Dr. Who and The Daleks
Directed by Gordon Flemyng
Written by Milton Subotsky based on the BBC Television serial
1965/UK
AARU Productions/Amicus Productions
First viewing/FilmStruck
[box] Dr. Who: How interesting! This is most interesting![/box]
It’s about time I finally became acquainted with Dr. Who!
Dr. Who (Peter Cushing) is an elderly eccentric inventor who has just put the finishing touches on his masterwork – T.A.R.D.I.S. This looks like an ordinary police box but the interior reveals a gigantic laboratory and the mechanism that turns the device into a time machine. The doctor is about to demonstrate to his granddaughter Barbara, her boyfriend Ian, and a young granddaughter named Susan. Clumsy Ian bumps into the power button and sends the quartet to an unknown place and time.
This proves to be a planet devastated by nuclear war that left two sorts of inhabitants – evil Daleks, who protect their vulnerable innards with metal shells, and their enemies the Thals. Dr. Who must use all his ingenuity to save the day.
I may be the only sci-fi loving Anglophile on the planet who has never seen Dr. Who in any of its many iterations. This was a lovely introduction. Peter Cushing is fantastic as the lovable old doctor. The colorful sets are a blast. Recommended.
