Doctor Who: Could a Dalek spin-off movie work better than one based on the show?
By James Aggas
While we’ve never had an original Doctor Who story made for the big screen, could an original story focused on his greatest enemies work even better?
While listening to the audio series Dalek Empire, an idea suddenly occurred to me. We’ve never had an actual Doctor Who story on the big screen before. Or at least, not an adventure that was connected directly to the show.
The closest we’ve had were two movies back in the Sixties starring legendary Hammer horror actor Peter Cushing as Dr. Who, in two remakes of Hartnell stories. (And yes, Dr. Who was the main character’s name.)
But what we haven’t had is a story tied to the universe we all know and love. And that’s quite understandable, considering how long it can take to make a full series. If a movie was to be made, and if it aimed to do the show justice, then the full production of a movie would likely be even longer than the wait for a TV series. And the wait for the next series would likely be considerably longer than usual so that time was spent on the film.
But that’s when it suddenly hit me: we might not ever get a Doctor Who story actually made for the big screen. But what about a movie focused on the Daleks?
A Dalek story told on a larger scale could fit the big screen very well.
(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC.
Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)
How to do it right
Keep in mind, I’m not suggesting that the Daleks should be the “heroes” of a big-screen adventure. But a movie focused on a group of humans fighting against them during one of the Dalek wars could make for an exciting film.
One thing that’s made me realize how well this would work is Dalek Empire. Not only is it an incredibly strong, dark and gritty series. It also reminds us about what made the Daleks so brilliant in the first place. They’re intelligent, ruthless and unstoppable. They’re exactly what you need from a villain. And that could certainly work well on the big screen.
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Featuring completely original human characters could also work, just as it did for Dalek Empire. It doesn’t matter if the film had any ties to Doctor Who beyond the Daleks themselves or not. What matters is the same as any other decent story: well-written and fleshed out characters. This was a key reason why Dalek Empire was so strong on its own terms, and I suspect that would be true for a Dalek movie, if handled right.
One more reason an original Dalek movie would be successful: they were the key reason why the Peter Cushing movies were made in the first place. As successful as Doctor Who was at that time, the fact that both movies were remakes of Dalek stories specifically is a big indication of what the real appeal was with those movies.
In short, a series of Dalek movies would give Doctor Who fans plenty of thrills and epic action, but it would also be accessible enough for newcomers to jump on board with. If done right, it could be a more successful and stronger idea for a film than an actual Doctor Who movie.
Next. Why the return of the Dalek Emperor was huge. dark
Do you think an original Dalek movie could work on the big screen? Or would you prefer a film more directly tied into Doctor Who itself? Let us know in the comments below.