Dr. Who (Dalek films)

Dr. Who
Peter Cushing as Dr. Who
First appearance	Dr. Who and the Daleks
Last appearance	Daleks – Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D.
Portrayed by	Peter Cushing
Information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Inventor
Family	Susan and Barbara (granddaughters) Louise (niece)

Dr. Who is a character based on the BBC science-fiction television series Doctor Who. Although based on the Doctor who appears in the TV series, the film version of the character is fundamentally different.

The character, portrayed by the actor Peter Cushing, appeared in two films made by AARU Productions: Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965), which was based on the televised serial The Daleks (1963), and Daleks – Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. (1966), based on The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964). Plans for a third film, to be based on the serial The Chase (1965), were abandoned following the poor box office reception of the second film.^[1]

Cushing made no mention of the films in his autobiography,^[2] although he kept a collection of newspaper clippings about them in a scrapbook.^[3]

Personality

Dr. Who is a gentle, grandfatherly figure, naturally curious and sometimes absent-minded, but at the same time is not afraid to fight for justice. He is shown to have a keen and somewhat juvenile sense of humour, and a strong sense of adventure with a will of iron and very strong morals.

Unlike his TV counterpart, his surname is clearly stated to be "Who". He is not called "the Doctor" by his companions in Dr. Who and the Daleks, although in the sequel, Daleks' Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D., his surname is referred to only once and he is otherwise addressed simply as "the Doctor". Cushing's character is an eccentric inventor who claims to have created TARDIS.

Companions

In the first film, Dr. Who travels with his two granddaughters: Susan (Roberta Tovey), who is portrayed as a younger character than the Susan depicted in the TV series, and Barbara (Jennie Linden). They are joined in this first adventure by Ian Chesterton (Roy Castle), who is portrayed as Barbara's "new boyfriend" and as a generally inept, clumsy and comical figure (whereas the TV version of the character is more heroic, and his relationship with Barbara – both of them being teachers – is amicable but professional).

In the sequel, Susan is joined by Dr. Who's niece Louise (Jill Curzon) and a somewhat comical male companion: London police constable Tom Campbell (Bernard Cribbins).

TARDIS

The exterior of Dr. Who's TARDIS resembles both that featured in the TV series and a real police box (although the films, unlike the TV series, offer no explanation as to why the machine has this appearance). Like the TV TARDIS it is bigger on the inside. The interior design bears no relation to the clean, high-tech TV version of the time, however. In the first film it is filled with a chaotic jumble of wiring and electronic equipment, replaced in the second film by a number of simple consoles adorned with buttons, gauges and lights. As with the TARDIS seen from the 2005 series onward, the interior and exterior are shown as being directly connected by the external doors.

Other appearances

In addition to the two films, Dr. Who appeared in the comic strip Daleks versus the Martians in the 1996 "Spring Special" of Doctor Who Magazine, as well as in the short story The House on Oldark Moor by Justin Richards, published in the BBC Books collection Short Trips and Sidesteps.

A "doubly-fictional" duplicate of the Seventh Doctor, who appeared in the Virgin New Adventures novel Head Games, was also known as "Dr. Who".

Proposed radio series

During the late 1960s, there were plans for a radio series starring Peter Cushing as the voice of Dr. Who. A collaboration between Stanmark Productions and Watermill Productions, a pilot was recorded and a further 52 episodes were to be produced. The pilot story (titled Journey into Time) featured Dr. Who and his granddaughter travelling to the time of the American Revolution. The script was written by future Doctor Who TV series writer Malcolm Hulke and the recording was subsequently lost.^[4]

References