Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965) - Mastodon watch party this Sunday evening!
Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965) - Mastodon watch party this Sunday evening!
Starring Peter Cushing, "the guy who blew up Princess Leia's planet!" Yes, Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965) is the movie for this Sunday's "monsterdon" watch party over on Mastodon, our fediverse sibling!
- Just start watching that movie this Sunday, Feb 22 at 9pm ET / 8pm CT / 6pm PT which is 2am Monday UTC
- and follow #monsterdon over on mastodon for live text commentary. For example, you can follow that hashtag here: https://mastodon.social/tags/monsterdon
- I usually open two web browser windows side-by-side on a computer. But you could follow the mastodon commentary on a phone app while watching the movie on TV or something.
How to watch the movie:
- tubi (availability varies by country): https://tubitv.com/movies/547338/dr-who-and-the-daleks
- uBlock Origin adblocker on Firefox should work for that tubi link
- archive (3 minutes shorter?): https://archive.org/details/dr-who-and-the-daleks_202505
- it's usually streamed on https://miru.miyaku.media/ at that time
- if you want to pay and/or watch ads, look here: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/dr-who-and-the-daleks or here: https://nobraincellsleft.github.io/JustWatch-Search/title/tm83604
- ~~apparently it's free on Pluto TV but idk wtf that is. I guess you could give it a try here https://pluto.tv/us/on-demand/movies/685972fd2339944cec974634 but idk if adblockers work or they make you sign in or some bs like that ~~ Pluto ads aren't blocked by Ublock Origin so... Pluto you are dead to me!!?!
The story is based on the Doctor Who television serial The Daleks, produced by the BBC. Filmed in Technicolor, it is the first Doctor Who story to be made in colour and in a widescreen format. The film was not intended to form part of the ongoing story-lines of the television series. Elements from the programme are used, however, such as various characters, the Daleks and a police box time machine, albeit in re-imagined forms.
...
Halliwell's Film Guide described the film as "limply put together, and only for indulgent children".[12] John Clute, in the book Science Fiction: The Illustrated Encyclopedia, gives the film one star out of three, stating: "Many people would like to see the [Doctor Who] television series back; few mourn the long-gone films".[13] Radio Times was more favourable, awarding the film three stars out of five, commenting: "this spin-off lacks the bite and inventiveness that set the landmark series apart, unwisely injecting humour into the sparse scenario, and the cheap art direction is strictly '101 Uses for Pink Plastic Sheeting'. However, despite the many faults, it's still a fun ride for both the uninitiated and die-hard fans alike".[14]
In The Guardian in 2013, Stuart Heritage stated: "Cushing does his best, but he's not exactly given a lot to work with." He described the Daleks as "so pointlessly toothless here" and also criticised the "incredibly tedious" amount of Dalek dialogue to explain their motives, the portrayal of the Thals, and Roy Castle's performance, saying "to call him hammy would be to provide the greatest disservice to pigs."[15] Andrew Nette of the British Film Institute stated the film was "widely derided by many fans and critics", adding it is "certainly an uneven affair. Some scenes [...] still have the capacity to thrill. Others, like the final victory over the Daleks, feel rushed and flat. The Doctor's granddaughters are largely one-dimensional... The aspect of the movie that most antagonises purists is Cushing's Doctor." Nette described the film as having a "wonderfully pulpy sci-fi atmosphere", saying: "The highlight of the movie is its look... Many of the sets [...] are impressive" and "the movie Daleks are more impressive than their small screen counterparts".[8]