Dr Who & the Daleks (1965)

 

No one could have predicted that the BBC serial 'Dr Who' would become such a cultural phenomenon ànd the longest running science fiction series in the history of television. Although it is not hard to see how this became such a juggernaut, as the fanciful stories often made up for poor production quality (because of a paltry budget) with imagination and with decent leads. In order to get the series launched worldwide, they even released two films, of which this is the first. 

But is it a bit of a beast of a different colour, to be sure. It is also extremely 60s in every way. 

For those who have seen the series, this is literally a retelling of the first 'Dalek' arc, so don't expect anything new. Well, besides the setup, which is completely out of left field: here, Dr Who is just a absent minded old man who happens to have cobbled together a space-time machine and due to a bit of a clumsy start, he, his two granddaughters and one boyfriend (of the eldest daughter, not of the doctor. The world wasn't ready to be normal in accepting everyone just yet, alas) are catapulted across space and time to an alien planet. 

Yes, it is Skaro. Yes, that means diddly if you don't know the lore. No, it doesn't really matter anyway. 

Turns out this planet is highly irradiated and when our protagonists head into a strange city, they are captured by science fiction's most menacing pepperpots: the Daleks. These are beings that are now encased in armour, as they can't survive outside of their protective casing. But there is also a race of more humanoid creatures on this planet, the Thals. The Daleks hate them with every ounce of their being and want nothing but to - shall we say it in unison? - EXTERMINATE everyone. So our heroes try to put a stop to this devious plan, make friends with the Thals and head back home for a nice cup of tea and wait for everything else to blow over. 

The big draw back then was the fact that everything was now presented in vibrant colour, and boy, is it vibrant. Most colours feel oversaturated and expecially the Daleks look downright flashy. It's their bling in various colours, most striking are the main Daleks, one of which is black and gold and the other red and gold; more interesting than the blue and grey most of them are painted with. The Thals are dressed in yellow and green, with funky blonde wigs and dashing eyeliner. They are aliens, after all. Don't expect much in terms of special effects, as that wasn't a thing back then. Heck, the firing of the Daleks' gun is a blast from an extinguisher. 

So yes, it's all rather demure and not truly spectacular, which is a shame, as they might have gone a bit beyond the series instead of just opting for colour. The acting is mostly fine, but it is obvious that Peter Cushing as the titular character has the best portrayal. But the ditzy grandfather does grow tedious after a while. What also works against this film, is that they fly through the story with little or no backstory, character development or anything else. The series built everything better, here you're just supposed to jump in, but in their haste the makers forgot some minute sense of exposition and world building. Oh, and it's all extremely obviously indoor sets. The petrified forest looks pretty atrocious and the Dalek city is mostly the same corridor over and over, with just one bigger control room that doesn't feel as otherworldy as we'd want. 

As a historical nugget, this is okay, but as a film in its own right, it is rather boring and bland. The series did it better with this story. Maybe only watch it if you can't get enough of that sweet, sweet Dalek chrome, otherwise you're better off twiddling your knobs elsewhere.