Doctor Who fans love to number their doctors. To date, there have been 13 (canonical) Doctors – from William Hartnell in the early 60s through to Jodie Whittaker in the role today. Fans invariably have a favorite, which is usually whichever Doctor they saw when they first encountered the show.

That number, though – 13 – should carry an asterisk since there are a few notable exceptions. One big one is Sir John Hurt, who played the War Doctor (during Matt Smith’s run as the Eleventh Doctor).

Another is everyone’s favorite Grand Moff and Hammer Horror icon, Peter Cushing, who first took up the mantle of the Doctor on the big screen in 1965… while Hartnell was still on TVs, grousing and grumbling and giggling like a loon as the same character. That makes Cushing The First and a Half Doctor, and he’s sadly been all but forgotten in the role.

Doctor Who first premiered on UK TVs in 1963. When the Daleks showed up on the show, the ratings skyrocketed. Their first episode saw 6.9 million viewers, and it only went up from there. The last episode of that serial had a staggering 10.4 million people tune in.

And that was just the beginning. The Daleks went on to be one of the most popular – and recognizable – sci-fi villains of all time. By the mid-60s, the country was overrun with Dalekmania. The roving machines with the toilet plunger arms and high-pitched monotone voices landed in a BIG WAY among fans who couldn’t get enough.

Remember how BB-8 became so popular in the months surrounding The Force Awakens? You know how popular Baby Yoda still is… in both The Mandalorian and on every conceivable piece of merch? Mere child’s play compared to the Daleks of the 60s.

So it was only natural that the BBC would try to capitalize on their popularity, but how many times could they bring them back on the show before it got stale and uninteresting?

Then the light bulb went off. A feature film! The BBC and Terry Nation (who created the Daleks) sold the rights to a company called Amicus, which was known at the time for its horror films. To not scare off the families they hoped would flock to their film, Amicus rebranded as AARU. And it worked.

The result? Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965), directed by Gordon Flemyng and based on the second serial in Doctor Who‘s history – “The Daleks” – which features William Hartnell as the First Doctor and ran from December 1963 through February 1964. Our recap of that serial is here.

The film version of that story made some significant story and character changes, but the plot remains more or less the same. For audiences in 1965, it must’ve been a somewhat unsettling experience. Everything feels so familiar yet… so different.

The most striking change is that Dr. Who and the Daleks is in bright and vibrant color, whereas the show was still in black and white. Seeing the Daleks, Skaro, the TARDIS, and everything else in eye-popping colors for the first time must’ve been worth the ticket price on its own.

With Dalekmania in full swing, the film did well enough at the box office to merit a sequel. So the following year, Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (1966) hit theaters. This one is based on the second serial to feature the Daleks, which came in the First Doctor’s second season – “The Dalek Invasion of Earth” – and first ran in November and December of 1964. Our recap of that serial is here.

Gordon Flemyng returns to the director’s chair, and Peter Cushing returns as the Doctor, along with Roberta Tovey as young Susan. But the roles of Barbara and Ian were recast and rewritten to be the Doctor’s niece and a random police officer who stumbled into the TARDIS’s crew and got dragged along for the adventure.

Listen, neither of these films is going to be confused for “high-quality cinema.” If you’re a diehard Doctor Who fan, you’ve likely already seen them both… and have distinct “feelings” about the changes made to the source material. Many Whovians look down their noses at the Cushing films.

They’re cheesy, they’re low budget, and they don’t make a ton of sense. But let’s be honest – the same was true of all Doctor Who until very recently.

And listen, William Hartnell is all but unwatchable as the First Doctor. Seriously, he’s the worst. He’s no one’s favorite Doctor. So watching the inimitable Peter Cushing take over the role – and frankly do a better job at it – is refreshing.

Dr. Who and the Daleks is by far the better of the two films. In many respects, it recalls all the best parts of George Pal’s The Time Machine (1960), which I adore. If you’ve never seen “The Daleks” or you don’t carry 50 years of Doctor Who baggage, I’d wager to guess that you’ll actually enjoy the film.

The sequel is… not as good, but it still has its merits. And both are absolutely worth watching, thanks to the new Blu-ray releases (Kino Lorber) that feature brilliant 2K restorations, informative audio commentaries, a 57-minute documentary about Dalekmania, and several bonus features about the restoration process each underwent.