Dr. Who and the Daleks (1966)

First of Two Big Screen adaptations of the Popular and extremely Long Running TV Show (800 episodes and counting). Most Fans of the Series seem to give this a Grudging Pass. Many Things were Altered from the Show but the general Nonsensical Whimsy and Gaudy Low-Budget Effects are in Evident.Viewed from a Non-Cultists and Naive Perspective, except for a Psychedelic Color Palette and Surreal Sets, the Movie might be Insufferable to some. The Most Glaring is the Voice of the Daleks. Grating, Throbbing, Ear-Piercing Icepicks, the Dialog from these Salt and Pepper Shakers is a Headache Inducement.The Look of the Movie is that of a No-Budget TV Show Enhanced for the Big Screen. Exactly What it is. While it does have Artistic Flare, the Film is so Juvenile and Uninteresting with its Condemnation of Pacifism, Slapstick Humor, and Dull Pacing with Ridiculous Action Scenes, the Film just Limps along Until it's Over.Worth a Watch as a Curioso and Viewed with a Tolerance for its Big Screen Changes, it might Entertain with a bit of Nostalgia for those that were there at the Time. But most, including Die-Hard Followers of the Series, will most likely Reluctantly Nod and Move On, but other more Critical Purists will Not Be so Kind.

Lots of (I assume) youngsters brought up on the absolutely DREADFUL modern Dr Who shows commenting here. I saw this movie at the cinema as a very young child and loved it. It has an eerie atmosphere all of its own. Peter Cushing was born to play the movie Dr Who. There is a mixture of (mild) terror, comedy, and sci-fi interest here. I was enchanted by the petrified forest and the long shot of the Dalek city in the distance. I see nothing wrong with the acting or the Dalek voices. And those that find it slow paced are missing the point of the whole movie. What a shame that these days Dr Who has sunk to the depths that it has. It's like watching a sci-fi version of Eastenders. UGH!!

Early series of Dr. Who are renowned for their cheap sets and dodgy special effects but you'd think they might have made a bit more of an effort for the character's first big screen outing; although other reviews on IMDb claim that the film features better production values, I just don't see it, the use of a few lava lamps as decoration and a rotating plywood computer qualifying as rather crap in my book. Plywood (or possibly chipboard) also seems to feature rather heavily in the construction of the Dalek's city (sprayed gold to look alien, of course) and the inside of the Tardis, while the film's larger studio sets are completely lacking in atmosphere.In addition to the crap set design (seriously… lava lamps?), the film suffers from an incredibly dull script (the plot dumbed down for a younger audience), a baffling performance from the usually reliable Cushing who portrays the Doctor as a doddery old git, Dalek's that use fire extinguishers as weapons, a pathetic race of peaceful aliens, the males of which wear make-up reminiscent of Boy George circa his clubbing days, and a very silly ending that sees the Daleks counting down from 100 before using their most devastating weapon, giving the good guys plenty of time to spoil their plans. The less said about Roy Castle as comedy relief, the better. I only hope that the follow-up movie, Daleks' Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D., lives up to my fond childhood memories.

Yo, this movie's title: the main character in Doctor Who is named The Doctor. The shark in Jaws is not named Jaws; the main character of Die Hard is not named Die Hard. So, this film joins the ignoble ranks of Krakatoa, East of Java, &...no, wait, that's the only other one I can think of...as a film to make a goof right there in its title. This should be a clear warning flag to fans of the show regarding how much respect the material is afforded: Peter Cushing plays this "Dr. Who" as some sort of kindly old professor, & apparently, this film also believes he's human, not Time Lord. The entirely unmenacing Daleks have been downgraded from hate-driven killing machines to something more reminiscent of inept Bond villains, constantly trying to capture - not kill - "Dr. Who", occasionally puffing some sort of gas that does nothing & colliding with each other. In spite of all that, though, there is some sort of enjoyable Hammer alchemy going on here. Pretend that it's just some SF film with nothing to do with the Doctor Who series, & it's a mildly diverting ninety minutes. That's really the best course of action in watching this.