In 1963, a series appeared on British television called Doctor Who.  The premise was of an alien known as a Time Lord who traveled through the galaxy and time visiting far-off worlds as well as our very own Earth.  Right from the beginning, he had other people traveling with him.  In the beginning one was a grand-daughter from his own world and two teachers from Earth he accidentally picked up.  The original run of the show was still in black and white.

Following the success of the show, and in particular the frenzy over the villain in the series known as the Daleks, the movie rights to the series were exercised.  Based on the serial from the series simply called The Daleks, Doctor Who and the Daleks changed much of the premise of the show.  In fact, I hadn’t even heard of the film until I read about it in a review here.

In Doctor Who and the Daleks, the Doctor is not an alien Time Lord.  Instead, he is a kindle old grandfather who is also a scientist and inventor.  Portrayed by Peter Cushing, he and his two grand-daughters, Susan and Barbara (portrayed by Roberta Tovey and Jennie Linden) are living a quiet life in the U.K.  Ian (portrayed by Roy Castle) is currently courting Barbara.  The Doctor takes Ian out back and shows him his latest invention - the TARDIS.  Ian thinks the Doctor is a bit off his rocker until he opens the door and has a look inside.

As the four climb inside to view the invention, they inadvertently activate the TARDIS and are hurtled through time and space.  Ian doesn't believe the Doctor at first, until he opens the door of the TARDIS and has a look outside.  What's outside resembles a jungle of sorts.  After wandering around, they spot a city.  Ian and Barbara want to return home.

However, the TARDIS has malfunctioned.  The Doctor believes they will be able to find what they need in the city.  Unfortunately the city is inhabited by the evil Daleks.  The four have managed to end up on a planet in the midst of a civil war between the robotic Daleks in the cities and the humanoid  Thals living in the jungle.  The Thals were almost completely wiped out in the war and only a few pockets of them remain.

The best thing about Doctor Who and the Daleks is the production values.  The movie was filmed in Technicolor, so it has a vibrancy fans of the series wouldn’t see for a number of years yet.  The sets make the most of this, as do the Daleks, who are shown with different colors and designations that really make them stand out.  The city is a pretty impressive set, as is the Dalek ship.  The Thals themselves are more reminiscent of the cheap and cheesy production values that really serve to endear fans to the series.  They still look better than many of the creatures encountered on other planets that fans had seen at the time.  Taken in that context, they are fine.  Taken in the context of what we have seen in the ensuing years, they really don’t hold up all that well.

Peter Cushing is actually pretty good as the Doctor.  He portrays the bumbling scientist quite well and has a kindness to his two grand-daughters that seems genuine.  The problem is what they lost from the series which  was the degree of mystery about him and what he is keeping the audience hanging on to learn bits and pieces.  It’s not Cushing’s fault, it’s the writing that jettisoned a lot of what made the series good to dumb it down to movie audiences and try to gain bigger box office numbers.

Roberta Tovey as Susan provides a huge bright spot in the series, and those science-fiction writers who have tried to write a wunderkind could take a lesson here (cough, Star Trek The Next Generation’s Wesley Crusher).  She’s much younger than the Susan of the series and obviously quite intelligent, but doesn’t descend into the obnoxious child that knows more than all the adults around her and saves the day.  The young actress handles all that’s thrown at her quite well.

The music for the film is loud and obnoxious, with lots of brass.  It reminded me a lot of the Batman movie from here in the States around this same time and was one of the things that turned me off of the film.  It’s not subtle that adds to the feel of a scene without you even realizing it’s there.  I just kept wanting to turn down the volume.

There are some nice extras on the DVD, as there have been with the DVDs that are part of the series.  The commentary includes the two female lead actresses which provides a lot of insight into the film.

This is not considered to be canon by the series fans, but rather something that takes place in an alternate universe.  I’d just as soon they didn’t make it at all, but here we have it.  I can’t fault the actors, but it just doesn’t have the same feel as the series.  The color is definitely a plus, but it has lost much of the charm of the series and pandered to a different audience.  I’d watch it once for series fans, but it’s not necessary to have it in a collection of Doctor Who DVDs for a complete collection and I certainly wouldn’t see a need to ever watch it a second time.  I don’t think I’d even pause if I saw it on television while scrolling through what’s on.


DVD Extras:

• Commentary by Jennie Linden, Roberta Tovey and journalist Jonathan Sothcott
• Trailer
• Poster and Still Gallery
• A History of Doctor Who
• Peter Cushing Bio



© 2009 Patti Aliventi

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