It’s time to encounter The Daleks once again, but this time in a way you’ve never seen them before, in colour, in a new adaptation of their first appearance in an early Doctor Who adventure, screening on BBC4 on Thursday 23rd November.
Originally transmitted in December 1963 to February 1964, the seven original episodes of the first Dalek story have received a major makeover, dazzlingly colourised and weaved together into a 75-minute blockbuster.
“With brand new sound and a brand new score created by Mark Ayres, ‘The Daleks’ has been gloriously updated,” say the BBC, “whilst ensuring the original story remains as thrilling as it was in 1963.”
“The Daleks” colourisation will be released on DVD, Blu-ray and SteelBook in February, and will include a behind-the-scenes making-of, plus the original seven episodes in black-and-white.
• UK screening details are here on the BBC website
• Doctor Who and the Daleks Illustrated Edition
By David Whitaker and Robert Hack
A dramatic reinvention of the very first Doctor Who novel from 1963 and the hundreds of novels that followed, but few can claim to have surpassed its powerful storytelling and unique atmosphere. Written by Doctor Who’s first story editor, David Whitaker and lavishly illustrated by acclaimed comic book artist Robert Hack.
Adapted from Terry Nation’s first Dalek story, Doctor Who and the Daleks sees Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright caught up in the flight through time and space of the mysterious Doctor and his granddaughter Susan. They travel in the TARDIS to the planet Skaro, where they strive to save the peace-loving Thals from the evil intentions of the hideous Daleks. Can they succeed? And if they do, will Ian and Barbara ever again see their native Earth?
Images ©️ BBC
- About the Author
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: Doctor Who, downthetubes News, Other Worlds, Science Fiction, Television
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I remember when this serial was first broadcast. It caused a sensation. I watched the black and white version again yesterday, but the experience is so different when you see the whole story in one go. Back in 1963/64 we would discuss each episode’s events in school for the next week before finding out what happened next. The other significant difference is that Doctor Who wasn’t really the hero. He became more heroic over the course of the story . The teachers, Ian Chesterton, remembered by many as Sir Lancelot just a few years earlier and Barbara Wright were the heroes then. Much has been made of Julian Glover’s appearance as King Richard over a year later, as an indication that Doctor Who was then attracting significant actors, but many highly regarded actors featured in earlier stories. Alan Wheatley, who had impressed as the Sheriff of Nottingham in ‘The Adventures of Robin Hood’ played Temmosus in this first Dalek story and was the first person to be exterminated by them.