- Broadcast:
- 20th June - 1st August 1964
- Doctor:
- William Hartnell
- Companions:
- Ian, Barbara, Susan
- Adversary:
- Sensorites
- Written by:
- Peter R Newman
- Director:
- Mervyn Pinfield, Frank Cox
- Music:
- Norman Kay
- Script Editor:
- David Whitaker
- Producer:
- Verity Lambert
- Average Viewers:
- 6.92m (7.9, 6.9, 7.4, 5.5, 6.9, 6.9)
The Sensorites has become a bit of a minor story over the intervening years as very few records remain in the archives and it simply doesn't get talked about. This is evident in the DVD extras (or relative lack thereof) and the brief career of its writer adds to that. It should not be completely overlooked however, as it contains some real quality and valuable points of canon and heritage - It is very possible that we would not have the Ood today if we didn't have the Sensorites first.
Essentially spanning July of 1964, The Sensorites came at a busy time in world history. No single major global incident, but plenty of events around the world that are worth noting. For example, American President Lyndon Johnson introduced the Civil Rights Act which abolishing racial segregation, there were six days of race riots in Harlem, and race riots in Singapore (between ethnic Chinese and Malays) while the Vietnam War was only approach its half way point. Malawi was given independence from the UK (and changed its name from Nyasaland) and former Prime Minister Winston Churchill retired from the House of Commons at the age of 89. In lighter news, the first close-up photographs of the Moon were taken by Ranger 7 - a thousand times clearer than anything ever seen from Earth, the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch was won by Jim Clark, the Warner Brothers Cartoon Division was shut down, and the Post Office Tower in London was completed - it would not begin operation until October 1965 but would go on to feature heavily in The War Machines in 1966. In music, country singer Jim Reeves died in a small plane crash, the Beatles returned home from America to an estimated crowd of 150,000 people which left 300 injured. At number one were Roy Orbison "It's Over", Animals "House Of The Rising Sun", Rolling Stones "It's All Over Now" and the Beatles's "A Hard Day's Night" began a run of three weeks at the top following the release of their film of the same name. Other films in the cinema included star studded black comedy What A Way To Go! and Seance On A Wet Afternoon which, in retrospect, has a number of elements that take an eerie turn when you think of the Moors Murders that were taking place at the time and searches that followed later (though it would be more than a year before they came to light)
Finally, before the review itself, between the broadcasts of episodes 4 and 5, on the 22nd July future companion Bonnie Langford was born, and on the 25th July straight after episode 5 viewers could see Carole Anee Ford on the Juckbox Jury panel for the third and final time! (It's also worth noting that episode 3 had been deliberately delayed to make way for an extended edition of Grandstand (hence the serial's seven week run when it only had six episodes)
Essentially spanning July of 1964, The Sensorites came at a busy time in world history. No single major global incident, but plenty of events around the world that are worth noting. For example, American President Lyndon Johnson introduced the Civil Rights Act which abolishing racial segregation, there were six days of race riots in Harlem, and race riots in Singapore (between ethnic Chinese and Malays) while the Vietnam War was only approach its half way point. Malawi was given independence from the UK (and changed its name from Nyasaland) and former Prime Minister Winston Churchill retired from the House of Commons at the age of 89. In lighter news, the first close-up photographs of the Moon were taken by Ranger 7 - a thousand times clearer than anything ever seen from Earth, the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch was won by Jim Clark, the Warner Brothers Cartoon Division was shut down, and the Post Office Tower in London was completed - it would not begin operation until October 1965 but would go on to feature heavily in The War Machines in 1966. In music, country singer Jim Reeves died in a small plane crash, the Beatles returned home from America to an estimated crowd of 150,000 people which left 300 injured. At number one were Roy Orbison "It's Over", Animals "House Of The Rising Sun", Rolling Stones "It's All Over Now" and the Beatles's "A Hard Day's Night" began a run of three weeks at the top following the release of their film of the same name. Other films in the cinema included star studded black comedy What A Way To Go! and Seance On A Wet Afternoon which, in retrospect, has a number of elements that take an eerie turn when you think of the Moors Murders that were taking place at the time and searches that followed later (though it would be more than a year before they came to light)
Finally, before the review itself, between the broadcasts of episodes 4 and 5, on the 22nd July future companion Bonnie Langford was born, and on the 25th July straight after episode 5 viewers could see Carole Anee Ford on the Juckbox Jury panel for the third and final time! (It's also worth noting that episode 3 had been deliberately delayed to make way for an extended edition of Grandstand (hence the serial's seven week run when it only had six episodes)
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