Well, Dr. Who and the Daleks was a mixed bag. Its production values were a lot better than the TV version, and it was surprisingly faithful to the plot for the most part, but the changes in the characters didn't work so well. The opening minutes were so goofy and slapsticky that they were rather a mismatch with the serious story that followed. Dr. Who (a human inventor in this version) was so senile and absent-minded in the opening scene that it was hard to reconcile with the focused, sharp-minded scientist we saw later on. Although they did manage to keep the klutzy, nebbishy version of Ian pretty consistent throughout.
I do like it that the two granddaughters were the smart, science-savvy ones, even though that didn't get used much beyond the opening. Nice to see a kids' movie featuring girls embracing science.
It seemed rather odd that Barbara's choice of attire for her date with Ian was a sweater and sweat pants. Was that the height of fashion in '66 London, or was she planning on going jogging with him? If so, why was he in a suit?
It's a little surprising just how closely it does hew to the serial script. I would've thought they'd cut out most of the tedious stuff in the caves, which I think was basically just there to pad the running time. Looking over the summary of the serial, it looks like the main things they cut were the initial interaction with Susan and Alydon, some conversation among the Thals afterward, and a more involved sequence of the Doctor and Susan sneaking into the city to do sabotage before their capture. Everything else was left pretty much intact, just faster. Except that Antodus's sacrifice/suicide to save Ian is sanitized, with Antodus surviving the fall.
Turns out I remembered the main dramatic musical themes from the movie fairly well (though I'd completely forgotten the livelier main title/hero theme), but I hadn't realized that the two parts I remembered were respectively the Daleks' theme and the Thals' theme. I'd just sort of blended them together in my memory, based on the cue for the scene where the Thals were walking into the Daleks' ambush in the city, which integrated both themes.
I do like it that the two granddaughters were the smart, science-savvy ones, even though that didn't get used much beyond the opening. Nice to see a kids' movie featuring girls embracing science.
It seemed rather odd that Barbara's choice of attire for her date with Ian was a sweater and sweat pants. Was that the height of fashion in '66 London, or was she planning on going jogging with him? If so, why was he in a suit?
It's a little surprising just how closely it does hew to the serial script. I would've thought they'd cut out most of the tedious stuff in the caves, which I think was basically just there to pad the running time. Looking over the summary of the serial, it looks like the main things they cut were the initial interaction with Susan and Alydon, some conversation among the Thals afterward, and a more involved sequence of the Doctor and Susan sneaking into the city to do sabotage before their capture. Everything else was left pretty much intact, just faster. Except that Antodus's sacrifice/suicide to save Ian is sanitized, with Antodus surviving the fall.
Turns out I remembered the main dramatic musical themes from the movie fairly well (though I'd completely forgotten the livelier main title/hero theme), but I hadn't realized that the two parts I remembered were respectively the Daleks' theme and the Thals' theme. I'd just sort of blended them together in my memory, based on the cue for the scene where the Thals were walking into the Daleks' ambush in the city, which integrated both themes.
