Revelation of the Daleks
Encyclopedia
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. This was the final serial of the original series to be broadcast in 45-minute episodes; this format would return 20 years later when the series resumed in 2005.
and Peri
encounter the Dalek
s on the planet Necros, where the mercenary Orcini is on a mission to kill Davros
.
At Tranquil Repose, a disc jockey plays songs and chats as a form of entertainment to those who are in suspended animation. He keeps the asleep aware of current events, but saves for moments of private reflection the fact that cures for some of the afflicted have been perfected decades ago.
A couple, Natasha and Grigory, have illegally entered Tranquil Repose, looking for the man the Doctor is visiting — Arthur Stengos, Natasha's father. Upon finding his assigned suspended animation capsule, they discover it is empty. Shocked, they continue looking and head downward. They find a dark room filled with pulsating brains and other experiments. Grigory walks past a Glass Dalek casing with a mutating red creature inside it. When Natasha looks at it, the creature opens its mouth and starts saying "Na.. tasha? Natasha?". Natasha realises it is the head of her father, and he is being metamorphosised into a Dalek.
Kara, who owns a company which distributes food throughout the galaxy, is a pawn of the Great Healer, who is in actuality Davros, now apparently reduced to a disembodied head in a tank. He takes virtually all the money she makes. To dissolve this arrangement, she has hired the mercenary Orcini and his squire, Bostock. She provides a transmitter to Orcini, which has a five-button passcode. This must be entered when Orcini enters Davros's headquarters. Orcini accepts the contract solely for the honour of killing Davros. With Davros eliminated, she believes she will have the power and the capital necessary to control the galaxy.
Arthur Stengos, who is now just a head with red flesh growing over him, explains to Natasha and Grigory that the brains of everybody in Tranquil Repose are being used to metamorphosise into new Dalek mutants. He says that his mind has been conditioned to serve 'The Great Healer', but he can't remember who 'The Great Healer' is. As a last request, he orders his daughter to kill him before he fully mutates. While hesitating, Grigory pulls up his own gun willing to do it, but Natasha stops him and shoots her father herself. The two are then captured, thrown in a cell, and questioned by Takis and Lilt. As they are about to enter the Tranquil Repose, the Doctor and Peri find a giant statue of the Doctor, which suddenly collapses on him.
Peri is worried about the Doctor, and asks the Chief Embalmer Mr Jobel if he will be alright. But Mr Jobel says the Doctor might be dead from the fall of the monument. However, the monument is a lightweight fake, and the Doctor is unharmed.
The Doctor and Peri are met by Mr. Jobel and his subservient assistant Tasembeker. Peri is intrigued by the centre's DJ, whose American accent reminds her of home. The Doctor sends her off with Jobel to meet the DJ, so that he can meet the person who erected the statue.
Orcini destroys a Dalek and Davros is notified. He is convinced Kara has sent assassins, so he deploys some Daleks to bring her to him. They arrive, kill her secretary, and take her back. Meanwhile Tasembeker, who has been coerced by Davros to spy on Jobel, attempts to warn the Chief Embalmber out of misplaced love for him. When Jobel cruelly spurns her offer, Tasembeker fatally stabs him with a syringe. She is then exterminated by a patrol of Daleks.
The Daleks capture the Doctor, and throw him into a cell with Natasha and Grigory who are soon rescued by Orcini. Orcini penetrates Davros's lair, and apparently kills Davros, but Orcini realises that the kill was too easy. The real Davros appears with a group of Daleks, and quickly subdue Orcini and Bostock. When Kara is brought in, Orcini betrays her motives to Davros then stabs her to death.
Natasha and Grigory infiltrate the incubator room again, and plan to destroy the brains that are scheduled for metamorphosis. Natasha's gun dies due to lack of power, so Grigory attempts to arm the self-destruct switch on the brain incubator console. A glass Dalek incubator materialises and exterminates them, then in turn explodes.
The Doctor tells Peri to get back to the TARDIS and hail the President's ship, which is enroute for the internment of the body of the deceased First Lady. The DJ persuades Peri to use his equipment. Overhearing the transmission, Davros orders the DJ killed and Peri captured. The DJ produces a sonar weapon, which blows up two Daleks as they enter his room, but is killed when a third Dalek enters. Peri is captured. The Doctor overhears the events via broadcast audio and rushes to save her but is caught by two Daleks en route. Both meet back in Davros' laboratory where he reveals that he has a new army of Daleks, hidden in catacombs underneath his laboratory.
Daleks loyal to the Supreme Dalek arrive from Skaro
, called by Takis, who now realise what has been going on. Takis leads the Skaro Daleks to Davros' lab, but they are met by a group of Davros's Daleks. The Skaro Daleks win, arrest Davros and take him Skaro to stand trial. Davros tries to get the Daleks to take the Doctor as well, but they do not recognise him in this regeneration. Upon learning of what Davros had established on Necros, the Skaro forces decide to continue to control the galaxy's demand for famine relief.
Orcini wants to detonate his bomb before Davros's ship leaves, refusing the Doctor's offer to build a timer. They all rush out and Orcini blows the bomb. The Dalek ship manages to take off before the blast, but the Doctor states that Orcini did die for something very honourable: the destruction of Davros's new generation of Daleks.
Takis, looking over the destruction, complains to the Doctor that they are all out of a job. The Doctor tells him that they can harvest the flowers that grow on the planet and use them as a new food source to replace the product Davros had created from dead bodies.
later appeared in the Tenth Doctor
story Voyage of the Damned
as Mr. Copper.
This is one of five Doctor Who serials that were never novelised by Target Books
, as they were unable to come to an agreement with Eric Saward
and Daleks creator Terry Nation
that would have allowed Saward or another writer to adapt the script. Virgin Books
(the successor to Target) did announce plans to publish a novelisation by Saward in the early 1990s, but this ultimately did not occur. A fan group in New Zealand published an unofficial novelisation of the story in 1992, later republishing it online as an eBook titled Doctor Who: Revelation of the Daleks.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
science fiction television series 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...
, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts on 23 March and 30 March 1985. This was the final serial of the original series to be broadcast in 45-minute episodes; this format would return 20 years later when the series resumed in 2005.
Synopsis
The Sixth DoctorSixth Doctor
The Sixth Doctor is the sixth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by Colin Baker...
and Peri
Peri Brown
Peri Brown, full name Perpugilliam Brown, is a fictional character played by Nicola Bryant in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who....
encounter the 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...
s on the planet Necros, where the mercenary Orcini is on a mission to kill 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...
.
Plot
The TARDIS lands on Necros, the location of the funeral home Tranquil Repose. The Doctor and Peri have come to visit a deceased scientist acquaintance. On the way, the Doctor points out great numbers of flowers that are similar to the soybean in terms of food versatility. The Doctor is attacked by a mutant, and Peri is forced to kill him to save the Doctor. Before he dies, the mutant tells the Doctor that the Great Healer used him as a genetic experiment and his appearance and hostility were a direct result of the experiments.At Tranquil Repose, a disc jockey plays songs and chats as a form of entertainment to those who are in suspended animation. He keeps the asleep aware of current events, but saves for moments of private reflection the fact that cures for some of the afflicted have been perfected decades ago.
A couple, Natasha and Grigory, have illegally entered Tranquil Repose, looking for the man the Doctor is visiting — Arthur Stengos, Natasha's father. Upon finding his assigned suspended animation capsule, they discover it is empty. Shocked, they continue looking and head downward. They find a dark room filled with pulsating brains and other experiments. Grigory walks past a Glass Dalek casing with a mutating red creature inside it. When Natasha looks at it, the creature opens its mouth and starts saying "Na.. tasha? Natasha?". Natasha realises it is the head of her father, and he is being metamorphosised into a Dalek.
Kara, who owns a company which distributes food throughout the galaxy, is a pawn of the Great Healer, who is in actuality Davros, now apparently reduced to a disembodied head in a tank. He takes virtually all the money she makes. To dissolve this arrangement, she has hired the mercenary Orcini and his squire, Bostock. She provides a transmitter to Orcini, which has a five-button passcode. This must be entered when Orcini enters Davros's headquarters. Orcini accepts the contract solely for the honour of killing Davros. With Davros eliminated, she believes she will have the power and the capital necessary to control the galaxy.
Arthur Stengos, who is now just a head with red flesh growing over him, explains to Natasha and Grigory that the brains of everybody in Tranquil Repose are being used to metamorphosise into new Dalek mutants. He says that his mind has been conditioned to serve 'The Great Healer', but he can't remember who 'The Great Healer' is. As a last request, he orders his daughter to kill him before he fully mutates. While hesitating, Grigory pulls up his own gun willing to do it, but Natasha stops him and shoots her father herself. The two are then captured, thrown in a cell, and questioned by Takis and Lilt. As they are about to enter the Tranquil Repose, the Doctor and Peri find a giant statue of the Doctor, which suddenly collapses on him.
Peri is worried about the Doctor, and asks the Chief Embalmer Mr Jobel if he will be alright. But Mr Jobel says the Doctor might be dead from the fall of the monument. However, the monument is a lightweight fake, and the Doctor is unharmed.
The Doctor and Peri are met by Mr. Jobel and his subservient assistant Tasembeker. Peri is intrigued by the centre's DJ, whose American accent reminds her of home. The Doctor sends her off with Jobel to meet the DJ, so that he can meet the person who erected the statue.
Orcini destroys a Dalek and Davros is notified. He is convinced Kara has sent assassins, so he deploys some Daleks to bring her to him. They arrive, kill her secretary, and take her back. Meanwhile Tasembeker, who has been coerced by Davros to spy on Jobel, attempts to warn the Chief Embalmber out of misplaced love for him. When Jobel cruelly spurns her offer, Tasembeker fatally stabs him with a syringe. She is then exterminated by a patrol of Daleks.
The Daleks capture the Doctor, and throw him into a cell with Natasha and Grigory who are soon rescued by Orcini. Orcini penetrates Davros's lair, and apparently kills Davros, but Orcini realises that the kill was too easy. The real Davros appears with a group of Daleks, and quickly subdue Orcini and Bostock. When Kara is brought in, Orcini betrays her motives to Davros then stabs her to death.
Natasha and Grigory infiltrate the incubator room again, and plan to destroy the brains that are scheduled for metamorphosis. Natasha's gun dies due to lack of power, so Grigory attempts to arm the self-destruct switch on the brain incubator console. A glass Dalek incubator materialises and exterminates them, then in turn explodes.
The Doctor tells Peri to get back to the TARDIS and hail the President's ship, which is enroute for the internment of the body of the deceased First Lady. The DJ persuades Peri to use his equipment. Overhearing the transmission, Davros orders the DJ killed and Peri captured. The DJ produces a sonar weapon, which blows up two Daleks as they enter his room, but is killed when a third Dalek enters. Peri is captured. The Doctor overhears the events via broadcast audio and rushes to save her but is caught by two Daleks en route. Both meet back in Davros' laboratory where he reveals that he has a new army of Daleks, hidden in catacombs underneath his laboratory.
Daleks loyal to the Supreme Dalek arrive from 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....
, called by Takis, who now realise what has been going on. Takis leads the Skaro Daleks to Davros' lab, but they are met by a group of Davros's Daleks. The Skaro Daleks win, arrest Davros and take him Skaro to stand trial. Davros tries to get the Daleks to take the Doctor as well, but they do not recognise him in this regeneration. Upon learning of what Davros had established on Necros, the Skaro forces decide to continue to control the galaxy's demand for famine relief.
Orcini wants to detonate his bomb before Davros's ship leaves, refusing the Doctor's offer to build a timer. They all rush out and Orcini blows the bomb. The Dalek ship manages to take off before the blast, but the Doctor states that Orcini did die for something very honourable: the destruction of Davros's new generation of Daleks.
Takis, looking over the destruction, complains to the Doctor that they are all out of a job. The Doctor tells him that they can harvest the flowers that grow on the planet and use them as a new food source to replace the product Davros had created from dead bodies.
Continuity
- For the first time, Davros and the Daleks are seen to hover some distance above ground. In the transmitted version, the camera angles chosen didn't make it entirely clear that the Dalek was flying (some fans commenting that it looked more like the Dalek was giant-sized), so the sequence was remade for the DVD release of the story. All subsequent Dalek stories also feature levitation.
- It is never explained how 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...
survived the Movellan virus which he contracted at the end of Resurrection of the DaleksResurrection of the DaleksResurrection 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...
. Although Davros says that he managed to escape the space station via an escape pod, no mention is made of his condition. The Big Finish ProductionsBig Finish ProductionsBig Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
audio adventure DavrosDavros (Doctor Who audio)Davros is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Plot:...
portrays another encounter between the Sixth DoctorSixth DoctorThe Sixth Doctor is the sixth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by Colin Baker...
and Davros set between Resurrection and Revelation. - Davros creating a new race of Daleks using human tissue is similar to the Dalek Emperor creating a new race of Daleks from human contestants killed on the Game Station, 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...
. - The Doctor indicates he is 900 years old; this is the first firm indicator of his age since the Fourth DoctorFourth DoctorThe Fourth Doctor is the fourth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC British television science-fiction series Doctor Who....
's era, suggesting that approximately 150 years has passed for the Doctor since that time. In "Aliens of LondonAliens of London"Aliens of London" is the fourth episode of the first series of the British science fiction television show Doctor Who that was first broadcast on 16 April 2005. The Doctor takes Rose back to 21st century London, just in time to witness a spaceship crashing into the River Thames, triggering a...
", the Ninth DoctorNinth DoctorThe Ninth Doctor is the ninth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is played by Christopher Eccleston....
would also claim to be 900 years old, despite the Seventh DoctorSeventh DoctorThe Seventh Doctor is the seventh incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by the actor Sylvester McCoy....
in the interim claiming an age of 953 in Time and the RaniTime and the RaniTime and the Rani is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 7 September to 28 September 1987. This story was the first to feature Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor. It also features the last appearance of the Sixth...
, followed by the entire lifetime of both the Seventh and Eighth DoctorEighth DoctorThe 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...
s. See "The Doctor's age". - In one of the rare instances of the Doctor actually using a firearm, he disables a Dalek by shooting it with a machine pistol.
- The Doctor's final word is edited out; he would have said "BlackpoolBlackpoolBlackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
", as the planned story The Nightmare FairThe Nightmare FairThe Nightmare Fair is a story originally written for the 1986 season of Doctor Who, but never filmed. A novelisation based on the script was published in 1989 by Target Books, as the first volume of its Missing Episodes series...
was to be set there. This would have been the first story of the next series, and would have been written by former producer Graham WilliamsGraham WilliamsGraham Williams was a British television producer and script editor, whose best known work was on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who....
. However, the programme was then put on an 18-month hiatus.
Production
- Eric Saward got around the BBC's policy against script editors commission stories from themselves by writing the script during a six-week period between his contracts. Saward was on holiday on RhodesRhodesRhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...
at the time and many of the names (such as Lilt and Orcini) come from places, products and people he encountered there. Tasambeker was named after a Greek saint. - The story is loosely based on the book The Loved OneThe Loved OneThe Loved One: An Anglo-American Tragedy is a short satirical novel by British novelist Evelyn Waugh about the funeral business in Los Angeles, the British expatriate community in Hollywood, and the film industry.-Conception:...
and the information text on the DVD release of the story also states that Soylent GreenSoylent GreenSoylent Green is a 1973 American science fiction film directed by Richard Fleischer. Starring Charlton Heston, the film overlays the police procedural and science fiction genres as it depicts the investigation into the murder of a wealthy businessman in a dystopian future suffering from pollution,...
was also an influence to it. However, writer/script editor Eric Saward has said in the DVD commentary that he had not seen Soylent Green when he wrote Revelation of the Daleks. - Eric Saward thought up the idea of blue 'mourning' suits for Necros in order to cover up Colin Baker's costume, which he considered inappropriate for a drama series, for as long as possible.
- Portions of the story were filmed at the IBMIBMInternational Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
UK headquarters in CoshamCoshamCosham is a northern suburb of Portsmouth lying within the city boundary but off Portsea Island. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 along with Drayton and Wymering and Bocheland , Frodington and Copenore on the island.The name is of Saxon origin and means "Cossa's homestead"...
, PortsmouthPortsmouthPortsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island... - This was the final Doctor Who serial to be produced using film for outdoor sequences and video for interior scenes. Beginning with The Trial of a Time LordThe Trial of a Time LordThe Trial of a Time Lord is a fourteen-part British science fiction serial of the long running BBC series Doctor Who. The serial, produced as the twenty-third season of the Doctor Who television series, aired in weekly episodes from 6 September to 6 December 1986...
and continuing to the end of the original series, production moved to all-video. Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant appear entirely on film in Part One and have no interaction with the actors portrayed in the video segments. - This was the final serial to use Peter HowellPeter HowellPeter Howell is a musician and composer. He is best known for his work on Doctor Who as a member of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop....
's arrangement of the "Doctor Who Theme" that had been introduced in 1980. - Following the broadcast of this serial, the BBC suspended work on the series for 18 months; production resumed a year later with the next new episode airing in September 1986.
- This story was first aired in the U.S. and some other countries in four 25-minute episodes. The first cliffhanger sees Natasha and Grigory hiding in the catacombs as Takis and Lilt are wheeling a body through the tunnels, while the cliffhanger in "Part Three" features either the Doctor telling Peri that she's' in great danger, or, in some edits of the story, Davros ordering his Daleks to kill the DJ. All VHS and DVD releases of the story have been in its original two-part form.
Cast notes
Clive SwiftClive Swift
Clive Walter Swift is an English character comedy actor and songwriter. He is best known for his role as character Richard Bucket in the British television series Keeping Up Appearances. He is less known for his role as character Roy in the British television series The Old Guys...
later appeared in the Tenth Doctor
Tenth Doctor
The Tenth Doctor is the tenth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is played by David Tennant, who appears in three series, as well as eight specials...
story Voyage of the Damned
Voyage of the Damned (Doctor Who)
"Voyage of the Damned" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. First broadcast on 25 December 2007, it is 72 minutes long and the third Christmas special since the show's revival in 2005...
as Mr. Copper.
In print
Target 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...
, as they were unable to come to an agreement with Eric Saward
Eric Saward
Eric Saward was born on 9 December 1944 and became a scriptwriter and script editor for the BBC, resigning from the latter post on the TV programme Doctor Who in 1986....
and Daleks creator 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...
that would have allowed Saward or another writer to adapt the script. Virgin Books
Virgin Books
Virgin Books is a United Kingdom book publisher 90% owned by the publishing group Random House, and 10% owned by Virgin Enterprises, the company originally set up by Richard Branson as a record company.-History:...
(the successor to Target) did announce plans to publish a novelisation by Saward in the early 1990s, but this ultimately did not occur. A fan group in New Zealand published an unofficial novelisation of the story in 1992, later republishing it online as an eBook titled Doctor Who: Revelation of the Daleks.
Broadcast, VHS and DVD releases
- The story was repeated on BBC 2 in March/April 1993 on consecutive Fridays (19/3/1993 to 9/4/1993) in its 4-part version (sold for overseas transmissions) to represent the Colin BakerColin BakerColin Baker is a British actor who is known for playing Paul Merroney in The Brothers from 1974 to 1976 and as the sixth incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who, from 1984 to 1986.- Background:Colin Baker was born in London, but moved north to...
years in a series of repeats featuring the original seven Doctors. - This story was released in 1999 on VHSVHSThe Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
together with Planet of the DaleksPlanet of the DaleksPlanet 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:...
in a special Dalek tin set, and again in 2001 as part another box set, the WHSmith exclusive, The Davros Box Set. The stories were released on VHS individually in North America. - The story was released on Region 2 DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
on 11 July 2005. An authoring error with Region 2 copies causes some makes of DVD player to freeze at around 8 minutes 32 seconds into episode one, unless certain precautions are taken.