Story 7: "The Sensorites" Trivia Quiz

Answer: Three

When the Doctor, Susan, Ian and Barbara leave the TARDIS, they immediately discover two crewmembers apparently dead at their stations. Just as they decide to leave, one of the crewmembers awakens, and together they revive the other. Introducing themselves as Maitland and Carol, astronauts from the 28th century, they tell their visitors about how the Sensorites have prevented them from leaving the Sense-sphere area of space, and how they have influenced their minds.

Barbara and Susan leave the bridge to find some water, and encounter the third crewman, John, whose mind has been totally taken over by the Sensorites.

The Doctor's companions are his granddaughter Susan Foreman (played by Carole Ann Ford) and her teachers Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill) and Ian Chesterton (William Russell).

The three humans from the 28th century were played by Lorne Cossette (Maitland), Ilona Rodgers (Carol), and Stephen Dartnell (John).

Answer: Molybdenum

Episode two "The Unwilling Warriors" gives some background to why the Sensorites are hostile towards visitors. It turns out that the Sense-Sphere had been previously visited by five humans. They, too, found the planet rich with molybdenum and ended up fighting with each other to the point that their spaceship exploded in orbit with two of them on board.

The fate of the other three is unknown, but it assumed by the Sensorite leadership that they had hidden themselves on board as well, since they were not seen again. Since then, a sickness has been present on the planet that the Sensorites have been unable to cure.

Answer: Susan Foreman

At first, Susan and Barbara both try to help John (the crew member whose mind had been totally usurped by the Sensorites) by disrupting their hold on him by projecting their thoughts at the Sensorites. From that point it turns out that Susan can actually hear and understand the telepathic thoughts of the Sensorites, and they decide to keep Susan for themselves.

Answer: Darkness

The Doctor makes the observation that in the normal light level of the spaceship, the Sensorites' pupils are open all the way, so he concludes that darkness - even low levels of light - would blind them and make them unable to function. At the beginning of the third episode, "Hidden Danger", when the Sensorites want to take Susan down to the planet, The Doctor turns out the lights, incapacitating the two aliens.

Rather than press the advantage, the Doctor turns the lights back on and proceeds to parlay with the Sensorites, coming to an agreement that will bring them all down to the Sense-Sphere, as well as a promise that they will try to cure John.

It is later revealed that loud noise is also difficult for the Sensorites to bear.

Answer: The City Administrator

Despite the First Elder's intention to confer peaceably with the visitors, the Second Elder expresses doubts. Even so, the Second Elder, displaying trust in the First Elder, accedes to his decision. The City Administrator, however, disregards both the First and Second Elders, and makes plans to disintegrate the Doctor and his companions when they sit at the conference table.

In the nick of time, the Second Elder (who knew of the City Administrator's plan to have the disintegrator ready 'just in case') comes and stops them.

The First Elder was played by Eric Francis, the Second Elder by Bartlett Mullins, and the City Administrator by Peter Glaze.

Answer: Ian Chesterton

The guests had been served with water from the general aqueduct, rather than from the crystal spring reserved for the Elder caste. Ian is the only one to drink the water before it can be replaced by crystal spring water, and within minutes he has fallen ill. Upon inquiry, the Doctor learns that none of the Elder caste has experienced the mysterious disease, while it affects the other castes randomly. From this, the Doctor deduces that it must be the water supply that is the source of the disease.

Ian falling ill happens at the end of the third episode (the requisite cliffhanger), and efforts to deal with it happens in episode four, "A Race Against Death". Thankfully, an antidote is created to cure Ian, also to be manufactured to help the Sensorite population.

Answer: Ten

The population is served by ten different aqueducts, and the Doctor surmises that, since the poison had not been previously detected, different locations must have been dosed at different times. With proof of a current location being poisoned, the Doctor insists on exploring the aqueduct. He is warned of monsters in the darkness, but ignores the warning and carries on.

Answer: Carol

Most of the episode covers the Doctor, Ian and Susan's attempts to determine the source of the aqueduct poisoning, as well as following the machinations of the City Administrator, who impersonates the Second Elder, then later kills him and tries to pin it on the humans. At the end of the episode, as a cliffhanger, Carol is snatched away, just as John (now healed) remembers who the evil Sensorite was that he had sensed when his mind was controlled by the aliens.

It is not long, though, before she is recovered, and the accomplice of the City Administator (now the Second Elder) is captured.

Answer: Barbara and John

Maitland remained aboard the spaceship, so was not available to mount a rescue. Barbara takes one of the Sensorite mind-transmitter devices so that she can communicate with Susan, who is able to use her telepathic abilities and relay information to them about the aqueduct map, and to keep abreast of their progress on finding Ian and the Doctor.

Answer: They return to Earth with Maitland, John and Carol

Too much time on the Sense-Sphere without adequate understanding of how to protect their minds left the three survivors insane and fighting an imaginary war. Captain Maitland graciously agrees to return them to Earth.

With the proof of the altered aqueduct map and tampered-with weapons, the Second Elder (formerly the City Administrator) is banished.