A Quick Look: DR. WHO AND THE DALEKS (1966 - color)

   Only a couple years into it's decades-long run, the British teleseries Doctor Who proved popular enough that plans were made to adapt "the Doctor" to the big screen. Naturally, this demanded some simplification of the character. Thus, the hero of DR. WHO AND THE DALEKS is not the mysterious alien professor but a human scientist who has built a time and space conveyance which transports himself and his family to the distant world of Scaro. There, he discovers a race of mutant humanoids being methodically slaughtered by the technologically-advanced Daleks -monstrous creatures encased in metal machines. The plot comes from a serial within the teleseries, a plot which saved the show from the slow death it was lingering into. The show was created under the mandate that it contain no flashy monsters, but focus instead on hard science fiction. The first few episodes limped along with nary a notice by television audiences. When the Daleks appeared, however, ratings shot up immediately. "Dalek-mania" soon had England in a tizzy. When the franchise was to be brought to theaters, it was a natural to use the Daleks for a starting point. The Daleks would make periodic re-appearances on the increasingly pulpy series, while DR. WHO AND THE DALEKS went on to become a super-smash at the box office. To play the more grandfatherly Dr. Who, popular genre star Peter Cushing was hired. A continuing film series was planned, but....

   After the success of DR. WHO AND DALEKS, the television series cashed-in with a story about a Dalek invasion of future London. This, in turn, was adapted to the big screen for DALEKS: INVASION EARTH -2150AD. This one saw Dr. Who and his family travel to a future where Daleks have come to Earth and taken over completely. A small remnant of mankind organizes resistance against the invaders who have enslaved most of the population and forced them to construct a base from which the Daleks can actually pilot the planet back to their own galaxy! The Daleks are a bit more menacing this time around, and the scenes of them infesting the bombed-out ruins of London are quite striking. The pace isn't quite as good this time around, though, and the fantastic plot doesn't feel fully exploited. The film stumbled out the gate, box office wise, and the planned series of Dr. Who adventures for the big screen was scuttled. The Daleks would continue to menace the television Doctor(s) for decades to come, but their brief foray into feature films* was over.

*(Actually, the Daleks do make a cute cameo in LOONEY TOONS: BACK IN ACTION, amid a number of other classic movie invaders. They're also included as one of several menaces faced by the Dark Night in THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE! Somewhat less effective was a British skin flick titled ABDUCTED BY THE DALEKS! Sounds like fun, but it's really not...)