SEE The Doctor’s first foray onto the big screen again at Harbour Lights on Sunday and Thursday.

The Doctor (Peter Cushing) appears in the guise of a dotty old inventor with two brainy granddaughters.

When the boyfriend of one of the girls (Roy Castle, characteristically chirpy) accidentally throws a lever in the Tardis, he propels them to Skaro, where the Daleks are determined to exterminate the planet’s other inhabitants, the Thals. The wily Daleks take the Doctor and his companions prisoner and use them to lure the Thals into a trap.

When they discover the Daleks’ treachery, the peace-loving Thals must face the dilemma of whether to accept their own extinction or fight for survival.

Cushing’s avuncular performance softens the tone of the rather acerbic TV Doctor of the day (then played by the formidable William Hartnell), while the futuristically colourful sets and gadgets add a note of fun without dampening the excitement.