Dr. Who: Daleks Invasion Earth 2150

There are some fans who think that The Dalek Invasion of Earth is much better than The Daleks. Personally, I don't understand why people think this. To my mind Dalek Invasion of Earth was a terribly padded and badly realised serial. I suppose because I don't have an high opinion of the original televised story, I feel that the movie Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 is able stand up against it, despite its faults.

The big advantage that Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 has over the original story is the removal of all the excessive padding. It is quite impressive how the movie offers a fast-paced recreation of the story in just ninety minutes.

Peter Cushing agreed to do a sequel to the first film only on condition that Roberta Tovey reprised her role as the young Susan. This was a good thing, as Roberta Tovey is very much the glue that holds both movies together. Both Cushing and Tovey are on top form in the sequel. Especially impressive is the way that Tovey builds a strong rapport with Andrew Keir (Wyler).

Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 introduces two new supporting characters for Dr. Who. The first is his niece, Louise Who (Jill Curzon). Curzon is much better than the instantly forgettable Jenny Linden from Dr. Who and the Daleks, but her character contributes almost nothing to the plot. The film also introduces policeman Tom Campbell, played by the legendary Bernard Cribbins. As with the casting of Curzon, Cribbins is an enormous improvement on Roy Castle, though again the part is primarily about comic relief. The resolution of his sub-plot through time travel at the end makes no logical sense, though I doubt many viewers would have cared.

The film has a light comic tone in a lot of places, some of the scenes on the saucer coming close to slapstick. The Robomen regrettably come across as comical, quite different to the frightening zombie concept of the original, however badly realised the original Robomen were. Nevertheless, the film still retains something of the grimness of the original story. It is absolutely wonderful to see Philip Madoc bringing his talent for villainy to the spiv Brockley.

It is unfortunate that the film has the same failing as the original serial in the lack of any futuristic elements. The characters dress like it is the 1960s and the buildings all look old. At least in The Dalek Invasion of Earth, there was a line about colonies on Mars.

Just like the first film, we get those wonderful coloured Daleks with the big flashing headlamps. Whatever faults the movies have, they are worth watching just for the Daleks. As I said before, I think it is wonderful that the current series paid tribute to the movies with the fab New Paradigm Daleks.

Dr. Who and the Daleks (movie)

Dr. Who and the Daleks- bigger budget, bigger studios, all-star cast. You might expect it to be so much more amazing than the t.v. original. Remarkably, it is not. We might not be surprised that The Daleks had a stronger and more thoughtful script and better conceived characters than Dr. Who and the Daleks, but we might expect Dr. Who and the Daleks to be far more impressive on a visual level. Nevertheless, the film shows to demonstrate how much more resourcefully the BBC original uses the limited resources it had available. For instance, although the Dalek city in the movie has a big and impressive entrance, it has no model shot like the original, thus there is no sense that this is any more than just one building. The movie Dalek city just looks like one small factory from the outside. The interior sets of the city in the movie are bigger, but the corridors lack the surreal menacing quality of the t.v. story.

The making of this story in colour reveals just how much the Sixties series benefited from being in black and white. The forest in The Daleks appears dark and menacing. In Dr Who and the Daleks, it looks pathetically small. The same with the caves. You can barely see the tunnels in The Daleks and so one's imagination allows one to conceive of it as massive. The cave set in the movie appears much smaller because it is more visible.

The film utterly fails to capture the depth of the original story. Themes about war and pacifism are touched upon in the movie, but not to the same extent as the serial. Even more unsatisfying, the characters have been altered beyond recognition. The Dr. Who is no longer a scary and mysterious figure, but a kindly old inventor. Susan is the kind of annoying overly clever child that populates many family movies. Ian is no longer a credible character, but a comic slapstick idiot. Barbara is a helpless blonde who seems to be barely acknowledged by even her boyfriend. The fun, comic mood of the movie may make for good entertainment on a wet Saturday afternoon, but it does show its distance from the original source.

Lead actor Peter Cushing puts in a rather impressive performance as Dr Who, though given his enormous talent, this should hardly be surprising. Playing Dr. Who was a role that he enjoyed immensely. He certainly did not feel that the role was beneath him. Roberta Tovey shows very notable talent as a child actress here. Jennie Linden is unfortunately quite forgettable as Barbara Who. She fails to generate any real interest at all. It is rather telling that Ian does not appear to show very much interest in her at all. He seems to pay more attention to her little sister most of the time! The late Roy Castle himself does not impress as Ian either. His comic performance is just too slapstick for the character to be taken at all seriously.

I do love the Daleks in this film. They look really great, even if they lack the negative effect when zapping people. Having them in different colours makes them look so much more surreal, reflecting their kitsch 60s vibe. I am really disappointed by fan reactions to the New Paradigm Daleks. I thought it was fantastic the way the new Daleks paid tribute to the coloured movie Daleks and also the 60s toys. I have a very real fear that the fab new Daleks will be quietly dropped from the show.



Dr. Who and the Daleks is an enjoyable film that one can watch occasionally, but for me its clear failings are a testament to the strength of the original serial. To my mind, there are far too many fans who are quick to dismiss the merits of The Daleks. Watching Dr. Who and the Daleks ought to demonstrate just how strong the second serial of Doctor Who really was.