Doctor Who’s First Dalek Episodes To Be Rebroadcast In Color For 60th Anniversary

The Doctor’s first-ever encounter with the Daleks will be colorized and re-edited to celebrate Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary. The Daleks was Doctor Who’s second serial, where William Hartnell’s First Doctor, granddaughter Susan (Carole Ann Ford), and companions Ian (William Russell) and Barbara (Jacqueline Hill) are transported to Skaro, encountering the deadly mutated creatures. In addition to receiving positive praise, The Daleks helped Doctor Who grow its audience.

Though the Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials will begin airing November 25, two days after the date the series premiered, the official Doctor Who Twitter account and website has revealed that a new reimagining of the Daleks’ first appearance will be broadcast to mark the occasion.

The Daleks has been colorized and edited from its original 7-part 25-minute-per-episode serialized format into a 75-minute story that will be broadcast on BBC Four, though the original version will exist in the newly released Whoniverse collection on iPlayer. The new colorized and compiled edit will also feature new VFX and a score by Mark Ayres.

The Daleks Helped Doctor Who Grow As A Series

While The Daleks was not Doctor Who’s first story, it is still nevertheless a pivotal one that helped the series firmly establish itself as a sci-fi hit. Not only did the serial provide the first example of the TARDIS being used to transport the cast to distant worlds, but it provided a key example of the series establishing the messages it wished to tell audiences, as the Doctor battles the hate-fueled regime of the Daleks in their campaign against the Thals. As such, even outside its titular monsters, The Daleks helped establish many elements that remain central to Doctor Who to this day.

Related: Every Type Of Dalek In Doctor Who, Explained

​​​​​​However, with viewership picking up throughout the broadcast of the serial, it is clear that the Daleks themselves also elevated Doctor Who further among audiences. While co-creator Sydney Newman was reluctant to feature “bug-eyed monsters” like the Daleks, Terry Nation, and Raymond Cusack’s creatures quickly became some of the show’s most recognizable characters, and one of its first recurring foes with their return in 1964’s The Dalek Invasion of Earth. With the monsters receiving a further marketing push in 1995’s Dalekmania documentary, the Daleks truly found their place in pop culture.

As the Doctor’s deadliest foes, the Daleks are as essential to Doctor Who as the Time Lord themself and the TARDIS. As such, it is understandable why their debut had been selected as the classic story to be colorized and rebroadcast to mark the anniversary. Its newly re-edited cut and colorization is a perfect way to revisit the tale, while newer viewers can enjoy the story for the first time in a revitalized, more modern format.

Source: Doctor Who

Doctor Who

Release Date: 1963-11-23

Cast: Jenna Coleman, Jodie Whittaker, Alex Kingston, David Tennant, Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi

Genres: Adventure, Mystery, Sci-Fi

Seasons: 26

Summary: As the last of the alien species known as the Time Lords, the Doctor travels through time and space in his TARDIS, a time machine thats bigger on the inside than the outside, seeking out adventures in the ancient past and unimagined future while also serving as the protector of Earth and mankind. With a human companion by his side, the Doctor meets extraordinary – and sometimes deadly – characters and creatures from across the universe.

Franchise: Doctor Who

Story By: Sydney Newman C. E. Webber Donald Wilson

Writers: Mark Gatiss, Toby Whithouse, Neil Cross, Steven Moffat, Chris Chibnall

Network: BBC