One thing to look forward to about the upcoming Doctor Who 60th Anniversary celebrations is the chance to get reacquainted with some classic Doctor Who. Alongside the recently revealed re-release of some 800 classic episodes via the BBC iPlayer streaming service, the BBC has made another announcement – The Daleks will return to the screen.
Specifically, the very first Doctor Who story involving The Daleks, imaginatively called The Daleks. This was originally broadcast in black and white from December 1963 through to February 1964. It was the second ever Doctor Who story to air. It was seven parts long and was criticized at the time for its length. It is now regarded as a classic and an important historical artifact from Doctor Who history as it introduced arguably the Doctor’s greatest enemies.
This version will be colorized and rebroadcast as an edited version, down to 75 minutes because nobody has an attention span these days.
Originally written by British TV sci-fi icon Terry Nation (Blake’s 7, Survivors) it tells the story of the TARDIS landing in a jungle on the dead planet Skaro. Exploring a nearby metal city, the crew are captured by the Daleks, a race of mutated creatures living in mobile battle armor. As they attempt to escape, they discover more about the planet’s history and the ensuing nuclear war.
The storyline was partly re-used in the feature-length, cinematically released Doctor Who And The Daleks which starred Peter Cushing as the Doctor. That was followed by a sequel – Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.
There will be a new sound design and a new adaption of Tristram Cary’s original score The Daleks rebroadcast will be on BBC Four for the Limey’s on the 23rd November 2023. It may turn up on Disney+ as part of the new deal with Disney for the rest of the world.
The original black-and-white seven-part story is included in the 800 episodes available on BBC’s iPlayer.
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