STACK #213 July 2022

MOVIE FEATURE

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The BBC acquired a number of film Daleks for use in the series. Some of them appear in the story The Chase , which was broadcast prior to the opening of the first film. UK breakfast cereal brand Sugar Puffs co-financed the production of Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. in return for product placement in the movie, TV commercials featuring Daleks, and a tie-in giveaway to win a Dalek prop. Bernard Cribbins, who appeared in the second Dalek film, also played the grandfather of companion Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) during David Tennant’s reign as the tenth Doctor.

2150 A.D. , based on Nation’s second Dalek story for TV, The Dalek Invasion of Earth . With a bigger budget and an emphasis on action sequences, it’s easily the better film of the two and largely faithful to its television counterpart, although without

With the two DoctorWho feature films, Dr.Who and the Daleks and Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. , heading to 4K UHD, let’s take a look back at the big screen appearances by the Doctor’s greatest foes. Words Scott Hocking N owadays, it’s almost inevitable that a popular TV series will

TV Doctor William Hartnell was not a big name outside of the UK, so Peter Cushing – best known for his roles in the horror films from Hammer Studios – was cast to add international appeal, and the character was changed from an alien Time Lord to an eccentric human scientist who has invented a time and space machine in the shape of a police box, called the Tardis. Moreover, Cushing’s portrayal

the characters of Ian and Barbara. Instead, the Doctor’s niece, Louise (Julie Curzon), is part of the Tardis crew along with a British policeman (Bernard Cribbins) replacing Ian. The climax also differs from the TV version, which saw Susan leave the Doctor after falling in love with a freedom fighter. Despite being the superior feature, Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. wasn’t the hit that its predecessor was, and plans for a third film – an adaptation of the 1965 TV story The Chase – were abandoned. The two Dalek movies, while not being canon, are still an important part of Doctor Who history in that they remain the only two feature films to date to be spun off from the long running series. And while a mediocre telemovie popped up in 1996 starring Paul McGann as the eighth Doctor, it’s been over half a century since a Doctor Who film last graced the big screen – a fact that new series showrunner Russell T. Davies should take into consideration and remedy.

make the jump onto the big screen, but Doctor Who did it way back in the mid-1960s with two feature films – Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965) and Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (1966) – starring the legendary Peter Cushing as the Doctor. The introduction of the Daleks in the second Doctor Who TV story in 1963 – and their return the following year in The Dalek Invasion of Earth – resulted in a

was a gentler and kinder version of the character in contrast to Hartnell’s curmudgeonly Doctor. With the TV cast too busy working on the show to appear in the film, the roles of travelling companions Ian, Barbara and Susan went to Roy Castle, Jennie Linden and Roberta Tovey, respectively. Production commenced on Dr. Who and the Daleks in April 1965 at England’s Shepperton Studios and the film premiered in London on 23 August 1965 to big box office, becoming one of the highest grossing British films of 1965. The film’s promotion included sending several Daleks to invade the Cannes Film Festival, and one even made an appearance at a Sydney cinema. The film’s success saw production swiftly underway on the sequel, Daleks’ Invasion Earth

wave of ‘Dalekmania’ sweeping the UK, with the pepper pot villains appearing in comic books and toy stores nationwide and a legion of children waving sink plungers while shouting “Exterminate”. The Daleks’ phenomenal popularity presented the perfect opportunity to bring them to cinemas in glorious widescreen and Technicolor. Milton Subotsky and Max J. Rosenberg, founders of Amicus Productions – a British studio known for its horror and sci-fi output during the 1960s and ‘70s – secured the option to make a feature and two sequels from Dalek creator Terry Nation, with the first film, Dr. Who and the Daleks , being an adaptation of Nation’s original seven-part TV serial – albeit with some significant changes.

• Dr. Who and the Daleks is out on 4K, Blu-ray and DVD on July 13, with Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. to follow on August 31

20 JULY 2022

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