Remembrance of the Daleks ( TV story ) Remembrance of the Daleks was the first story of the 25th season of " Doctor Who " . The story ' s setting brought the Doctor back to 76 Totter ' s Lane in the year 1963 , where the series began in " An Unearthly Child " . It was notable for a marked change in character for the Seventh Doctor , who had previously maintained a jolly and comedic demeanour . Here , a Machiavellian side to his personality was brought into light , underneath the lighthearted exterior , and he began to reveal a manipulative nature that persisted into the rest of his era . Clues were also given that the Doctor had a secret past on Gallifrey , the first glimpse of the so - called Cartmel Masterplan . Like " The Talons of Weng - Chiang " , some members of its guest cast were deemed interesting enough to justify the creation of a Big Finish audio series . In 2012 , " Counter - Measures " continued the adventures of the serial ' s Group Captain Gilmore , Professor Jensen and Allison Williams " . " " Remembrance " was the final televised appearance of the Dalek s and Davros until the BBC Wales revival , although both would frequently recur in other media . It continued a narrative of chronological confrontations between the Doctor and Davros that had begun in " Genesis of the Daleks " , and included " Destiny " , " Resurrection " , and " Revelation of the Daleks " . It also concluded the Dalek Civil War story arc , which had previously spanned throughout " Resurrection " and " Revelation " . At the time of broadcast , it unambiguously showed the onscreen destruction of the Dalek homeworld , Skaro . This act was largely forgotten by future " Doctor Who " writers ; it was shown in the " Doctor Who " TV movie and in the BBC Wales episodes " Asylum of the Daleks " , " The Magician ' s Apprentice " , and " The Witch ' s Familiar " , along with the adventure game " City of the Daleks " , which was executive produced by " Doctor Who " series 5 and 6 executive producers Steven Moffat , Piers Wenger , and Beth Willis , and written by " Doctor Who " and " The Sarah Jane Adventures " television writer Phil Ford . Writer John Peel proposed a story called " War of the Daleks " , where Skaro would later be saved from destruction during the planned 27th season of the series . Peel later adapted the unmade episode into an Eighth Doctor Adventures novel which showed that the planet destroyed at the end of " Remembrance " was Antalin , a decoy passed off as the real Skaro . " Daleks in Manhattan " , which was produced after the TV movie and before " City " , suggested a " great war " destroyed Skaro , apparently referring to the BBC Wales series ' Last Great Time War which wiped out much of the Dalek race . Synopsis . London , 1963 : The Doctor returns to the place where it all began — alongside his latest companion , Ace , with unfinished business . Not for the first time , unusual events are unfolding at Coal Hill School . At 76 Totter ' s Lane , the Doctor discovers that his oldest foes — the Dalek s — are on the trail of stolen Time Lord technology that he left on Earth long ago . The Daleks are planning to perfect their own time - travel capability , in order to unleash themselves across the whole of time and space . The Doctor , with the help of the local military , must stop his oldest enemies from stealing Gallifrey an secrets , but the lines between allies and enemies are tested to the limit , and the Doctor and Ace must trust no - one in order to survive . As two opposing Dalek factions meet in an explosive confrontation , the fate of the whole cosmos hangs in the balance . . . Plot . The Seventh Doctor and his companion , Ace have landed the TARDIS in London , 1963 , where the Doctor has unfinished business : the Hand of Omega , an all powerful , ancient relic of the Time Lord civilisation that the Doctor hid on Earth during a visit to 1963 in his first incarnation . Unfortunately , the Dalek s have also heard about the Hand of Omega , and are trying to find it before the Doctor does . To complicate matters , there are two groups of Daleks at work — the Daleks are currently in the midst of a civil war between those who accept and those who reject the leadership of their creator , Davros . Each side wants the Hand for itself . In the meantime , the alien activity around the Coal Hill area has attracted the attention of the military . Group Captain Gilmore and his unit engage a Renegade Dalek at the junkyard . The Dalek proves to be more than a match for the military squad until the Doctor destroys it with a timed explosive . The Doctor tries to convince Gilmore and his scientific advisor , Professor Rachel Jensen , that the Daleks are extraterrestrial and human weapons are no match for Dalek firepower . The best thing they can do is just make sure that all ground and air forces stay out of the crossfire whilst the two factions blow each other to bits . The Doctor , however , is playing a deeper game — he wants the " right " Daleks to take possession of the Hand . He and Ace investigate Coal Hill School , where the Imperial Dalek s have set up an outpost . The Renegade Faction , however , have their base in a warehouse where a Battle computer is and where Mr . Ratcliffe and his group of fascists called ' The Association ' work for the Renegade faction . However , a secret agent of The Association , Mike Smith , is found and interrogated by the Imperial - Dalek - controlled Headmaster of Coal Hill School . Mike Smith , however , is not without his reflexes and subdues the Headmaster , forcing the Imperials to ' terminate agent ' . Whilst the Imperial Daleks are watching from their Mothership , the Renegade Daleks dispatch Ratcliffe and his men to retrieve the Hand Of Omega after the Doctor places it into a cemetery . Although they haul it out of the cemetery , the Imperial Daleks aboard the Mothership detect this . A Dalek calls the Emperor Dalek to assess the situation . After a skirmish with the Imperial Daleks during an attempt to retrieve the radio , Ace does some ' Dalek hunting ' with the Doctor . They come across the Renegade Daleks ' HQ . The Doctor shows Ace the Battle Computer . He tells her that if the Daleks are over - reliant on rationality and logic , the solution would be to get a young , imaginative child to enslave to the battle computer . The Doctor tinkers with the Time Controller to ' manipulate the enemy ' . His plan works , but with consequences ; the Renegade Daleks return to the base to find the Time Controller has been disabled . The Doctor and Ace flee , pursued by Renegade Daleks . They meet up with the ICMG and tell them the situation , only to find the Rengades are still on their tail . Three soldiers try to fend off the Renegade attackers , only to be obliterated . The Imperial Daleks ' Assault Shuttle lands on Earth as part of a mission to retrieve the Hand of Omega , resulting in the Supreme Dalek , via the Battle Computer , ordering the Renegade Daleks to withdraw and defend the Hand of Omega from the enemy . After Imperial Daleks are sent out to retrieve the Hand of Omega , the Doctor , Ace and ICMG invade the Imperial Dalek Shuttle . They find out that the Imperials have control of the planet Skaro . The Doctor disables the massive ground defence and gets out of the Assault Shuttle with the team . As Renegade and Imperial Daleks patrol the streets , a battle rages in London . A pair of Renegade Daleks locate an advancing Imperial Dalek Squad . They all open fire until a Renegade gets the first hit , followed by the Renegades taking a few Imperial Daleks out as they are forced to retreat from the slaughter . At first , the Renegades are winning until the Special Weapons Dalek is brought in and blows the Renegade patrols to smithereens . Realising that Smith is Ratcliffe ' s agent , Gilmore detains him . The Doctor decides to use the remains of the Transmat in the cellar as a communications link with the Mothership . Smith escapes to the Renegade base , finding Ratcliffe a prisoner . The repaired time controller powers up , enabling the Renegades ' escape , but the base is attacked by the Imperials , who overwhelm their few remaining opponents with the help of the Special Weapons Dalek . Ratcliffe and Mike flee with the Time Controller , and the Supreme Dalek orders the controlled girl to recover it . Using her Dalek - augmented abilities , she kills Ratcliffe and pursues Smith . The victorious Imperials return to the shuttle with the Hand of Omega . Meanwhile , the Doctor tells Ace to follow Smith . The Imperial Emperor is informed of the recovery of the Hand of Omega . Soon after , the Doctor contacts him , and demands the surrender of the Hand . The Emperor reveals himself as Davros . He declares his scheme to use the Hand on Skaro ' s sun , granting the Imperial Daleks the power to overthrow the Time Lord s . The Doctor insults Davros and his Daleks , angering Davros , who replies " Do not anger me , Doctor ! I can DESTROY YOU ! AND THIS MISERABLE , INSIGNIFICANT PLANET ! " The Doctor replies with further insults , infuriating Davros into unleashing the Hand . It turns out that the Doctor booby - trapped the Hand : It creates a supernova , obliterating the Daleks ' homeworld . The Hand smashes back into the Imperial Mothership , but not before Davros threatens to destroy the Doctor ' s home planet and flees in an escape pod . The Doctor declares that the Hand is travelling back to Gallifrey . Ace is captured by Smith , who is still holding the Time Controller . The girl tracks him down and kills him before turning her attention to Ace . The Doctor seeks out the Supreme Dalek , telling it that it is the last Dalek on Earth . Convinced of its absolute defeat , it kills itself , breaking the link with the controlled girl . At Smith ' s funeral , Ace wonders if what the Doctor did was good . " Time will tell , " the Doctor replies . ' " It always does . " Home video and audio releases . DVD releases Released as " Doctor Who : Remembrance of the Daleks " , this was the second release of 2001 . It was released : Contents : Rear Credits : Notes : An error was made and the Region 2 DVD is missing some SFX from certain shots . The Australia / NZ release is in NTSC format , not the standard PAL format , due to an inability to clear the music and the SFX problem which had been corrected for the US DVD . This second release was as part of the Davros box set ( along with " Genesis of the Daleks " , " Destiny of the Daleks " , " Resurrection of the Daleks " and " Revelation of the Daleks " ) . The SFX errors and the Multi - Angle feature in the first release were corrected , the Photo Gallery revised and expanded , and the following additions made to the DVD package : Notes : North American release . The use of a Beatles song created problems when it came to issuing the story to DVD Region 1 ( North America ) . In November 2007 , BBC Video announced a March 2008 release for the story , but in December 2007 this was cancelled , with licensing issues cited as the reason . In November 2009 , two years later , BBC Video announced that " Remembrance of the Daleks " was finally released to DVD in North America on 2 March 2010 . The release , dubbed a Special Edition , included the bonus content included in the UK release of the Special Edition , and substituted another recording of the Beatles song in place of the original recording . VHS releases This story was released as " Doctor Who : Remembrance of the Daleks " . It was released : Notes : This story was released in a special edition Dalek Tin along with " The Chase " and a book entitled " " . The US release featured no book or tin , with both stories packaged in one box without individual artwork . Notes : W H Smith exclusive as part of the The Davros Collection box set in the early 2000s .