Doctor Who is 50 years old this year, even if the BBC are doing little to directly promote this fact. Also this year would have seen the Centenary of Peter Cushing – the second actor to play The Doctor! So what better way to celebrate this than looking at the 1960’s Dalek movies with fresh eyes as they come to Blu Ray.
Dr Who And The Daleks (Digitally Restored)
Out on DVD and Blu-ray: May 27th, 2013
Directed by Gordon Flemyng and now fully restored, Dr. Who & The Daleks (1965) was the first big screen film adaptation of British TV’s most iconic sci-fi hero, and was the first time Doctor Who was ever seen in colour!
British film legend Peter Cushing plays everyone’s favourite Timelord, and having invented the TARDIS, a strange machine capable of travelling into other dimensions, the Doctor and his three young accomplices set forth on a quest through time and space. Their journey takes them into the dark, undiscovered depths of the universe and to the planet of Skaro. A primitive world devastated by nuclear war and populated by two warring species, a peaceful tribe known as Thals and a life form heavily mutated by radiation, encased in protective machines. A merciless force of destruction known as The Daleks!
Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (Digitally restored)
Out on DVD and Blu-ray: May 27th, 2013
DALEKS INVASION EARTH 2150 A.D. directed by Gordon Flemyng, now fully restored and starring Peter Cushing in his return to the big screen as British TV’s most iconic sci-fi hero, Doctor Who.
The earth of 2150 AD is a desolate and hostile ruin of a planet, crumbling at the edge of civilisation, slowly disappearing into the darkness of space. For the future of planet earth now belongs The Daleks, a destructive army of alien invaders who have turned the human race into cowering slaves. Meanwhile deep within the London Underground a group of resistance freedom fighters are planning an attack. But there’s only one man who could possibly help them succeed in destroying their extra terrestrial enemies and take back control of planet earth. A man of mystery, a man of time and space, a man known only as… The Doctor.
Interview With Bernard Cribbins
Scifind’s Helen Armfield had the oppertunity to speak to Peter Cushings co-star for Daleks Invasion 2150AD Bernard Cribbins
Bernard Cribbins starts with a more recent adventure with the Doctor…
..we’d gone into the tardis. Now the tardis was in the stable block, and we had to walk in to this. And he (David Tennant) opened the door and said “come on, come on in”. We went in, closed the door, and the director said, “ok cut that’s it.” Before we came out of the tardis again, I said to David, do you know, the first time I was in this thing was in 1966. There was a pause and he looked at me, and he says… I wasn’t even born then.
It just struck me as extra ordinarry that I’d been involved with it all those years before.
Recollections of the Movie?
One of the things I do remember about the film was Peter (Cushing) and I got into terrible trouble with the director, Gordon Flemming, who was a very gruff voiced scotsman… the first time Peter and I had met a dalek in the film. Now the daleks were operated by a man sitting inside, shuffling his feet to move along. They had the line the daleks speak as well, in order to play the scene with us… we’d been captured by the daleks and down the ramp comes a dalek, the lead dalek. The guy inside was called, I think he was Bob Jewels, he was Australian. He said something to the effect of “if you don’t behave yourself, you will be exterminated” [in] this broad australian accent.
Now Peter and I got the giggles, we were just wetting ourselves at the thought of this little guy saying “you will be exterminated” [in an Austrailian accent] inside and ‘Don Flemyng, the director saying “Cribbins will you stop laughing, come on! We’ve got a lot of work to do” (Cribbins aped Gordon Flemymin’s Scottish accent to a T). He got very angry with us, but in a nice sort of way. just because we were like two school girls giggling.
And Peter Cushing?
[Seeing Daleks Invasion Earth Again] brought back so many happy memories, of Peter; we had a wonderful time when we did a film in israel, “She”, with Ursula Andress and Christopher Lee… then to work with him again was absolutely brilliant. Because we always got on well, and we used to compare notes. he was a sweet sweet man and a very very good actor.
Bernard Cribbins, Scifind thanks you for your time, and your amazing career!
