The Commander was the leader of an exploration mission from the Earth Empire in the 28th century.
Biography[]
The Commander made contact with the Sensorites and discovered that the Sense Sphere was rich in molybdenum. At some point during his mission, he and his crew experimented with the Sensorite mind transmitters and were driven insane, believing themselves to be at war with the Sensorites. Two of his crew deserted them in the spaceship, which the Commander destroyed. The surviving three crew members hid in the caves beneath the Sensorites' aqueduct. They began adding atropine to their water supply in the hopes of killing them all and claiming the planet for themselves. Their scheme was discovered by the First Doctor and they were taken into custody by the Chief Warrior. Maitland's crew agreed to return the Commander and his men to Earth. (TV: The Sensorites [+]Peter R. Newman, Doctor Who season 1 (BBC1, 1964).)
Appearance[]
The years that the Commander spent living on the Sense Sphere left him with long hair and a long beard. His face was grey and stretched and he had a gleam of madness in his eyes. (PROSE: The Sensorites [+]Nigel Robinson, adapted from The Sensorites (Peter R. Newman), Target novelisations (Target Books, 1987).)
