Sensorite

Sensorite
Biological type:	Humanoid
Affiliated with:	Earth Empire
Place of origin:	Sense Sphere
First appearance:	The Sensorites
Appearances:	TV: The Mind of Evil PROSE: The Monsters from Earth COMIC: Psychic Paper Inc Claims Department

Sensorites were a telepathic humanoid race native to the Sense Sphere.

Biology

The Sensorites possessed bulbous heads with large black eyes which had no eyelids and, according to the First Doctor, their eyes were also dilated. They had white whiskers around their mouths. They were sensitive to loud noise and feared the dark; due to a unique feature of their eyes, they were left blind in the dark as well as terrified. (TV: The Sensorites)

Culture

The Sensorites appeared almost identical, even to themselves. They wore accessories with their otherwise identical grey bodysuits to denote various ranks: (TV: The Sensorites)

• First Elder — Two crossing black sashes
• Second Elder — Single black sash
• City Administrator — Black collar
• Scientist — Swirling pattern insignia on chest
• Warrior — Three black bands on forearms

The Sensorites had shown the ability to both communicate verbally and telepathically though they appeared to used the latter more for private conversation or if they wish to converse with someone a great distance away, in which case they used a flat communication disc to their forehead.

They were able to receive quite well without the disc, but they did require it to send telepathic messages. The Sensorites had also shown that they could use their telepathy to control their crafts, or blank out the minds of other beings. The number of telepathic frequencies covering the surface of the Sense Sphere were numerous. However, they could be disoriented by a concerted mental attack.

When the Sensorites had their backs turned, it was difficult to see who was who, as Carol Richmond discovered when she inadvertently mistook the City Administrator for the Sensorite scientist who was treating John. (TV: The Sensorites)

History

A Sensorite Warrior using its telepathic powers. (TV: The Sensorites)

Early in their history, the Sensorites worshipped the Zilgans, since they lived in the darkness that they feared. They would feed them criminals and would be left on their own. The First Doctor accidentally arrived on the planet in a cave of a Zilgan. He was able to kill it. When the Sensorites learned of this, they planned to kill him. With the help of Tony and Amy Barker, he was able to scare them off by shouting and was able to escape. (PROSE: The Monsters from Earth)

In the 28th century, an exploration mission from the Earth Empire made contact with the Sensorites and attempted to exploit their world's mineral wealth. The humans appeared to die when their spacecraft exploded and the Sensorites began to suffer a plague shortly afterwards.

Years later, when a second exploration mission from Earth arrived, the Sensorites feared they would also attempt to exploit them and held them prisoner aboard their own ship. The situation was resolved by the First Doctor and his companions, who made peace between the Sensorites and the humans, and revealed that the plague was actually atropine (or Atropa belladonna) poisoning caused by the insane survivors of the first expedition. (TV: The Sensorites)

Lucie Miller encountered the Sensorites during her travels with the Monk. She later told the Eighth Doctor that they were "not as much of a laugh" as the "well bonkers" Roman Emperor Caligula. (AUDIO: The Resurrection of Mars)

Other information

The War Doctor suggested the Sensorites, among other telepathic races, as possible creators of the psychic Anima device. (AUDIO: A Thing of Guile)

When cyborg hacker Psi was attempting to protect Clara Oswald from the Teller, he ensured that it would focus on his guilt by uploading the memories of some of the worst criminals in history, one of them being a Sensorite. (TV: Time Heist)

Behind the scenes

• Russell T Davies has acknowledged the Sensorites as an influence on the basic concept of the Ood in The Impossible Planet and The Satan Pit. Computer read-outs (TV: Planet of the Ood) and a mention by Davies in an episode commentary revealed that the Ood Sphere and Sense Sphere are part of the same star system.