Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

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


Doctor Who on DVD:


The First Doctor (William Hartnell) 

The Beginning Collection ~ The Keys of Marinus ~ The Aztecs ~ The Dalek Invasion of Earth ~ The Rescue/The Romans ~ The Web Planet ~ The Time Meddler ~ Lost In Time ~ The War Machines

The Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) 

Lost In Time ~ The Tomb of the Cybermen ~ The Mind Robber ~ The Invasion ~ The Seeds of Death ~ The War Games

The Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) 

Spearhead from Space  ~ Doctor Who and the Silurians ~ Inferno ~ The Claws of Axos ~ The Sea Devils ~ The Three Doctors ~ Carnival of Monsters ~ The Green Death ~ The Time Warrior 

The Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) 

Robot ~ The Ark in Space ~ The Sontaran Experiment ~ Genesis of the Daleks ~ Planet of Evil ~ Pyramids of Mars ~ The Brain of Morbius ~ The Hand of Fear ~ The Deadly Assassin ~ The Robots of Death ~ The Talons of Weng Chiang ~ The Horror of Fang Rock ~ The Invisible Enemy ~ The Invasion of Time ~ The Ribos Operation ~ The Pirate Planet ~ The Stones of Blood ~ The Androids of Tara ~ The Power of Kroll ~ The Armageddon Factor ~ Destiny of the Daleks ~ City of Death ~ The Leisure Hive ~ The E Space Trilogy ~ The Keeper of Traken ~ Logopolis 

The Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison) 

Castrovalva ~ Four to Doomsday ~ The Visitation ~ Black Orchid ~ Earthshock ~ Time-Flight ~ Arc of Infinity ~ Black Guardian Trilogy ~ The Five Doctors ~ Warriors of the Deep ~ Resurrection of the Daleks ~ The Caves of the Androzani 

The Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) 

The Twin Dilemma ~ Attack of the Cybermen ~ Vengeance on Varos ~ The Mark of the Rani ~ The Two Doctors ~ Timelash ~ Revelation of the Daleks ~ The Trial of a Time Lord

The Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) 

Delta and the Bannermen ~ Remembrance of the Daleks ~ Battlefield ~ Ghost Light ~ The Curse of Fenric ~ Survival 

The Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann) 

Doctor Who - The Movie

The Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) 

Doctor Who 2005 - The Complete First Series 

The Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) 

Doctor Who 2006 - The Complete Second Series ~ Doctor Who 2007 - The Complete Third Series ~ The Infinite Quest ~ Doctor Who 2008 - The Complete Fourth Series ~ The Next Doctor  ~ Planet of the Dead ~ The Waters of Mars ~ The Next Doctor ~ The End of Time

The Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith)

Doctor Who 2010 - The Complete Fifth Series


DOCTOR WHO MOVIES

The Doctor Who Collection: Doctor Who and the Daleks ~ Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.


OTHER RELATED SERIES:

Torchwood Series One ~ Torchwood Series Two ~ Torchwood Children of Earth

The Sarah Jane Chronicles




© 2009 Patti Aliventi

Recommended: No

Viewing Format: DVD