TV Review: Doctor Who Regeneration 1 Series 007 The Sensorites 4/10

Here the crew land on a spaceship and think everyone is dead.  It turns out they’re not, they’ve been incapacitated, and keep getting incapacitated whenever they try to leave orbit of the planet they’re close to, called The Sense-Sphere.  It turns out the inhabitants of this planet, the Sensorites, are afraid because previous humans discovered their planet had huge deposits of molybdenum, and were planning to mine out the planet.  However, the Sensorites have psychic abilities and could read their minds.  What then follows is a convoluted, unfocussed tale of tribal politics, hidden humans trying to poison the water supply as they imagine themselves at war with the Sensorites, and assorted shennanegins on the spaceship and the planet. It’s a little plodding, and the plot is all over the place, but there’s a really good performance by an actor called Stephen Dartnell (playing ‘John’) who has to convey both terror and confusion as his mind has been turned by the Sensorites.  Probably one for the completists.

Rating: odd, 4/10