Doctor Who - The Sensorites [DVD]

The seventh story from the very first season of Doctor Who comes to DVD. All six black and white episodes are presented on one disc. With a pretty good picture quality.

The story [referenced once in a Tenth Doctor episode] sees the First Doctor, plus companions Susan, Ian and Barbara, arrive in the middle of a disastrous first contact between humans and aliens. The latter are a race called the Sensorites. The Doctor and friends have to work to bring the two sides together, to get past all their mutual fear and distrust, and to find the secret at the heart of the sense-sphere...

Early Doctor Who did have a mandate to educate as well as entertain. It tried to do the former via the historical stories. And it tries to do the same here with a few moral lessons for younger viewers. Done in a fine and never very heavy handed manner.

These early Doctor Who's also never wanted for ambition, and thus this is a credible attempt to create a very alien world and it's inhabitants. But on the limited budget of early 1960's tv, with a story that had to fit a six episode slot, this does mean it's not the greatest looking one ever. Nor is it very fast paced. It really does try very hard to create a sense of mystery, though, and you have to admire it for that.

The usual demands of these early episodes to give the cast the occasional break means that Barbara is written out in a rather cursory manner for two parts in the middle.

So it's not fast paced exciting action drama, and it's not the most memorable story ever made, but it's an interesting curio. And worth a look.

The DVD has the following language and subtitle options:

Languages: English.

Subtitles: English.

It's also English audio captioned.

Extras:

The usual: Trailer for the next release in this dvd range.

Photo gallery of stills from the story and it's production.

Radio times listings for the story as a PDF File.

Production information subtitles.

A commentary from some of the cast and crew.

Plus: Looking for Peter. A twenty minute long feature that goes in search of Peter R. Newman. Who wrote this story. But about whom very little seems to be known. This is quite an interesting and ultimately rather affecting piece, and it might just make you look at the story in a whole new light. It's highly recommended viewing. [And the answer to the question it might make you ask is: yes it is available on dvd. You'll see what I mean...]

There's also two short features, which are part of an interview with veteran bbc employee and producer Clive Doig, in which he explains what a vision mixer does and why strange voices can be heard in the background of one episode. These run for six and two minutes respectively, and thanks to him being a very good interviewee with a clear wealth of experience to draw on, are both very interesting and worth a watch.

1964's The Sensorites is a strange story, its certainly one of my favourite stories from the 1960's and now that it is being released on to DVD in a fully remastered state, I could not be happier, 2012 for Doctor Who was looking grimm, series 7 is at this point 8 months away at least and there is no special planned for Easter after all. However, the first bit of good news came on 11th December 2011, when 2 missing episodes were safely returned to the archives after being missing for several decades, then, having my usual Christmas browse on Amazon, I noticed that the DVD line up for 2012 was going to be quite special. The Sensorites is just one of the many DVD's planned to be released in this great year. The story has never been high up in any fans estimations, it not like its a Tomb of the Cybermen or The Tenth Planet, but in my opinion its just below them in quality.

Peter R. Newmans script for The Sensorites is interesting to say the least, its basically 2 stories in one, part 1, 2-3 episodes on the marooned space ship set the story's chilling setting up well and even I was shocked at how chilling they really are, John frightened the hell out of me the first time I watched this and that infamous scene of the Sensorite walking up the outer hull of the craft and peering in through the window was effective to the bone. Then it all changes at the mid point to episode 3, the Doctor, Ian, Susan, Maitland, Carol and John are taken to the Elders on the Planet "Sense-Sphere" and there over the course of the remaining episodes have to deal with mass-murder, political intrique and a bunch of half-crazed earth men living underground for a decade. This serial deals with the problems of race hate and the mistrust of different peoples. To this end the story works rather well and is a good lesson in these issues to teach to the younger 1960's television audience.

Overall, I know its not the most loved 60's serial to fall out the archives but I really have always enjoyed watching it, if I had one critisism it would be that at 6 episodes, its too long, 4 episodes, and this story I'm sure would rocket up in peoples opinion polls.

Its great to finally have The Sensorites on DVD and as always its lovely to see that the stories that created Doctor Who over 48 years ago are being treated with as much respect by the BBC and 2/Entertain as the latest series.

Many thanks for your time.

M.B.

This review is based upon watching a Press Release copy prior to release.

Released on the 23 January 2012, the 1964 CLASSIC SERIES story, DOCTOR WHO - THE SENSORITES can be described no less than a revelation. Unlike a number of fans, I don't really believe that the `dregs' the series are the only stories left unreleased on BBC DVD. Alongside THE DAEMONS, TERROR OF THE ZYGONS, AMBASSADORS OF DEATH , this William Hartnell story clearly has its merits and with its release it will ensure that its depth and nuances will be better understood and not dismisses out of hand.

Admittedly, The `value added material' (VAM) is brief - though you have to remember that it is six-parter on a single disc format and space is at a premimum - but it is accomplished with a superior documentary, LOOKING FOR PETER.

From the leafy inner London suburbs of Muswell Hill, actor and DOCTOR WHO aficionado, Toby Hadoke extricates himself from his cocooning armchair to the windswept national monument of Alexandra `Ally Pally' Palace (see THE IDIOT'S LANTERN) to start his (surely fruitless) task of uncovering the mystery of who was the story's writer, Peter R Newman.

Aided by DOCTOR WHO historian, Richard Bignall, our very own Holmes & Watson, embark on a journey to uncover more (well, there is little known about Newman and even that information is contradictory; did he die in 1969 or 1975?) about the series' most enigmatic of writers. What will the find out? As Hadoke surmises, finding out that his middle name was would be the barest of minimum.

Do they find out his middle name? An autograph or photograph or? What did Newman do before DOCTOR WHO (we know he wrote a script for Hammer Horror films called YESTERDAY'S ENEMY) and after it? Are they any other scripts held in an archive somewhere?

Oh, I wish I could tell you in this review but I am pleased to agree to an embargo suggested by the documentary's producers (DENE FILMS for 2entertain). In buying THE SENSORITES you will not be disappointed in seeing the WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? style of feature unfold in satisfaction.

Intelligent, linear, thoughtful (yes, you may buy a packet of pocket Kleenex tissues at the same time as the DVD as you could be blubbering by its end), charmingly witty, reverent, and accomplished, LOOKING FOR PETER delivers more than you could possibly imagine as you peel off it cellophane outer-wrapper.

Sadly, VISION ON is all too brief in assessing the work of series' production team `Vision Mixer', Clive Doig. With fond memories of working on the first two or three series, Doig recalls the process of working in the `Gallery' (the sound-proofed control area where the Director, Producer, Vision Mixer and Production Assistant sat during the filming of a story), adjusting to not only a memory-prone lead actor and martially aggrieved Chumblies.

With an intriguing title of SECRET VOICES OF THE SENSE SPHERE you could be forgiven in thinking that this is a MAKING OF... feature format. However, like SHIPHAM'S SALMON PASTE, it is flimsy filler that sounds (sic) good but is actually unpalatable (in a culinary way). It discusses the "talk back" (from the `Gallery') voice frequently heard in recordings of the CLASSIC SERIES that communicates to cameramen reminding them of which `shot' is next. The voice is clearly (?) female yet the Production Assistant on THE SENSORITES is listed (in BBC BOOKS compendium, DOCTOR WHO - THE TELEVISION COMPANION) as David Conroy. Another mystery for our trusty `history-hunters', Hadoke & Bignall?

For anyone interesting in television drama production or design/art, the PHOTO GALLERY feature is fascinating. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of the story's production demonstrate that even with the limitation of studio space, cost and technical hardware the DOCTOR WHO production team were collaborative genius.

The COMING SOON trailer is for the third DOCTOR WHO - REVISITATION release, featuring TOMB OF THE CYBERMEN, THE THREE DOCTORS and ROBOTS OF DEATH.