Review: Surely we all know the story by now, if you didn't catch the original series in the 60's, you must have seen the Movie?
For those of you born post 60's I'll run through it one more time!
Basically the Doctor and Co return to a London of the future that has been blighted by plague, bombarded by radiation and now in the Iron grip of the Daleks, MK2 style. Unlike the ones encountered on Skaro, these Daleks don't have to rely on metal roadways to get about. Aided by Robomen-surgically and electronically modified humans, the Daleks mop up what little resistance is left
so they are able to get on with their nasty little plan. But the Doctor has other ideas, with the help of various resistance people, manages to get himself into the mine at the heart of the plot, discovering that the Daleks plan to explode a bomb into the magnetic core of the Earth, rendering the planet to little more than a satellite that they will be able to Pilot across space.
Needless to say the Doctor triumphs over the Evil creatures and restores some kind of order.
His Grandaughter, Susan stays behind with resistance fighter, David to help rebuild the planet.Having seen this in 1964 and only remembering the Dalek emerging from the Thames, it was good to see all 6 episodes on DVD quality and believe me the
transfer is very good. Having seen clips previously in compilations such as
"30 years in the Tardis", it was noticably cleaner, more detailed and less contrasty, several of the exterior dalek shots previously were very bleached out, but this is no longer the case.
Trust me, the CGI graphics are a phenomenal improvement over the original
special effects, and whats more they are sparingly short and very toned down.I applaude the fact that they could have done more and didn't, it just wouldn't be in keeping with the overall feel of the original footage.
As far as the plot goes, it does wander a little. When they first see the Dalek ship they make no real reference to it, which is a little weird, and you can't help but compare this with the big budget movie. Both have their flaws and I prefer the rawness of this TV version, athough it has to be said, the film version is more coherant and gaff free. My 2 children (ages 7 and 11) enjoyed it thoroughly, including the other extras and especially 'Blue Peter's" how to make Dalek cake which was jolly good fun, one we made earlier and certainly worth a viewing.
Well worth the price and a must for all Dr Who fans. |
DVD Films
