Published: July 1987

Edition read: Target first, 1987

Coolest Cover: Nick Spender, I believe- all the important story elements are in place.

The TARDIS dematerialises with..."the familiar grinding noise"

Childhood Recollections: Fairly sure I read this on the same train as ‘The Space Museum’- certainly my copy is well-thumbed so I must have read it all the way through.

Ramblings: It’s interesting that Target should have chosen ‘The Sensorites’ to follow directly on from ‘The Space Museum’, not least because they have a certain amount in common in that from a mysterious and suspenseful first episode, both stories seem to lose their footing and end up either bizarre, silly or a combination of the two. The major difference, of course, is that whereas ‘The Space Museum’ was adapted by its original author Glyn Jones, ‘The Sensorites’ was effectively adopted by range editor Nigel Robinson, script writer Peter R Newman being deceased but the opportunity to adapt one of Doctor Who’s first attempts at creating a truly alien world being far too good to pass up.

Robinson’s take on the story is fundamentally straightforward and sensible, emphasising the suspense and mystery of the first two televised episodes and compressing events on the Sense-Sphere. In retrospect, the first third of the story is a masterpiece of economical and atmospheric writing, relying on the regulars, a couple of supporting actors and the half-seen Sensorites to sustain the drama, and Robinson renders this well. Once the action moves to the Sense-Sphere, events are driven by the two parallel plots of the City Administrator’s xenophobic attempt to seize power and the mystery of just what is going on in the aqueducts and causing the water to be poisoned. The televised story tends to lose its direction at this stage, skipping between the two threats while punctuating the drama with peculiar scenes designed to evoke an alien atmosphere but which often strike a wrong note or end up just sounding plain odd. Fortunately Robinson has a good ear for awkward dialogue which needs tinkering, removing or turning into reported speech, so that the emphasis is on the threats to the Doctor and his companions, and the end result is much more coherent and focused. He’s also rather better at bringing out the separate Sensorite characters than the original televised story was, so the City Administrator does emerge as an unsettling villain in his own right.

To return to the contrast with ‘The Space Museum’, Robinson’s adaptation is more sincere and respectful- as perhaps befits a writer adapting another’s work, rather than a script writer who might feel able to be more playful with his own story. It’s more even in tone and seems to believe more in the source material- a faithful adaptation cut down to length, rather than a fanciful one filled out. It’s the good, readable adaptation the story really needed, particularly when it wouldn’t see an official video release for nearly another twenty years, and brings out the story’s strengths and ideas while also downplaying the weaknesses of the original scripts- and thus ultimately a suitable tribute to Peter R. Newman’s original tale.