starring Peter Cushing, Bernard Cribbins
directed by Gordon Flemyng
81 minutes
This remake of Doctor Who (1963) 2.02 (The Dalek Invasion of Earth) is considerably shorter than the original. Most of the major plot points are the same but there are some changes to the roles that some of the characters play in the story.
The original was six episodes long and probably clocked in around about 135 minutes in length. This one is about an hour shorter. Each 22 minute episode of the original story was cut down to basically less than 15 minutes. Everything moved so quickly in this story that it often seemed comical.
Peter Cushing played Doctor Who. The Doctor refers to himself in this movie not as the Doctor but as Doctor Who. I know Cushing first (and foremost in my mind) as Grand Moff Tarkin from Star Wars (1977) but I've seen him in a few other movies including Dracula (1958) and Top Secret (1984).
The only one of the Doctor's companions who retains the same name and relationship to the Doctor is Susan, although she is probably about 10 years younger than Susan from the TV show. She was also in Doctor Who and the Daleks (1965) and played by the same actor in that film.
Ian and Barbara have been replaced by Louise and Tom. Louise is the Doctor's adult niece. Tom Campbell (Bernard Cribbins) is a policeman who stumbles into the TARDIS by accident. Cribbins, four decades later, played Wilfred Mott, Donna Noble's grandfather, mostly in episodes during David Tennant's tenure as the Doctor.
I enjoyed watching this version of the story. I saw the original for the first time, late last year. The sets were considerably nicer and unlike the original it was in color. The Dalek weapons were a little different from the TV show. The weapons included gas guns which were used to subdue or kill humans.
This is probably a must watch for any true, blue, Doctor Who fan but I don't think its great, just fun, in places.
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