Doctor Who?

Looks like Season 4 of the new-ish BBC Doctor Who series will air on the Sci-Fi Network starting 18-April. I caught a decent handful of Season 1 in re-runs after we finally got digital cable, but (surprisingly enough) absolutely none of the other seasons afterwards.

Unfortunately, I just can't seem to get my time in front of the TV to jive w/ the BBC America and/or Sci-Fi schedule and, as I loved watching the original series on PBS as a youngster, it's kind of a bummer. As i've heard nothing but good things, i'll have to try and jump on board next week/play catch-up on DVD.

In the meantime, after languishing at the bottom since we joined several years ago, the first full-fledged feature 'Who' film 'Dr. Who and the Daleks' finally worked it's way up my netflix que and was waiting for me at home last night. As i'm kind of on a bit of a classic sci-fi kick lately, I was pretty jacked to give it a spin.

'Dr. Who and the Daleks' was released to huge success in the UK in 1965 and was the first of two Doctor Who films made in the 1960s. The film features Peter Cushing as Dr. Who and noted 'Carry On' star Roy Castle as his Granddaughter's boyfriend Ian. It was based on 'The Daleks', the second Doctor Who radio serial (and the first to feature the Doc's most famous nemesis). Filmed in brilliant Technicolor, notably, it was also the first Doctor Who story to be made in colour...the television series continued to be made in black-and-white until 1969.

However, seeing the metal baddies in various colors (depending on rank?) wasn't the only major difference between the film and the TV series. In the film version, the good Doctor is a is an Earth-born scientist and absent-minded inventor versus the more prickly, mysterious time-lord from another planet being played on TV at that time by originator of the role, William Hartnell. It's this major change in the story that set the films slightly outside recognized history amongst fans.

Regardless, the movie ends up being pretty fun and delightfully retro from a visual perspective. The story revolves around the Doctor and his crew accidentally piloting the time-traveling TARDIS to a planet ravaged by an earlier Nuclear war between the Daleks and the Thals. The remaining factions of both sides ends up clashing again w/ the time-travelers caught in the crossfire. The FX are just as endearingly antiquated as the TV show and it does nothing but add to the kitsch factor.

Hard to say if it would be as enjoyable to someone unfamiliar w/ the TV version, but it could be possible to enjoy it even more w/out the baggage of 45 years worth of history to cloud your judgement. As I said, it's avail via Netflix for you to see for yourself and the sequel, 'Invasion Earth 2150 AD' looks even better...