Doctor Who Is Atomic-Age Horror
I was posting some idle speculation to a forum about what Doctor Who would have looked like if it had been made by an American company, but back in the '60s or thereabouts. And it might not have looked too bad:
Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka would have made a great Doctor. Or, going earlier, maybe Rex Reason or Michael Rennie. Vincent Price would have been The Master. The interior shots of the TARDIS would resemble the command deck of the saucer in This Island Earth plus the Krell power core from Forbidden Planet. Cybermen would have looked more like Gort. The Daleks would still be conical, but the dome would be transparent and would contain the Martian leader from Invaders from Mars.
And, of course, there'd have to be an interocitor somewhere.
And then it hit me: The Doctor is an atomic-age horror scientist-hero, like Rex Reason, although he has a touch of the atomic-age smug alien, like Michael Rennie or Exeter (This Island Earth.) The thematic core of the series expresses the same values as the scientist-hero. Solving problems with a mix of genius and feeling. Definitely the central figure, but enlisting the aid of the government or military when possible, as long as they are willing to fight the menace with some measure of morality. Earth vs. the Flying Saucers would have made a perfect Doctor Who story. So would a lot of atomic-age-horror movies.
Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka would have made a great Doctor. Or, going earlier, maybe Rex Reason or Michael Rennie. Vincent Price would have been The Master. The interior shots of the TARDIS would resemble the command deck of the saucer in This Island Earth plus the Krell power core from Forbidden Planet. Cybermen would have looked more like Gort. The Daleks would still be conical, but the dome would be transparent and would contain the Martian leader from Invaders from Mars.
And, of course, there'd have to be an interocitor somewhere.
And then it hit me: The Doctor is an atomic-age horror scientist-hero, like Rex Reason, although he has a touch of the atomic-age smug alien, like Michael Rennie or Exeter (This Island Earth.) The thematic core of the series expresses the same values as the scientist-hero. Solving problems with a mix of genius and feeling. Definitely the central figure, but enlisting the aid of the government or military when possible, as long as they are willing to fight the menace with some measure of morality. Earth vs. the Flying Saucers would have made a perfect Doctor Who story. So would a lot of atomic-age-horror movies.