I gotta tell ya, this has been a day. No treadmill this morning because of an early medical appointment, called early to get my autistic son from his adult day training workshop because of behavioral issues, and a work deadline that feels like I will never reach. By 5pm I had hit my breaking point, and decided to hit the treadmill to shake loose some brain cells. I wasn't optimistic about today's new story, The Sensorites, but I was pleasantly surprised. Sure, it's not The Daleks, but it is light years ahead of The Keys of Marinus. On top of that, the monsters looked oddly familiar. Or, more specifically, OODLY familiar.

Let's talk about that.

Strangers in Space / The Unwilling Warriors

The TARDIS has landed, but some sensors say it is stationary while others say it is in motion. With the external monitors also scrambled, the group decides to go outside for a look-see. Which, by the way, I have to call out that particular shot: In a single continuous tracking shot, the Doctor and companions open the TARDIS doors, step through, and walk onto the bridge of a spaceship. It's the kind of shot that is commonplace today, but for the kinds of sets and spaces they were working with in 1964 it really was remarkable.

From there, the story involves a 28th-century Earth starship with three crew members, who have been trapped near the Sensosphere for months under the mental control of the Sensorites. One of the crew has been effectively turned into a zombie, with barely any remnant of his previous self. The Sensorites themselves seem not to be violent, and have even taken steps to ensure the general health of the ship's crew, but are keeping them imprisoned for no clear reason.

It is a dark and moody piece with very little action per-se, and yet lots of existential dread and mystery. The baddies are bald, mouth-less creatures who communicate telepathically with the assistance of a device held in their hand and attached to their tunic. With such obvious similarities, I was not at all surprised when I did a little research and discovered that Russell T Davies himself has said that the Oodshere and the Sensosphere are from the same area of space, and the two are very much related. 

Hey, bro!

By the end of the second episode, we have learned that the ship's geologist ZombieJohn had discovered molybdenum, and his immediate "dreams of avarice" triggered the Sensorites to protect themselves from potential thieves. The cliffhanger involved Susan going with the two aliens down to their planet, as a voluntary hostage. The story so far has been delightfully weirdly-paced, and I am very curious to see where it goes next.

STATS:

Doctor(s): First
Companion(s): Ian Chesterton, Susan Foreman, Barbara Wright
Episode(s): Strangers in Space, The Unwilling Warriors
Steps Walked: 6,662 today, 113,175 total
Distance Walked: 3.05 miles today, 49.83 miles total
Weight: 300.22 lbs (five day moving average), net change -7.08 lbs