Doctor Who: The Daleks In Colour (blu-ray review).
When I first inserted the first disc into my machine, I was surprised to see the original 7-part story transformed into a 75-minute film. Undoubtedly, eliminating the repetition from the previous episode and the end credits significantly decreased the cost of coloration. I was also a little worried when the opening scenes—bar credits—started in black and white and then switched to color.
I should point out that I first saw the original story back in 1963, and I doubt the current breed of reviewers is that old. My summary of the plot will primarily be a reflection of what I observed.
In this second-ever Doctor Who adventure, the TARDIS materialized on a planet with a petrified forest and a city in the distance. The Doctor (actor William Hartnell) is determined to investigate; companions Ian Chesterton (actor William Russell) and Barbara Wright (actress Jacqueline Hill) want to leave. His granddaughter Susan, played by actress Carole Anne Ford, displays a more indifferent attitude. None of them, returning to the TARDIS, noticed its Geiger counter was registering dangerously high levels of radiation, even if they felt off-color. The Doctor agrees to go elsewhere, but he sabotages the TARDIS, claiming that the fluid link has run out of mercury and he doesn’t have any supplies on board. Before they sleep for the night, there is a knocking outside, but they see nothing on the monitor. In the morning, they find a box of vials outside, and Susan locks it in the TARDIS, with the Doctor saying they’ll find out what it’s for later.
Unaware of the source of their illness, they divide into groups to search the seemingly abandoned city for a mercury supply. Whatever, they are all caught by the Daleks and told of the neutron war and the monstrous Thals. Ian is paralyzed from trying to flee, and the others are ill. It is up to Susan to go to the TARDIS to get the anti-radiation drugs. She meets the Thal, Alydon (actor John Lee), who is rather more handsome than monstrous, who left the drugs previously and gives her a second set, knowing the Daleks will take them, and tells her to hide them. It’s a big box, so that seems odd, although you would think she could have hid in the cloak Alydon gave her. That happens, although the Daleks let her keep the second set to treat them. They plan to dupe the Thals into killing them, leaving a message from Susan to come for food and exterminate them.
OK, now here’s a problem. How would Susan, let alone the Daleks, know how to write in a language the Thals could read? The Thals also reveal themselves to be farmers and have had a run of bad crops recently. So how could they create the anti-radiation drug without having some scientists in their community, as this is a recent creation that even the Daleks don’t have? If they were able to develop sophisticated anti-radiation drugs, they could undoubtedly create effective fertilisers. Similarly, the Daleks possess a wide variety of vegetables, including what appears to be toilet rolls. It’s unclear what or if the Daleks ever eat, but it’s reasonable to assume that some of their species have specialized in gardening. Back in 1963, we didn’t overthink; it was just me who kept a critical eye on things. Obviously, this is the Doctor’s first encounter with the Daleks, but you would have expected him to have at least read about them before leaving Gallifrey. Russell T Davies retrofitting the Doctor’s history more recently and having his memory wiped from time to time might explain his lack of memory of them.
I should point out that the Daleks here are far more conniving planners than the just-exterminate machines they became later. The rest of the story revolves around stopping the Daleks from two distinct routes. Although the fluid link didn’t require mercury, the Daleks had taken it from Ian and needed it back.
In ‘The Making Of-’, the crew discuss using the technology to colourize the story, citing that there were a lot of colour photos of the story. I hesitated about that bit. If they truly existed, we would have undoubtedly encountered some of them by now. Russell T Davies highlights that the story required not only colorization but also a pace adjustment to better align with the current ‘Doctor Who’ stories. As a result, they introduced small details, such as David Graham’s contribution to the Dalek voices, to enhance the dialogue. The only significant thing I noticed was the abundance of cardboard Daleks in the background of one scene. There were only four complete Daleks in the original series.
The second disc has the original 7 episodes, which I’ve covered before. Probably the most important piece is the 17-minute ‘Creation Of The Daleks.’ Made in 2005, it has everyone from Sydney Newman and Verity Lambert to Dalek designer Ray Cusick, Richard Martin, and Bryan Hodgeson; Dalek operator Michael Sommerton; and voice artist David Graham. He later explained that he was responsible for the lower-range Dalek voices, while Peter Hawkins handled the higher-range voices. Unfortunately, many of these individuals have since passed away, making this a unique piece of film history.
Looking at the intro on the first disc, it does give the impression that there might be more coloring in the future. From my perspective, it is an oddity but worth a look. If I were to select a second story to color, I would choose either ‘Tomb Of The Cybermen’ or ‘The War Games,’ if only to observe the contrasts.
GF Willmetts
November 2024
(pub: BBC, 2023. 2 blu-ray disks 75 minute film, 7 * 25 minute episodes with extras. Price: varies. ASIN: BBCBD0589)
cast: William Hartnell, William Russell, Jacqueline Hill and Carole Anne Ford
