When Dr. Who (Peter Cushing) shows his time machine TARDIS to the clumsy Ian (Roy Castle),who is boyfriend of his granddaughter Barbara (Jennie Linden),he accidentally transport them and Dr. Who´s granddaughter Susan (Roberta Tovey) to somewhere in space and time. They explore the spot and see a city; Dr. Who fakes a leak in the fluid and they go to the city to seek mercury to refill the component. They are captured by the Daleks and soon they learn that a war between Daleks and Thals has destroyed the planet. Further they are exposed to radiation and only the Thals have the antidote. The Daleks send Susan to find the cure and she meets the Thal Alydon (Barrie Ingham) that has the antidote and wants to negotiate with the Daleks to exchange for food. But the cruel Daleks want to destroy the Thals to rule the world.

The naïve "Dr. Who and the Daleks" is a funny entertainment for children and for adults in a Saturday afternoon. The art direction is very poor, the plot is silly but in the 60´s we had "National Kid", "Lost in Space" among other films and "Dr. Who and the Daleks" is in the same level. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Dr. Who e a Guerra dos Daleks" ("Dr. Who and the War of the Daleks")

Fans of the later DR. WHO series (such as those with Tom Baker or Peter Davison) will probably see a lot of inconsistencies with this film (such as the Doctor actually being called "Dr. Who" for the only time on film and his being human and not from the planet Gallifrey). This is because the movie is based on the early Dr. Who character created for William Hartnell. Hartnell's Dr. Who was an older man with a granddaughter who accompanied him on his missions. The whole idea of Gallifrey and Time Lords was later added to the Who lexicon. So, don't freak out at this type of Dr. Who--it isn't WRONG, just different.

As for the rest of those viewers, if you aren't a fan of the series, I STRONGLY doubt that this film will do anything but bore you and underwhelm you with the rather poor special effects and sets. Fans of the series, though, know that sets costing $2.76 are the norm for the series and the film actually looks a lot better than the series back in the 1960s (where it was in black and white and its main props were aluminum foil and popsicle sticks).

As for me, I am reasonably well-versed in everything WHO, but I tired of the series decades ago. So, I know a lot of the lingo, but just don't wax philosophical about it and haven't named my children after characters from the show! This is important to know because some who totally adore the series still probably think that this is the greatest movie ever made and any criticism is heresy. But, I am not a WHO-Hater either--it was cheesy fun and that's all it was really meant to be.

It is inexplicable that Peter Cushing was chosen to be the Doctor, as he never played him on the show. Perhaps Hartnell was too old and tired for the rigors of the film, but he had a long movie career so it wasn't like he was an "untried commodity". If the whole notion of the Doctor having multiple lives had already been introduced to the series (it was how they explained Hartnell's eventual replacement),then having Cushing in the role might have made more sense.

Now for the movie itself. The sets sucked compared to most other movies and the matte paintings looked amateurish. The plot, at times, was shallow and silly. and the acting, apart from Cushing, was pretty shabby as well. But the absolute worst aspect of this film was the use of DELEKS. Throughout the series, this was probably the most popular villain (other than The Master) and I have no idea why. They talk in the most amazingly annoying manner in the universe and they seem incredibly easy to defeat and seem incredibly stupid. And, if they had to have the insipid Daleks, there's no sign of their insane creator, the green and goofy Davros. Even the Cybermen (who looked like silver Pillsbury Doughboys) looked scarier! Their cries of "Ex-Ter-Min-Ate" were just silly and I really think a reasonably bright otter could have taken them on and won! This movie is just for Who fans and people with extremely low expectations.

The first time I saw Dr Who and the Daleks, I used to cower behind the sofa every time the Daleks appeared, and the music I remembered was incredibly haunting. Seeing it again, it isn't quite as good as I remembered, but it is an entertaining and passable enough piece of nostalgia. The script lacks bite at times, the plot isn't as inventive as any of the ones used in the landmark TV series, Roy Castle and the comedy relief felt out of place and on occasions because of the overuse of pink plastic sheeting the art direction was a little on the cheap side. However, the music is very haunting, the Daleks are still as intimidating as I remembered, the pacing is fast and fun, the length is amiable and Peter Cushing is terrific as the Doctor, more serious than any of the other doctors but it suits him. The female characters are admittedly on the vapid side, but the alluring personalities of Roberta Tovey and Jennie Linden made up for it. Overall, fun and nostalgic, even with its many faults. 6/10 Bethany Cox