative decline begins, as we enter the Sense Sphere and begin following the talkative and identical Sensorites in their everyday duties.
The latter half of the adventure is very repetitive and struggles to find a satisfying path towards a climax, so much so that the eventual twist in Part 6 just kind of comes and goes with little impact. Peter R. Newman butchered that climax by building up to nothing and then hurriedly wrapping everything up.
Parts 4 to 6 are filled with padding, an uninteresting medical mystery, and the Sensorites plotting and scheming for the sake of it but never actually doing anything even remotely threatening. Unfortunately, the focus on the titular race in the latter half of The Sensorites results in a lack of inspiration and a significant loss of narrative momentum.
The writing in Parts 4 and 5 seems to make a few too convenient and contrived solutions to create artificial tension, and the way the City Administrator's idiotic plan seems to work by itself is simply stupid.
This serial begins the process of Susan gradually becoming independent of the Doctor, a development that the latter finds difficult to accept. This is causing great strain between the two central characters.
Newman decided to give Susan some character development and make her more useful rather than annoying, but unfortunately, this trend did not continue until her departure just a few stories later. Carole Ann Ford seems to relish this recent development and offers a fine performance.
The Doctor once again takes the lead (despite claiming he doesn't want to), and he truly feels like the Doctor we know and love. This story also allows him to do some investigating on his own for once. William Hartnell is on fire in the first two episodes; he is eager, funny, valiant, stubborn, and defiant, and he puts in one of his best performances on the show.
Yay for a "the Doctor doing science" montage!
The guest cast in the first two episodes is great, particularly Stephen Dartnell's John. It's unfortunate that they lose their opportunity to shine after Part 2.
The Sensorites are a fairly good concept and a nice idea for a more intelligent and less aggressive alien race; they also make for a perfectly creepy threat during the first half of the serial, but they gradually lose their charm and creepy factor as the serial progresses. The presentation of the Sensorites as highly telepathic aliens is somewhat troubling because they appear to communicate normally with everyone, including each other.
The Sensorite actors flub their lines so frequently that they give Hartnell a run for his money!
Peter Glaze, in his role as the City Administrator, embodies a pantomime villain, characterised by his peculiar, raspy voice and excessively theatrical sentiments. His grand plan is flawed since there are bigger variations between the different Sensorites than what the story tries to make us believe (such as their voices and body shapes differing).
The Sensorite masks look creepy enough, and the spaceship set is nice, so it's slightly disappointing to see the Sense Sphere look so boring.
Review by Theo KallströmVIP 6BlockedParentSpoilers2022-03-29T21:14:13Z— updated 2024-06-06T10:39:43Z
:pray_tone2::slight_smile::fist_tone2: 31/50 = Fine! = Skippable!
Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time!
ALL ALIENS AREN’T MONSTERS!
This is a weird story in the sense that the first two episodes are completely different from the remaining four. Part One is a tense and exciting thriller mystery inside a cramped spaceship and one of the best single episodes within the First Doctor's era; it's a near-perfect mix of acting, music, sound design, direction, and camera work. The opening episode is a base-under-siege prototype that would work just as well with, say, the Second or Tenth Doctors.
I love how the characters take some time to reminisce about their previous adventures, including ones that we haven't heard about before or since.
The Part 1 cliffhanger is another classic one. I'm sure it terrified thousands of kids back in the day!
Part 3 is where the narrative decline begins, as we enter the Sense Sphere and begin following the talkative and identical Sensorites in their everyday duties.
The latter half of the adventure is very repetitive and struggles to find a satisfying path towards a climax, so much so that the eventual twist in Part 6 just kind of comes and goes with little impact. Peter R. Newman butchered that climax by building up to nothing and then hurriedly wrapping everything up.
Parts 4 to 6 are filled with padding, an uninteresting medical mystery, and the Sensorites plotting and scheming for the sake of it but never actually doing anything even remotely threatening. Unfortunately, the focus on the titular race in the latter half of The Sensorites results in a lack of inspiration and a significant loss of narrative momentum.
The writing in Parts 4 and 5 seems to make a few too convenient and contrived solutions to create artificial tension, and the way the City Administrator's idiotic plan seems to work by itself is simply stupid.
This serial begins the process of Susan gradually becoming independent of the Doctor, a development that the latter finds difficult to accept. This is causing great strain between the two central characters.
Newman decided to give Susan some character development and make her more useful rather than annoying, but unfortunately, this trend did not continue until her departure just a few stories later. Carole Ann Ford seems to relish this recent development and offers a fine performance.
The Doctor once again takes the lead (despite claiming he doesn't want to), and he truly feels like the Doctor we know and love. This story also allows him to do some investigating on his own for once. William Hartnell is on fire in the first two episodes; he is eager, funny, valiant, stubborn, and defiant, and he puts in one of his best performances on the show.
Yay for a "the Doctor doing science" montage!
The guest cast in the first two episodes is great, particularly Stephen Dartnell's John. It's unfortunate that they lose their opportunity to shine after Part 2.
The Sensorites are a fairly good concept and a nice idea for a more intelligent and less aggressive alien race; they also make for a perfectly creepy threat during the first half of the serial, but they gradually lose their charm and creepy factor as the serial progresses. The presentation of the Sensorites as highly telepathic aliens is somewhat troubling because they appear to communicate normally with everyone, including each other.
The Sensorite actors flub their lines so frequently that they give Hartnell a run for his money!
Peter Glaze, in his role as the City Administrator, embodies a pantomime villain, characterised by his peculiar, raspy voice and excessively theatrical sentiments. His grand plan is flawed since there are bigger variations between the different Sensorites than what the story tries to make us believe (such as their voices and body shapes differing).
The Sensorite masks look creepy enough, and the spaceship set is nice, so it's slightly disappointing to see the Sense Sphere look so boring.