The Doctor Who Collection (Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. / Dr. Who and the Daleks / Dalekmania)
In the mid-1960s, with Dalekmania sweeping Britain, BBC TV'sDoctor Whomaterialized on the silver screen.Doctor Who and the Daleksreplaced William Hartnell with Peter Cushing and remade the Daleks' TV debut with a much bigger budget in Technicolor and Techniscope. With his two granddaughters, Roberta Tovey and Jennie Linden (and Roy Castle along for comic relief), the Doctor becomes an intermediary in a conflict between the robotic Daleks and angelic Thals on the almost-dead world of Skaro. A huge hit on release, the film remains an enjoyable, well-produced family adventure, though somewhat lacking the menace of the TV original.Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.remakes the second Dalek TV serial and finds the Doctor and companions in a ravaged future London where a resistance movement has literally gone underground to fight the Nazi-like alien invaders. Peter Cushing once more makes a kindly, dependable Doctor, though Bernard Cribbins is given a cringe-making comedy routine impersonating a "roboman," and the jazzy soundtrack is wildly out of place. Nevertheless this is a superior sequel, offering lavish production values, better action set pieces, and a higher suspense and fear factor than its predecessor. The best moments remain surprisingly chilling even today.The three-DVD set includesDalekmania, a fun, very well made 1995 documentary running 57 minutes and recounting the production of both feature films. Included are interviews with various surviving cast members.Doctor Who and the Daleks--the first disc--has an affectionate commentary track with Roberta Tovey and Jennie Linden, hosted by Jonathan Southcote, author ofThe Cult Films of Peter Cushing. SadlyDaleks: Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.has no substantial extra features, but both films include the respective trailer presented anamorphically enhanced and a DVD-ROM reproduction of the relevant movie brochure. The mono sound is good and the sharp, vibrant, anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 transfers are all but flawless, making both films look good as new.--Gary S. Dalkin