Well, what did you think? I thought it was an extremely good second episode (ah, that difficult second episode) that really built on the first. This story so far really reminds me of 'An Unearthly Child', the very first episode of the series. It has a modern feel and gives us a lesson in chemistry from Ian and one on cats eyes from the Doctor.
Stephen Dartnell is great as John who, it turns out, is the ship's meteorologist and has discovered something the Sensorites would rather keep secret. It's very effective when he's with Barbara and Susan and looks upward, straight to camera, when he's communicating with the Sensorites (rather like Turlough and the Black Guardian years later) and I like the way their motivation is partly explained. It makes them curious and three dimensional. It's amusing the way John has the same unkempt scarecrow look as Richard Hammond and there's a great gag about there being nothing wrong with having white hair from the Doctor.
Based on these episodes, it's a great shame that there was never another story from Peter R. Newman who, from I what I can gather, seems to have committed suicide in the late sixties. Perhaps John's turmoil reflects his own struggle with depression in some way, I don't know.
There are a couple of cruel bits of dialogue for the actors. Of all the minerals that could have been found on the Sense-Sphere fancy giving William Hartnell molybdenum! Everyone's hearts must have been in their mouths the whole story. Equally harsh was requiring someone in a monster mask to say "a fearful affliction"! I had to rewind just to make out the line. Did you?
It's great when Ian says "Come on, Barbara, let's find them." Here we have the two teachers taking control of a situation and going monster hunting. The slow mime that Ian does when he encounters the Sensorites preserves their mystery even longer. I hate it when baddies cough up the plot on their first encounter. I'm really not sure whether 'The Unwilling Warriors' of the title are the humans on the ship, our friends from the TARDIS or the two Sensorites sent up to investigate.
Finally, the Sensorites enter the bridge,
Susan and the Doctor reveal telepathic abilities, and there's a glorious scene when the Doctor demands the lock to the TARDIS back from them. Here we are again, another physical barrier to their escape. The episode ending feels believable and a natural next step in the plot - Susan is to be taken to the planet below.
Next episode: Hidden Danger
