The Sensorites

My journey through the very first season of Dr. Who is coming to a close with its second-to-last story, the Sensorites. This six-parter begins with a mystery on board an earth ship of the 28th century. The crew appears to be dead, but are revived before the Doctor, Susan, Ian, and Barbara manage to leave. The two crew members tell of being held in stasis by a mysterious race known as the Sensorites, but all is not as it appears and our heroes discover that maybe the Sensorites aren't as sinister as first thought--at least not all of them.

I find six-parters long, but the writers of the first season do an excellent job moving the story along and keeping the viewers attention. I liked this story and thought its themes of trust and not being quick to judge others were ahead of their time.

What's more, the Sensorites depict a Plato-like "ideal state" ruled by a wise "elder" (Plato's "Philosopher-King) and consisting of three simple classes: the Sensorites (Plato's "Guardians"), the Warriors (Plato's "Auxiliaries"), and the working class (Plato's "Craftspeople"). There is even mention of "family groups," akin to Plato's ideas of marriage and family.

The Doctor, Ian, Susan discuss the situation with the First Elder and Carol, a woman from 28th Century Earth

The foursome have come a long way in the first season and I think it's interesting that at a time when the four seem to be bonding and trusting each other more, there is a story that centers on trust. Do the Sensorites trust the Doctor and company? Can the Sensorites trust each other--even though their society is built on trust? Can humans trust each other? The story actually begins and ends with a betrayal amongst human explorers.

Very well done. It was nice to see the group of four recap their adventures thus far and to see Susan coming into her own, preparing us for her eventually departure in the next season.

Next up: The Reign of Terror, and a Season 2 preview.

Marco Polo

Marco Polo Audio CD Cover

While the original video for this seven-part story remains lost, it is available on audio and in book form. I listened to the audio as part of the "Lost TV Episodes" audio, which contains this story and several others. There are also images, video clips, and reconstructions all over the Internet.

I was impressed and this had been one of my favorite stories, not only of the first doctor, but of the entire run. At first I thought, "seven episodes, wow that's long," but the story moved along the entire way with suspense, side plots, and sub stories.

The casting was good, especially Mark Eden as Marco Polo -- but that's not to take away from the work of the others, who all did a fine job.

Mark Eden as Marco Polo

Yes, Marco Polo is definitely worth the listen. The only problem I really had (besides wanting to shout "Polo!" every time someone shouted "Marco!") was Susan's constant screaming. I don't know if her character was developing the way it was intended--as a frightened teenage girl, or if the writers just did not know what to do with her. I would have liked to have seen more screaming from Barbara (the human who is not accustomed to aliens and danger) and less from Susan (who grew up with aliens and danger).

Next up: The Sensorites.

My Journey Begins - Dr. Who's First Season

2013 marks the 50th anniversary of Dr. Who and to celebrate, I've decided to watch the entire series from start to finish, well almost.

I realized early on that it would be nearly impossible for me to watch nearly 50 years of TV within only 12 months, given my schedule. That, and once I started to re-watch "An Unearthly Child," I realized that it wouldn't be any fun--and be more like a chore--to re-watch those episodes I've already seen.

So, my mission now is to "fill in the blanks." I'll still blog about when I saw each episode and what I thought but I probably won't re-watch many of them. Also, while I plan to watch them in their original order, I know I'm going to have to make exceptions based on availability.

With that, then, I begin my "Who50 Quest."

001 - An Unearthly Child (4 parts). I remember watching this a long time ago when PBS was still showing the classic Dr. Who. I thought the first episode was a good intro to the Dr. Who and Susan, but the other three stories were rather weak. Recently, I did watch the original pilot and thought it was interesting to see differences in how the Doctor was played between the pilot and premier episode. In the pilot, he seemed more harsh and threatening. I'm glad they toned him down. I also really liked the companions. Susan was hot and Barbara and Ian had a good chemistry together and Ian and the Doctor played well off each other.

002 - The Daleks (6 Parts). What can I say about the episode that put Dr. Who on the map and sent young boys and girls running for cover behind the nearest sofa. As Dr. Who celebrates 50 years in 2013, so do the Daleks. Happy birthday to the scariest creatures in the universe!

003 - The Edge of Destruction (2 Parts). I know this was a budget saving episode, but I really liked it. I like the TARDIS only episodes. I think it forces the writers to come up with something original.

004 - Marco Polo (7 Parts). I think I saw clips of this with "The Edge of Destruction," but I won't count that as watching the whole episode. Of course, this is one of the "lost episodes" but I was able to secure an audio copy. I plan to start tomorrow.

005 - Keys of Marinus (6 Parts). I did watch this on DVD and really didn't care for it too much.

006 - The Aztecs (4 Parts). My first "first doctor" episode besides "An Unearthly Child." I remember going in skeptical about William Hartnell, but coming out a huge fan. He's one of my favorites, but I find something good in each of the doctors (yes, even Colin Baker).

007 - The Sensorites (6 Parts). I have nooo idea what this is about, but my DVD is on the way.

088 - Reign of Terror (6 Parts). One of the historical episodes, this should be good. My DVD is coming with The Sensorites.

Well, that actually does it for the first season! I have my work cut out for me!