Dalek variants
Encyclopedia
Since their first appearance in 1963 there have been a number of variant models of the Dalek
s, a fictional alien
race in the long-running BBC
science fiction television
programme Doctor Who
.
Daleks are not robots. As first seen in the serial The Daleks
, the outward manifestation is a powerful, technically advanced travel machine in which a hideous and malevolent mutant
, the Dalek creature, resides. Although the general appearance of the Daleks has remained the same, details of both the casing and the mutant creature have changed over time. Some alterations were made to accommodate the requirements of specific plot elements in various serials and episodes, or at the request of producers, designers and directors to revitalise the Dalek appearance. On other occasions design changes have been the result of practical considerations when filming the Dalek props on location or the mixing and use of components acquired from different sources.
The following entries make mention of both television and non-television portrayals of the Daleks.
(1988) and the episodes "The Parting of the Ways
(2005)" and "Doomsday
" (2006) the Doctor states that Dalek casings are constructed from bonded polycarbide
. Prior to this the material was sometimes referred to as "dalekanium". The casing is depicted as being impervious to many projectile and energy weapons, although Daleks are not indestructible. They can be damaged or destroyed by overwhelming firepower, their own weaponry and falls from a height. In addition, in Revelation of the Daleks
(1985), they are said to be vulnerable to "bastic-headed bullets". In the revived programme from 2005 onward a Dalek's defensive capability was augmented by an invisible force shield, with the eye remaining a weak point.
The lower shell is covered with hemispherical protrusions. In the BBC-Licensed The Dalek Book (1964), and again in The Doctor Who Technical Manual (1983), these items are described as being part of a sensory array. In "Dalek
" (2005) they are shown to act as components in a self-destruct mechanism.
" (2008) the Doctor, when speaking of how to deal with various alien menaces, says "Daleks: aim for the eye stalk"). In the revived series from 2005 onward Daleks have been given systems to protect their vision. In the 2008 episode "The Stolen Earth
", Wilfred Mott
attempts to disable a Dalek by blinding it using a paintball gun
. The Dalek is seen to simply evaporate the paint from its eye.
’ were introduced. New Series Daleks have a clear lens which glows with a blue light whilst New Paradigm Daleks, introduced in the episode "Victory of the Daleks
" (2010), are equipped with an ‘organic eyeball’ set behind a small transparent hemisphere. Throughout the 1960s Daleks were occasionally shown with a functioning iris, a feature also seen in the New Series Dalek design. The eye discs have varied in number, size, spacing, profile and configuration. Colour has generally been restricted to powder blue, white or gold, with New Series Dalek eye discs having a translucent, frosted appearance and those of the New Paradigm variant being black.
The dome-light covers first resembled table-tennis balls, before items having the appearance of plastic egg cup
inserts were substituted. Later these were replaced by various types of 'bee skep-shaped' vehicle side light lenses. The flattened lights fitted to the Imperial Daleks seen in ‘’Remembrance of the Daleks’’ were formed from Perspex discs capped by commercially available saucer-shaped plastic components, whilst New Series and New Paradigm Daleks have light-covers consisting of tubular beacon lenses, the former variant's being surrounded by a metal cage.
" (2005) and subsequent appearances of the New Series Dalek. This variant is shown to have an underside consisting of a large, recessed central hemisphere surrounded by eight satellite hemispheres. The central hemisphere and four of the satellite hemispheres glow when the Dalek is in flight mode.
(1963) ), artificially accelerating pre-existing genetic mutations within the Kaled species (Genesis of the Daleks
(1975) ) and the manipulation of genetic material forcibly obtained from other (usually human) species. From 2005 onward the Dalek creature has been seen more frequently, in its latest incarnation resembling a pale octopus-like being with a single viable eye, a vestigial nose and mouth, and an exposed brain.
. Whilst this produces considerable distortion and a monotone effect, inflection and pace are used to express a range of emotions including rage, disdain and, very occasionally, fear.
(1974) the Doctor states that they move by psycho-kinetic power. For many years Daleks were depicted as being unable to climb stairs, having to rely upon smooth ground on which to travel. This was rectified in Revelation of the Daleks
in which a hovering Dalek was seen briefly, and then in Remembrance of the Daleks
which featured a Dalek levitating up a staircase. From 2005 onward various Doctor Who episodes have shown Daleks hovering and flying with ease, locomotion being imparted by anti-gravity
generators.
Davros
refers to the newly created Dalek casing as a "Mark 3 Travel Machine".
The Dalek variant naming conventions used in this article are, in the main, attributed to the various models as a matter of convenience. They can be found in general use by the Doctor Who/Dalek fan base, and are often quoted in posts and documentation on websites such as The Project Dalek Forum.Project Dalek Website Other classifications for the major Dalek variants exist. The Doctor Who Technical Manual (1983), for instance, places both television and Movie Daleks in the same numerical sequence by order of their first screen appearances, although reconciling the characters and events depicted in the Doctor Who films with those established in the TV programme is problematic.
The term 'drone
' in this article is used to indicate a Dalek having no rank. Its only use to date in any of the Doctor Who television serials or films in which the Daleks have appeared has been in the Eleventh Doctor
episode "Victory of the Daleks".
. There are no visual cues to distinguish one Dalek from another, or suggestions in the story of any particular hierarchy.
The Mark 1 Dalek differs from later variants in having no shoulder slats or mesh, nine eye discs (the greatest number of any version) and a distinctly ‘toffee apple’ shaped eyeball. The eye lenses are illuminated and shown to have an iris
which can expand and contract. These Daleks have a silver colour scheme with blue/grey shoulders, blue hemispheres and eye discs, collars in natural aluminium
and black fenders. The story refers to them being powered by static electricity
, with mobility limited to the metal floors in the Dalek City on their home planet, Skaro
.
In the episode "The Escape" a Dalek is seen with a tray at the end of its telescopic arm, although it is unclear whether this item has replaced its plunger or is somehow attached to the top of it. A Dalek is also depicted using a device resembling a thermal lance
to cut through a door in the episode "The Ambush". This item consists of a long, slim tube flanked by two globes, surmounted by a clear disc-shaped ‘sight screen’. The implication is that this appendage is mounted to the Dalek’s arm in place of a plunger, although due to the use of a tight close-up on the device this isn’t actually seen on screen.
The Dalek concept was the creation of screenwriter Terry Nation
, with the design being realised by BBC staff designer Raymond Cusick
. The props were constructed by Shawcraft Engineering of Uxbridge, England under the direction of Bill Roberts,Bill Roberts: Biography and Radio Interview who also provided some final design input.
(1964) was Spencer Chapman.Spencer Chapman IMDb Listing The storyline required the props to be used extensively on location. Consequently he and Bill Roberts devised a tricycle
arrangement, incorporating three pneumatic tyres, to replace the original castors
and carry the props over uneven ground. Enlarged fenders were then created to hide the revised undercarriage.
To explain the Daleks’ ability to travel away from the static-charged floors of their city, the narrative has the Doctor stating that an aerial
located at the edge of a mine in Bedfordshire is the key to the Daleks' power supply on Earth. Although not referred to directly in the story, it is implied that the 12 inch parabolic dishes
now fitted to the rear shoulder section of each prop act as receptors for some form of transmitted energy. Other design changes were a reduction in the number of eye discs to five and painting some eyeballs silver instead of the standard black colour. An amphibious capability is demonstrated in the closing moments of the first episode of the serial, when a Dalek emerges from beneath the waters of the River Thames.
For the first time a Dalek command structure is introduced, with rank being indicated by differing colour schemes. The Earth Taskforce Commander, or ‘Saucer Commander’, features a black dome and alternating light and dark skirt panels. A Supreme Controller or ‘Black Dalek’ is also seen, with a black dome, shoulders and skirt. There is a dispute as to whether the Saucer Commander's dark skirt panels were created using red or black paint. As the serial was recorded and transmitted in monochrome, rendering the skirt panels as silver and black on screen, the point remains largely academic. Only black and white production photographs seem to have been taken at the time and, in the absence of any colour images to decide the issue, this matter remains unresolved.
(1965), with Ray Cusick returning as designer for the serial. As the production required no location filming and Cusick felt that Daleks should be shorter than an average person, he had the enlarged fenders and wheels, installed for The Dalek Invasion of Earth, removed and replaced with the original style of running gear. Greater flexibility in the storylines was afforded by freeing the Daleks from reliance on static-charged metal floors for power and mobility. For this and further serials, however, the contrivance of the dish aerials to achieve this was dispensed with. Instead they were replaced by a steel mesh wrapped around the upper collar, over which were mounted twenty three vertical, oblong slats ostensibly forming a power collection array (although this function has never been confirmed on screen).
A Black Dalek appears in one scene of the first episode of The Chase, "The Executioners". Daleks with non-standard arm appendages are also seen in this serial. A ‘seismic detector’ in the shape of a gimballed hemisphere appears several times, and in the episode "The Planet of Decision" a device referred to as an ‘electro unit’ is deployed to pick an electronic lock. The prop consisted of a large revolving parabolic dish from the centre of which two converging rods protruded.
Three Daleks of the Mark 1 Movie design can occasionally be seen in The Chase, borrowed from the production company responsible for the Doctor Who films to bulk-up numbers. They can be distinguished from the TV props by the darker dome and lack of slats, their bold colour scheme not being apparent due the filming of the serial in monochrome. In some scenes their large fenders are missing, with the skirts sitting directly on the floor.
For the following four serials in which they appeared, Mission to the Unknown
(1965), The Daleks' Masterplan (1965), Power of the Daleks (1966) and The Evil of the Daleks
(1967) the Dalek design remained virtually unchanged, with only minor variations to the standard colour scheme and appendages being introduced.
In The Daleks' Masterplan several Daleks are shown as clearing areas of jungle using short, tubular flame throwers
, referred to as pyro-flame burners, in place of the standard plunger.
A Dalek with a circular sieve-like
scoop attachment in place of its plunger is seen in The Power of the Daleks
. It is used for transferring embryonic Dalek mutants from a liquid-filled nurturing tank to their travel machine casings. For this serial and all future appearance of the Mark 3 variant, the gun design was simplified by removing the mantles.
In The Evil of the Daleks
a Black Dalek is seen again, this time with grey shoulders. Two more elements of the Dalek hierarchy are also introduced; the Dalek Emperor (discussed separately) and Daleks with black domes which primarily appear to act as the Emperor's personal guard. (This motif appears again in "The Parting of the Ways
" (2005), with black-domed Daleks fulfilling a similar function.) For the first time a Dalek is seen with a black pupil centred in its eye lens.
An unusual version of the Mark 3 Dalek made an appearance in The Evil of the Daleks
. It featured narrow skirt and shoulder sections, with the rear skirt panel having only a single vertical line of hemispheres down the middle. These differences are not alluded to in the story. This build is sometimes referred to as ‘The Wilkie Dalek’ after Bernard Wilkie,Bernard Wilkie IMDb Listing the BBC technical designer who became primarily responsible for the Doctor Who programme’s visual effects after Shawcraft’s involvement ceased during 1967.
, their first appearance in colour on the Doctor Who television programme. 'Drone' Daleks were now finished in grey, with black hemispheres and fender. With the exception of Death to the Daleks
(1974), and albeit with variations in the shade of grey and occasional adornment with black slats and/or collars, this stayed as the standard Dalek colour scheme for the remaining eight serials in which they appeared over the next sixteen years. During this period, however, several small changes to the standard Mark 3 Dalek design were made and their hierarchy was once again expanded.
In Day of the Daleks
a Dalek Leader is seen painted overall in gold, with black hemispheres and fender. This serial also saw the first appearance of an oval disc between the gun boxes and a higher fender on all models. The eye lens 'pupil', first glimpsed in The Evil of the Daleks
now became a standard fitting. A gold Dalek Leader returned again in Frontier in Space
(1973).
Seven additional Dalek props were produced for Planet of the Daleks
(1973) to increase the number which could be displayed on screen at one time. They were created by special effects professional Clifford Culley'sClifford Culley IMDb Listing company Westbury Design & Optical Limited. The production crew referred to these props as "goons". Although fabricated using measurements and moulds taken from an existing prop, the "goon" Daleks exhibited minor differences from the original Shawcraft builds including the substitution of single dowels neck struts for the trefoil cross section items which were the norm up to this point. Once again the story called for a Dalek to cut through a metal door, on this occasion the cutting device replacing the plunger resembling the tip of a large soldering iron
. This serial also featured a unique variant; the Dalek Supreme (discussed separately).
Death to the Daleks
sees the travel machines in a silver livery with black shoulders, hemispheres and fender. During the course of the serial, due to a plot element, the standard blasters are replaced by projectile weapons featuring a drilled barrel with six small fins at the muzzle. After shooting dead two primitive humanoids with these devices a Dalek declares them to be "…moderately efficient". The phasing-out of three section telescopic arms commenced in this serial, with two sections becoming the norm for the remainder of the classic series.
In Destiny of the Daleks
(1979) some Daleks can be seen with a neck bin orientation which places a strut along the front centreline, instead of the standard configuration with a strut to either side of centre, and many of the props have what appears to be a small stub aerial projecting from the top of the dome. Six crude, hollow, vacuum-formed Dalek props were also created. They were primarily used during location filming of the serial's finale, although several of them can also be seen in the background of some studio shots. In particular they can be recognised by their thick neck struts and the absence of dome aerials and appendage ball joints. Production photographs taken at the time reveal that they also lacked hemispheres on the rear skirt panels.
A group of Daleks are seen in this story forming a suicide squad to destroy an enemy spacecraft, each with a number of bombs attached to its shoulder section. The bomb props consist of yellow cylinders capped at the ends by red hemispheres.
A Mark 3 drone Dalek with a particularly distinctive design also appears in Destiny of the Daleks
. It features a combination of "goon" and Shawcraft Dalek sections for the upper half, and a unique skirt with a rear section which flares out from the shoulders to the base at almost the same angle as the front. Four prominent bolt heads frame the chest oval and large hemispheres are fitted. These differences are not alluded to in the story. It has been claimed that the skirt came from an exhibition prop, although its precise origin remains uncertain. This variant is sometimes referred to as ‘The Tussauds Dalek’ after Madame Tussauds
wax museum in London, where it was exhibited (painted bright blue and silver) as part of their Doctor Who display in the 1980s.
(1983), Mark III Dalek variants seen during this decade feature a neck bin raised so that a strip of it is visible between the lower neck ring and the top of the shoulders. The fitment of a small stub aerial to the dome continued, appearing for the last time in Resurrection of the Daleks
(1984).
The eyestalks and discs of standard Daleks in Resurrection of the Daleks
are painted white, with four discs arranged in a conical layout, smallest disc to the front. The Tussauds Dalek prop appears in this serial under two guises; as a grey drone and a Supreme Dalek painted in gloss black with white hemispheres. The Tussauds Dalek features briefly once more in Revelation of the Daleks
, again portraying a drone.
After two decades of service, Revelation of the Daleks
(1985) marked the last appearance of the Mark 3 Dalek variant on the Doctor Who television programme.
(1967) the Emperor is presented as a towering, immobile, twelve-sided conical structure, to which numerous umbilical cable
s are connected. Twelve large, black hemispheres girdle its mid-section, with a further two smaller, tan-coloured hemispheres being mounted horizontally on the chest. It has a predominantly white colour scheme with black detailing and speaks in an echoing, grating voice. Mounted on a plinth in a corner of the control room in the Dalek City on Skaro
, it is apparently destroyed when a civil war
breaks out amongst the Daleks.
The Dalek Emperor was created by the BBC Visual Effects Department.
(1973) the Dalek Supreme, a member of the Dalek Supreme Council, is despatched to the planet Spiridon. It is tasked with overseeing experiments into invisibility, the production of a plague designed to exterminate all organic life and the deployment of a 10,000 strong Dalek invasion force.
The variant was based on a prop owned by screenwriter Terry Nation, which had been used in the second Doctor Who film. The neck bin mesh, struts and neck rings were removed, the latter items being replaced by new rings having a flat, recessed edge detailed with small rivets rather than the usual bevel. Lilac dome lights shaped like upturned jam jars were fitted, together with an eyeball resembling a flashlight which lit up when it spoke. It was painted overall in gloss black with yellow-gold hemispheres, slats, neck rings and dome. It is uncertain who carried out the conversion work, although the painting of the prop was undertaken by the BBC Visual Effects Department under the direction of Clifford Culley.
The ruthlessness of the Dalek Supreme is demonstrated in the story when it destroys the Dalek leader of the Spiridon taskforce for failing to meet its mission objectives.
(1985) Davros
creates an army of Dalek mutants by manipulating DNA
taken from humans on the planet Necros, where the dead or dying are being stored in suspended animation.
Necros Daleks have a similar colour scheme to 'Imperial Daleks' (see below), but the designs are otherwise quite distinct from one another and were realised using different sets of props. In fact it is the Necros Daleks created by Davros which are portrayed in the serial as being the rebel faction, whilst the grey Daleks from the Dalek home-world of Skaro, seen in the final episode, serve the Supreme Dalek.
In this serial Davros' life-support chair is shown hovering some distance above the ground. It is implied that Daleks now share this capability when, in a later scene, one exterminates two saboteurs apparently from an elevated vantage point. For DVD releases of the serial from 2005 onward, new shots were created to clarify that the Dalek was hovering.
, a Glass Dalek is introduced as a transparent, embryonic version of a Necros Dalek in which a grotesquely mutating human head can be seen. It has four neck rings rather than three. It was manufactured primarily from clear Perspex.
(1988) it is revealed that Davros, masquerading as the Emperor, has gained control of Skaro. As Emperor he has under his command an army of Imperial Daleks, created by grafting bionic appendages onto the bodies of Kaled mutants. The Supreme Dalek and its followers are now referred to by the Imperial Daleks as ‘renegades’.
The hovering capability first seen in Revelation of the Daleks
is confirmed in Remembrance of the Daleks
when an Imperial Dalek is shown levitating up a staircase, apparently using an unseen mechanism on the base of its casing which emits a distinct red glow.
. It has no manipulator arm, eye-stalk or dome lights. Instead, it is equipped with a large energy cannon mounted on the front of the casing. The upper section features a foreshortened neck and truncated dome, which sits atop a circular row of small, square 'view ports'. It does not appear able to speak, but does have massive firepower. In one scene a single shot from the Special Weapons Dalek is shown to completely vaporise two conventional Daleks, leaving only a pair of scorch marks on the ground. The armour is seen deflecting conventional Dalek weapon fire without suffering any apparent damage. Like the other Imperial Daleks its livery is white with gold hemispheres, but with a metallic grey colour applied to most of the upper section. The casing appears battle-scarred and far dirtier than other Daleks, which are usually shown in a clean condition.
The BBC Dalek Survival Guide maintains that the SWD weapon is fifty times more powerful than a regular Dalek blaster. It notes that Special Weapons Daleks are almost always directly controlled by Dalek commanders and rarely allowed autonomy, except in desperate situations, as they are as likely to fire on fellow Daleks as the enemy.
In Ben Aaronovitch
's novelisation of 'Remembrance' it is stated that the enormous power source required for the SWD's weapon resulted in the release of high levels of radiation which altered the structure of the Dalek creature's brain, causing insanity. Consequently other Daleks shun it, ironically for being a mutant. Uniquely the Daleks give it a name; "The Abomination". The novel states that the Special Weapons Dalek is used only in extreme situations and that only the Emperor can maintain complete control over it. The Special Weapons Dalek is also mentioned in the novel War of the Daleks
. and the Big Finish audio production The Genocide Machine
. See also The Dark Dimension Dalek.
The Emperor of the Imperial Dalek faction features in Remembrance of the Daleks
. It is actually not a Dalek but the Kaled Davros. Greatly deteriorated physically with only his head and partial torso visible, he is carried in a customised life support machine/Dalek casing similar in design to the TV21 comic version of the Emperor. The travel machine has no appendages. A translucent hexagonal panel is located centrally on the front of the dome, in a position approximating that where an eye stalk would be mounted on a standard Dalek casing. What appears to be a strip-light is mounted vertically behind it, which scans from side to side when the Emperor speaks. The front upper section of the dome is shown to operate like a visor, retracting upward and to the rear to reveal Davros within.
(1988) the Imperial Daleks are opposed by ‘Renegade Daleks’, commanded by the Supreme Dalek. Most of the Renegades seen in the serial are of the 'Necros Dalek' design (see above), but with the prominent neck bin strip below the lower neck ring removed. The shoulder mesh is also much coarser than that previously seen, having the appearance of a solid material which has been perforated. Renegade drones are painted overall in grey, with black fender, hemispheres, collars, slats and appendages. The Renegade Supreme appears overall in black, with the neck rings, neck struts, hemispheres, collars, mesh and slats in silver. Structurally it differs from the drones in that its lower collar is an integral moulding and it has only twenty slats, one of which is mounted centrally between the gun boxes. It is also differentiated by having a small eyeball and orange dome lights. It was constructed using a BBC promotional prop made by Martin Wilkie.
Remembrance of the Daleks
was to be the Daleks' last appearance in the 'classic' Doctor Who series, with the programme being put on hiatus by the BBC after November 1989.
", sees the return of a lone Dalek which has somehow survived a Time War
resulting in the mutual annihilation of both the Daleks and the Doctor's race, the Time Lord
s. Whilst the New Series Dalek retains the same overall shape and proportions of its forebears, every component has been re-designed to give it a heavier and more solid look. The updated Dalek appearance is the result of input from Doctor Who executive producer Russell T Davies, artist Bryan Hitch
and production designer Edward Thomas,Edward Thomas IMDb Listing with the design being realised by art department assistant designer Matthew Savage.Matthew Savage IMDb Listing The first batch of New Series Dalek props were constructed by special effects company The Model Unit under the direction of Mike Tucker
, with later builds being undertaken by Specialist Models and the firm 'propmaker.co.uk'.
unique to each Dalek. The standard New Series Dalek is finished in an overall metallic bronze colour scheme.
This Dalek design exhibits abilities not previously seen, almost all of which are realised using computer-generated imagery
. The casing has a swivelling mid-section incorporating the gun boxes, providing a 360-degree field of fire. It can also open by splitting down the front centre-line to reveal the mutant within. In "Dalek
" (2005) the hemispheres are shown to actually be recessed spheres and components in a self-destruct mechanism. They are able to separate from the Dalek’s casing and create an encircling sphere of energy which destroys the Dalek without trace. The plunger has been transformed into a versatile tool/weapon with an adaptable shape which can interface with keyboards and control mechanisms, drain power and data, and crush a man's skull.
New series Daleks are shown as having the ability to fly both in the vacuum of space and within a planet's atmosphere. They can regenerate by absorbing residual radiation and DNA from a time-traveller who touches them ("Doomsday
" (2006)) and have a force field
which can disintegrate bullets before they strike it. The height of the new design was chosen so that the eye stalk would be level with the eyes of the Doctor's companion Rose Tyler
, as portrayed by actress Billie Piper
.
Three minor variations to the standard new series design have been shown. The single Dalek seen in "Dalek" differs from those appearing in subsequent episodes in that the lower shoulder collar is the same brass colour as its slats, instead of being bronze. A Dalek is seen in "The Parting of the Ways
" (2005) with its plunger replaced by a spherical appendage incorporating a three-pincer claw and an extendable cutting torch. The story shows it being used by the Dalek force invading the Satellite 5
space station
to breach an internal blast door not readily susceptible to their normal energy weapons. The toy manufacturer Character Options
has used the term 'Assault Dalek' on promotional material and packaging for licensed scale Dalek action figures having the claw/cutter appendage. The episode "Victory of the Daleks
" (2010), set during World War II, features two New Series Daleks masquerading as British secret weapons in the fight against Nazi Germany. The Dalek casings are painted overall in camouflage green with a Union Jack replacing the identifying ideogram on the dome front, and one prop features a non-standard neck bin orientation with a strut positioned along the front centreline. Canvas ammunition pouches are fixed around the shoulders and in one scene a Dalek is shown operating outdoors with opaque fabric covers fitted over its dome lights. The Daleks are also seen carrying a tea tray and box files with their plungers angled upward, an ability not previously demonstrated. These Daleks are referred to as "Ironsides" in the story.
, a number of black-domed Daleks appear briefly in "The Parting of the Ways
" forming a guard around the Dalek Emperor. Some of the guards are also differentiated by the replacement of the standard plunger with either blade-like projections holding a small sphere on the front of which is a glowing lens, or a tubular framework supporting a large sphere incorporating a glowing lens. The specialised appendages are not referred to or shown in use during the episode, nor is their purpose explained. Both the BBC's Doctor Who website and the publication Doctor Who: Aliens and Enemies describe them as weapons. The packaging for the Character Options 12" radio control model of the third variant identifies the device as a 'multiple spectrum sensor arm'.
". Escaping the Time War
, which resulted in the destruction of both the Daleks and Time Lord
s alike, its ship has fallen through time and space to the edge of Earth's solar system
. Having then recreated the Dalek race this Emperor now regards itself as an immortal god, and the Daleks worship it as such. The Emperor Dalek mutant floats in a transparent cylindrical tank below a giant dome, complete with lights and eyestalk. Two mechanical arms are mounted to the base of this tank. The central structure is connected by articulated joints to three flanking panels, to which large hemispheres are attached.
Doctor Who production designer Edward Thomas was responsible for the overall appearance of the Emperor Dalek, with the design being realised by assistant designers Dan Walker and Matthew Savage. The Emperor Dalek casing was produced as a 1:6 scale model by The Model Unit, whilst the Emperor Dalek mutant was an animatronic puppet
, again in 1:6 scale, created by visual effects specialist Neill Gorton.Neill Gorton IMDb Listing
" (2006) as an elite order of Daleks specifically engineered to use initiative and think as the enemy thinks. They are the first recurring Dalek characters in the history of the Doctor Who television programme. Unlike other Daleks the four members of the Cult have individual names; Sec, Thay, Jast and Caan. While Daleks Thay, Jast and Caan appear identical to other Daleks, Dalek Sec is distinguished by an all black casing.
The Cult are shown to possess a sense of individuality and the ability to initiate an "emergency temporal shift" in order to escape danger by travelling through time and space. In "Doomsday
", a combination of three plungers are used to extract information from a person's mind, with lethal results (although it is implied that this can be done without killing the victim). In the episode "Daleks in Manhattan
" (2007), the plungers of the Cult of Skaro Daleks are used to detect the intelligence of human subjects and in one scene a member of the Cult is seen with its plunger temporarily replaced by a syringe-like device. The BBC book Doctor Who Files: The Cult of Skaro states that Dalek Sec’s black casing is constructed from ‘Metalert’, an enhanced form of Dalekanium reinforced with flidor gold and sap from the extinct Arkellis flower. This fictional material and its constituents have their origins in the TV Century 21
Dalek comic strip from 1965, in which the Golden Emperor’s casing is said to incorporate flidor gold and Arkellis flower sap, and Metalert features as a strengthened form of Dalekanium.
" (2008) and "Journey's End
" (2008), Vault Daleks watch over Davros
in the Vault of the Crucible space station, acting as both bodyguards and warders. Although un-named during the episodes in which they appear, the term is used for the variant on the BBC's Doctor Who website. Character Options named its licensed scale toys of the variant 'Crucible Daleks'.
Vault Daleks form part of the recreated Dalek race each of which, Davros states, has been genetically engineered with cells taken from his own body. Instead of the standard plunger they are fitted with a claw-like appendage incorporating eight ‘pincers’, which are shown to fit directly into some of the ship's controls.
, as leader of the Dalek forces above even Davros. This version is a radical variation on the standard New Series design. It is painted red with gold hemispheres, collar and neck rings. It has three plinth-mounted dome lights featuring cages with three, rather than four uprights, and large golden clamps connecting its shoulders to an extended neck bin.
Its voice is deeper than the other Daleks, resembling that of the 2005 season's Dalek Emperor. Nicholas Briggs
, who provided the voice talent for the Dalek, stated that he adopted a grandiose delivery for the Supreme Dalek to fit his perception of the character as being egotistical. The Supreme Dalek was designed by Doctor Who production designer Edward Thomas, realised by design assistant Peter McKinstryPeter McKinstry IMDb Listing and created by 'propmaker.co.uk'.
" (2010) five examples of a new Dalek variant are introduced, described in the narrative as forming "a new Dalek paradigm
". They are created from pure Dalek DNA contained in a device called a 'Progenator'.BBC Artwork: The Dalek Progenator Their design is the result of input from Doctor Who executive producer Steven Moffat
, production designer Edward Thomas, "Victory of the Daleks" writer Mark Gatiss
and concept artist Peter McKinstry. The props were produced by the BBC Art Department under the supervision of Senior Propmaker Barry Jones.Barry Jones IMDb Listing
Each of the five New Paradigm variants has a casing of a different colour, representing their role in Dalek society: red, drone; blue, strategist; orange, scientist; yellow, Eternal and white, Supreme. Speaking in the programme Doctor Who Confidential
, Doctor Who Executive Producer Steven Moffat stated that the function of the Eternal Dalek had yet to be decided, while writer Mark Gatiss confirmed that the bright colours of the New Paradigm Daleks was inspired by the Daleks seen in the 1960s Amicus films
.
New Paradigm Daleks are taller than previous variants, having a substantial fender reminiscent of Movie Daleks. The skirt section consists of raised panels with bevelled edges, to which forty eight hemispheres are fixed in twelve columns. The hemispheres are grey in colour with the exception of the Eternal Dalek, where they are black. The central rear skirt panel is enlarged significantly to form a broad spine featuring a recessed vertical louvre assembly. Published design drawings and commentary by concept artist Peter McKinstry indicates that this section is capable of opening to deploy alternative weapons which would traverse around the mid section to replace the standard armament. The skirt is surmounted by a prominent, slatless shoulder section, divided by a horizontal groove and featuring integral gun boxes. The neck is devoid of struts and consists of four flared rings detailed with small vertical slots, and is mounted towards the front of the Dalek giving the appearance of a prominent hump at the rear of the shoulder section. The dome, to which two cylindrical lights are fitted, is missing the chamfered lower section applied to previous variants. The gun is larger than that previously seen on the programme and is shown causing the complete disintegration of another Dalek. The eye design features five closely spaced discs of identical diameter behind an eyeball, inset with horizontal fins, on the front of which is a veined "organic" lens which glows with a yellow light. It is mounted to the dome on a ball joint
.
Two variations on the New Paradigm design have been shown. In the 2010 series finale "The Big Bang
" a pair of fossilised New Paradigm 'Stone Daleks' are seen, having the appearance of severely weathered statues. They are remnants left when, in the episode, most of history is erased by the destruction of the universe. The term Stone Dalek is derived from a listing in the episode credits. "The Wedding of River Song
" (2011) includes a cameo appearance
by a severely damaged New Paradigm Dalek having an overall grey colour scheme.
(1967) the Daleks trap the Doctor into conducting an experiment to identify the "Human Factor"; the unique qualities which have allowed human beings to consistently resist and defeat them. Ostensibly once the factor is isolated and ‘distilled’ they plan to implant it in themselves to create an undefeatable army of ‘Super Daleks’. It transpires that this is a ruse, however. The Dalek Emperor reveals that identifying the Human Factor has merely served to define the ‘Dalek Factor’, which determines their species' unquestioning obedience to Dalek ideology and aggressive, pitiless nature. With the aid of a ‘converted’ Doctor and his TARDIS
, they plan to impregnate all of humanity throughout Earth’s history with the Dalek Factor, transforming them into "Human Daleks”. When, in the story, some Daleks are implanted with the Human Factor they lose their aggressive traits and begin to question authority, leading to a catastrophic civil war.
(1985) Davros
engages in creating a new breed of Dalek mutants to command. He uses as source material the severed heads, and specifically the brains, of terminal human medical patients in the Tranquil Repose mausoleum
and suspended animation
facility on the planet Necros. During the earlier stages of the conversion process it appears that the victims retain some memory and awareness of their humanity, but by the end of the metamorphosis they have become fully Dalek in nature, if not appearance.
" (2005) a dying Dalek’s casing is touched by Rose Tyler
, a companion of the Doctor. During this brief physical contact the Dalek absorbs a sufficient amount of her DNA to regenerate itself and its damaged travel machine. It later becomes apparent that this genetic material has caused it to mutate further, as it begins to experience human emotions. It finally becomes trapped in an agony of conflict and self-loathing, and destroys itself.
" (2005), the Emperor Dalek and the few surviving members of its crew hide in space for centuries, harvesting organic material from the dispossessed of Earth and genetically manipulating it to rebuild their race. The Emperor tells the Doctor that a new Dalek army has been created using "filleted, pulped and sifted" human bodies, although they still consider themselves to be “...pure and blessed Dalek.” The Doctor declares that, driven mad by centuries of isolation and loathing for their own genetic makeup, they hate themselves and are thus more dangerous than ever.
When a Dalek is destroyed and the mutant revealed it is of a different appearance to the mutant seen in "Dalek
", the prop hinting at a human heritage. Mutants originating from Kaled stock appear to have a closed, vestigial second eye, set below and to one side of the sighted eye. The mutant in The Parting of the Ways seems to have two identical, symmetrically set eyes above which is a prominent supraorbital ridge
. A large fleshy mass protrudes below the eyes, with folds suggestive of a mouth-like orifice.
In the two-part story "Daleks in Manhattan
" and "Evolution of the Daleks
" (2007) the Cult of Skaro, stranded in 1930s America following an emergency temporal shift, attempt to rebuild the Dalek race. Endeavours to manufacture Dalek embryos result in green brain-like entities which are non-viable and discarded. Consequently Dalek Sec sacrifices itself for the survival of the Dalek race by entrapping in its casing Mr. Diagoras, a human collaborator, and merging with him to become a Human/Dalek hybrid. The process results in a humanoid creature which, although still wearing Diagoras’ clothes, is mutated beyond recognition. Its fingers taper to points, it has a large, exposed brain and a single eye set in a face framed by six thick tentacles. The voice is an amalgam of human and Dalek characteristics.
The Cult then prepare to create Human Daleks utilising Dalek DNA to 'format' the brains of thousands of captured humans, who have been frozen and had their minds erased. Sec orders that a gene solution extracted from its own body is to be used instead, creating hybrids having human emotions and Dalek intelligence. It says this will eradicate the Daleks' obsession with universal supremacy, which has led them to the brink of extinction. Believing that Daleks should remain pure and Sec is now a traitor to their race, the other Cult members bind it in chains and proceed with the original plan.
Despite initial appearances of success the scheme fails due to the contamination of the Human Daleks with the Doctor's DNA during the conversion process. This causes them to begin questioning their orders and Dalek ideology. Sec is accidentally killed attempting to stop Dalek Thay exterminating the Doctor. Armed with Dalek weapons a fire-fight then erupts between the hybrids and Jast and Thay, during which the two Daleks and several hybrids are destroyed. Watching events via a remote link Dalek Caan declares the Human Daleks a failure and transmits a destruct signal, killing the hybrids.
gripping Britain following their initial appearances in the Doctor Who programme, two films featuring the Daleks
were produced; Dr. Who and the Daleks
(1965) and Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD
(1966). The storylines for these movies are essentially identical to the first two TV serials in which the Daleks were seen, with the primary exception that the character of "Doctor Who" (his onscreen name) is portrayed as being an eccentric human inventor rather than an alien. For this reason, these Dalek appearances and variants may be considered of a continuity unique to the film series.
, Movie Daleks (as they have come to be known) have substantial fenders, very similar in shape and design to those seen in the Doctor Who serial The Dalek Invasion of Earth
. The skirt sits directly on top of the enlarged fender, however, without the intervening step created by the original TV variant base. The gun boxes are angled slightly differently and the neck ring edges have a steeper bevel. The eyestalk has only five discs, with most irises being illuminated. Perhaps the most striking difference is the dome lights, which are much larger than those seen on TV Daleks of the period. Another distinctive design feature is the gun, which has a wider bore than the TV counterpart, no mantles and is depicted as projecting a high pressure jet of destructive, lethal vapour rather than an energy beam.
Three minor Dalek variants appear in the film. Some Daleks are fitted with a two-jawed mechanical claw instead of the iconic plunger, some have integrally moulded shoulder collars with the front edge angle reversed so that they point towards instead of away from the gun-boxes, and one is seen with a cutting torch instead of a telescopic arm.
Whilst hemisphere misalignment is an occasionally recurring feature of Daleks seen on television over the years, this issue presents itself in a uniform manner with all of the film props. Most noticeably the four hemispheres on the rear-left corner skirt panel are set higher than those on the other panels. As the positioning of the hemispheres on the Dalek casings serves no purpose in the plot and is unreferenced in the narrative, it may be surmised that this was caused by a manufacturing error.
For their first big-screen outing the Daleks were painted in bold colours. Drones are primarily silver with mid-blue domes, hemispheres and fenders, and gold collars. The Dalek leader is black with alternating silver and gold hemispheres, alternating silver and gold neck rings, and gold collars and fender. Its second in command is portrayed as a red Dalek with black hemispheres, gold collars and gold fender. On all versions the dome lights are coloured red.
The ‘hero’ props seen in the film were constructed by Shawcraft Engineering, whilst the Daleks with integrally moulded shoulder collars, which were mainly used to make up numbers in crowd scenes, were produced by the Plaster Workshops at Shepperton Studios
.
’ shaped device, and a gun with mantles. These unusual appendages are not referred to in the story. The misalignment of the hemispheres, evident in Dr. Who and the Daleks, is once again present.
The colour scheme for the drones used in the second film is essentially the same as that used for the television versions at the time, being silver overall with grey shoulders, natural aluminium collars and slats, blue hemispheres and a black fender. Arguably the narrative fails to establish a precise hierarchy for the Dalek commanders seen in the film. The leader of the expeditionary force appears to be a gold Dalek with natural aluminium collars and slats, black hemispheres and a black fender. A black Dalek with gold hemispheres, natural aluminium collars and slats and a black fender is apparently in charge of a mining operation in Bedfordshire, whilst a red Dalek with natural aluminium collars and slats and a black fender with red topping is shown commanding a Dalek spaceship and operations to capture human slaves and wipe-out the resistance. Drones sport blue dome lights, the black and red Daleks have red dome lights and the gold Dalek has yellow dome lights. As for the first film, the Dalek props were constructed by Shawcraft Engineering.
, Portsmouth, England, 2006)Evil of the Daleks Website and The Dalek Masterplan (New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth, England, 2007).The Daleks' Masterplan Article
was a stage play written by David Whitaker and Terry Nation
, which appeared for one month at the Wyndham's Theatre
in London, England beginning on December 21, 1965.
Five Daleks were used in the production; four silver/grey drones and a black version. They were all basically to the Mark 1 Movie Dalek design, but with fenders, dome lights and guns of the type seen on TV Daleks at the time. They were produced by Shawcraft, the manufacturer of the original TV and Movie Daleks.
was a stage play written by Terrance Dicks
, which ran at the Adelphi Theatre
in London, England for four weeks beginning on 16 December 1974.
Five Daleks were created for the play by Philip Poole and Phillip Alleston, under the overall guidance of model maker, sculptor and film designer Allister Bowtell.Allister Bowtell: Obituary They had the general appearance of a TV/film hybrid. There were a number of similarities to the Supreme Dalek from Planet of the Daleks
, including flat-edged neck rings and a strutless neck bin. The main body was similar to TV Daleks of the time, but with an enlarged fender which was larger than the TV props but smaller than that fitted to Movie Daleks. Turn-indicator style lights were used, and the gun stick rods were thinner and more angular than those fitted to either TV or film variants.
Some confusion has arisen regarding the design of the Daleks used in this play as publicity photographs taken at the time show Trevor Martin
, the actor portraying Doctor Who, posing with the Planet of the Daleks Supreme and a Mark 2 Movie Dalek. The Movie Dalek exhibits several alterations from the film appearance including ‘jam jar’ dome lights, an enlarged eyeball with protruding torch lens, panels fitted to the gun box fronts, a gun terminating in a small plunger and what appears to be elongated, crimped gun rods fixed to the arm. Neither of these props actually appeared in the stage production.
was a stage play written by Terrance Dicks. It toured Great Britain, appearing at twenty theatres between April and August 1989.
Four blue/grey drones and a Black Dalek (credited as 'The Chief Dalek') appeared in the play. Specific design differences from the television version included a skirt section which was flared more to the sides and less to the front and back, a single vertical column of hemispheres on the skirt side panels and a higher fender. The props also had large, rectangular dome lights, no eye discs and no shoulder slats. The neck rings had a different configuration, the most noticeable effect being that the bottom ring diameter was much wider than the shoulders. These Daleks had a dome that was a true hemisphere instead of the bevelled design of both TV and film Daleks. Finally, instead of two separate gun boxes a complete unbroken oblong box ran across the front of the body.
A Dalek Emperor prop was also created, being a scaled-down but otherwise faithful reproduction of the version that appeared in The Evil of the Daleks
, with the addition of large wing-like structures to the sides. All Dalek props used in the production were built by the theatrical suppliers Suffolk Scenery.
's BBC Books
Doctor Who novel War of the Daleks
in which Grey, Blue, Red, Black and Gold Daleks are described as having successively higher status, all serving under the Dalek Prime. Other examples are the TV21
Dalek comic strip in which a Black Dalek is shown acting as second-in-command to the Golden Emperor, and Trevor Baxendale
’s novel Prisoner of the Daleks
where a Dalek Inquisitor General (also referred to as 'Dalek X') is described as being of the New Series design but having a casing of gunmetal black with gold slats and hemispheres.
The concept of an Emperor Dalek was first introduced in The Dalek Book (1964), re-appearing shortly thereafter in the TV21
comic strip The Daleks.
According to the comic strip version of events the planet Skaro was inhabited by two warring humanoid species; the tall, handsome, peaceful Thals
and the aggressive blue-skinned Daleks. The Daleks build a neutron bomb
to finally destroy the Thals and bring the conflict to an end. A meteorite
storm causes the device to detonate prematurely, devastating Skaro and the planet's civilisations. The only survivors of the Dalek race are the scientist Yarvelling and the warlord Zolfian. Whilst exploring the shattered remains of their world they are attacked, and then interrogated, by a prototype war machine which Yarvelling had created shortly before the holocaust. It is implied that these machines were intended to act as semi-autonomous robotic warriors. It informs them that it is actually a mutated Dalek, the result of radiation from the neutron bomb explosion, which has commandeered the casing to use as a travel machine. It says that there are many more mutants, and persuades Yarvelling and Zolfian to build more casings to house them. Before the last two humanoid Daleks die, exhausted by their labours and the effects of radiation, it appoints itself as Emperor and has a special casing constructed to reflect its new rank, made from "...Flidor gold, Quartz and Arkellis flower sap...". The Golden Emperor is usually depicted as being slightly shorter than a standard Dalek, with a disproportionately large spherical head section.
The title page of The Dalek Book lists three contributing illustrators; Richard Jennings
, John Woods and A.B. Cornwell. As none of the stories are individually credited it is uncertain which artist or artists first developed the Golden Emperor design. Two illustrators provided interpretations of the Golden Emperor for the TV21 comic strip; Jennings again, and Ron Turner
who superseded him in later instalments.
During rehearsals for the first Doctor Who serial in which they appeared a numbered piece of card was taped to the dome of each Dalek to assist the director in distinguishing them, with a tape roll being wedged behind the top front collar of each prop for safekeeping. These objects subsequently appeared in photographs of the Daleks provided by the BBC to merchandise producers for reference, with the illustrators of the Dalek Book interpreting them as speaker grilles and insignia. Shortly after the publication of this volume other merchandise and packaging appeared featuring Daleks with the speaker grille design element. These included Dalek board games, bagatelle
, 'Cutta-Mastic' polystyrene
sculpting sets, marble mazes
and a ray gun torch.
, appears in the Telos novella
The Dalek Factor
by Simon Clark
. It is referred to as "an Emperor", implying there is more than one during the period in which the story is set.
and Legacy of the Daleks
. Although portrayed as being a leader, its precise position in the Dalek hierarchy is not made clear. In War of the Daleks its description closely matches that of the TV21 Golden Emperor.
Doctor Who serial novelizations were translated into Japanese by Yukio Sekiguchi and published in 1980 by Hayakawa Bunko books. These included Doctor Who and the Daleks as and Doctor Who and the Day of the Daleks as Artist Michiaki Sato was commissioned to provide illustrations for these volumes.
Unlike other comic book and graphic artists whose work, however stylised, usually presents relatively minor variations to the standard Dalek form, Sato’s renderings show a unique Dalek variant which is a radical departure from the recognised design. Possible reasons for this include lack of access to source material, the Japanese publishers having no rights to the use of the Dalek image and the artist simply being allowed the free rein of his imagination.
, are torpedo
-shaped with their eye at the front, and have a gun stick and grappling arm parallel to their body. They are stated to be larger than the standard Daleks.
-like creatures which inhabit the swamps of the planet Gurnian. As none of the stories in the book are individually credited it is uncertain which artist developed the Marsh Dalek design. Marsh Daleks are also briefly referenced in Marc Platt's
Doctor Who novel Lungbarrow
, in which it is said that during the 26th century humans fought and disabled them by shooting at their legs with high-impulse carbine
s.
, written by John Freeman
& Paul Cornell
, Psyche Daleks are depicted with a large mass of green brain tissue contained within a transparent sphere that sits on top of the shoulder section, in place of the normal neck bin and dome. In the story a Psyche Dalek is used to control a small group of partially robotised prisoners through a remote device mounted on its arm in place of the normal plunger. The comic strip was drawn by Lee Sullivan
.
for an aborted Doctor Who television movie to be produced by Amblin Entertainment
in 1994. Spider Daleks directly based on the Amblin production concept sketches were eventually used in the comic strip Fire and Brimstone, in which they are presented as a radically different form of Dalek from a parallel universe
. The strip was drawn by Martin Geraghty
and Robin Smith
. In John Peel's novel War of the Daleks
they are depicted as creations of Davros and described as being slightly larger than a standard Dalek, with eight legs emerging from the lower half. They are said to have greater manoeuvrability than standard Daleks, at the cost of being more vulnerable at their joints.
. They are said to be ten times larger than a standard Spider Dalek and equipped with additional weapons.
's BBC Eighth Doctor
novel Father Time
and the Miranda
spin-off comics. Although physically humanoid and genetically human, they share many cultural characteristics with the Daleks and appear to regard Dalek history as their own. Their name is both an anagram of "Dalek", as "Dalek" is itself of "Kaled" and a play on the biological term "clade
", being a group of species sharing a common ancestor. They are "...the super-evolved descendants of the Daleks", the implication being that, like that of the Thals
, their mutation has come "full circle" and returned them to a humanoid form.
was engaged to redesign the Special Weapons Dalek for the production. A sketch of the proposed variant, which has become known as The Dark Dimension Dalek, was produced at the time by BBC artist Alan Marshall. Notable differences to a standard Dalek include a substantially enlarged fender to which the Dalek is attached by large locking-clamps, an enhanced mid section featuring two large shoulder-mounted cannon and a foreshortened neck bin encircled by three thick neck rings. Programme development commenced in September 1992 and was officially cancelled in July 1993, with the BBC citing 'financial and logistical reasons'. Although a Dark Dimension Dalek prop was never constructed by the BBC it has become the subject of a number of illustrations, and at least one full size fan-built reconstruction.Dalek STORM Dark Dimensions Special Weapons Dalek Website
Dalek
The Daleks are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Within the series, Daleks are cyborgs from the planet Skaro, created by the scientist Davros during the final years of a thousand-year war against the Thals...
s, a fictional alien
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
race in the long-running BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
science fiction television
Science fiction on television
Science fiction first appeared on a television program during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary world not limited by the constraints of reality; this makes television an excellent medium...
programme Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
.
Daleks are not robots. As first seen in the serial The Daleks
The Daleks
The Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in seven weekly parts from 21 December 1963 to 1 February 1964...
, the outward manifestation is a powerful, technically advanced travel machine in which a hideous and malevolent mutant
Mutant
In biology and especially genetics, a mutant is an individual, organism, or new genetic character, arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is a base-pair sequence change within the DNA of a gene or chromosome of an organism resulting in the creation of a new character or trait not...
, the Dalek creature, resides. Although the general appearance of the Daleks has remained the same, details of both the casing and the mutant creature have changed over time. Some alterations were made to accommodate the requirements of specific plot elements in various serials and episodes, or at the request of producers, designers and directors to revitalise the Dalek appearance. On other occasions design changes have been the result of practical considerations when filming the Dalek props on location or the mixing and use of components acquired from different sources.
The following entries make mention of both television and non-television portrayals of the Daleks.
Dalek component naming conventions
Over the years fans of the Doctor Who programme have adopted naming conventions to identify the various components of the Dalek travel machine. These are listed below as an aid to tracking the detail changes which have been made to the basic design to create variants. From the base up, the major components are as follows:- Fender — The projecting base of the Dalek.
- Skirt — The section with angled faces, to which the hemispheres are attached.
- Hemispheres — Also known as ‘hemis’, 'sense globes' ‘skirt balls’ or 'Dalek bumps,' there are fifty-six of these (forty-eight on a New Paradigm Dalek) fixed in four rows to the skirt panels.
- Shoulders — The section between the top of the skirt and the neck bin.
- Collars — Horizontal bands fitted around the shoulders.
- Slats — Vertical oblong panels fitted to the upper collar.
- Shoulder mesh — Metal diamond-section mesh fitted between the slats and the upper collar.
- Gun boxes — Projecting boxes housing the ball joints for the arm and gun stick.
- Gun stick — Usually portrayed as being a variable discharge energy weapon.
- Gun rods — Longitudinal rods forming a cage around the gun stick.
- Gun mantles — Octagonal cross-members bracing the gun rods along their length.
- Arm — A telescopic arm, usually having two or three sections.
- Plunger — Fixed to the end of the arm, this is a Dalek’s primary and most famous manipulating appendage.
- Neck bin — The section between the shoulders and the dome.
- Neck bin mesh — Metal diamond-section mesh fitted between the neck bin and the neck rings.
- Neck rings — Horizontal rings fitted around the neck bin.
- Neck struts — Eight thin, vertical struts on the outside of the neck bin, between the top of the shoulders and the dome.
- Dome — The rotatable top component of the travel machine.
- Dome lights — Lights fixed to the dome, which flash when the Dalek speaks.
- Eye stalk — A rod projecting from the dome, which can pivot up and down.
- Eye discs — A series of discs of varying diameter through which the eye stalk is threaded.
- Eyeball — A spherical component fitted to the end of the eye stalk, shown in various episodes to contain the Dalek’s visual detection equipment.
- Eye lens — A circular lens at the front of the eyeball which, dependent upon the variant (or occasionally the individual Dalek), is sometimes illuminated or has a central pupil.
- Dome cowl — A structure which projects from the front of the dome and surrounds the eye stalk pivot. (New Series Dalek only)
Overview
Externally Daleks have the appearance of a truncated cone, varying between approximately 1.5 metres (5 feet) and 2 metres (6 feet 6 inches) tall depending upon the variant. They are equipped with a single mechanical rod-mounted eye which protrudes from a rotating dome, a gun stick containing a directed energy weapon and a telescopic arm. Usually the arm is fitted with a manipulating device which resembles a sink plunger. This item is shown in various episodes to be capable of holding people and objects, apparently utilising a powerful vacuum. The gun has been depicted as being able to produce a variable output which can paralyse, stun or kill virtually any life form, disintegrate other Daleks and, at higher settings, destroy buildings and spacecraft.Casing
In Remembrance of the DaleksRemembrance of the Daleks
Remembrance of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 5 October to 26 October 1988....
(1988) and the episodes "The Parting of the Ways
The Parting of the Ways
"The Parting of the Ways" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on 18 June 2005. It was the second episode of the two-part story that featured Christopher Eccleston making his last appearance as the Ninth Doctor...
(2005)" and "Doomsday
Doomsday (Doctor Who)
"Doomsday" is the thirteenth and final episode in the second series of the revival of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 8 July 2006 and is the conclusion of a two-part story; the first part, "Army of Ghosts", was broadcast on 1 July 2006...
" (2006) the Doctor states that Dalek casings are constructed from bonded polycarbide
Carbide
In chemistry, a carbide is a compound composed of carbon and a less electronegative element. Carbides can be generally classified by chemical bonding type as follows: salt-like, covalent compounds, interstitial compounds, and "intermediate" transition metal carbides...
. Prior to this the material was sometimes referred to as "dalekanium". The casing is depicted as being impervious to many projectile and energy weapons, although Daleks are not indestructible. They can be damaged or destroyed by overwhelming firepower, their own weaponry and falls from a height. In addition, in Revelation of the Daleks
Revelation of the Daleks
Revelation of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts on 23 March and 30 March 1985...
(1985), they are said to be vulnerable to "bastic-headed bullets". In the revived programme from 2005 onward a Dalek's defensive capability was augmented by an invisible force shield, with the eye remaining a weak point.
The lower shell is covered with hemispherical protrusions. In the BBC-Licensed The Dalek Book (1964), and again in The Doctor Who Technical Manual (1983), these items are described as being part of a sensory array. In "Dalek
Dalek (Doctor Who episode)
"Dalek" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that was first broadcast on 30 April 2005. It should not be confused with the first Dalek serial, The Daleks...
" (2005) they are shown to act as components in a self-destruct mechanism.
Eye
Historically a Dalek's eye is its most vulnerable spot. (In "Silence in the LibrarySilence in the Library
"Silence in the Library" is the eighth episode of the fourth series of the revived British science fiction television series Doctor Who, first broadcast on 31 May 2008. It is the first of a two-part story, followed by "Forest of the Dead", and is the second two-parter Steven Moffat contributed to...
" (2008) the Doctor, when speaking of how to deal with various alien menaces, says "Daleks: aim for the eye stalk"). In the revived series from 2005 onward Daleks have been given systems to protect their vision. In the 2008 episode "The Stolen Earth
The Stolen Earth
"The Stolen Earth" is the twelfth episode of the fourth series and the 750th overall episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The episode was written by show runner and head writer Russell T Davies and is the first of a two-part crossover story; the concluding episode is...
", Wilfred Mott
Wilfred Mott
Wilfred "Wilf" Mott is a recurring fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by Bernard Cribbins. He is the maternal grandfather of the Tenth Doctor's companion Donna Noble, and father of character Sylvia Noble...
attempts to disable a Dalek by blinding it using a paintball gun
Paintball marker
A paintball marker, also known as a paintball gun, is the main piece of equipment in the sport of paintball. Markers use an expanding gas, such as carbon dioxide or compressed air, to propel paintballs through the barrel. Some paintball players refer to the piece of equipment as a "marker" rather...
. The Dalek is seen to simply evaporate the paint from its eye.
Eye lens, eye discs and dome lights
While maintaining their general shape and appearance, the design of these components has varied considerably over the years. Eye lenses were first shown as blank, white discs, sometimes featuring internal illumination. Later, lenses with a black ‘pupilPupil
The pupil is a hole located in the center of the iris of the eye that allows light to enter the retina. It appears black because most of the light entering the pupil is absorbed by the tissues inside the eye. In humans the pupil is round, but other species, such as some cats, have slit pupils. In...
’ were introduced. New Series Daleks have a clear lens which glows with a blue light whilst New Paradigm Daleks, introduced in the episode "Victory of the Daleks
Victory of the Daleks
"Victory of the Daleks" is the third episode in the fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is written by Mark Gatiss and first broadcast on BBC One on 17 April 2010....
" (2010), are equipped with an ‘organic eyeball’ set behind a small transparent hemisphere. Throughout the 1960s Daleks were occasionally shown with a functioning iris, a feature also seen in the New Series Dalek design. The eye discs have varied in number, size, spacing, profile and configuration. Colour has generally been restricted to powder blue, white or gold, with New Series Dalek eye discs having a translucent, frosted appearance and those of the New Paradigm variant being black.
The dome-light covers first resembled table-tennis balls, before items having the appearance of plastic egg cup
Egg cup
An egg cup, sometimes called egg server, is a container used for serving boiled eggs within their shell. Egg cups have an upwardly concave portion to hold the egg and often include a base to raise the egg retaining portion and give stability, informally known as footies. Egg cups can be made of...
inserts were substituted. Later these were replaced by various types of 'bee skep-shaped' vehicle side light lenses. The flattened lights fitted to the Imperial Daleks seen in ‘’Remembrance of the Daleks’’ were formed from Perspex discs capped by commercially available saucer-shaped plastic components, whilst New Series and New Paradigm Daleks have light-covers consisting of tubular beacon lenses, the former variant's being surrounded by a metal cage.
Underside
The underside structure of a Dalek casing was indeterminate until the publication of the The Dalek Book (1964). This included a cutaway drawing entitled 'Anatomy of a Dalek' which showed it to have a base through which a large central sphere, surrounded by smaller satellite ‘balancing globes’, protrudes. This layout was generally adopted and used in subsequent Dalek plans and comic strip representations produced over the years. This is at variance with the few glimpses seen in early Doctor Who television episodes and films, which made little attempt to show (or hide) anything other than the actual base of the Dalek prop. As this usually took the form of a plywood board to which castors had been attached and a hole cut out for the operator’s feet, these brief appearances were of little assistance in maintaining the illusion of the props being functional, armoured casings housing an alien being. This situation was finally remedied in the episode "DalekDalek (Doctor Who episode)
"Dalek" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that was first broadcast on 30 April 2005. It should not be confused with the first Dalek serial, The Daleks...
" (2005) and subsequent appearances of the New Series Dalek. This variant is shown to have an underside consisting of a large, recessed central hemisphere surrounded by eight satellite hemispheres. The central hemisphere and four of the satellite hemispheres glow when the Dalek is in flight mode.
Dalek mutant
The creatures inside the "travel machines" are depicted as repulsive in appearance and vicious even without their mechanical armour. Rarely glimpsed until the programme's revival in 2005, they were usually shown as amorphous green blobs with strong tentacles capable of strangulation or, occasionally, as having clawed hands. Their appearance and evolution is variously attributed to radioactive fallout from a catastrophic war (The DaleksThe Daleks
The Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in seven weekly parts from 21 December 1963 to 1 February 1964...
(1963) ), artificially accelerating pre-existing genetic mutations within the Kaled species (Genesis of the Daleks
Genesis of the Daleks
Genesis of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that was originally broadcast in six weekly parts from 8 March to 12 April 1975. It marks the first appearance of Davros, the creator of the Daleks.-Plot:...
(1975) ) and the manipulation of genetic material forcibly obtained from other (usually human) species. From 2005 onward the Dalek creature has been seen more frequently, in its latest incarnation resembling a pale octopus-like being with a single viable eye, a vestigial nose and mouth, and an exposed brain.
Voice
Daleks have distinctive electronic voices, the harsh, staccato sound being created by actors speaking through a microphone into a device called a Ring ModulatorRing modulation
Ring modulation is a signal-processing effect in electronics, an implementation of amplitude modulation or frequency mixing, performed by multiplying two signals, where one is typically a sine-wave or another simple waveform. It is referred to as "ring" modulation because the analog circuit of...
. Whilst this produces considerable distortion and a monotone effect, inflection and pace are used to express a range of emotions including rage, disdain and, very occasionally, fear.
Locomotion and manoeuvrability
Dalek locomotion is usually in the form of a gliding movement an inch or so above the ground. The Dalek Book (1964) indicates that traction is provided by a large, omni-directional rotating metal sphere, whilst in the serial Death to the DaleksDeath to the Daleks
Death to the Daleks is a four-part serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. First broadcast from February 23 to March 16, 1974, it comprises four 25-minute episodes. The narrative begins as the TARDIS suffers an energy drain and crash-lands on the planet Exxilon...
(1974) the Doctor states that they move by psycho-kinetic power. For many years Daleks were depicted as being unable to climb stairs, having to rely upon smooth ground on which to travel. This was rectified in Revelation of the Daleks
Revelation of the Daleks
Revelation of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts on 23 March and 30 March 1985...
in which a hovering Dalek was seen briefly, and then in Remembrance of the Daleks
Remembrance of the Daleks
Remembrance of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 5 October to 26 October 1988....
which featured a Dalek levitating up a staircase. From 2005 onward various Doctor Who episodes have shown Daleks hovering and flying with ease, locomotion being imparted by anti-gravity
Anti-gravity
Anti-gravity is the idea of creating a place or object that is free from the force of gravity. It does not refer to the lack of weight under gravity experienced in free fall or orbit, or to balancing the force of gravity with some other force, such as electromagnetism or aerodynamic lift...
generators.
Dalek variant naming conventions
During the course of the Doctor Who television programme the BBC, its producers and scriptwriters have rarely alluded to changes in Dalek design or ascribed names or designations to the various models seen. For the most part a Dalek is simply a Dalek. Notable exceptions usually refer to rank, such as "Emperor" and "Supreme Dalek", although in Genesis of the DaleksGenesis of the Daleks
Genesis of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that was originally broadcast in six weekly parts from 8 March to 12 April 1975. It marks the first appearance of Davros, the creator of the Daleks.-Plot:...
Davros
Davros
Davros is a character from the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Davros is an archenemy of the Doctor and is the creator of the Doctor's deadliest enemies, the Daleks...
refers to the newly created Dalek casing as a "Mark 3 Travel Machine".
The Dalek variant naming conventions used in this article are, in the main, attributed to the various models as a matter of convenience. They can be found in general use by the Doctor Who/Dalek fan base, and are often quoted in posts and documentation on websites such as The Project Dalek Forum.Project Dalek Website Other classifications for the major Dalek variants exist. The Doctor Who Technical Manual (1983), for instance, places both television and Movie Daleks in the same numerical sequence by order of their first screen appearances, although reconciling the characters and events depicted in the Doctor Who films with those established in the TV programme is problematic.
The term 'drone
Drone (bee)
Drones are male honey bees. They develop from eggs that have not been fertilized, and they cannot sting, since the worker bee's stinger is a modified ovipositor .-Etymology:...
' in this article is used to indicate a Dalek having no rank. Its only use to date in any of the Doctor Who television serials or films in which the Daleks have appeared has been in the Eleventh Doctor
Eleventh Doctor
The Eleventh Doctor is the eleventh incarnation of the protagonist of the BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. Matt Smith plays this incarnation, replacing David Tennant's Tenth Doctor in the 2010 episode "The End of Time, Part Two"...
episode "Victory of the Daleks".
Mark I Daleks
The Daleks first appeared in the 1963 Doctor Who serial The DaleksThe Daleks
The Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in seven weekly parts from 21 December 1963 to 1 February 1964...
. There are no visual cues to distinguish one Dalek from another, or suggestions in the story of any particular hierarchy.
The Mark 1 Dalek differs from later variants in having no shoulder slats or mesh, nine eye discs (the greatest number of any version) and a distinctly ‘toffee apple’ shaped eyeball. The eye lenses are illuminated and shown to have an iris
Iris (anatomy)
The iris is a thin, circular structure in the eye, responsible for controlling the diameter and size of the pupils and thus the amount of light reaching the retina. "Eye color" is the color of the iris, which can be green, blue, or brown. In some cases it can be hazel , grey, violet, or even pink...
which can expand and contract. These Daleks have a silver colour scheme with blue/grey shoulders, blue hemispheres and eye discs, collars in natural aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
and black fenders. The story refers to them being powered by static electricity
Static electricity
Static electricity refers to the build-up of electric charge on the surface of objects. The static charges remain on an object until they either bleed off to ground or are quickly neutralized by a discharge. Static electricity can be contrasted with current electricity, which can be delivered...
, with mobility limited to the metal floors in the Dalek City on their home planet, Skaro
Skaro
Skaro is a fictional planet from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who created by the writer Terry Nation as the home planet of the Daleks and, at times, the centre of the Dalek Empire....
.
In the episode "The Escape" a Dalek is seen with a tray at the end of its telescopic arm, although it is unclear whether this item has replaced its plunger or is somehow attached to the top of it. A Dalek is also depicted using a device resembling a thermal lance
Thermal lance
A thermal lance, thermic lance, oxygen lance, or burning bar is a tool that burns iron in the presence of pressurized oxygen to create very high temperatures for cutting. It consists of a long iron tube packed with iron rods, sometimes mixed with aluminium or magnesium rods to increase the heat...
to cut through a door in the episode "The Ambush". This item consists of a long, slim tube flanked by two globes, surmounted by a clear disc-shaped ‘sight screen’. The implication is that this appendage is mounted to the Dalek’s arm in place of a plunger, although due to the use of a tight close-up on the device this isn’t actually seen on screen.
The Dalek concept was the creation of screenwriter Terry Nation
Terry Nation
Terry Nation was a Welsh screenwriter and novelist.He is probably best known for creating the villainous Daleks in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who...
, with the design being realised by BBC staff designer Raymond Cusick
Raymond Cusick
Raymond P. "Ray" Cusick was a designer for the British Broadcasting Corporation. He is best known for designing the Daleks, a race of mutants who move around in tank-like travel machines, for the science fiction television series Doctor Who....
. The props were constructed by Shawcraft Engineering of Uxbridge, England under the direction of Bill Roberts,Bill Roberts: Biography and Radio Interview who also provided some final design input.
Mark II Daleks
The designer for the second Doctor Who serial to feature the Daleks, The Dalek Invasion of EarthThe Dalek Invasion of Earth
The Dalek Invasion of Earth is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in six weekly parts from November 21 to December 26, 1964....
(1964) was Spencer Chapman.Spencer Chapman IMDb Listing The storyline required the props to be used extensively on location. Consequently he and Bill Roberts devised a tricycle
Tricycle
A tricycle is a three-wheeled vehicle. While tricycles are often associated with the small three-wheeled vehicles used by pre-school-age children, they are also used by adults for a variety of purposes. In the United States and Canada, adult-sized tricycles are used primarily by older persons for...
arrangement, incorporating three pneumatic tyres, to replace the original castors
Caster
A caster is an undriven, single, double, or compound wheel that is designed to be mounted to the bottom of a larger object so as to enable that object to be easily moved...
and carry the props over uneven ground. Enlarged fenders were then created to hide the revised undercarriage.
To explain the Daleks’ ability to travel away from the static-charged floors of their city, the narrative has the Doctor stating that an aerial
Antenna (radio)
An antenna is an electrical device which converts electric currents into radio waves, and vice versa. It is usually used with a radio transmitter or radio receiver...
located at the edge of a mine in Bedfordshire is the key to the Daleks' power supply on Earth. Although not referred to directly in the story, it is implied that the 12 inch parabolic dishes
Parabolic antenna
A parabolic antenna is an antenna that uses a parabolic reflector, a curved surface with the cross-sectional shape of a parabola, to direct the radio waves. The most common form is shaped like a dish and is popularly called a dish antenna or parabolic dish...
now fitted to the rear shoulder section of each prop act as receptors for some form of transmitted energy. Other design changes were a reduction in the number of eye discs to five and painting some eyeballs silver instead of the standard black colour. An amphibious capability is demonstrated in the closing moments of the first episode of the serial, when a Dalek emerges from beneath the waters of the River Thames.
For the first time a Dalek command structure is introduced, with rank being indicated by differing colour schemes. The Earth Taskforce Commander, or ‘Saucer Commander’, features a black dome and alternating light and dark skirt panels. A Supreme Controller or ‘Black Dalek’ is also seen, with a black dome, shoulders and skirt. There is a dispute as to whether the Saucer Commander's dark skirt panels were created using red or black paint. As the serial was recorded and transmitted in monochrome, rendering the skirt panels as silver and black on screen, the point remains largely academic. Only black and white production photographs seem to have been taken at the time and, in the absence of any colour images to decide the issue, this matter remains unresolved.
Mark III Daleks
First introduced in 1965, the basic design of the Mark 3 Dalek variant remained relatively unchanged for the next twenty years.Mark 3 Daleks in the 1960s
The Mark 3 Dalek variant first appeared in The ChaseThe Chase (Doctor Who)
The Chase is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 22 May to 26 June 1965. The story is set on multiple locations including the Mary Celeste, the Empire State Building, and the planet Aridius...
(1965), with Ray Cusick returning as designer for the serial. As the production required no location filming and Cusick felt that Daleks should be shorter than an average person, he had the enlarged fenders and wheels, installed for The Dalek Invasion of Earth, removed and replaced with the original style of running gear. Greater flexibility in the storylines was afforded by freeing the Daleks from reliance on static-charged metal floors for power and mobility. For this and further serials, however, the contrivance of the dish aerials to achieve this was dispensed with. Instead they were replaced by a steel mesh wrapped around the upper collar, over which were mounted twenty three vertical, oblong slats ostensibly forming a power collection array (although this function has never been confirmed on screen).
A Black Dalek appears in one scene of the first episode of The Chase, "The Executioners". Daleks with non-standard arm appendages are also seen in this serial. A ‘seismic detector’ in the shape of a gimballed hemisphere appears several times, and in the episode "The Planet of Decision" a device referred to as an ‘electro unit’ is deployed to pick an electronic lock. The prop consisted of a large revolving parabolic dish from the centre of which two converging rods protruded.
Three Daleks of the Mark 1 Movie design can occasionally be seen in The Chase, borrowed from the production company responsible for the Doctor Who films to bulk-up numbers. They can be distinguished from the TV props by the darker dome and lack of slats, their bold colour scheme not being apparent due the filming of the serial in monochrome. In some scenes their large fenders are missing, with the skirts sitting directly on the floor.
For the following four serials in which they appeared, Mission to the Unknown
Mission to the Unknown
"Mission to the Unknown", sometimes known as "Dalek Cutaway", is an episode in the television series Doctor Who. It is a standalone episode, serving as an introduction to the 12 part story The Daleks' Master Plan...
(1965), The Daleks' Masterplan (1965), Power of the Daleks (1966) and The Evil of the Daleks
The Evil of the Daleks
The Evil of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in seven weekly parts from 20 May to 1 July 1967. This serial marked the debut of Deborah Watling as the Doctor's new companion, Victoria Waterfield.Evil was initially intended to...
(1967) the Dalek design remained virtually unchanged, with only minor variations to the standard colour scheme and appendages being introduced.
In The Daleks' Masterplan several Daleks are shown as clearing areas of jungle using short, tubular flame throwers
Flamethrower
A flamethrower is a mechanical device designed to project a long controllable stream of fire.Some flamethrowers project a stream of ignited flammable liquid; some project a long gas flame. Most military flamethrowers use liquids, but commercial flamethrowers tend to use high-pressure propane and...
, referred to as pyro-flame burners, in place of the standard plunger.
A Dalek with a circular sieve-like
Sieve
A sieve, or sifter, separates wanted elements from unwanted material using a woven screen such as a mesh or net. However, in cooking, especially with flour, a sifter is used to aerate the substance, among other things. A strainer is a type of sieve typically used to separate a solid from a liquid...
scoop attachment in place of its plunger is seen in The Power of the Daleks
The Power of the Daleks
The Power of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 5 November to 10 December 1966. It is Patrick Troughton's first full story as the Doctor.-Plot:...
. It is used for transferring embryonic Dalek mutants from a liquid-filled nurturing tank to their travel machine casings. For this serial and all future appearance of the Mark 3 variant, the gun design was simplified by removing the mantles.
In The Evil of the Daleks
The Evil of the Daleks
The Evil of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in seven weekly parts from 20 May to 1 July 1967. This serial marked the debut of Deborah Watling as the Doctor's new companion, Victoria Waterfield.Evil was initially intended to...
a Black Dalek is seen again, this time with grey shoulders. Two more elements of the Dalek hierarchy are also introduced; the Dalek Emperor (discussed separately) and Daleks with black domes which primarily appear to act as the Emperor's personal guard. (This motif appears again in "The Parting of the Ways
The Parting of the Ways
"The Parting of the Ways" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on 18 June 2005. It was the second episode of the two-part story that featured Christopher Eccleston making his last appearance as the Ninth Doctor...
" (2005), with black-domed Daleks fulfilling a similar function.) For the first time a Dalek is seen with a black pupil centred in its eye lens.
An unusual version of the Mark 3 Dalek made an appearance in The Evil of the Daleks
The Evil of the Daleks
The Evil of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in seven weekly parts from 20 May to 1 July 1967. This serial marked the debut of Deborah Watling as the Doctor's new companion, Victoria Waterfield.Evil was initially intended to...
. It featured narrow skirt and shoulder sections, with the rear skirt panel having only a single vertical line of hemispheres down the middle. These differences are not alluded to in the story. This build is sometimes referred to as ‘The Wilkie Dalek’ after Bernard Wilkie,Bernard Wilkie IMDb Listing the BBC technical designer who became primarily responsible for the Doctor Who programme’s visual effects after Shawcraft’s involvement ceased during 1967.
Mark 3 Daleks in the 1970s
The Daleks returned to Britain's TV screens in the 1972 serial Day of the DaleksDay of the Daleks
Day of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 1 January to 22 January 1972.-Synopsis:...
, their first appearance in colour on the Doctor Who television programme. 'Drone' Daleks were now finished in grey, with black hemispheres and fender. With the exception of Death to the Daleks
Death to the Daleks
Death to the Daleks is a four-part serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. First broadcast from February 23 to March 16, 1974, it comprises four 25-minute episodes. The narrative begins as the TARDIS suffers an energy drain and crash-lands on the planet Exxilon...
(1974), and albeit with variations in the shade of grey and occasional adornment with black slats and/or collars, this stayed as the standard Dalek colour scheme for the remaining eight serials in which they appeared over the next sixteen years. During this period, however, several small changes to the standard Mark 3 Dalek design were made and their hierarchy was once again expanded.
In Day of the Daleks
Day of the Daleks
Day of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 1 January to 22 January 1972.-Synopsis:...
a Dalek Leader is seen painted overall in gold, with black hemispheres and fender. This serial also saw the first appearance of an oval disc between the gun boxes and a higher fender on all models. The eye lens 'pupil', first glimpsed in The Evil of the Daleks
The Evil of the Daleks
The Evil of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in seven weekly parts from 20 May to 1 July 1967. This serial marked the debut of Deborah Watling as the Doctor's new companion, Victoria Waterfield.Evil was initially intended to...
now became a standard fitting. A gold Dalek Leader returned again in Frontier in Space
Frontier in Space
Frontier in Space is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from February 24 to March 31, 1973...
(1973).
Seven additional Dalek props were produced for Planet of the Daleks
Planet of the Daleks
Planet of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from April 7 to May 12, 1973.-Synopsis:...
(1973) to increase the number which could be displayed on screen at one time. They were created by special effects professional Clifford Culley'sClifford Culley IMDb Listing company Westbury Design & Optical Limited. The production crew referred to these props as "goons". Although fabricated using measurements and moulds taken from an existing prop, the "goon" Daleks exhibited minor differences from the original Shawcraft builds including the substitution of single dowels neck struts for the trefoil cross section items which were the norm up to this point. Once again the story called for a Dalek to cut through a metal door, on this occasion the cutting device replacing the plunger resembling the tip of a large soldering iron
Soldering iron
A soldering iron is a hand tool most commonly used in soldering. It supplies heat to melt the solder so that it can flow into the joint between two workpieces.A soldering iron is composed of a heated metal tip and an insulated handle...
. This serial also featured a unique variant; the Dalek Supreme (discussed separately).
Death to the Daleks
Death to the Daleks
Death to the Daleks is a four-part serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. First broadcast from February 23 to March 16, 1974, it comprises four 25-minute episodes. The narrative begins as the TARDIS suffers an energy drain and crash-lands on the planet Exxilon...
sees the travel machines in a silver livery with black shoulders, hemispheres and fender. During the course of the serial, due to a plot element, the standard blasters are replaced by projectile weapons featuring a drilled barrel with six small fins at the muzzle. After shooting dead two primitive humanoids with these devices a Dalek declares them to be "…moderately efficient". The phasing-out of three section telescopic arms commenced in this serial, with two sections becoming the norm for the remainder of the classic series.
In Destiny of the Daleks
Destiny of the Daleks
Destiny of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 1 September to 22 September 1979. The story introduces Lalla Ward as the newly-regenerated Romana....
(1979) some Daleks can be seen with a neck bin orientation which places a strut along the front centreline, instead of the standard configuration with a strut to either side of centre, and many of the props have what appears to be a small stub aerial projecting from the top of the dome. Six crude, hollow, vacuum-formed Dalek props were also created. They were primarily used during location filming of the serial's finale, although several of them can also be seen in the background of some studio shots. In particular they can be recognised by their thick neck struts and the absence of dome aerials and appendage ball joints. Production photographs taken at the time reveal that they also lacked hemispheres on the rear skirt panels.
A group of Daleks are seen in this story forming a suicide squad to destroy an enemy spacecraft, each with a number of bombs attached to its shoulder section. The bomb props consist of yellow cylinders capped at the ends by red hemispheres.
A Mark 3 drone Dalek with a particularly distinctive design also appears in Destiny of the Daleks
Destiny of the Daleks
Destiny of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 1 September to 22 September 1979. The story introduces Lalla Ward as the newly-regenerated Romana....
. It features a combination of "goon" and Shawcraft Dalek sections for the upper half, and a unique skirt with a rear section which flares out from the shoulders to the base at almost the same angle as the front. Four prominent bolt heads frame the chest oval and large hemispheres are fitted. These differences are not alluded to in the story. It has been claimed that the skirt came from an exhibition prop, although its precise origin remains uncertain. This variant is sometimes referred to as ‘The Tussauds Dalek’ after Madame Tussauds
Madame Tussauds
Madame Tussauds is a wax museum in London with branches in a number of major cities. It was founded by wax sculptor Marie Tussaud and was formerly known as "Madame Tussaud's", but the apostrophe is no longer used...
wax museum in London, where it was exhibited (painted bright blue and silver) as part of their Doctor Who display in the 1980s.
Mark 3 Daleks in the 1980s
Commencing with a cameo appearance in the Doctor Who serial The Five DoctorsThe Five Doctors
The Five Doctors is a special feature-length episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, produced in celebration of the programme's twentieth anniversary. It had its world premiere in the United States, on the Chicago PBS station WTTW and various other PBS member stations...
(1983), Mark III Dalek variants seen during this decade feature a neck bin raised so that a strip of it is visible between the lower neck ring and the top of the shoulders. The fitment of a small stub aerial to the dome continued, appearing for the last time in Resurrection of the Daleks
Resurrection of the Daleks
Resurrection of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts between 8 February and 15 February 1984...
(1984).
The eyestalks and discs of standard Daleks in Resurrection of the Daleks
Resurrection of the Daleks
Resurrection of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts between 8 February and 15 February 1984...
are painted white, with four discs arranged in a conical layout, smallest disc to the front. The Tussauds Dalek prop appears in this serial under two guises; as a grey drone and a Supreme Dalek painted in gloss black with white hemispheres. The Tussauds Dalek features briefly once more in Revelation of the Daleks
Revelation of the Daleks
Revelation of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts on 23 March and 30 March 1985...
, again portraying a drone.
After two decades of service, Revelation of the Daleks
Revelation of the Daleks
Revelation of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts on 23 March and 30 March 1985...
(1985) marked the last appearance of the Mark 3 Dalek variant on the Doctor Who television programme.
Dalek Emperor
In The Evil of the DaleksThe Evil of the Daleks
The Evil of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in seven weekly parts from 20 May to 1 July 1967. This serial marked the debut of Deborah Watling as the Doctor's new companion, Victoria Waterfield.Evil was initially intended to...
(1967) the Emperor is presented as a towering, immobile, twelve-sided conical structure, to which numerous umbilical cable
Umbilical cable
An umbilical cable or umbilical is a cable which supplies required consumables to an apparatus. It is named by analogy with an umbilical cord...
s are connected. Twelve large, black hemispheres girdle its mid-section, with a further two smaller, tan-coloured hemispheres being mounted horizontally on the chest. It has a predominantly white colour scheme with black detailing and speaks in an echoing, grating voice. Mounted on a plinth in a corner of the control room in the Dalek City on Skaro
Skaro
Skaro is a fictional planet from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who created by the writer Terry Nation as the home planet of the Daleks and, at times, the centre of the Dalek Empire....
, it is apparently destroyed when a civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
breaks out amongst the Daleks.
The Dalek Emperor was created by the BBC Visual Effects Department.
Dalek Supreme
In Planet of the DaleksPlanet of the Daleks
Planet of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from April 7 to May 12, 1973.-Synopsis:...
(1973) the Dalek Supreme, a member of the Dalek Supreme Council, is despatched to the planet Spiridon. It is tasked with overseeing experiments into invisibility, the production of a plague designed to exterminate all organic life and the deployment of a 10,000 strong Dalek invasion force.
The variant was based on a prop owned by screenwriter Terry Nation, which had been used in the second Doctor Who film. The neck bin mesh, struts and neck rings were removed, the latter items being replaced by new rings having a flat, recessed edge detailed with small rivets rather than the usual bevel. Lilac dome lights shaped like upturned jam jars were fitted, together with an eyeball resembling a flashlight which lit up when it spoke. It was painted overall in gloss black with yellow-gold hemispheres, slats, neck rings and dome. It is uncertain who carried out the conversion work, although the painting of the prop was undertaken by the BBC Visual Effects Department under the direction of Clifford Culley.
The ruthlessness of the Dalek Supreme is demonstrated in the story when it destroys the Dalek leader of the Spiridon taskforce for failing to meet its mission objectives.
Necros Daleks
In Revelation of the DaleksRevelation of the Daleks
Revelation of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts on 23 March and 30 March 1985...
(1985) Davros
Davros
Davros is a character from the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Davros is an archenemy of the Doctor and is the creator of the Doctor's deadliest enemies, the Daleks...
creates an army of Dalek mutants by manipulating DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
taken from humans on the planet Necros, where the dead or dying are being stored in suspended animation.
Necros Daleks have a similar colour scheme to 'Imperial Daleks' (see below), but the designs are otherwise quite distinct from one another and were realised using different sets of props. In fact it is the Necros Daleks created by Davros which are portrayed in the serial as being the rebel faction, whilst the grey Daleks from the Dalek home-world of Skaro, seen in the final episode, serve the Supreme Dalek.
In this serial Davros' life-support chair is shown hovering some distance above the ground. It is implied that Daleks now share this capability when, in a later scene, one exterminates two saboteurs apparently from an elevated vantage point. For DVD releases of the serial from 2005 onward, new shots were created to clarify that the Dalek was hovering.
Standard Necros Dalek
The Necros Dalek design features several detail changes which distinguish it from the standard Mark 3 variant. The skirt angle is steeper at both the front and rear and the hemispheres are of a smaller diameter. The shoulder section has only twenty slats, and is broader at the top which, when combined with the skirt, gives it a stockier look. The arm is shorter and the oval between the gun boxes more elongated. Finally, the neck bin strip beneath the lower neck ring is quite distinct in this variant. Necros Daleks are painted light cream with gold hemispheres, shoulder mesh, neck bin mesh, arm and gun.Glass Dalek
Making a single appearance in Revelation of the DaleksRevelation of the Daleks
Revelation of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts on 23 March and 30 March 1985...
, a Glass Dalek is introduced as a transparent, embryonic version of a Necros Dalek in which a grotesquely mutating human head can be seen. It has four neck rings rather than three. It was manufactured primarily from clear Perspex.
Imperial Daleks
In Remembrance of the DaleksRemembrance of the Daleks
Remembrance of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 5 October to 26 October 1988....
(1988) it is revealed that Davros, masquerading as the Emperor, has gained control of Skaro. As Emperor he has under his command an army of Imperial Daleks, created by grafting bionic appendages onto the bodies of Kaled mutants. The Supreme Dalek and its followers are now referred to by the Imperial Daleks as ‘renegades’.
Standard Imperial Dalek
The Imperial Dalek shares a skirt design with the 'Necros Dalek' (see above). In other respects, however, it features many differences when compared with previous variants. It has a stepped fender incorporating a slightly recessed bottom section and integrally moulded collars and slats with no shoulder mesh. There are circular bosses around the ball joint holes, a hexagonal panel between the gun boxes, a re-modelled eye and eye discs, a mirror-like eye lens with a small gold pupil, flush dome lights and a notched, funnel-like appendage instead of a plunger. The dome is of a slightly larger diameter and has a sharper angle where the bevelled section meets the curved upper part. The neck bin has a mirrored gold finish and is detailed with a fine circular-section gold mesh overlay, replacing the traditional diamond section design. The colour scheme is similar, but not identical, to that of the Necros Daleks. They are painted predominantly light cream with gold hemisphere, slats, arm, ‘plunger’, gun, eye discs and light covers.The hovering capability first seen in Revelation of the Daleks
Revelation of the Daleks
Revelation of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts on 23 March and 30 March 1985...
is confirmed in Remembrance of the Daleks
Remembrance of the Daleks
Remembrance of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 5 October to 26 October 1988....
when an Imperial Dalek is shown levitating up a staircase, apparently using an unseen mechanism on the base of its casing which emits a distinct red glow.
Special Weapons Dalek
The Special Weapons Dalek (sometimes referred to as the 'SWD' or 'Gunner Dalek') is a heavily-armoured Imperial variant seen in Remembrance of the DaleksRemembrance of the Daleks
Remembrance of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 5 October to 26 October 1988....
. It has no manipulator arm, eye-stalk or dome lights. Instead, it is equipped with a large energy cannon mounted on the front of the casing. The upper section features a foreshortened neck and truncated dome, which sits atop a circular row of small, square 'view ports'. It does not appear able to speak, but does have massive firepower. In one scene a single shot from the Special Weapons Dalek is shown to completely vaporise two conventional Daleks, leaving only a pair of scorch marks on the ground. The armour is seen deflecting conventional Dalek weapon fire without suffering any apparent damage. Like the other Imperial Daleks its livery is white with gold hemispheres, but with a metallic grey colour applied to most of the upper section. The casing appears battle-scarred and far dirtier than other Daleks, which are usually shown in a clean condition.
The BBC Dalek Survival Guide maintains that the SWD weapon is fifty times more powerful than a regular Dalek blaster. It notes that Special Weapons Daleks are almost always directly controlled by Dalek commanders and rarely allowed autonomy, except in desperate situations, as they are as likely to fire on fellow Daleks as the enemy.
In Ben Aaronovitch
Ben Aaronovitch
Ben Denis Aaronovitch is a London-born British writer who has worked on television series including Doctor Who, Casualty, Jupiter Moon and Dark Knight...
's novelisation of 'Remembrance' it is stated that the enormous power source required for the SWD's weapon resulted in the release of high levels of radiation which altered the structure of the Dalek creature's brain, causing insanity. Consequently other Daleks shun it, ironically for being a mutant. Uniquely the Daleks give it a name; "The Abomination". The novel states that the Special Weapons Dalek is used only in extreme situations and that only the Emperor can maintain complete control over it. The Special Weapons Dalek is also mentioned in the novel War of the Daleks
War of the Daleks
War of the Daleks is an original novel written by John Peel, published in 1997, based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Eighth Doctor and Sam. This novel was the first appearance of the Daleks in an original Doctor Who novel; they had not...
. and the Big Finish audio production The Genocide Machine
The Genocide Machine
The Genocide Machine is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It forms the first serial in the Dalek Empire arc, which continues in The Apocalypse Element and The Mutant Phase...
. See also The Dark Dimension Dalek.
Imperial Dalek Emperor
Remembrance of the Daleks
Remembrance of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 5 October to 26 October 1988....
. It is actually not a Dalek but the Kaled Davros. Greatly deteriorated physically with only his head and partial torso visible, he is carried in a customised life support machine/Dalek casing similar in design to the TV21 comic version of the Emperor. The travel machine has no appendages. A translucent hexagonal panel is located centrally on the front of the dome, in a position approximating that where an eye stalk would be mounted on a standard Dalek casing. What appears to be a strip-light is mounted vertically behind it, which scans from side to side when the Emperor speaks. The front upper section of the dome is shown to operate like a visor, retracting upward and to the rear to reveal Davros within.
Renegade Daleks
In Remembrance of the DaleksRemembrance of the Daleks
Remembrance of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 5 October to 26 October 1988....
(1988) the Imperial Daleks are opposed by ‘Renegade Daleks’, commanded by the Supreme Dalek. Most of the Renegades seen in the serial are of the 'Necros Dalek' design (see above), but with the prominent neck bin strip below the lower neck ring removed. The shoulder mesh is also much coarser than that previously seen, having the appearance of a solid material which has been perforated. Renegade drones are painted overall in grey, with black fender, hemispheres, collars, slats and appendages. The Renegade Supreme appears overall in black, with the neck rings, neck struts, hemispheres, collars, mesh and slats in silver. Structurally it differs from the drones in that its lower collar is an integral moulding and it has only twenty slats, one of which is mounted centrally between the gun boxes. It is also differentiated by having a small eyeball and orange dome lights. It was constructed using a BBC promotional prop made by Martin Wilkie.
Remembrance of the Daleks
Remembrance of the Daleks
Remembrance of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 5 October to 26 October 1988....
was to be the Daleks' last appearance in the 'classic' Doctor Who series, with the programme being put on hiatus by the BBC after November 1989.
'New Series' Daleks
After a break of 15 years from regular series production (there was a 1996 Doctor Who television movie special, in which the Daleks were heard but not seen), Doctor Who returned to British television in March 2005. The sixth episode of the 'new series' first season, "DalekDalek (Doctor Who episode)
"Dalek" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that was first broadcast on 30 April 2005. It should not be confused with the first Dalek serial, The Daleks...
", sees the return of a lone Dalek which has somehow survived a Time War
Time War (Doctor Who)
The Time War, more specifically called The Last Great Time War, is a conflict within the fictional universe of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
resulting in the mutual annihilation of both the Daleks and the Doctor's race, the Time Lord
Time Lord
The Time Lords are an ancient extraterrestrial race and civilization of humanoids in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, of which the series' eponymous protagonist, the Doctor, is a member...
s. Whilst the New Series Dalek retains the same overall shape and proportions of its forebears, every component has been re-designed to give it a heavier and more solid look. The updated Dalek appearance is the result of input from Doctor Who executive producer Russell T Davies, artist Bryan Hitch
Bryan Hitch
Bryan Hitch is a British comic book artist. Hitch began his career in the United Kingdom for Marvel UK, working on titles such as Action Force and Death's Head, before gaining prominence on American titles such as Wildstorm's Stormwatch and The Authority, DC Comics titles such as JLA, and Marvel...
and production designer Edward Thomas,Edward Thomas IMDb Listing with the design being realised by art department assistant designer Matthew Savage.Matthew Savage IMDb Listing The first batch of New Series Dalek props were constructed by special effects company The Model Unit under the direction of Mike Tucker
Mike Tucker
Mike Tucker is a special effects expert who worked for many years at the BBC Television Visual Effects Department, and now works as an Effects Supervisor for his own company, The Model Unit. He is also the author of a variety of spin-offs relating to the television series Doctor Who and...
, with later builds being undertaken by Specialist Models and the firm 'propmaker.co.uk'.
Standard Dalek
The standard New Series Dalek design incorporates additional detailing to many of the components, including the dome, gun, gun boxes, plunger and eyeball. The fender is larger with a bevelled edge, the lower collar is integral to the casing and the upper collar and mesh are omitted, being replaced by a raised shoulder section beneath the neck bin. The slats have an indented central channel running down their length and the neck bin mesh has a denser, more complex design. The dome lights are substantially larger and enclosed in metal cages and the eye stalk pivot is surrounded by a cowl, below which is a horizontal oblong depression containing an ideogramIdeogram
An ideogram or ideograph is a graphic symbol that represents an idea or concept. Some ideograms are comprehensible only by familiarity with prior convention; others convey their meaning through pictorial resemblance to a physical object, and thus may also be referred to as pictograms.Examples of...
unique to each Dalek. The standard New Series Dalek is finished in an overall metallic bronze colour scheme.
This Dalek design exhibits abilities not previously seen, almost all of which are realised using computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
. The casing has a swivelling mid-section incorporating the gun boxes, providing a 360-degree field of fire. It can also open by splitting down the front centre-line to reveal the mutant within. In "Dalek
Dalek (Doctor Who episode)
"Dalek" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that was first broadcast on 30 April 2005. It should not be confused with the first Dalek serial, The Daleks...
" (2005) the hemispheres are shown to actually be recessed spheres and components in a self-destruct mechanism. They are able to separate from the Dalek’s casing and create an encircling sphere of energy which destroys the Dalek without trace. The plunger has been transformed into a versatile tool/weapon with an adaptable shape which can interface with keyboards and control mechanisms, drain power and data, and crush a man's skull.
New series Daleks are shown as having the ability to fly both in the vacuum of space and within a planet's atmosphere. They can regenerate by absorbing residual radiation and DNA from a time-traveller who touches them ("Doomsday
Doomsday (Doctor Who)
"Doomsday" is the thirteenth and final episode in the second series of the revival of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 8 July 2006 and is the conclusion of a two-part story; the first part, "Army of Ghosts", was broadcast on 1 July 2006...
" (2006)) and have a force field
Force field
A force field, sometimes known as an energy shield, force shield, or deflector shield is a concept of a field tightly bounded and of significant magnitude so that objects affected by the particular force relating to the field are unable to pass through the central axis of the field and reach the...
which can disintegrate bullets before they strike it. The height of the new design was chosen so that the eye stalk would be level with the eyes of the Doctor's companion Rose Tyler
Rose Tyler
Rose Marion Tyler is a fictional character portrayed by Billie Piper in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and was created by series producer Russell T Davies...
, as portrayed by actress Billie Piper
Billie Piper
Billie Paul Piper is an English singer and actress.She began her career in the late 1990s as a pop singer and then switched to acting. She started in acting and dancing and was talent spotted at the Sylvia Young stage school by Smash Hits magazine who wanted a "face" for their magazine...
.
Three minor variations to the standard new series design have been shown. The single Dalek seen in "Dalek" differs from those appearing in subsequent episodes in that the lower shoulder collar is the same brass colour as its slats, instead of being bronze. A Dalek is seen in "The Parting of the Ways
The Parting of the Ways
"The Parting of the Ways" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on 18 June 2005. It was the second episode of the two-part story that featured Christopher Eccleston making his last appearance as the Ninth Doctor...
" (2005) with its plunger replaced by a spherical appendage incorporating a three-pincer claw and an extendable cutting torch. The story shows it being used by the Dalek force invading the Satellite 5
Satellite 5
Satellite 5 is a major location in the 2005 series of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. In the series, it is first seen in the year 200,000 and is the main setting for the episode "The Long Game"...
space station
Space station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew which is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to which other spacecraft can dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by its lack of major propulsion or landing...
to breach an internal blast door not readily susceptible to their normal energy weapons. The toy manufacturer Character Options
Character Options
Character Options is a British toy company, notable for having both the Disney and Doctor Who toy licenses. It hit the headlines during 2007 as the UK distributor for the Bindeez range of products was recalled due to a dangerous chemical.-Doctor Who:...
has used the term 'Assault Dalek' on promotional material and packaging for licensed scale Dalek action figures having the claw/cutter appendage. The episode "Victory of the Daleks
Victory of the Daleks
"Victory of the Daleks" is the third episode in the fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is written by Mark Gatiss and first broadcast on BBC One on 17 April 2010....
" (2010), set during World War II, features two New Series Daleks masquerading as British secret weapons in the fight against Nazi Germany. The Dalek casings are painted overall in camouflage green with a Union Jack replacing the identifying ideogram on the dome front, and one prop features a non-standard neck bin orientation with a strut positioned along the front centreline. Canvas ammunition pouches are fixed around the shoulders and in one scene a Dalek is shown operating outdoors with opaque fabric covers fitted over its dome lights. The Daleks are also seen carrying a tea tray and box files with their plungers angled upward, an ability not previously demonstrated. These Daleks are referred to as "Ironsides" in the story.
Emperor's personal guard
Repeating the motif first seen in 1967 serial The Evil of the DaleksThe Evil of the Daleks
The Evil of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in seven weekly parts from 20 May to 1 July 1967. This serial marked the debut of Deborah Watling as the Doctor's new companion, Victoria Waterfield.Evil was initially intended to...
, a number of black-domed Daleks appear briefly in "The Parting of the Ways
The Parting of the Ways
"The Parting of the Ways" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on 18 June 2005. It was the second episode of the two-part story that featured Christopher Eccleston making his last appearance as the Ninth Doctor...
" forming a guard around the Dalek Emperor. Some of the guards are also differentiated by the replacement of the standard plunger with either blade-like projections holding a small sphere on the front of which is a glowing lens, or a tubular framework supporting a large sphere incorporating a glowing lens. The specialised appendages are not referred to or shown in use during the episode, nor is their purpose explained. Both the BBC's Doctor Who website and the publication Doctor Who: Aliens and Enemies describe them as weapons. The packaging for the Character Options 12" radio control model of the third variant identifies the device as a 'multiple spectrum sensor arm'.
Emperor Dalek
An Emperor Dalek features in the 2005 season finale, "The Parting of the WaysThe Parting of the Ways
"The Parting of the Ways" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on 18 June 2005. It was the second episode of the two-part story that featured Christopher Eccleston making his last appearance as the Ninth Doctor...
". Escaping the Time War
Time War (Doctor Who)
The Time War, more specifically called The Last Great Time War, is a conflict within the fictional universe of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
, which resulted in the destruction of both the Daleks and Time Lord
Time Lord
The Time Lords are an ancient extraterrestrial race and civilization of humanoids in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, of which the series' eponymous protagonist, the Doctor, is a member...
s alike, its ship has fallen through time and space to the edge of Earth's solar system
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
. Having then recreated the Dalek race this Emperor now regards itself as an immortal god, and the Daleks worship it as such. The Emperor Dalek mutant floats in a transparent cylindrical tank below a giant dome, complete with lights and eyestalk. Two mechanical arms are mounted to the base of this tank. The central structure is connected by articulated joints to three flanking panels, to which large hemispheres are attached.
Doctor Who production designer Edward Thomas was responsible for the overall appearance of the Emperor Dalek, with the design being realised by assistant designers Dan Walker and Matthew Savage. The Emperor Dalek casing was produced as a 1:6 scale model by The Model Unit, whilst the Emperor Dalek mutant was an animatronic puppet
Audio-Animatronics
Audio-Animatronics is the registered trademark for a form of robotics created by Walt Disney Imagineering for shows and attractions at Disney theme parks, and subsequently expanded on and used by other companies. The robots move and make noise, generally in speech or song...
, again in 1:6 scale, created by visual effects specialist Neill Gorton.Neill Gorton IMDb Listing
Cult of Skaro
The Cult of Skaro is first introduced in "Army of GhostsArmy of Ghosts
"Army of Ghosts" is the twelfth and penultimate episode in the second series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who which was first broadcast on 1 July 2006...
" (2006) as an elite order of Daleks specifically engineered to use initiative and think as the enemy thinks. They are the first recurring Dalek characters in the history of the Doctor Who television programme. Unlike other Daleks the four members of the Cult have individual names; Sec, Thay, Jast and Caan. While Daleks Thay, Jast and Caan appear identical to other Daleks, Dalek Sec is distinguished by an all black casing.
The Cult are shown to possess a sense of individuality and the ability to initiate an "emergency temporal shift" in order to escape danger by travelling through time and space. In "Doomsday
Doomsday (Doctor Who)
"Doomsday" is the thirteenth and final episode in the second series of the revival of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 8 July 2006 and is the conclusion of a two-part story; the first part, "Army of Ghosts", was broadcast on 1 July 2006...
", a combination of three plungers are used to extract information from a person's mind, with lethal results (although it is implied that this can be done without killing the victim). In the episode "Daleks in Manhattan
Daleks in Manhattan
"Daleks in Manhattan" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 21 April 2007, and is the fourth episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series. It is part one of a two-part story, concluded in "Evolution of the Daleks"...
" (2007), the plungers of the Cult of Skaro Daleks are used to detect the intelligence of human subjects and in one scene a member of the Cult is seen with its plunger temporarily replaced by a syringe-like device. The BBC book Doctor Who Files: The Cult of Skaro states that Dalek Sec’s black casing is constructed from ‘Metalert’, an enhanced form of Dalekanium reinforced with flidor gold and sap from the extinct Arkellis flower. This fictional material and its constituents have their origins in the TV Century 21
TV Century 21
TV Century 21, also known as TV 21, was a weekly British children's comic of the 1960s and early 1970s. It promoted the many television science-fiction puppet series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's Century 21 Productions...
Dalek comic strip from 1965, in which the Golden Emperor’s casing is said to incorporate flidor gold and Arkellis flower sap, and Metalert features as a strengthened form of Dalekanium.
Vault Dalek
Appearing in the linked episodes "The Stolen EarthThe Stolen Earth
"The Stolen Earth" is the twelfth episode of the fourth series and the 750th overall episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The episode was written by show runner and head writer Russell T Davies and is the first of a two-part crossover story; the concluding episode is...
" (2008) and "Journey's End
Journey's End (Doctor Who)
"Journey's End" is the thirteenth episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who first broadcast on BBC One on 5 July 2008. It is the second episode of a two-part crossover story featuring the characters of spin-off shows Torchwood and The Sarah Jane...
" (2008), Vault Daleks watch over Davros
Davros
Davros is a character from the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Davros is an archenemy of the Doctor and is the creator of the Doctor's deadliest enemies, the Daleks...
in the Vault of the Crucible space station, acting as both bodyguards and warders. Although un-named during the episodes in which they appear, the term is used for the variant on the BBC's Doctor Who website. Character Options named its licensed scale toys of the variant 'Crucible Daleks'.
Vault Daleks form part of the recreated Dalek race each of which, Davros states, has been genetically engineered with cells taken from his own body. Instead of the standard plunger they are fitted with a claw-like appendage incorporating eight ‘pincers’, which are shown to fit directly into some of the ship's controls.
Supreme Dalek
A Supreme Dalek appears in the finale of the 2008 seriesDoctor Who (series 4)
The fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 25 December 2007 with the Christmas special "Voyage of the Damned". Following the special, a regular series of thirteen episodes aired, starting with "Partners in Crime" on 5 April 2008 and ending with "Journey's End"...
, as leader of the Dalek forces above even Davros. This version is a radical variation on the standard New Series design. It is painted red with gold hemispheres, collar and neck rings. It has three plinth-mounted dome lights featuring cages with three, rather than four uprights, and large golden clamps connecting its shoulders to an extended neck bin.
Its voice is deeper than the other Daleks, resembling that of the 2005 season's Dalek Emperor. Nicholas Briggs
Nicholas Briggs
Nicholas Briggs is a British actor and writer, predominantly associated with the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who and its various spin-offs, particularly as the voice of the Daleks. Briggs sometimes uses the pseudonym Arthur Wallis...
, who provided the voice talent for the Dalek, stated that he adopted a grandiose delivery for the Supreme Dalek to fit his perception of the character as being egotistical. The Supreme Dalek was designed by Doctor Who production designer Edward Thomas, realised by design assistant Peter McKinstryPeter McKinstry IMDb Listing and created by 'propmaker.co.uk'.
New Paradigm Daleks
In "Victory of the DaleksVictory of the Daleks
"Victory of the Daleks" is the third episode in the fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is written by Mark Gatiss and first broadcast on BBC One on 17 April 2010....
" (2010) five examples of a new Dalek variant are introduced, described in the narrative as forming "a new Dalek paradigm
Paradigm
The word paradigm has been used in science to describe distinct concepts. It comes from Greek "παράδειγμα" , "pattern, example, sample" from the verb "παραδείκνυμι" , "exhibit, represent, expose" and that from "παρά" , "beside, beyond" + "δείκνυμι" , "to show, to point out".The original Greek...
". They are created from pure Dalek DNA contained in a device called a 'Progenator'.BBC Artwork: The Dalek Progenator Their design is the result of input from Doctor Who executive producer Steven Moffat
Steven Moffat
Steven Moffat is a Scottish television writer and producer.Moffat's first television work was the teen drama series Press Gang. His first sitcom, Joking Apart, was inspired by the breakdown of his first marriage; conversely, his later sitcom Coupling was based upon the development of his...
, production designer Edward Thomas, "Victory of the Daleks" writer Mark Gatiss
Mark Gatiss
Mark Gatiss is an English actor, screenwriter and novelist. He is best known as a member of the comedy team The League of Gentlemen, and has both written for and acted in the TV series Doctor Who and Sherlock....
and concept artist Peter McKinstry. The props were produced by the BBC Art Department under the supervision of Senior Propmaker Barry Jones.Barry Jones IMDb Listing
Each of the five New Paradigm variants has a casing of a different colour, representing their role in Dalek society: red, drone; blue, strategist; orange, scientist; yellow, Eternal and white, Supreme. Speaking in the programme Doctor Who Confidential
Doctor Who Confidential
Doctor Who Confidential is a documentary series created by the British Broadcasting Corporation to complement the revival of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Each episode was broadcast on BBC Three on Saturdays, immediately after the broadcast of the weekly...
, Doctor Who Executive Producer Steven Moffat stated that the function of the Eternal Dalek had yet to be decided, while writer Mark Gatiss confirmed that the bright colours of the New Paradigm Daleks was inspired by the Daleks seen in the 1960s Amicus films
Dr. Who (Dalek films)
Dr. Who is a character based on the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. Although based upon the character of the Doctor from the television series, the character is fundamentally different, most notably in being human....
.
New Paradigm Daleks are taller than previous variants, having a substantial fender reminiscent of Movie Daleks. The skirt section consists of raised panels with bevelled edges, to which forty eight hemispheres are fixed in twelve columns. The hemispheres are grey in colour with the exception of the Eternal Dalek, where they are black. The central rear skirt panel is enlarged significantly to form a broad spine featuring a recessed vertical louvre assembly. Published design drawings and commentary by concept artist Peter McKinstry indicates that this section is capable of opening to deploy alternative weapons which would traverse around the mid section to replace the standard armament. The skirt is surmounted by a prominent, slatless shoulder section, divided by a horizontal groove and featuring integral gun boxes. The neck is devoid of struts and consists of four flared rings detailed with small vertical slots, and is mounted towards the front of the Dalek giving the appearance of a prominent hump at the rear of the shoulder section. The dome, to which two cylindrical lights are fitted, is missing the chamfered lower section applied to previous variants. The gun is larger than that previously seen on the programme and is shown causing the complete disintegration of another Dalek. The eye design features five closely spaced discs of identical diameter behind an eyeball, inset with horizontal fins, on the front of which is a veined "organic" lens which glows with a yellow light. It is mounted to the dome on a ball joint
Ball joint
In an automobile, ball joints are spherical bearings that connect the control arms to the steering knuckles.More specifically, a ball joint is a steel bearing stud and socket enclosed in a steel casing. The bearing stud is tapered and threaded. It fits into a tapered hole in the steering knuckle. A...
.
Two variations on the New Paradigm design have been shown. In the 2010 series finale "The Big Bang
The Big Bang (Doctor Who)
"The Big Bang" is the 13th and final episode in the fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is the second part of a two-part season finale started with "The Pandorica Opens", at the end of which The Doctor is trapped, the TARDIS destroyed, and Amy Pond has been shot...
" a pair of fossilised New Paradigm 'Stone Daleks' are seen, having the appearance of severely weathered statues. They are remnants left when, in the episode, most of history is erased by the destruction of the universe. The term Stone Dalek is derived from a listing in the episode credits. "The Wedding of River Song
The Wedding of River Song
"The Wedding of River Song" is the thirteenth and final episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and was first broadcast on BBC One, BBC America and Space on 1 October 2011.-Plot:...
" (2011) includes a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
by a severely damaged New Paradigm Dalek having an overall grey colour scheme.
Dalek hybrids
Hybridisation between Daleks and human beings has been a recurring theme in the Doctor Who television programme since the sixties.The Evil of the Daleks
In The Evil of the DaleksThe Evil of the Daleks
The Evil of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in seven weekly parts from 20 May to 1 July 1967. This serial marked the debut of Deborah Watling as the Doctor's new companion, Victoria Waterfield.Evil was initially intended to...
(1967) the Daleks trap the Doctor into conducting an experiment to identify the "Human Factor"; the unique qualities which have allowed human beings to consistently resist and defeat them. Ostensibly once the factor is isolated and ‘distilled’ they plan to implant it in themselves to create an undefeatable army of ‘Super Daleks’. It transpires that this is a ruse, however. The Dalek Emperor reveals that identifying the Human Factor has merely served to define the ‘Dalek Factor’, which determines their species' unquestioning obedience to Dalek ideology and aggressive, pitiless nature. With the aid of a ‘converted’ Doctor and his TARDIS
TARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
, they plan to impregnate all of humanity throughout Earth’s history with the Dalek Factor, transforming them into "Human Daleks”. When, in the story, some Daleks are implanted with the Human Factor they lose their aggressive traits and begin to question authority, leading to a catastrophic civil war.
Revelation of the Daleks
In Revelation of the DaleksRevelation of the Daleks
Revelation of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts on 23 March and 30 March 1985...
(1985) Davros
Davros
Davros is a character from the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Davros is an archenemy of the Doctor and is the creator of the Doctor's deadliest enemies, the Daleks...
engages in creating a new breed of Dalek mutants to command. He uses as source material the severed heads, and specifically the brains, of terminal human medical patients in the Tranquil Repose mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
and suspended animation
Suspended animation
Suspended animation is the slowing of life processes by external means without termination. Breathing, heartbeat, and other involuntary functions may still occur, but they can only be detected by artificial means. Extreme cold can be used to precipitate the slowing of an individual's functions; use...
facility on the planet Necros. During the earlier stages of the conversion process it appears that the victims retain some memory and awareness of their humanity, but by the end of the metamorphosis they have become fully Dalek in nature, if not appearance.
Dalek
In "DalekDalek (Doctor Who episode)
"Dalek" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that was first broadcast on 30 April 2005. It should not be confused with the first Dalek serial, The Daleks...
" (2005) a dying Dalek’s casing is touched by Rose Tyler
Rose Tyler
Rose Marion Tyler is a fictional character portrayed by Billie Piper in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and was created by series producer Russell T Davies...
, a companion of the Doctor. During this brief physical contact the Dalek absorbs a sufficient amount of her DNA to regenerate itself and its damaged travel machine. It later becomes apparent that this genetic material has caused it to mutate further, as it begins to experience human emotions. It finally becomes trapped in an agony of conflict and self-loathing, and destroys itself.
The Parting of the Ways
In "The Parting of the WaysThe Parting of the Ways
"The Parting of the Ways" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on 18 June 2005. It was the second episode of the two-part story that featured Christopher Eccleston making his last appearance as the Ninth Doctor...
" (2005), the Emperor Dalek and the few surviving members of its crew hide in space for centuries, harvesting organic material from the dispossessed of Earth and genetically manipulating it to rebuild their race. The Emperor tells the Doctor that a new Dalek army has been created using "filleted, pulped and sifted" human bodies, although they still consider themselves to be “...pure and blessed Dalek.” The Doctor declares that, driven mad by centuries of isolation and loathing for their own genetic makeup, they hate themselves and are thus more dangerous than ever.
When a Dalek is destroyed and the mutant revealed it is of a different appearance to the mutant seen in "Dalek
Dalek
The Daleks are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Within the series, Daleks are cyborgs from the planet Skaro, created by the scientist Davros during the final years of a thousand-year war against the Thals...
", the prop hinting at a human heritage. Mutants originating from Kaled stock appear to have a closed, vestigial second eye, set below and to one side of the sighted eye. The mutant in The Parting of the Ways seems to have two identical, symmetrically set eyes above which is a prominent supraorbital ridge
Supraorbital ridge
The supraorbital ridge, or brow ridge, refer to a bony ridge located above the eye sockets of all primates. In Homo sapiens sapiens the eyebrows are located on their lower margin.Other terms in use are:* supraorbital arch...
. A large fleshy mass protrudes below the eyes, with folds suggestive of a mouth-like orifice.
Daleks in Manhattan and Evolution of the Daleks
Daleks in Manhattan
"Daleks in Manhattan" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 21 April 2007, and is the fourth episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series. It is part one of a two-part story, concluded in "Evolution of the Daleks"...
" and "Evolution of the Daleks
Evolution of the Daleks
"Evolution of the Daleks" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 28 April 2007, and is the fifth episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series. It is the conclusion of the two-part story begun in "Daleks in...
" (2007) the Cult of Skaro, stranded in 1930s America following an emergency temporal shift, attempt to rebuild the Dalek race. Endeavours to manufacture Dalek embryos result in green brain-like entities which are non-viable and discarded. Consequently Dalek Sec sacrifices itself for the survival of the Dalek race by entrapping in its casing Mr. Diagoras, a human collaborator, and merging with him to become a Human/Dalek hybrid. The process results in a humanoid creature which, although still wearing Diagoras’ clothes, is mutated beyond recognition. Its fingers taper to points, it has a large, exposed brain and a single eye set in a face framed by six thick tentacles. The voice is an amalgam of human and Dalek characteristics.
The Cult then prepare to create Human Daleks utilising Dalek DNA to 'format' the brains of thousands of captured humans, who have been frozen and had their minds erased. Sec orders that a gene solution extracted from its own body is to be used instead, creating hybrids having human emotions and Dalek intelligence. It says this will eradicate the Daleks' obsession with universal supremacy, which has led them to the brink of extinction. Believing that Daleks should remain pure and Sec is now a traitor to their race, the other Cult members bind it in chains and proceed with the original plan.
Despite initial appearances of success the scheme fails due to the contamination of the Human Daleks with the Doctor's DNA during the conversion process. This causes them to begin questioning their orders and Dalek ideology. Sec is accidentally killed attempting to stop Dalek Thay exterminating the Doctor. Armed with Dalek weapons a fire-fight then erupts between the hybrids and Jast and Thay, during which the two Daleks and several hybrids are destroyed. Watching events via a remote link Dalek Caan declares the Human Daleks a failure and transmits a destruct signal, killing the hybrids.
Dalek variants in films
Capitalising on the wave of 'Dalek Mania'Dalekmania
Dalekmania is a 1995 direct-to-video documentary released in the United Kingdom. "Dalekmania" is the name given to the craze or "mania" among children in the United Kingdom in the 1960s for all things associated with writer Terry Nation's creations, the Daleks, who were then regularly appearing in...
gripping Britain following their initial appearances in the Doctor Who programme, two films featuring the Daleks
Dr. Who (Dalek films)
Dr. Who is a character based on the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. Although based upon the character of the Doctor from the television series, the character is fundamentally different, most notably in being human....
were produced; Dr. Who and the Daleks
Dr. Who and the Daleks
Dr. Who and the Daleks was the first of two Doctor Who films made in the 1960s. It was followed by Daleks' Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D....
(1965) and Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD
Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD
Daleks – Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. is the second of two films based on the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who. It was the sequel to Dr. Who and the Daleks , and starred Peter Cushing in his return to the role of the eccentric inventor and time traveller "Dr. Who". It also...
(1966). The storylines for these movies are essentially identical to the first two TV serials in which the Daleks were seen, with the primary exception that the character of "Doctor Who" (his onscreen name) is portrayed as being an eccentric human inventor rather than an alien. For this reason, these Dalek appearances and variants may be considered of a continuity unique to the film series.
Mk I Movie Daleks
First appearing in the film Dr. Who and the DaleksDr. Who and the Daleks
Dr. Who and the Daleks was the first of two Doctor Who films made in the 1960s. It was followed by Daleks' Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D....
, Movie Daleks (as they have come to be known) have substantial fenders, very similar in shape and design to those seen in the Doctor Who serial The Dalek Invasion of Earth
The Dalek Invasion of Earth
The Dalek Invasion of Earth is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in six weekly parts from November 21 to December 26, 1964....
. The skirt sits directly on top of the enlarged fender, however, without the intervening step created by the original TV variant base. The gun boxes are angled slightly differently and the neck ring edges have a steeper bevel. The eyestalk has only five discs, with most irises being illuminated. Perhaps the most striking difference is the dome lights, which are much larger than those seen on TV Daleks of the period. Another distinctive design feature is the gun, which has a wider bore than the TV counterpart, no mantles and is depicted as projecting a high pressure jet of destructive, lethal vapour rather than an energy beam.
Three minor Dalek variants appear in the film. Some Daleks are fitted with a two-jawed mechanical claw instead of the iconic plunger, some have integrally moulded shoulder collars with the front edge angle reversed so that they point towards instead of away from the gun-boxes, and one is seen with a cutting torch instead of a telescopic arm.
Whilst hemisphere misalignment is an occasionally recurring feature of Daleks seen on television over the years, this issue presents itself in a uniform manner with all of the film props. Most noticeably the four hemispheres on the rear-left corner skirt panel are set higher than those on the other panels. As the positioning of the hemispheres on the Dalek casings serves no purpose in the plot and is unreferenced in the narrative, it may be surmised that this was caused by a manufacturing error.
For their first big-screen outing the Daleks were painted in bold colours. Drones are primarily silver with mid-blue domes, hemispheres and fenders, and gold collars. The Dalek leader is black with alternating silver and gold hemispheres, alternating silver and gold neck rings, and gold collars and fender. Its second in command is portrayed as a red Dalek with black hemispheres, gold collars and gold fender. On all versions the dome lights are coloured red.
The ‘hero’ props seen in the film were constructed by Shawcraft Engineering, whilst the Daleks with integrally moulded shoulder collars, which were mainly used to make up numbers in crowd scenes, were produced by the Plaster Workshops at Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios is a film studio in Shepperton, Surrey, England with a history dating back to 1931 since when many notable films have been made there...
.
Mk II Movie Daleks
The Mark 2 Movie Dalek variant seen in the film Daleks' Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. is very similar in design to the Mark 1 version, but with the addition of the upper collar mesh and slats with which the TV versions were by now equipped (although the movie version has twenty four slats rather the TV's twenty three). At various points in the film a Dalek can be seen with a small silver plunger in place of the usual black item. Another features a scissor-like claw, which is quite unlike the standard ‘G-clampC-clamp
A C-clamp is a type of clamp device typically used to hold a wood or metal workpiece, and are often used in, but are not limited to, carpentry and welding...
’ shaped device, and a gun with mantles. These unusual appendages are not referred to in the story. The misalignment of the hemispheres, evident in Dr. Who and the Daleks, is once again present.
The colour scheme for the drones used in the second film is essentially the same as that used for the television versions at the time, being silver overall with grey shoulders, natural aluminium collars and slats, blue hemispheres and a black fender. Arguably the narrative fails to establish a precise hierarchy for the Dalek commanders seen in the film. The leader of the expeditionary force appears to be a gold Dalek with natural aluminium collars and slats, black hemispheres and a black fender. A black Dalek with gold hemispheres, natural aluminium collars and slats and a black fender is apparently in charge of a mining operation in Bedfordshire, whilst a red Dalek with natural aluminium collars and slats and a black fender with red topping is shown commanding a Dalek spaceship and operations to capture human slaves and wipe-out the resistance. Drones sport blue dome lights, the black and red Daleks have red dome lights and the gold Dalek has yellow dome lights. As for the first film, the Dalek props were constructed by Shawcraft Engineering.
Dalek variants in the theatre
Daleks with unique characteristics have appeared in several stage productions, consisting of both original works and adaptations of serials from the Doctor Who television programme. In addition to the professional productions detailed below, a number of amateur presentations have been staged over the years. These include Doctor Who and the Daleks in the Seven Keys to Doomsday (Porirua Little Theatre, Titahi Bay, Porirua, New Zealand, 1984),Seven Keys to Doomsday: New Zealand Production Article The Evil of the Daleks (New Theatre RoyalNew Theatre Royal
The New Theatre Royal is a Victorian theatre in the centre of Portsmouth, Hampshire, United Kingdom. The building was constructed in 1854 as Landport Hall. It was converted to a theatre two years later. It was rebuilt in 1884 by Charles J. Phipps and again in 1900 by Frank Matcham...
, Portsmouth, England, 2006)Evil of the Daleks Website and The Dalek Masterplan (New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth, England, 2007).The Daleks' Masterplan Article
The Curse of the Daleks (1965)
The Curse of the DaleksThe Curse of the Daleks
The Curse Of The Daleks is a Dalek stage play, written by David Whitaker and Terry Nation, which appeared for one month at the Wyndham's Theatre in London, beginning on December 21, 1965. It is notable for being Terry Nation's first live-action attempt to exercise his ownership of the Dalek...
was a stage play written by David Whitaker and Terry Nation
Terry Nation
Terry Nation was a Welsh screenwriter and novelist.He is probably best known for creating the villainous Daleks in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who...
, which appeared for one month at the Wyndham's Theatre
Wyndham's Theatre
Wyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by the actor/manager Charles Wyndham . Located on Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, it was designed by W.G.R. Sprague about 1898, the architect of six other London theatres between then and 1916...
in London, England beginning on December 21, 1965.
Five Daleks were used in the production; four silver/grey drones and a black version. They were all basically to the Mark 1 Movie Dalek design, but with fenders, dome lights and guns of the type seen on TV Daleks at the time. They were produced by Shawcraft, the manufacturer of the original TV and Movie Daleks.
The Seven Keys to Doomsday (1974)
Doctor Who and the Daleks in the Seven Keys to DoomsdayDoctor Who and the Daleks in the Seven Keys to Doomsday
Doctor Who and the Daleks in the Seven Keys to Doomsday was a stage play based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The play ran at the Adelphi Theatre in London, England for four weeks, beginning on 16 December 1974...
was a stage play written by Terrance Dicks
Terrance Dicks
Terrance Dicks is an English writer, best known for his work in television and for writing a large number of popular children's books during the 1970s and 80s.- Early career :...
, which ran at the Adelphi Theatre
Adelphi Theatre
The Adelphi Theatre is a 1500-seat West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiving house for a variety of productions, including many musicals...
in London, England for four weeks beginning on 16 December 1974.
Five Daleks were created for the play by Philip Poole and Phillip Alleston, under the overall guidance of model maker, sculptor and film designer Allister Bowtell.Allister Bowtell: Obituary They had the general appearance of a TV/film hybrid. There were a number of similarities to the Supreme Dalek from Planet of the Daleks
Planet of the Daleks
Planet of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from April 7 to May 12, 1973.-Synopsis:...
, including flat-edged neck rings and a strutless neck bin. The main body was similar to TV Daleks of the time, but with an enlarged fender which was larger than the TV props but smaller than that fitted to Movie Daleks. Turn-indicator style lights were used, and the gun stick rods were thinner and more angular than those fitted to either TV or film variants.
Some confusion has arisen regarding the design of the Daleks used in this play as publicity photographs taken at the time show Trevor Martin
Trevor Martin
Trevor Martin is a British actor.He is perhaps known for playing the Doctor on stage at the Adelphi Theatre, London in Doctor Who and the Daleks in the Seven Keys to Doomsday based on the popular television series Doctor Who...
, the actor portraying Doctor Who, posing with the Planet of the Daleks Supreme and a Mark 2 Movie Dalek. The Movie Dalek exhibits several alterations from the film appearance including ‘jam jar’ dome lights, an enlarged eyeball with protruding torch lens, panels fitted to the gun box fronts, a gun terminating in a small plunger and what appears to be elongated, crimped gun rods fixed to the arm. Neither of these props actually appeared in the stage production.
The Ultimate Adventure (1989)
Doctor Who - The Ultimate AdventureDoctor Who - The Ultimate Adventure
Doctor Who – The Ultimate Adventure was a 1989 stage play, written by Terrance Dicks based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who....
was a stage play written by Terrance Dicks. It toured Great Britain, appearing at twenty theatres between April and August 1989.
Four blue/grey drones and a Black Dalek (credited as 'The Chief Dalek') appeared in the play. Specific design differences from the television version included a skirt section which was flared more to the sides and less to the front and back, a single vertical column of hemispheres on the skirt side panels and a higher fender. The props also had large, rectangular dome lights, no eye discs and no shoulder slats. The neck rings had a different configuration, the most noticeable effect being that the bottom ring diameter was much wider than the shoulders. These Daleks had a dome that was a true hemisphere instead of the bevelled design of both TV and film Daleks. Finally, instead of two separate gun boxes a complete unbroken oblong box ran across the front of the body.
A Dalek Emperor prop was also created, being a scaled-down but otherwise faithful reproduction of the version that appeared in The Evil of the Daleks
The Evil of the Daleks
The Evil of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in seven weekly parts from 20 May to 1 July 1967. This serial marked the debut of Deborah Watling as the Doctor's new companion, Victoria Waterfield.Evil was initially intended to...
, with the addition of large wing-like structures to the sides. All Dalek props used in the production were built by the theatrical suppliers Suffolk Scenery.
Dalek variants in comics, books and audio dramas
Various writers and artists have created new Dalek variants for comic strip, novel and audio stories. The depiction of Daleks with a variety of coloured casings has also occasionally been introduced to indicate rank, although these differentiations do not constitute separate variants as such. Of particular note in this respect is John PeelJohn Peel (writer)
John Peel is a British writer, best known for his books connected to several television series. He has written under several pseudonyms, including John Vincent and Nicholas Adams. He lives in Long Island, New York and his wife is a U.S...
's BBC Books
BBC Books
BBC Books is an imprint majority owned and managed by Random House. The minority shareholder is BBC Worldwide, the commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation...
Doctor Who novel War of the Daleks
War of the Daleks
War of the Daleks is an original novel written by John Peel, published in 1997, based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Eighth Doctor and Sam. This novel was the first appearance of the Daleks in an original Doctor Who novel; they had not...
in which Grey, Blue, Red, Black and Gold Daleks are described as having successively higher status, all serving under the Dalek Prime. Other examples are the TV21
TV Century 21
TV Century 21, also known as TV 21, was a weekly British children's comic of the 1960s and early 1970s. It promoted the many television science-fiction puppet series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's Century 21 Productions...
Dalek comic strip in which a Black Dalek is shown acting as second-in-command to the Golden Emperor, and Trevor Baxendale
Trevor Baxendale
Trevor Baxendale is a novelist who has penned several Doctor Who tie-in novels and audio dramas.*The Janus Conjunction *Out of the Darkness *Coldheart *Eater of Wasps *Fear of the Dark...
’s novel Prisoner of the Daleks
Prisoner of the Daleks
Prisoner of the Daleks is a BBC Books original novel written by Trevor Baxendale and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Tenth Doctor without a companion and was released on April 2, 2009, alongside Judgement of the Judoon and The Slitheen...
where a Dalek Inquisitor General (also referred to as 'Dalek X') is described as being of the New Series design but having a casing of gunmetal black with gold slats and hemispheres.
Golden Emperor Dalek
TV Century 21
TV Century 21, also known as TV 21, was a weekly British children's comic of the 1960s and early 1970s. It promoted the many television science-fiction puppet series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's Century 21 Productions...
comic strip The Daleks.
According to the comic strip version of events the planet Skaro was inhabited by two warring humanoid species; the tall, handsome, peaceful Thals
Thal (Doctor Who)
The Thals are a fictional race of humanoid aliens from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, originating on the planet Skaro.-History within the show:...
and the aggressive blue-skinned Daleks. The Daleks build a neutron bomb
Neutron bomb
A neutron bomb or enhanced radiation weapon or weapon of reinforced radiation is a type of thermonuclear weapon designed specifically to release a large portion of its energy as energetic neutron radiation rather than explosive energy...
to finally destroy the Thals and bring the conflict to an end. A meteorite
Meteorite
A meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives impact with the Earth's surface. Meteorites can be big or small. Most meteorites derive from small astronomical objects called meteoroids, but they are also sometimes produced by impacts of asteroids...
storm causes the device to detonate prematurely, devastating Skaro and the planet's civilisations. The only survivors of the Dalek race are the scientist Yarvelling and the warlord Zolfian. Whilst exploring the shattered remains of their world they are attacked, and then interrogated, by a prototype war machine which Yarvelling had created shortly before the holocaust. It is implied that these machines were intended to act as semi-autonomous robotic warriors. It informs them that it is actually a mutated Dalek, the result of radiation from the neutron bomb explosion, which has commandeered the casing to use as a travel machine. It says that there are many more mutants, and persuades Yarvelling and Zolfian to build more casings to house them. Before the last two humanoid Daleks die, exhausted by their labours and the effects of radiation, it appoints itself as Emperor and has a special casing constructed to reflect its new rank, made from "...Flidor gold, Quartz and Arkellis flower sap...". The Golden Emperor is usually depicted as being slightly shorter than a standard Dalek, with a disproportionately large spherical head section.
The title page of The Dalek Book lists three contributing illustrators; Richard Jennings
Richard Jennings (comics)
-Biography:Richard E. Jennings was born in Hampstead, England on 20 May 1921. In 1937 he won a free place to the Central School of Arts, London. After 2 years his studies were interrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War, during which he served in the Air/Sea Rescue service of the Royal Air...
, John Woods and A.B. Cornwell. As none of the stories are individually credited it is uncertain which artist or artists first developed the Golden Emperor design. Two illustrators provided interpretations of the Golden Emperor for the TV21 comic strip; Jennings again, and Ron Turner
Ron Turner (artist)
Ron Turner was a British illustrator and comic book artist.- Early life and career :Ron Turner became interested in science fiction at an early age, with numerous works across several media: the novels of H.G...
who superseded him in later instalments.
'The Dalek Book' Daleks
The Dalek Book (1964) is notable, although not unique, in portraying a Dalek variant which has a 'speaker grille' set centrally on the chest and, occasionally, a stylised insignia on the dome. Neither of these items has ever appeared on an actual prop.During rehearsals for the first Doctor Who serial in which they appeared a numbered piece of card was taped to the dome of each Dalek to assist the director in distinguishing them, with a tape roll being wedged behind the top front collar of each prop for safekeeping. These objects subsequently appeared in photographs of the Daleks provided by the BBC to merchandise producers for reference, with the illustrators of the Dalek Book interpreting them as speaker grilles and insignia. Shortly after the publication of this volume other merchandise and packaging appeared featuring Daleks with the speaker grille design element. These included Dalek board games, bagatelle
Bagatelle
Bagatelle is a billiards-derived indoor table game, the object of which is to get a number of balls past wooden pins into holes...
, 'Cutta-Mastic' polystyrene
Polystyrene
Polystyrene ) also known as Thermocole, abbreviated following ISO Standard PS, is an aromatic polymer made from the monomer styrene, a liquid hydrocarbon that is manufactured from petroleum by the chemical industry...
sculpting sets, marble mazes
Labyrinth (game)
Labyrinth: The Computer Game is a graphic adventure computer game, inspired by the Jim Henson fantasy film, Labyrinth. The game was developed by Lucasfilm Games and published by Activision in 1986 for the Apple IIe and IIc, Commodore 64/128, and MSX2...
and a ray gun torch.
Dalek Emperor
A Dalek Emperor, described as being similar that seen in The Evil of the DaleksThe Evil of the Daleks
The Evil of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in seven weekly parts from 20 May to 1 July 1967. This serial marked the debut of Deborah Watling as the Doctor's new companion, Victoria Waterfield.Evil was initially intended to...
, appears in the Telos novella
Telos Doctor Who novellas
The Telos Doctor Who novellas were a series of tie-in novellas based on the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, officially licensed by the BBC and published by Telos Publishing Ltd...
The Dalek Factor
The Dalek Factor
The Dalek Factor is an original novella written by Simon Clark and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features a Doctor whose incarnation is unspecified. It was released both as a standard edition hardback and a deluxe edition featuring a frontispiece...
by Simon Clark
Simon Clark
Simon Clark is a horror novel writer from Doncaster, England. One of his most notable works is the novel The Night of the Triffids.Clark has been nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel, World Fantasy Award for Best Novella and British Fantasy Award...
. It is referred to as "an Emperor", implying there is more than one during the period in which the story is set.
Dalek Prime
A Dalek Prime is referred to in several of the novels based on the Doctor Who series (The Chase, The Dalek's Master Plan, The Power of the Daleks, The Evil of the Daleks). It is also mentioned in both of John Peel's 8th Doctor novels, War of the DaleksWar of the Daleks
War of the Daleks is an original novel written by John Peel, published in 1997, based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Eighth Doctor and Sam. This novel was the first appearance of the Daleks in an original Doctor Who novel; they had not...
and Legacy of the Daleks
Legacy of the Daleks
Legacy of the Daleks is an original novel written by John Peel and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
. Although portrayed as being a leader, its precise position in the Dalek hierarchy is not made clear. In War of the Daleks its description closely matches that of the TV21 Golden Emperor.
'Hayakawa' Daleks
Four of the Target BooksTarget Books
Target Books was a British publishing imprint, established in 1973 by Universal-Tandem Publishing Co Ltd, a paperback publishing company. The imprint was established as a children's imprint to complement the adult Tandem imprint, and became well known for their highly successful range of...
Doctor Who serial novelizations were translated into Japanese by Yukio Sekiguchi and published in 1980 by Hayakawa Bunko books. These included Doctor Who and the Daleks as and Doctor Who and the Day of the Daleks as Artist Michiaki Sato was commissioned to provide illustrations for these volumes.
Unlike other comic book and graphic artists whose work, however stylised, usually presents relatively minor variations to the standard Dalek form, Sato’s renderings show a unique Dalek variant which is a radical departure from the recognised design. Possible reasons for this include lack of access to source material, the Japanese publishers having no rights to the use of the Dalek image and the artist simply being allowed the free rein of his imagination.
Marine Daleks
Marine Daleks, introduced in the novel War of the DaleksWar of the Daleks
War of the Daleks is an original novel written by John Peel, published in 1997, based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Eighth Doctor and Sam. This novel was the first appearance of the Daleks in an original Doctor Who novel; they had not...
, are torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
-shaped with their eye at the front, and have a gun stick and grappling arm parallel to their body. They are stated to be larger than the standard Daleks.
Marsh Daleks
The 1964 Dalek Book story The Monsters of Gurnian, written by Terry Nation and David Whittaker, features bipedal Marsh Daleks which are used to keep in check the Horrorkons; two headed plesiosaurPlesiosaur
Plesiosauroidea is an extinct clade of carnivorous plesiosaur marine reptiles. Plesiosauroids, are known from the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods...
-like creatures which inhabit the swamps of the planet Gurnian. As none of the stories in the book are individually credited it is uncertain which artist developed the Marsh Dalek design. Marsh Daleks are also briefly referenced in Marc Platt's
Marc Platt
Marc Platt is a British writer. He is most known for his work with the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.After studying catering at a technical college, Platt worked first for Trust House Forte, and then in administration for the BBC...
Doctor Who novel Lungbarrow
Lungbarrow
Lungbarrow is an original novel written by Marc Platt and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
, in which it is said that during the 26th century humans fought and disabled them by shooting at their legs with high-impulse carbine
Carbine
A carbine , from French carabine, is a longarm similar to but shorter than a rifle or musket. Many carbines are shortened versions of full rifles, firing the same ammunition at a lower velocity due to a shorter barrel length....
s.
Psyche Daleks
Appearing briefly in the comic strip Emperor of the DaleksEmperor of the Daleks
Emperor of the Daleks was a black-and-white comic strip based on the television series Doctor Who. It ran primarily in the pages of Doctor Who Magazine, written by John Freeman and novelist and future television series writer Paul Cornell...
, written by John Freeman
John Freeman (editor)
John Freeman is a British writer/editor/designer known for his work with Marvel UK, and on Doctor Who Magazine and The Really Heavy Greatcoat.-Biography:...
& Paul Cornell
Paul Cornell
Paul Cornell is a British writer best known for his work in television drama as well as Doctor Who fiction, and as the creator of one of the Doctor's spin-off companions, Bernice Summerfield....
, Psyche Daleks are depicted with a large mass of green brain tissue contained within a transparent sphere that sits on top of the shoulder section, in place of the normal neck bin and dome. In the story a Psyche Dalek is used to control a small group of partially robotised prisoners through a remote device mounted on its arm in place of the normal plunger. The comic strip was drawn by Lee Sullivan
Lee Sullivan (comics)
-Biography:Sullivan trained as a wildlife and technical illustrator at Barnfield College before working as a graphic illustrator for British Aerospace...
.
Scout Daleks
In Ben Aaronovitch's novelisation of Remembrance of the Daleks the Imperial Dalek faction use Scout Daleks which are described as being more powerful and streamlined than standard Daleks.Spider Daleks
Spider Daleks were a variant proposed by John LeekleyJohn Leekley
John Leekley is an American writer, director and producer. He is one of the most prolific writer/producers in television. He received a Primetime Emmy Award for his work as Executive Producer/Writer on the HBO Original Series “Spawn”....
for an aborted Doctor Who television movie to be produced by Amblin Entertainment
Amblin Entertainment
Amblin Entertainment is an American film and television production company founded by director and producer Steven Spielberg and film producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall in 1981. Amblin is only a production company, and has never distributed its own movies, nor has it fully financed its...
in 1994. Spider Daleks directly based on the Amblin production concept sketches were eventually used in the comic strip Fire and Brimstone, in which they are presented as a radically different form of Dalek from a parallel universe
Multiverse
The multiverse is the hypothetical set of multiple possible universes that together comprise all of reality.Multiverse may also refer to:-In fiction:* Multiverse , the fictional multiverse used by DC Comics...
. The strip was drawn by Martin Geraghty
Martin Geraghty
-Biography:His first commission was for the Marvel UK comic Overkill but the comic folded before his story was published.He began drawing for Doctor Who Magazine in 1993 and has continued to draw regularly for it ever since....
and Robin Smith
Robin Smith (comics)
Robin Smith is a British artist best known for his work on Judge Dredd and Strontium Dog for 2000AD and The Bogie Man for Fat Man Press.A 2-part interview with Smith appears in the Judge Dredd Megazine, issues 225-226, alongside a new Bogie Man adventure....
. In John Peel's novel War of the Daleks
War of the Daleks
War of the Daleks is an original novel written by John Peel, published in 1997, based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Eighth Doctor and Sam. This novel was the first appearance of the Daleks in an original Doctor Who novel; they had not...
they are depicted as creations of Davros and described as being slightly larger than a standard Dalek, with eight legs emerging from the lower half. They are said to have greater manoeuvrability than standard Daleks, at the cost of being more vulnerable at their joints.
Strider Daleks
Giant versions of the Spider Dalek, known as Striders, are mentioned in John Peel's novel War of the DaleksWar of the Daleks
War of the Daleks is an original novel written by John Peel, published in 1997, based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Eighth Doctor and Sam. This novel was the first appearance of the Daleks in an original Doctor Who novel; they had not...
. They are said to be ten times larger than a standard Spider Dalek and equipped with additional weapons.
The Klade
The Klade are a people from the distant future in Lance ParkinLance Parkin
Lance Parkin is a British author, best known for writing fiction and reference books for television series, in particular Doctor Who and Emmerdale...
's BBC Eighth Doctor
Eighth Doctor
The Eighth Doctor is the eighth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by Paul McGann...
novel Father Time
Father Time (Doctor Who)
Father Time is a BBC Books original novel written by Lance Parkin and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Eighth Doctor and introduces the Doctor's adopted daughter Miranda.-External links:*...
and the Miranda
Miranda (Doctor Who)
Miranda is a fictional character from the Eighth Doctor Adventures novel series published by BBC Books; based upon the British science fiction television series, Doctor Who. She was, for a time, the adopted daughter and companion of the Eighth Doctor...
spin-off comics. Although physically humanoid and genetically human, they share many cultural characteristics with the Daleks and appear to regard Dalek history as their own. Their name is both an anagram of "Dalek", as "Dalek" is itself of "Kaled" and a play on the biological term "clade
Clade
A clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...
", being a group of species sharing a common ancestor. They are "...the super-evolved descendants of the Daleks", the implication being that, like that of the Thals
Thal (Doctor Who)
The Thals are a fictional race of humanoid aliens from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, originating on the planet Skaro.-History within the show:...
, their mutation has come "full circle" and returned them to a humanoid form.
The Dark Dimension Dalek
The Dark Dimension was the working title of a feature-length BBC Doctor Who episode, planned to celebrate the programme's Thirtieth Anniversary. Chris FitzgeraldChris Fitzgerald IMDb Listing at Jim Henson's Creature ShopJim Henson's Creature Shop
Jim Henson's Creature Shop is a company founded in 1979 by puppeteer Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets, and Frank Oz.It was originally created as a result of the observation that the team that had been put together for The Dark Crystal was extremely hard to recreate for Labyrinth, since the...
was engaged to redesign the Special Weapons Dalek for the production. A sketch of the proposed variant, which has become known as The Dark Dimension Dalek, was produced at the time by BBC artist Alan Marshall. Notable differences to a standard Dalek include a substantially enlarged fender to which the Dalek is attached by large locking-clamps, an enhanced mid section featuring two large shoulder-mounted cannon and a foreshortened neck bin encircled by three thick neck rings. Programme development commenced in September 1992 and was officially cancelled in July 1993, with the BBC citing 'financial and logistical reasons'. Although a Dark Dimension Dalek prop was never constructed by the BBC it has become the subject of a number of illustrations, and at least one full size fan-built reconstruction.Dalek STORM Dark Dimensions Special Weapons Dalek Website
See also
- DalekDalekThe Daleks are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Within the series, Daleks are cyborgs from the planet Skaro, created by the scientist Davros during the final years of a thousand-year war against the Thals...
- Dalek EmpireDalek EmpireThe Dalek Empire refers to the sphere of influence of the Daleks, a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Dalek Empire is also a series of audio plays produced by Big Finish Productions, featuring the Daleks. The series begins in...
- History of the DaleksHistory of the DaleksThe Daleks are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The mutated remains of the Kaled people of the planet Skaro, they travel around in tank-like mechanical casings, and are a race bent on universal conquest and destruction...
- Dalek comic strips, illustrated annuals and graphic novelsDalek comic strips, illustrated annuals and graphic novelsThis is a list of Dalek comic strips, illustrated annuals and graphic novels. Cameo appearances and reprints are only covered if notable.-Annuals & Graphic Novels:...
- Cult of SkaroCult of SkaroIn the television series Doctor Who, the Cult of Skaro was an elite order of Daleks, and the first individual Daleks whose recurring nature has been explicit.-Background:The Cult of Skaro first appeared in the double-episode "Army of Ghosts"/"Doomsday"...
- DavrosDavrosDavros is a character from the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Davros is an archenemy of the Doctor and is the creator of the Doctor's deadliest enemies, the Daleks...
- SkaroSkaroSkaro is a fictional planet from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who created by the writer Terry Nation as the home planet of the Daleks and, at times, the centre of the Dalek Empire....
External links
- Dalek variants - List of Dalek variants at TARDIS Index File, an external wiki.
- Dalek 6388 - A comprehensive serial-by-serial guide to Dalek variants and the Dalek props.
- Dalek City - The Dalek Builders' Guild website. Includes articles on the creation and history of the Dalek props.
- Dalek Planet - Illustrations of Dalek variants with a design/colour guide.
- Jim's Dalek Site - Accurate CGI versions of Dalek variants seen in the classic Doctor Who series and the two feature films.
- Project Dalek - Dalek variant plans and reference material.
- The Mind Robber - An illustrated history of the Dalek props.
- The Curse of the Daleks - Curse of the Daleks stage play article.
- The Ultimate Adventure - The Ultimate Adventure stage play website.
- Altered Vistas: In the Comics - Doctorless Strips - Detailed listing of Dalek comic book appearances.
- BBC Doctor Who Website: The Daleks - Photo galleries and video clips of major Dalek appearances and variants from 1963 to the present day.