After the success of the first film version of the British television series Doctor Who, a sequel was in the works.  A year later, Daleks Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. was released.  Only two of the actors returned for the sequel, and fortunately it was the two that were the highlight of the first film.  The budget was increased as well, which resulted in some terrific special effects sequences.

Now, if you’ve been a fan of the television series, you need to put aside everything you know about the Doctor (portrayed by Peter Cushing).  He is not an alien from another world known as a Time Lord.  Instead, this Doctor is a human scientist who has invented the TARDIS as a time traveling machine.  Susan (portrayed by Roberta Tovey) is still the Doctor’s grand-daughter but she is much younger than the Susan of the William Hartnell years of the television series.  Accompanying him here as well is a niece named Louise (portrayed by Jill Curzon).

The TARDIS ends up in the year 2150 with the Doctor, Susan and Louise.  Susan is still his grand-daughter, and Louise is introduced as his niece.  Along for the ride is a policeman named Tom (portrayed by Bernard Cribbins) whom they picked up by mistake just before departing London in the current time period.

When they emerge from the TARDIS, they find London in ruins.  As they begin surveying the landscape, they become separated.  Susan and Louise are picked up by survivors who hide among the underground tunnels.  The Doctor and Tom are captured by robo-men, who are doing the bidding of the Daleks.  The Daleks are using human labor in mines as well.  This is where they are shipping off the Doctor and Tom.

For much of the film, the group remains separate, until both scheme to meet in Watford where the Bedford mine is located.  There they uncover the ultimate plan of the Daleks and formulate a plan to save the human survivors and the planet.

Daleks Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. feels not all that much different from the first film, and perhaps that is the problem.  The producers wanted to capitalize on the popularity of the Daleks as a villain, so they trotted them out once again.  A different villain might have brought enough of a difference to the film to make it more interesting.  Instead, many scenes feel like a repeat of what’s been seen before.  The Dalek speech doesn’t feel right compared to what it was in the series either.  It seems a bit slower, and drags out scenes noticeably.

I can’t really fault the acting as the actors are only doing the best the can with material that is largely substandard.  Cushing is fine as the Doctor, but he doesn’t really get to build or advance anywhere from the character we saw in the first film.  He’s a great departure from the Hartnell-era character who was more of the crabby forgetful grandfather where Cushing has a kindly, bumbling way to him.  However, with some of the terrific Doctors seen in the ensuing years, he doesn’t come off as written all that well.  Tovey is once again excellent as Susan, but she isn’t given nearly as much to do as in the first film and several moments she has on the screen were the moments where the worst plot-holes reared up.  Jill Curzon is pretty forgetful in her role as the niece, and considering she wasn’t even used as a potential romantic interest for Tom, they could have left this character out completely.  Cribbins does get some good moments in his role as well as moments of comic relief necessary to keep the film from becoming too melodramatic.  The rest of the cast are the usual throw-away characters seen in the serial stories from the series.  Some work, some don't, all are pretty forgettable.

I mentioned plot-holes and there are many in the story.  The Doctor Who series has always had pretty good writing, and when the plot-holes did come up, they were generally forgivable.  The main one for me was when Susan and the rebels are getting ready to depart for Watford as it’s become too dangerous where they are.  Susan writes a message on the wall of their hideout to tell the Doctor where they went. Well, if it's not safe for them to stay where they are because of the Daleks, then why does Susan leave a message for the Doctor letting him know exactly where they are going?  Can't the Daleks see that if they find the hide-out?  It just didn’t make sense at all and was totally unnecessary as it doesn’t factor into the four members of the TARDIS coming together again later on.

As with the first film, I found the music to be completely annoying. Loud music accompanies everything.  This gave the film a feeling similar to a cheesy 1970's cop show.  Where the film does get high marks are the production values, which are actually pretty high considering the series.  The sets have obviously had some money put into them, as have the effects.

The reception the second film received wasn’t as good as the first, which was why a third film which was already in the planning stages was never made.  I can’t say that’s a shame. The world would have been much worse off had the movies managed to take over from the television series, which lives on to this day.  As for Daleks Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D., it’s not canon to the television series, so it’s not necessary to view.  Only fans of the series who really feel a need to view this should see it, as it disappoints more than it dazzles.



DVD Extras:

• Trailer
• Poster and Still Gallery
• A History of Doctor Who
• Peter Cushing Bio




© 2009 Patti Aliventi

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