Previously … The Day of Darkness …

Another six-part story begins with a strong episode.  It helps that we don’t see much of the aliens at this point, and we instead have the TARDIS crew in a confined set (the bridge of a spaceship) trying to work out what’s going on.

It falls down a little when the “scary John” character turns out to be someone who just wants a cuddle, and it gets confusing when the Sensorites steal the TARDIS lock before actually arriving on the ship, but otherwise it’s a good start to the story.

Again, Hartnell is on top form and we get to see some truly “Doctorish” moments when he has to step in to control the ship, and he’s fiddling with the flight controls while barking orders at Ian, Barbara, and the ship’s crew.  At last we get to see not only the Doctor’s intelligence, but a hint at his travelling (how else would he know how to fly the ship?).  It’s a little let down by the reveal that the Sensorites were probably only trying to scare them, and they wouldn’t have crashed anyway, but that’s a minor thing.

I have a recollection that the story, when it moves to the Sense Sphere, isn’t a great one, but the first episode is fine.  Later in the story it’s time for Jacqueline Hill to go on holiday for a fortnight.

Next time … The Unwilling Warriors