So to conclude Doctor Who month, and to lead into my next themed month, today we're going to look at Rifftrax.com's treatment of Dr. Who and the Daleks, but we'll look at the source material on its own merits first.
A little backstory on this particular film: In 1963, Doctor Who hit the BBC and was taking Britain by storm. Amicus Productions decided they wanted a chunk of that sweet, sweet profit, and licensed the property from the Beeb to make a feature film version, showing it in color as opposed to the BBC's black and white, and hoping to appeal to American audiences (not unlike how 30 years later, FOX would try with Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor in the made-for-TV movie version). That being said, the film made several major departures from the series. First of all, you'll notice the title is Dr. Who as opposed to Doctor Who. Okay, yeah, no big deal. The next changes though are what really polarized fans, namely that the Doctor was now a human doctor with the last name of Who, and not only was Susan his granddaughter, but Barbara as well. Now, as such, the film (and its sequel) exist outside mainstream continuity of the series (something which Bill Corbett just can't get over in the riff, more on that later).
In this film, Dr. Who is played by Peter Cushing, who is of course more well-known outside of Great Britain for a film made 12 years later: Star Wars, where he played Grand Moff Tarkin. Now, I don't really have an issue with his portrayal of the Doctor, he's a little doddery, goofy and eccentric, and that's okay! I honestly think he could've made an excellent addition to the series if given the opportunity. The big issue of portrayal is the Daleks instead. In the movie instead of being able to hear the barely suppressed rage in every line, they talk...so....slowly...that..you...can...hear...the...ellipses. In addition, instead of firing a ray of any sort, they shoot a white gas that does...something. Apparently it can paralyze or kill, but it's just not menacing to have them venting big clouds of CO2 everywhere.
So, it's a goofy, weird, out of continuity film. Sounds perfect for the guys from Mystery Science Theater 3000 to rip to hell!
For any of my readers who are unfamiliar with Rifftrax, it was started a few years ago by Mike Nelson, who was later joined by his former cast mates/co-writers of MST3K to create a series of MP3's that could be played over top of major Hollywood releases, providing a comedic commentary on the events. The company's motto is "Some Movies Have it Coming", which is very true. More recently, Rifftrax has been obtaining the rights to various movies to sell with commentaries already embedded. Dr. Who and the Daleks is such a property, and can be obtained for the relatively low price of $9.99 US.
And it's a great comedic take on the film. Bill Corbett outs himself early on as a Whovian, trying to fit the movie into continuity, and lamely trying to sing the TV show's theme song over the movie's opening credits. From there, Grand Moff Tarkin jokes drop easily, and the guys can't help but offer their own Dalek impersonations once the rolling trashcans show up.
One question I have though is something that I've noticed tends to be something of a low-level running gag throughout the Rifftrax library: any time there's someone who's dropped the ball, or just generally screwed up, Kevin Murphy usually refers to the as "Carl". And I have no idea why it's still funny as hell. Even moreso when he shouts "Good one, Carl!" in a bad Dalek voice. And of course, the cheesy as all hell 60's set is not safe from the riffers either.
Seriously, lava lamps??? Overall, this is a must buy for fans of Doctor Who, and is still worth a watch if you know nothing at all about the show. It might not be the funniest release by Rifftrax (and believe me, we'll get to the one that does claim that honor soon enough), but it's still funny as hell, and well worth the price of admission.
Buy it here!
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