1965 must have been an exciting time for Doctor Who fans, not only with the television series being on screen, but on the big screen, Dr Who was gearing up to battle the Daleks in cinemas and in glorious technicolour.
Ever since its 1965 release, Dr Who and the Daleks has enjoyed occasional television repeats, but nowadays it seems to be featured around Christmas time on some genuinely obscure television channels. However, on 7th September, Dr Who and the Daleks is coming to Talking Pictures TV.
For anyone who doesn’t know, Talking Pictures TV shows, primarily, old movies, but their selection of science-fiction and horror films are always excellent. I’ve really bulked up how many Hammer Horror movies I’ve seen thanks to them, as well as some genuinely great science-fiction films like The Thing From Another World and thrillers like Beware My Lovely.
I can vividly remember watching the first of the Dalek movies in the early 2000s, my Nan had recorded it on VHS — yes, VHS — for me and I loved it, even though we’d missed the beginning bit. So when I came to watch it properly on DVD many years later, you can imagine my confusion that the Doctor, or Dr Who as he’s called here, is a human professor who, with the help of his two granddaughters, Susan and Barbara, has invented a time machine, Tardis. When Barbara’s boyfriend, Ian, comes to visit, they find themselves travelling to the far away world of Skaro.
But I’ve really come to love that the writers of the movie had the guts to really change the dynamic of the Doctor and the companions. The cast are excellent too: Peter Cushing is instantly loveable as Dr Who and I’ve always found it very Doctorish that, while Barbara and Susan are reading science books, he’s digging into the latest issue of the Eagle! Jennie Linden, Roberta Tovey, and Roy Castle are also just as loveable as their different takes on their television counterparts.
As I’m sure you can tell, I love these movies, though it hasn’t announced yet if the follow up movie, The Dalek Invasion of Earth 2150 AD will get a television broadcast yet. But with Talking Pictures TV putting Dr Who and the Daleks on at the prime time slot of 7.40pm, hopefully enough people will tune in to either rewatch or see the Daleks in wonderful technicolour for the first time. And what glorious Daleks they really are!
Dr Who and the Daleks is on 7th September at 7.40pm on Talking Pictures TV.
