Doctor Who accidentally activates his new invention “Tardis” (Time And Relative Dimensions In Space), a time machine made to look like a telephone booth. Together with his granddaughters Susan and Barbara and their friend Ian, he is transported through time to the planet Skaro, which has been devastated by nuclear war. Soon the time travelers discover a metal city where the peaceful Thal race is oppressed by the planet’s other inhabitants, the mutant robot Daleks…

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In fact, I don’t know what historical or artistic importance is present in this film, it’s not even clear what its purpose is. What is it, an addition to the TV series, or a relaunch with the expectation of the masses in the form of a movie? Personally, I mean the latter, and if so, I will review this movie as a reboot of the classic series.

Plot-wise, the film takes as its basis the second episode of the classic Doctor Who series, ‘The Daleks,’ setting it up as if it were the first adventure of the Doctor and his companions, so that the screenwriters have almost exactly reshot key moments of the series, inserting minor and insignificant changes. And yet for those who don’t know what was in the classic series (although the movie was made with fans of the series in mind), let me explain: a certain Doctor Who decides to demonstrate to his granddaughter’s new boyfriend the features of his great invention – the TARDIS – a machine capable of transporting through time and space, and it accidentally activates, transporting the Doctor, his granddaughters and the hapless boy to the planet Skaro, where high radiation reigns and a group of Dalek aliens intending to completely destroy the planet to take it over. The doctor has not only to save himself and his companions, but also to stop the Daleks.

What’s interesting, the changes from the classics also apply to external qualities, such as the changed internal appearance of the TARDIS, the transformation of the Doctor into a simple, but eccentric professor (although at first he was positioned as such). The characters were also changed: Barbara went from teacher to granddaughter, Ian went from brave teacher to dullard, and the Daleks became colorful. But such changes are exactly in line with the reboot attempt, so one has to either accept them or reject them, and I’m for the first option, because all these changes look very harmonious (and Susan’s age change from teenager to little girl was very much to the benefit of the family target audience). Another genre feature worth noting is that the film is a mix of family fiction with some comedy elements (in fact, the comedy here revolves around the character of Ian, who manages to stumble even while standing on his feet).

The only thing that didn’t make me happy was the fact that the plot of the classic series was crumpled up to the point of no return. For example, ‘Daleks’ had 6 episodes of 20 minutes each, while here the makers tried to fit it all into an 80 minute movie, so it often led to rather silly and nonsensical moments, and the short timing was rather boring at all. I am silent about the ludicrous finale which, even though it was intended to be funny, is anything but bewildering.

Peter Cushing as the Doctor looks very wonderful. If Hartnell’s character was a fiery, stubborn old man, Cushing’s character is a rather funny grandfather with a great deal of scientific knowledge and an ability to look funny with surprise on his face. An ideal character for a comedy version of the Doctor, but it is very difficult to imagine him as one of his many reincarnations of the original.

You are also pleased with a rather beautiful melody at the beginning, which encourages you to watch it. There are no special effects here at all.

Doctor Who and the Daleks is a movie which would be interesting and unloved for fans of the classic series. This is for them to decide – to love this attempt to remake the series into a comedy format or forget about its existence. Personally, for me, this picture was a vivid interest, and that interest was almost justified.

Info Blu-ray
Video
Codec: HEVC / H.265 (94.9 Mb/s)
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1

Audio
English: LPCM 2.0
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
French: LPCM 2.0
German: LPCM 2.0

Subtitles
English SDH, French, German.