Dr. Who and the Daleks

The Dr. Who movie. What a different kind of beast. I think in some ways, this can be described as Doctor Who’s first proper spin-off media. It’s also recently (re)gained some attention because of its HD Blu-ray releases and the discovery of a third movie script. So, considering I’ve now personally seen both the original stories in the show and the adaptation is “all the rage”, this is as good a time as any to take a look.

 

This story is an adaptation of the original “The Daleks” story for the big screen. It’s pretty clear from the outset that no prior knowledge of the show should be required for viewing. This makes a more critical look tough. On the one hand, it is adapted from existing media that has now lasted for almost 60 years. On the other, it does some thing very differently than the show. So, in some places comparison might be justified, while in others, we should probably take it at face value. I think this’ll show when we review.

 

We start off in an everyday living room. This scene is important, because all the character establishment happens here. We see Dr. Who sitting in a chair, reading a comic book. After that we see 2 girls reading thick scientific material. Assumptions can be made right of the bat. Dr. Who will probably a bit childish, while the 2 girls will be very smart. It’s a nice contrast.

 

Through conversation, we quickly learn the dynamic with these 2 girls. The youngest one, around 8 if I had to guess, is called Susan. Dr. Who is her grandfather and often lovingly refers to her as “Suzie”. The other girl, a late teen, is called Barbara. She’s also a granddaughter of the good Dr., Currently waiting for her boyfriend Ian to arrive.

 

Ian enters the scene head first, as he stumbles and rams his head into a grandfather clock. Soon after, he sits on chocolate. It’s pretty clear he is a klutz. Hopefully a loveable one. That’s really all there is to say about him.

 

Lastly, we have our main attraction: Dr. Who himself. As mentioned, original impressions are childish. In conversation he shows a very optimistic tone, always talking like he’s trying to broaden the mind of a child. It’s charming. He has a clear love of science that has clearly carried over onto his two granddaughters and also loves explaining scientific concepts.

 

That love of science also carries over when we’re introduced to his greatest invention. A ship called Tardis, that’s bigger on the inside. On the outside, it looks like a police box, while inside looks like a laboratory. The Interior of this Tardis is very busy, being filled with wires, orbs and other science mumbo-jumbo. It matches Dr. Who’s cluttered mind well and is an interesting contrast to the sterile and clean tardis we’re used to. An interesting part of the Tardis is also the doors, which are police box shaped, like the modern Tardis in the show has.

 

The Doctor is proud of his invention, and goes into a full speech about the science behind Tardis on an almost molecular level. Which can be seen as technobabble, but does also reinforce character. Interestingly, very little is actually mentioned about Tardis’s capabilities to travel to time and space. If you didn’t know that before heading in, I don’t think the movie catches you up on that very well. After an accidental bump into a lever, Tardis takes off.

 

However, when we land on the planet Skaro, the story takes a really odd turn. I hope you liked the original content we had until now, because the movie now decides to copy the TV show almost completely. It’s shocking how much of a shift this is. All the moments from the original story are here in almost the exact same way. The party wants to leave, but the Doctor messes with the fluid link, they go to the Dalek city, they get captured, Susan has to go into the jungle alone to save them. It’s beat for beat the same story.

 

And that’s why I mentioned that looking critically is tough. Yes, this is an adaptation of the original episode, so it makes sense to use moments from it. But until this exact point, the story had a way more original approach. It tried to do its own thing. Can I fault it if it suddenly stops doing that?

 

I do think I’ve found my answer for that. Let’s look at it this way: We now have basically the same story, but with a different foundation. The problem is that this old story does not line up with the new characters we’ve just established. We have a mismatch between the new and the old. And I do think that is something we can fault it for.

 

2 scenes in particular feel off with the new dynamics we have established. Namely the introduction of the Daleks and the radiation sickness in the party. Let’s look at those in more detail to show how the new foundation influences these events.

 

First is the introduction of the Daleks. Aesthetically, it’s great! They’re varied, colorful and appear in large numbers. They have different kinds of arm attachments, colors and even their balls vary in color. Love the look. But besides that, they’re never properly established as a threat. In the TV show, we get a few scenes to show the danger they present. Think of the now iconic scene where Barbara is fleeing in a first-person perspective. Okay. She is scared, so we should probably be too. Movie Barbara also screams, but its because a door closes behind her. Considering we know she’s very smart, why does this trigger something for her? We never get an answer.

 

The same happens with Ian. In the TV show, Ian, being the protector of the group, is shot down and paralyzed. The greatest hero in the last story is literally brought to his knees in seconds. That establishes some danger! That’s a threat! Movie Ian is also shot down, but he is shot while trying to flee. Now Ian isn’t a hero, but a whimp. This is just typical behavior for him. Fall to the floor, ram you head into a clock, Just Ian being Ian. This does nothing to establish the Daleks. Ian’s new personality is in the way.

 

The second moment where the new characterization and the plot mismatch, is in the radiation poisoning. First of all, the idea of radiation is pretty poorly explained, just like the time and space travel. We have 1 mention of a Geiger counter having a high reading, but no implications are mentioned. Reactions to this are also weak, with only Ian muttering an “Oh, well” before moving on.

 

And that clashes later when the radiation is supposed to be a driving force in the story. The difference is night and day. On TV, the Doctor was very weak and sluggish throughout. Learning that he had radiation poisoning made sense and explained his odd, slow and weak behavior. Movie Dr. Who however, is just acting with his childish scientist persona set up at the beginning. There’s no sign of radiation anywhere. Sure, he sometimes throws in a complaint, but he always stays energetic until the story suddenly requires that he lays down. It’s quite jarring.

 

And besides personality clashes, sticking to the original script also has other consequences for the movie. Mainly in pacing. It goes through all the motions of what was originally 6 episodes of television. This includes the original content that was mostly padding, like an extensive scene of Ian and Barbara exploring a cave system with the Thaals. This would’ve been the moment to be selective. This isn’t an audience that watches 20 minute pieces of a larger narrative for weeks, this is a 90 minute movie. It could stand to lose a few parts, so it can move a bit faster. I’m pretty sure no one went into the movie hoping that they would run through caves again. So maybe tone it down. Make it match that original creativity that the opening showed.

 

This might sound quite hateful, but it’s not like the movie is bad. It’s just worse at telling the same story. And that is because it is the exact same story instead of something more fitting. That doesn’t make the movie irredeemable though. It’s a visual spectacle with great setwork. When Susan enters the jungle alone, she has to walk over this huge slope. Absolutely massive. Which reinforces the idea of the small child entering the big world alone. The Dalek Empire also matches the colorful designs the creatures have, even if some of it is just weird cellophane taped to the wall. Still, it’s bombastic and very memorable. And that salvages the movie a bit. Is this definitive version of the original story? Absolutely not. But it looks absolutely grand. I urge you to go look up some screenshots to see the strong visual style this movie had. That can’t hurt.

 

Besides that, though, I wouldn’t make this your first viewing of either ‘The Daleks’ or ‘Doctor Who’ as a whole. As a second viewing though… Why not? If you are familiar with the original Dalek tale, why not see it again while looking at some sets the TV show could only dream of? It’s doesn’t have the best story, the best doctor or the best enemies, but it has its own charm and aesthetic that are worth seeing at least once. Even if it is just that one time.