h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I confess that I couldn't resist, and bought the 2 Peter Cushing film DVD boxset today.

So, what does everyone else think about "Dr. Who And The Daleks" and "Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150 AD"?

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I am soooo tempted by these. They are fun films, and Peter Cushing does a good bumbling Doctor in my opinion. Certainly look better than the TV versions, with all those Technicolor Daleks.

OK, I have been threatening to get them, I shall have a look see tomorrow, and you can borrow them ok?

I found that when I finally got "The Daleks [Remastered]" (on the day it came out, naturally ) I was a little disappointed as I was so used to the Peter Cushing film that the plot was spoilt a little.

The two films are definately fun, and the "Dalekmania" documentary was good, but didn't really include enough. Or indeed anything BBC related, which meant that it wasn't really a full "Dalekmania" documentary. It was interesting to see many of the remaining cast members today. And the postcards are a nice touch.

Sadly, though, it won't fit on my DVD rack!
(And there are no extras that I have found.)

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Yeh, my first thought on The Daleks TV version was "This doesn't half go on a bit and the lighting is well dodgy" I think the film did spoil it for me a touch

I'd love the dvds-but as I taped the films in widescreen, and as I'm skint and waiting for more of The Avengers, The New Avengers and the Doctor Who boxsets-I just can't justify spending the money....

Primord-hoping to spot the Dalek
movies going cheap somewhere sometime soon...

i'm just posting to this thread as it is the most recent active thread on the h2g2 doctor who group page. i will also be posting and trying to revive the doctor who group's longest thread, so that we can make it even longer.

my announcement is that i just went through all the threads and have added every1 who wasn't already there to the doctor who group members list. ur there now primord, u can be happy. there are 44 names on the list. however, 2 of them belong to mina as i have her user and italic U number on there, which means there are 43 members. unfortunately, since i am on there and i run the group, i cannot considor myself as just a reguar member, so i feel i should not be included in the member count. So, the fficial number of H2G2 Doctor Who Group Members is...

42!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank You to all of u members. Altho new members r of course welcome, it is good to know that even the Doctor knows that the meaning to life, the universe and everythign is 42.

i thank you all.

spook

Dear Spook,

thankyou!

I'm the 42nd

And I did enjoy 'Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150 AD'

Of course the Doctor knows the answer. Is he not seen reading one of Oolon Colluphids books in Destiny of the Daleks? Which brings me neatly back to the films and the question; Are the colours of the Daleks in the films hideous or what?

were the daleks in the film the same as in the series? if so then the horrible colours of the daleks just weren't seen in the series because of it being in black and white.

personally, i feel that the series versions of the dalek stories are mre doctor who then the movies, however i find that the movies contain a certain quality that makes them more exciting. i guess u either prefer whoey or exciting. i personally like them both, but prefer the series version of dalek invasion of earth because of the doctor's speech to susan at the end, which was also used on the special video version of the 5 doctors. "i'll be back"

spook

Oh, absolutely. The film versions are more carefree almost, and Peter Cushing's doctor is very bumbly and forgetful. There is not the edge and curmudgeonly attitude of William Hartnell. But there is more space, and decent sets for the films, and lots of Daleks which make them more effective. If only they didn't shoot fire extinguishers.

I think the daleks weapons was the only realy disappointing aspect about the movies. it wasn't a realistic advanced weapon. something else that is also very weird about the daleks in general is how they become better as they go back in time. The original dalek story is set millions of years in the future, while the dalek invasion of earth is in 2150, and in the story revelation of the daleks, a sylvester mcCoy story set just after 100,000 bc in the 1960s. in the first story, the daleks coud only travel on metal. in the next 1 at an earlier point in time they could also travel on land and i think they could even travel underwater, and in revelation of the daleks they could travel up the stairs and they also had their great leader davros. it seems to me that the daleks keep improving themselves then going back further in time to a less advanced earth, yet they can never beat the doctor. and they've battled every generation of the doctor except the 8th. on the 8th doctor, in the movie, i find it very weird that the daleks would keep the masters last request, that daleks would inform the timelord's of his last request, and that they would let the doctor pick up the master's ashes without a fight. i may be wrong, but if the original daleks story was set on scaro millions of years in the future, then how could the doctor haev destroyed scaro (or at least it's sun) in the 1960s in revelation of the daleks.

ok ok, i've gone on enough about the daleks, but i think it is one small contradiction to the timeline there. maybe doctor who needs some tight microscopic analysis just like star trek or buffy goes under.

just a thought.

spook

btw u guys may also like to check out http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/F79498?thread=151157&skip=140&show=20 post 159. and if u haven't already u might want to subscribe to all conversations on this page. spook

No, the daleks in the films weren't the ones built by the BBC, they were bigger, better built, and there were more of them. The BBC did borrow them from time to time, though, such as in "Planet Of The Daleks" to be the Dalek Supreme (the Gold one).

I thought having different colours was a nice touch, suggesting rank. The claw wasn't a too bad idea either, although the fire extinguisher is just plain silly.

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having different colours was nice, however, the dalek colour i prefer out of all daleks is the white daleks from revelation of the daleks. i think that the colour suited the daleks, and suited the character of no dalek being superior, but all bein soldiers, and all being machines made of the same design, with no special daleks.

something i did like about the daleks from the movies was there extensions. i think it is something that made the daleks more exciting and threatening, and i think the inclusion of a special dalek with a large weapon in revelation of the daleks was brilliant.

i think that in the last dalek story, revelation of the daleks, the daleks were as they should be. they had the technology to go upstairs, they were all the same colour but the colour wasn't a dull grey, there were daleks with special weapons. i think that with davros as their leader, the daleks were more advanced, could be improved more, and the daleks became the ultimate devastating enemy.

spook

I agree that "Remembrance" was a great Dalek story - and the "Special Weapons Dalek" was definately impressive, although what I've seen of the Emperor Dalek from "Evil" looked more impressive than the Davros Emperor design.
The Dalek colours in "Death To The Daleks" also looks impressive, its a shame that the music and cliffhangers let that one down a little.

If Daleks were to feature in a New Doctor Who, I feel that they should carry on in the way that "Remembrance" suggested, but with perhaps a couple of additions. First of all, the flying saucers you see in all the Dalek annuals - imagine the Doctor being chased by 5 flying Daleks shooting at him "North By Northwest" style! Also, a "worker dalek", with many arms and claws etc., looking like a Swiss Army Knife Dalek with tools for each job, just to explain how Daleks can make spacecraft with just a plunger for a hand.
And perhaps an anti-aircraft Dalek with a weapon that can traverse up as in any war, the Dalek's enemies would simply fly overhead and drop bombs on them as their weapons can't point up. Something like the weapon systems on that bad robot from "Robocop" would do the trick...

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The Peter Cushing films were an utter disaster, I think. Peter Cushing himself seemed too timid, too scared to even meet his enemies let alone outwit them, and he was too human. He lacked all the impact and brilliance of William Hartnell. One could imagine Cushing's Doctor strolling down a London high street to collect his pension! Quite why they turned the Galifreyan Doctor into a nutty human professor beats me...

The Daleks themselves seemed different to their TV series counterparts. They were too large, too bulky, and it was obvious even to the youngest of viewers that they were simply men in metal shells. They couldn't move as well as in the series and the actors seemed to find them more amusing than scary. They did improve in the second film.

The sets on the first film were terrible. Translucent plastic walls with lights flashing behind are not exactly 'spectacular.' The second film sets were improved as the set designers made them resemble a war-torn future London.

The only saving grace in the films is the TARDIS itself as this, more than the Daleks, at least reminds us we are watching Doctor Who!

i liked the peter cushing films. the second was my favourite. i liked how the daleks could travel on land and that they had special daleks. what was your favourite?

The only gripe I have with the films (particularly the first one) is the TARDIS set. It looks like Albert Steptoes' back yard. They obviously couldn't stretch the budget to a proper console. The fault locator is a prop sonar device. Urrggh! Why they couldn't borrow the original prop beats me!