Title: DR Who and the Daleks
Director: Gordon Flemyng
Starring: Peter Cushing
Now fully restored, DR WHO AND THE DALEKS (1965) was the first big screen film adaptation of British TV's most iconic sci-fi hero, and was the first time Doctor Who ever seen in colour!
DR WHO AND THE DALEKS
British film legend Peter Cushing plays everyone’s favourite Timelord, and having invented the TARDIS, a strange machine capable of travelling into other dimensions, the Doctor and his three young accomplices set forth on a quest through time and space. They visit the planet Skaro, a primitive world that has been almost completely destroyed by nuclear war. Now it is home to two warring species: the Thals and the Daleks.
DALEKS' INVASION EARTH 2150 A.D.
It’s 2150 AD and earth is under the rule of the Daleks. Earth is a hostile and desolate place and the human race is on the brink of destruction – a once great civilisation now cowering in the shadows of their mighty and evil Dalek masters. However, deep underground, a resistance group exists. They have a plan, but they need a leader. Will The Doctor show up to lead them?
I’d never been a proper weekly fan of the TV series Dr Who until the 2000s reboot with Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper. But I’ve been tempted to watch earlier incarnations of the Doctor ever since and at every opportunity. Some of the older episodes, often in black and white, look rather dated in terms of picture quality, but here we have a fully restored colour version which looks really good.
The pacing of the older episodes can be, at times, very slow, but in these episodes with the Daleks things do seem to move along at a brisker more exciting pace and as always it’s the quality of the storytelling that impresses and keeps the viewer interested.
Older episodes of Doctor Who from the mid 60s especially certainly have fairly poor special effects but they always had engaging storylines to compensate. What is also interesting is uncovering some of the secrets of The Doctor’s earlier incarnations.
The slightly off-acting and occasionally stilted dialogue means that Dr Who is the 60s remains of its time, but despite that people are still watching it and enjoying it 45 years later. That’s got to say something about the quality or at the very least the nostalgic value of the series. And isn’t that what Dr. Who is all about – travelling to a different time period and experiencing life a little differently?
Extras: Restoring Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (new!) / Interview with Bernard Cribbins (new!) / Interview with Gareth Owen (new!) / Stills Gallery / Trailer
