Season 1, Episode 7 | 6 parts | First broadcast: 20 June – 1 August 1964 | Writer: Peter R. Newman | Director: Mervyn Pinfield and Frank Cox
Cast
- William Hartnell as the Doctor
- Carole Ann Ford as Susan Foreman
- William Russell as Ian Chesterton
- Jacqueline Hill as Barbara Wright
Summary
The TARDIS travellers land aboard a human spaceship marooned in orbit around the Sense-Sphere, where they find the crew held in a state of paralysed fear by the Sensorites, a timid telepathic species who never allow visitors to leave. As the Doctor works to earn the Sensorites’ trust and uncover the truth behind the ship’s plight, a hidden conspiracy among the Sensorites themselves threatens to poison relations between the two peoples for good.
Interesting Facts
- This serial marks the first time the Doctor and his companions travel to a fully alien world with its own native civilization, rather than merely encountering monsters or historical humans.
- It was the only Doctor Who work by writer Peter R. Newman, who was primarily known for war films and reportedly drew on accounts of Japanese soldiers who kept fighting long after World War II ended.
- The story is an early example of the series exploring themes of xenophobia and trust between species rather than simple alien invasion.
- All six episodes survive in the BBC archive.
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