The Daleks
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| 002 – The Daleks | |
|---|---|
| Doctor Who serial | |
 Barbara is threatened, in the first ever on-screen appearance of the Daleks. |
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| Cast | |
| Doctor | William Hartnell (First Doctor) |
| Companions | Carole Ann Ford (Susan Foreman) |
| Jacqueline Hill (Barbara Wright) | |
| William Russell (Ian Chesterton) | |
| Guest stars | |
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| Production | |
| Writer | Terry Nation |
| Director | Christopher Barry (episodes 1,2,4,5) Richard Martin (episodes 3,6,7) |
| Script editor | David Whitaker |
| Producer | Verity Lambert Mervyn Pinfield (associate producer) |
| Executive producer(s) | None |
| Production code | B |
| Series | Season 1 |
| Length | 7 episodes, 25 mins each |
| Originally broadcast | 21 December 1963–1 February 1964 |
| Chronology | |
| ← Preceded by | Followed by → |
| An Unearthly Child | The Edge of Destruction |
| IMDb profile | |
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This article is about the serial. For the fictional race, see Dalek.
The Daleks (also known as The Mutants) is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast weekly from 21 December 1963 to 1 February 1964. This story marks the first appearance of the popular Daleks.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
[edit] Synopsis
This story introduces a trope in Doctor Who, that of the TARDIS' navigational circuits malfunctioning. In this case, instead of bringing the TARDIS crew back to Earth, it lands in a petrified jungle, and the Doctor has to try to fix their position by taking a reading of the stars. The Doctor insists they explore a futuristic city they spot beyond the forest but Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright are not convinced. To force his companions to do so, the Doctor sabotages the TARDIS by emptying the mercury fluid links, forcing the crew to travel to the city in search of more mercury.
Inside the city, Barbara becomes separated from her colleagues, and is, in the first episode cliffhanger, threatened by an unseen creature with a metal arm. Before long, the entire crew is captured by these creatures, the Daleks. Susan is eventually sent to retrieve anti-radiation drugs from the TARDIS, where she encounters a second species, the Thals, who are at war with the Daleks. Susan attempts to broker peace between the two groups, and while it appears to work, the Daleks eventually betray the Thals, opening fire on them at what was supposed to be a peaceful exchange of food.
In the ensuing chaos, the Doctor and his companions escape with the Thals, and learn their version of the history of their planet. They also learn that the Thals are avowed pacifists. In order to save them from the Daleks, the TARDIS crew convinces the Thals of the importance of aggression, and manages to lead the Thals in a successful war against the Daleks.
[edit] Continuity
- The mercury-filled fluid links in the TARDIS console feature again in subsequent stories including The Wheel in Space, written by The Daleks script editor David Whitaker.[1]
- Anti-radiation drugs are shown to be required to survive on the surface of Skaro in this serial – a plot point repeated in Destiny of the Daleks when the Doctor next returns to the post-war planet.[2]
- The Thals feature again in Planet of the Daleks and Genesis of the Daleks.[3][4] In Destiny of the Daleks, they appear to have abandoned Skaro.[2]
[edit] Daleks
This story marks the first appearance of the Daleks. Writer Terry Nation once claimed that he came up with the name after seeing a set of encyclopedias with one volume spanning the section of the alphabet from Dal - Lek. However, he later admitted that this was simply a good story for the sake of the press, and that in fact he had just made up the name.[5]
Although many parts of the Dalek mythos were established here, several key elements were changed over the years. The most notable change regarded the nature of the war with the Thals and the transformation into the Daleks. In this story, the Daleks mutated as a direct result of the war, and their previous species was called the Dals. In the later Genesis of the Daleks, their mutation was a direct result of the machinations of Davros, their previous species was the Kaleds, and the mutation marked the end of the war with the Thals.[4]
This story was also the only instance in which the Daleks' dependence, for motive power, on static electricity from the floors of their city was a factor. In their next appearance, The Dalek Invasion of Earth, they had found a way round this restriction – they sported small satellite-type dishes to receive power transmissions, and subsequently the design incorporated power-panel slats round the mid-section (though an affinity for static was occasionally referenced in future serials, such as The Power of the Daleks, and the plot of Death to the Daleks required an explanation that for basic movement they now utilised telekinesis).[6][7][8]
Similarly, this story states that the Daleks require radiation in order to live at all (leading to them trying to further irradiate Skaro); later stories, including the immediate sequel, show them operating without heavy background radiation.[6]
The famous Dalek catchphrase – "Exterminate!" – is first used in episode three of the story as the Doctor and his companions have escaped via a lift. One Dalek orders the other: "Make no attempt to capture them, they are to be exterminated, you understand, exterminate![9]
[edit] Production
[edit] Preproduction
The seven episodes of the serial have individual titles: "The Dead Planet", "The Survivors", "The Escape", "The Ambush", "The Expedition", "The Ordeal" and "The Rescue".
The designer originally assigned to this serial was Ridley Scott, later a famed film director. However, a problem with Scott's schedule meant that he was replaced by Raymond Cusick, who was thus given the task of realising the Dalek creatures.[10]
[edit] Alternative titles
During production the overall story went through a number of working titles such as The Survivors and Beyond the Sun, before settling down as The Mutants.[11] This title was used in most BBC paperwork using titles for over a decade.
In 1972 a later Doctor Who story called The Mutants was produced (also directed by Christopher Barry).[12] To avoid confusion, two titles have emerged as alternatives. The Dead Planet came into use after the 1973 Radio Times 10th anniversary Doctor Who special referred to all the early stories by the title of their first episodes. The Dead Planet was used in many licensed guides and magazines up until 1980, when it was displaced by The Daleks, a title deriving from the story's book and film adaptations and with no basis in contemporary usage. This title has largely stuck, and was used for the script book published by Titan Books in 1989,[13] as well as the VHS and DVD releases. However, some reference guides still refer to the serial as The Mutants.[14]
[edit] Production
According to text commentary on the 2006 DVD release, the first episode, "The Dead Planet", was recorded twice. The first version was affected by a technical fault that captured backstage voices. The remount was done two weeks before it was broadcast, and Susan's outfit was changed in the second version. The only surviving footage of the first version is the recap at the start of the second episode, "The Survivors", showing Barbara menaced by a Dalek; the corresponding scene at the end of "The Dead Planet" was recreated when the episode was remounted.[15]
The second episode, "The Survivors", was taped on November 22, 1963. Minutes before taping started, the cast and crew learned of the assassination of John F. Kennedy but it was decided to continue with the shooting. The next day, the first episode of Doctor Who was broadcast.
[edit] Post-production
This serial was loosely adapted as a film, Dr. Who and the Daleks starring Peter Cushing. The film had no relation to the novelization of The Daleks, which was titled Doctor Who and the Daleks on its 1973 release.
[edit] Broadcast and reception
Arguably the most famous of the 1960s Doctor Who serials, The Daleks was one of many sets of Doctor Who episodes slated for destruction by the BBC in the 1970s. However, in 1978, Ian Levine came across them at the BBC just hours before all remaining copies of the story were to be destroyed and managed to rescue them.
The serial was most recently broadcast in the UK on BBC Four, as part of a celebration of the life and work of producer Verity Lambert. It was shown in three blocks from the 5th to 9th of April, 2008.
[edit] Commercial releases
The serial was released twice on VHS; first in 1990, then again in 2000 with remastered quality and new cover artwork. In 2006, it was remastered again for inclusion with An Unearthly Child and The Edge of Destruction in the Doctor Who: The Beginning DVD boxed set.
[edit] In print
This section is about the novelisation of The Daleks. For the Peter Cushing film, see Dr. Who and the Daleks.
| Doctor Who book | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Doctor Who and the Daleks | |
| Series | Target novelisations |
| Release number | 16 |
| Writer | David Whitaker |
| Publisher | Target Books |
| Cover artist | Chris Achilleos |
| ISBN | ISBN 0 426 10110 3 |
| Release date | 2 May 1973 |
| Preceded by | None |
| Followed by | Doctor Who and the Zarbi |
This was the first Doctor Who serial to be adapted as a novel. Written by David Whitaker, the book was first published in November 1964 by Frederick Muller as Doctor Who in an Exciting Adventure with the Daleks. A paperback release by Armada Books followed in 1965.
In 1973 Target Books published it under the cover title Doctor Who and the Daleks, although the full title was still given on the inside frontpage. From 1977 onwards reprints dropped the full title. In 1992 the novelisation was retitled Doctor Who - The Daleks. It was the very first novelisation published under the Target imprint (the books would continue for the next 20 years).
From 1983 onwards the Target novelisations bore numbers, with the first 73 releases retroactively numbered in alphabetical order. However it would not be until 1992 that an actual reprint stated it was "No. 16" in the Target Books Doctor Who Library.
Whittaker's book differs from most later novelisations in that it is written in the first person and from the point of view of a companion (Ian Chesterton). It also ignores the events of the preceding serial An Unearthly Child, except for a modified retelling of the first episode (to explain how Ian and Barbara joined the Doctor).
For some reason, Susan Foreman is renamed Susan English for the novelisation, which has led to some reference books erroneously listing the character by this name. Indeed, in the PC game Destiny of the Doctors, the player has to ask the First Doctor the surname of Susan for one of the tasks. Both English and Foreman are available options (although only the latter is considered correct in the game).
The novelisation was translated into Dutch, Turkish, Japanese, Portuguese, French and German.
In 2005 the novel was issued by BBC Audio as part of the Doctor Who: Travels in Time and Space audio book collectors tin, read by William Russell.
[edit] References
- ^ The Wheel in Space. Writer David Whitaker, from a story by Kit Pedler, Director Tristan de Vere Cole, Producer Peter Bryant. Doctor Who. BBC. BBC1, London. 1968-04-27-1968-06-01.
- ^ a b Destiny of the Daleks. Writer Terry Nation, Director Ken Grieve, Producer Graham Williams. Doctor Who. BBC. BBC1, London. 1979-09-01-1979-09-22.
- ^ Planet of the Daleks. Writer Terry Nation, Director David Maloney, Producer Barry Letts. Doctor Who. BBC. BBC1, London. 1973-04-07-1973-05-12.
- ^ a b Genesis of the Daleks. Writer Terry Nation, Director David Maloney, Producer Philip Hinchcliffe. Doctor Who. BBC. BBC1, London. 1975-03-08-1975-04-12.
- ^ Howe, Walker, p 27
- ^ a b The Dalek Invasion of Earth. Writer Terry Nation, Director Richard Martin, Producers Verity Lambert, Mervyn Pinfield. Doctor Who. BBC. BBC1, London. 1964-11-21-1964-12-26.
- ^ The Power of the Daleks. Writers David Whitaker, Dennis Spooner (uncredited), Director Christopher Barry, Producer Innes Lloyd. Doctor Who. BBC. BBC1, London. 1966-11-05-1966-12-10.
- ^ Death to the Daleks. Writer Terry Nation, Director Michael E. Briant, Producer Barry Letts. Doctor Who. BBC. BBC1, London. 1974-02-23-1974-03-16.
- ^ Doctor Who: The Beginning DVD Set: The Daleks; Episode Three; The Ambush, Title 6; Chapter 3, (BBC Worldwide, 2006)
- ^ Howe, David J.; Mark Stammers, Stephen James Walker (1994). The Handbook: The First Doctor - The William Hartnell Years 1963-1966. Virgin Books, p. 61. ISBN 0-426-20430-1.
- ^ Howe, Walker, p 28
- ^ The Mutants. Writers Bob Baker and Dave Martin, Director Christopher Barry, Producer Barry Letts. Doctor Who. BBC. BBC1, London. 1972-04-08-1972-05-13.
- ^ Nation, Terry; John McElroy (ed.) (1989). Doctor Who: The Daleks. UK: Titan Books. ISBN 1852861452.
- ^ Howe, Walker, p26
- ^ Doctor Who: The Beginning, (1963), Christopher Barry, notes from: production note subtitles. BBC Warner, (2006).
- The Daleks. Writer Terry Nation, Directors Christopher Barry, Richard Martin, Producers Verity Lambert, Mervyn Pinfield. Doctor Who. BBC, London. 1963-12-21-1963-02-01.
- Howe, David J & Walker, Stephen James (2003). The Television Companion: The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to DOCTOR WHO, 2nd ed., Surrey, UK: Telos Publishing Ltd.. ISBN 1-90388951-0.
[edit] External links
- The Daleks at bbc.co.uk
- The Daleks at Doctor Who: A Brief History Of Time (Travel)
- The Daleks at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
- The Daleks at Outpost Gallifrey
[edit] Reviews
- The Daleks reviews at Outpost Gallifrey
- The Daleks reviews at The Doctor Who Ratings Guide
[edit] Novelisation
- Doctor Who in an exciting adventure with the Daleks reviews at Outpost Gallifrey
- Doctor Who in an exciting adventure with the Daleks reviews at The Doctor Who Ratings Guide
- On Target — Doctor Who in an exciting adventure with the Daleks
- Doctor Who in an exciting adventure with the Daleks audiobook reviews at Outpost Gallifrey
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