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The Daleks (pronounced "DAH-lecks"; al Extraterrestrial race of Mutant s from the British Science Fiction Television series '' Doctor Who ''. A Dalek is a grotesque mutated organism integrated with a Tank -like mechanical casing made of " Dalekanium ". The resulting creatures are a powerful race bent on universal conquest and domination, utterly without pity, compassion or remorse (as all of their emotions were removed except hate). They are also, collectively, the greatest alien adversaries of the Time Lord known as the Doctor . Their most famous Catchphrase is "EX-TER-MI-NATE!", with each syllable individually screeched in a frantic electronic voice (). The word "Dalek" has entered the '' Oxford English Dictionary ''2 and other major dictionaries; the '' Collins Dictionary '' defines it rather broadly as "any of a set of fictional robot-like creations that are aggressive, mobile, and produce rasping staccato speech".3 It is also a Trademark , having first been registered by the BBC in 1964 to protect its lucrative range of Dalek merchandise. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS '')]] Costume details The non-humanoid shape of the Dalek did much to enhance the creatures' sense of menace. A lack of familiar reference points differentiated them from the traditional "bug-eyed monster" of science fiction, which ''Doctor Who'' creator Sydney Newman had wanted the show to avoid. Howe (1992), pp. 3, 26–27 The unsettling form of the Daleks, coupled with their alien voices, made many believe that the props were wholly mechanical and operated by remote control.Howe (2004), p. 31 The Daleks were actually controlled from inside by short operatorsHowe (1997), p. 82 who had to manipulate their eyestalks, domes and arms, as well as flashing the lights on their heads in sync with the actors supplying their voices. The Dalek cases were built in two pieces; an operator would step into the lower section, and then the top would be secured. The operators looked out between the circular louvres just beneath the dome that were lined with mesh to conceal their faces. In addition to being hot and cramped, the Dalek casings also muffled external sounds, making it difficult for the operators to hear the director's commands or studio dialogue. The top sections were also too heavy to lift from the inside, which meant that the operators could be trapped inside if the stagehands forgot to release them. John Scott Martin , a Dalek operator from the original series, said that Dalek operation was a challenge: "You had to have about six hands: one to do the eyestalk, one to do the lights, one for the gun, another for the smoke canister underneath, yet another for the sink plunger. If you were related to an octopus then it helped." Howe (1997), p. 85 The Dalek cases created for ''Doctor Who'''s 21st-century revival do not differ significantly from the original series' Daleks, except for an expanded base, a glowing eyepiece (though in early serials including ''The Daleks'' and ''The Dalek Invasion of Earth'', the Daleks were shown with the black and white television equivalent), an all-over metallic brass finish, a housing for the eyestalk gear, and significantly larger ear-bulbs (that resemble the movie versions). The new prop made its on-screen debut in the 2005 episode "Dalek". Movement Early versions of the Daleks were rolled around on nylon castors or propelled by wheels connected to hand cranks by Bicycle chains. Although castors were adequate for the Daleks' debut serial, which was shot entirely at the BBC's Lime Grove Studios , for ''The Dalek Invasion of Earth'', Terry Nation wanted the Daleks to take to the streets of London for location filming. To enable the Daleks to travel smoothly on location, designer Spencer Chapman built the new Dalek shells around miniature Tricycle s with sturdier wheels; to hide the wheels, the base of the costume was deepened with enlarged fenders. Howe (1997), pp. 84–85 The bumpy flagstones of Central London caused the Daleks to rattle as they moved and it was not possible to remove this noise from the final soundtrack. A small radar dish was added to the rear of the prop's casing to explain why these Daleks, unlike the ones in their first serial, were not dependent on Static Electricity drawn from the floors of the Dalek city for their motive power. Later versions of the prop had more efficient wheels and were simply propelled by the operators' feet, but they remained so heavy that when going up ramps they often had to be pushed by stagehands out of camera shot. The difficulty of operating all the prop's parts at once contributed to the occasionally jerky movements of the Dalek. The latest model of the costume still has a human operator within, but the movement of the dome and eyestalk is now remotely controlled so that the operator can concentrate on the smooth movement of the Dalek and its arms.Russell (2006), p. 163 Voices The Staccato delivery and harsh tone of the Dalek voice were initially developed by voice actors Peter Hawkins and David Graham, who would vary the pitch and speed of the lines according to the emotion needed. Their voices were further processed electronically by Brian Hodgson at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop . Although the exact sound-processing devices used have varied, the original 1963 effect used EQ to boost the mid-range of the actor's voice, then subjected it to Ring Modulation with a 30 Hz Sine Wave . The distinctive harsh grating vocal timbre this produced has remained the pattern for all Dalek voices since. Another notable voice actor for the Daleks was Roy Skelton who first voiced the Daleks in the 1967 story '' Evil Of The Daleks ''. Also voicing the Daleks in small parts were Michael Wisher, who performed in '' Planet Of The Daleks '' and '' Death To The Daleks '', and Royce Mills , who is mainly remembered for his Dalek voice in '' Resurrection Of The Daleks ''. Also, in a one off episode, Oliver Glibert and Peter Messalaine played the Dalek voices in ''Day of the Daleks''.Finklestone, Peter (producer) (2003). "Talking Daleks" featurette, ''The Dalek Invasion of Earth'' DVD. London, UK: BBC Video. Construction Four fully functioning props were commissioned for the first serial, constructed from BBC plans by Shawcraft Models;19 these became known in fan circles as "Mk I Daleks". Shawcraft were also commissioned to construct approximately twenty Daleks for the two Dalek movies in 1965 and 1966 (see Below ). Some of these props from the movies filtered back to the BBC and were seen in the televised serials, notably in ''The Chase'', which was aired before the first movie's debut.20 The remaining props not bought by the BBC were either donated to charity or given away as prizes in competitions.Howe (1992), pp. 132, 137 The BBC's own Dalek props were reused several times, but eventually years of storage and repainting took their toll. By the time of the Sixth Doctor 's ''Revelation of the Daleks'', the props were manufactured out of Fibreglass , and were lighter and more affordable to construct than their predecessors.Howe (1997), p. 92 These Daleks were slightly bulkier in appearance around the mid-shoulder section, and also had a slightly redesigned base which was more vertical at the back. Minor changes were made to the design thanks to these new methods of construction, including alterations to the lower skirting as well as the mid-shoulder section incorporating the arm boxes, which were now one single unit, with the vertical bands encircling the casing also included in the fibreglass mould. These were repainted in grey for the Seventh Doctor serial ''Remembrance of the Daleks'' and designated as " Renegade Daleks "; another redesign, painted in white and gold, became the " Imperial Dalek " faction.21 HISTORY Conceptual history Wishing to create an alien creature that did not look like a "man in a suit", Terry Nation stated in his script for the first Dalek serial that the Dalek should have no legs.Howe (1997), p. 80 He was also inspired by a performance by the Georgian State Ballet , in which dancers in long skirts appeared to glide across the stage. For many of the shows, the Daleks were "played" by retired ballet dancers wearing black socks while sitting inside the Dalek. Raymond Cusick became designer of the Daleks when Ridley Scott , then a designer for the BBC, proved unavailable after having been assigned to their debut serial.Howe (1994), p. 61 An account in Jeremy Bentham's ''Doctor Who — The Early Years'' (1986) says that after Nation wrote the script, Cusick was given only an hour to come up with the design for the Daleks, and was inspired in his initial sketches by a pepper shaker on a table.22 However, Cusick himself states that he based it on a man seated in a chair, and only used the pepper shaker to demonstrate how it might move.Walker (2006), p. 61 In 1964, Nation told a '' have similar words for "far", such as the Russian далеко (''daleko''), or the Czech "Dalekohledy" which means "distant viewing" (i.e. telescopes and binoculars). The Cyrillic letter Д , or "D", coincidentally also resembles a Dalek. Nation grew up during World War II , and remembered the fear caused by German bombings. He consciously based the Daleks on the Nazis , conceiving the species as faceless, authoritarian figures dedicated to conquest and complete conformity.Howe (1992), p. 31 The allusion is most obvious in the Dalek stories penned by Nation, in particular ''The Dalek Invasion of Earth'' (1964) and '' Genesis Of The Daleks '' (1975).Miles (2006), pp. 105–109Howe (1998), p. 28023 Prior to writing the first Dalek serial, Nation was chief scriptwriter for comedian Tony Hancock . The two fell out and Nation either resigned or was fired.Miles (2006), p. 40 When Hancock left the BBC, he worked on several series proposals, one of which was called ''From Plip to Plop'', a comedic history of the world which would have ended with a nuclear apocalypse, the survivors being reduced to living in dustbin-like robot casings and eating radiation to stay alive. According to biographer Cliff Goodwin, when Hancock saw the Daleks he allegedly shouted at the screen, "That bloody Nation — he's stolen my robots!"24 The first Dalek serial is called, variously, ''The Survivors'' (the pre-production title), ''The Mutants'' (its official title at the time of production and broadcast, later taken by a Second, Unrelated ''Doctor Who'' Story ), ''Beyond the Sun'', ''The Dead Planet'', or simply ''The Daleks''. (The Naming Of Early ''Doctor Who'' Stories is complex and sometimes controversial.)25 The instant appeal of the Daleks caught the BBC off guard, and transformed ''Doctor Who'' from a Saturday tea-time children's educational programme to a must-watch national phenomenon. Children were alternately frightened and fascinated by the alien look of the monsters, and the ''Doctor Who'' production office was inundated by letters and calls asking about the creatures. Newspaper articles focused attention on the series and the Daleks, further enhancing their popularity. Nation jointly owned the intellectual property rights to the Daleks with the BBC, and the money-making concept proved nearly impossible to sell to anyone else; he was dependent on the BBC wanting to produce stories featuring the creatures.On-screen production notes, ''The Dalek Invasion of Earth'' London, UK: BBC Video, 2003. Despite fans' adoration, the Daleks were clearly associated with ''Doctor Who'' and several attempts to market the Daleks outside of the series were unsuccessful.Peel (1988), p. 56Howe (1997), p. 86 Since Nation's death in 1997, his share of the rights now belong to his estate and are administered by his former agent, Tim Hancock.26 Early plans for what eventually became the 1996 ''Doctor Who'' Television Movie included radically redesigned Daleks whose cases unfolded like spiders' legs.Segal (2000), pp. 48–53 The concept for these " Spider Daleks " was abandoned, but picked up again in several ''Doctor Who'' Spin-offs . When the new series was announced, many fans hoped the Daleks would return once more to the programme.2728 After much negotiation between the BBC and the Nation estate (which at one point appeared to break down completely), an agreement was reached. According to media reports, the initial disagreement was due to the Nation estate demanding levels of creative control over the Daleks' appearances and scripts that were unacceptable to the BBC.29 Talks between Tim Hancock and the BBC progressed more productively than had been expected, and in August 2004 an agreement was reached for the Daleks' appearance in the 2005 series. History within the show See Also: History of the Daleks , creator of the Daleks]] Dalek in-universe history has seen many Retroactive Changes , which have caused Continuity problems.Peel (1998), p. 78 When the Daleks first appeared in ''The Daleks'', they were presented as the descendants of the Dals, mutated after a brief nuclear war between the Dal and Thal races.'' The Daleks .'' Writer Terry Nation , Director Christopher Barry , Producer Verity Lambert . '' Doctor Who ''. BBC , London. December 21 , 1963 – February 1 , 1964 . However, in 1975, Terry Nation revised the Daleks' origins in ''Genesis of the Daleks'', where the Dals were now called Kaled s (of which Daleks is an Anagram ), and the Dalek design was attributed to one man, the crippled Kaled chief scientist and Evil Genius , Davros .'' Genesis Of The Daleks .'' Writer Terry Nation , Director David Maloney , Producer Philip Hinchcliffe . '' Doctor Who ''. BBC . BBC1 , London. March 8 – April 12 , 1975 . Instead of a short nuclear exchange, the Kaled-Thal war was portrayed as a thousand-year-long war of Attrition , fought with nuclear, Biological and Chemical Weapon s causing widespread mutations among the Kaled race. Davros experimented on living Kaled cells to find the ultimate mutated form of the Kaled species and placed the subjects in Tank -like "travel machines" whose design was based on his own life-support chair. A single Dalek appeared in " Dalek ", written by Robert Shearman , which was broadcast on BBC One on 30 April 2005 . This Dalek appeared to be the sole Dalek survivor of a Time War that had destroyed both the Daleks and the Time Lords. Some other Daleks did survive, however. The Dalek Emperor returned at the end of the 2005 series, having rebuilt the Dalek race with human subjects; it saw itself as a god, and the new Daleks were shown worshipping it. These Daleks and their fleet were reduced to subatomic particles in "The Parting of the Ways". "]] DALEK CULTURE Daleks have little to no individual personality, ostensibly no emotions outside hatred, and a strict command structure, conditioned to obey superior orders.'' The Evil Of The Daleks .'' Writer David Whitaker , Director Derek Martinus , Producer Innes Lloyd . '' Doctor Who ''. BBC . BBC1 , London. May 20 – July 1 , 1967 . Dalek speech is characterised by repeated phrases, and by orders given to themselves and to others. Dalek vocal inflection suggests perpetual anger, sometimes verging on hysteria. The fundamental feature of Dalek culture and psychology is an unquestioned belief in the superiority of the Dalek race and their default directive is to destroy all non-Dalek lifeforms. Other species are either to be exterminated immediately, or enslaved and then exterminated later once they are no longer necessary.'' Resurrection Of The Daleks .'' Writer Eric Saward , Director Matthew Robinson , Producer John Nathan-Turner . '' Doctor Who ''. BBC . BBC1 , London. February 8 – February 15 , 1984 . When the "Human" Dalek Sec began to doubt the Dalek race's supremacy, the other Daleks in the Cult of Skaro no longer thought of him as a Dalek and turned against him.
In "The Parting of the Ways", the Daleks that were resurrected through the manipulation and mutation of human genetic material by the Dalek Emperor were religious fanatics that worshipped their Emperor as their god. The Doctor theorised that these Daleks were also insane due to self-loathing, as they had been created from human genetic material. He also noted that, prior to this encounter, no Dalek had a conception of blasphemy, as they had no religion or tolerance for it. The secret order of Daleks, above and beyond the Emperor, known as "The Cult Of Skaro " who were created by the Emperor to imagine new ways of surviving appeared in the "Doomsday" episode (it is unclear if the Emperor Dalek that ordered their creation is the same as appeared in "The Parting of the Ways" or another Emperor Dalek); they included Dalek Jast, Dalek Caan, Dalek Thay, and their leader, the black Dalek, Dalek Sec. The Tenth Doctor noted that these Daleks were unique in their culture, granted the right to bear names and imaginations that set them apart from the other Daleks. These Daleks even express sorrow for the loss of their planet, break their normal obsession with hierarchy and are willing to sacrifice their own sense of "purity" for their kind. Although the Daleks are well known for their disregard of ''. Writer Gary Hopkins , Director Gary Russell . Producers Gary Russell and Jason Haigh-Ellery . Big Finish Productions , 2006. The spin-off novels contain several Tongue-in-cheek mentions of Dalek poetry (and an anecdote about an opera based upon it, which was lost to posterity when the entire cast was exterminated on opening night). Two stanzas are given in the novel '' The Also People '' by Ben Aaronovitch.Aaronovitch (1995), p. 199 In an Alternative Timeline portrayed in Big Finish Productions audio adventure '' The Time Of The Daleks '', the Daleks show a fondness for the works of Shakespeare .'' The Time Of The Daleks ''. Writer Justin Richards , Director Nicholas Briggs , Producers Gary Russell and Jason Haigh-Ellery . Big Finish Productions , 2002. Because the Doctor has defeated the Daleks so often, he has become their ).Aaronovitch (1990), p. 26 In " The Parting Of The Ways ", the Doctor says that the Daleks call him "The Oncoming Storm" — this name was used by the Draconians (whose word for it is "Karshtakavaar") to refer to the Doctor in the Virgin New Adventures novel '' Love And War '' by Paul Cornell .Cornell (1992), p. 32 The modern Doctor has come to view the Daleks as completely evil and unworthy of trust or compassion. This contrasts with some of the Doctor's earlier dealings with the Daleks: the Second Doctor attempted to instil a "human factor" in Daleks in ''The Evil of the Daleks'' and the Fourth Doctor hesitated when presented with the opportunity to destroy the Daleks at the point of their creation in ''Genesis of the Daleks''. The Ninth Doctor made a venomous outburst, due to the destruction of Gallifrey , in "Dalek", leading the lone mutant in that episode to observe that the Doctor "would make a good Dalek", but, when forced to destroy the Dalek race and Earth along with it, noted he'd rather be a "coward, any day." The Tenth Doctor, whilst initially suspicious and dismissing the Cult of Skaro's genetic dabblings as having achieved nothing, showed compassion to the Dalek/Human hybrid Dalek Sec's plan to create a more benign Dalek race on another planet, and was even willing to transport them there via the TARDIS . LICENSED APPEARANCES '']] Two ''Doctor Who'' movies starring '', and '' Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD '', based on the television serials ''The Daleks'' and ''The Dalek Invasion of Earth'', respectively. However, the movies were not straight remakes. Cushing's Doctor is not an alien, but a human inventor literally named "Doctor Who," who invented his time/space machine (which he directly called "Tardis" instead of "''the'' TARDIS"). The movies used brand new Dalek props, based closely on the original design but with a wider range of colours. Originally, the movie Daleks were supposed to shoot jets of flame, but this was thought to be too graphic for children, so their weapons emitted jets of deadly vapour instead. Nation also authorised the publication of the comic strip ''The Daleks'' in the comic '' TV Century 21 '' in 1965.Howe (1992), p. 143 The one-page strip (written by David Whitaker but credited to Nation) featured the Daleks as protagonists and "heroes", and continued for two years, from their creation of the mechanised Daleks by the humanoid Dalek scientist, Yarvelling, to their eventual discovery in the ruins of a crashed space-liner of the co-ordinates for Earth , which they proposed to invade. Although much of the material in these strips directly contradicted what was shown on television later, some concepts like the Daleks using humanoid duplicates and the design of the Dalek Emperor did show up later on in the programme. In 1994, the UK Arm of Marvel Comics reprinted all the ''TV 21'' strips in a collected edition titled ''The Dalek Chronicles''. At the same time, a ''Doctor Who'' strip was also being published in '' TV Comic ''. Initially, the strip did not have the rights to use the Daleks, so the First Doctor battled the "Trods" instead, cone-shaped robotic creatures that ran on static electricity that were obviously based on the Daleks. By the time the Second Doctor appeared in the strip in 1967 the rights issues had been resolved, and the Daleks began making appearances starting in ''The Trodos Ambush'' (TVC #788-#791), where they massacred the Trods. The Daleks also made appearances in the Third Doctor -era ''Dr. Who'' comic strip that featured in the combined '' Countdown / TV Action '' comic during the early 1970s.33 Beginning in 1979, , Dalek Killer. Daak was a convicted criminal in the 25th Century who was given the choice between execution and being sent on a suicide mission against the Daleks. He chose the latter and, when the woman he loved was killed by the Daleks, made it his life's purpose to kill every one of the creatures he came across. The Daleks have also appeared in the ''Dalek Empire'' series of audio plays by Big Finish Productions . Three mini-series, totalling 14 CDs, have so far been produced; these saw the return of the original Dalek Emperor. The Daleks have also returned to bedevil the Doctor in Big Finish's ''Doctor Who'' line of audio plays and Bernice Summerfield in '' Death And The Daleks ''. OTHER APPEARANCES Non-''Doctor Who'' television and film Dalek toys are seen in a Department Store in "Death at Bargain Prices", a 1965 episode of the fantasy/thriller series '' The Avengers '', which like ''Doctor Who'' was created by Sydney Newman, although broadcast on the rival ITV network.34 A 2001 British Kit Kat advertisement featured a squad of Daleks who have joined a group of Hare Krishna devotees, rolling through a shopping centre and repeatedly chanting "Peace and love!" and "Give us a cuddle" in their distinctive voices.36 In the 2004 series of '' Coupling '', written by Steven Moffat (who later wrote for ''Doctor Who''), a Dalek appears in the second episode of season four.37 This was voiced by Nicholas Briggs , who later went on to provide Dalek voices for the series proper from 2005 onwards.38 Terry Nation's original Dalek rights deal with the BBC had been negotiated by his then agent Beryl Vertue , later ''Coupling'' writer Moffat's mother-in-law.39 In the 2003 film '','' two Cushing movie-style Daleks made a cameo appearance in the " Area 52 " segment amidst many famous "old-time" movie monsters. A Dalek also appears (along with the '' Lost In Space '' robot) in a 2005 television advertisement for the ANZ bank in Australia - The Dalek was replaced by a giant toy robot in later ANZ Ads. In a 2004 episode of '' Top Gear '', two black Daleks were featured on a segment where the Sixth Doctor (played by Colin Baker ), a Cyberman , Darth Vader , Ming The Merciless and a Klingon each participated on a one-lap run on the ''Top Gear'' track in a Honda Civic hatchback. When it was time for one of the Daleks to drive the Civic, it analyzed the car's interior and went berserk upon seeing that only humanoid forms could drive it. As a result, both Daleks went on a rampage and exterminated the other villains on the track. Parodies See also: Doctor Who Spoofs Daleks have been the subject of many published the ''Dalek Survival Guide'', a parody of '' The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbooks ''.41 On BBC Radio 4 , the Daleks made occasional appearances on the satirical impressionist show '' Dead Ringers '', noting that the proliferation of wheelchair ramps would make it easier for Daleks to invade Earth. Other sketches included them trying to buy skin-care products for Davros's wrinkled skin. Dalek voices have frequently appeared on another BBC Radio 4 satirical programme, '' The Now Show ''. |
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