Daleks

The **Daleks** were a warrior race made up of genetically engineered mutants (TV: The Daleks, *Genesis of the Daleks*) By most accounts they were originally from the planet Skaro. (TV: *The Daleks*) The mutants were usually encased inside armour consisting of polycarbide (TV: *Remembrance of the Daleks*) and the metal Dalekanium.

On many occasions, the Daleks openly acknowledged a single Time Lord, the Doctor, as their greatest enemy. (TV: *The Chase*) Intensely xenophobic and bent on universal domination, the Daleks were hated and feared throughout time and space. (TV: *Genesis of the Daleks*) Their goal was to eradicate all non-Dalek life, as programmed by their creator. (TV: *Genesis of the Daleks*)

## Characteristics

### Biology

Although the Daleks looked entirely robotic, they were, in fact, cyborgs, with a living body encased in and supported by an armed and mobile outer shell of Dalekanium and polycarbide protective metal armour. These were Mark III travel machines, designed to carry their mutant forms. (TV: *The Daleks*)  In this respect, they were somewhat similar to a Cyberman; unlike them, however, the Daleks' bodies had mutated so drastically from their Kaled ancestors they had lost all humanoid appearance, save for one eye (see below). (TV: *The Daleks*)

The Daleks had a strong association with static electricity; not only were their casings powered by it at some points in their history, (TV: *The Daleks*, *The Dalek Invasion of Earth*) but newly-bred Kaled mutants were brought to life by a static shock before they were put into their casings, and the Second Doctor once explained that static "was like blood to the Daleks". (TV: *The Power of the Daleks*) Theodore Maxtible's attempts to involve static electricity in his experimental time travel resulted in his time machine prototype summoning Daleks across time. (TV: *The Evil of the Daleks*)

### Anatomy

#### Casing

A Dalek's casing, was the shell which contained a Kaled mutant. (TV: *The Daleks*), it was used by the Daleks as a travel machine.

it was shown on several occasions that humanoids could easily climb into and pilot Dalek casings. (TV: *The Daleks*, *The Space Museum*)  Until the time of the First Doctor's first visit to Skaro, the Daleks still believed they needed the casings to protect themselves from the radiation, though they eventually realized that they had instead grown dependent on the radiations to survive. (TV: *The Daleks*)

Davros, a Kaled scientist who saw the mutants as the ultimate form of the originally humanoid Kaled race, created the Daleks' "travel machines" at the same time that he created the Daleks themselves. The base unit of these casings were derived from Davros' life-support chair. (TV: *Genesis of the Daleks*)  He introduced the true first Daleks to the Kaled Scientific Elite aboard Mark III Travel Machines. (TV: *Genesis of the Daleks*)

The Dalek casing, originally called "Mark III travel machine", (DW: Genesis of the Daleks) could be separated into three sections. The top was the Daleks' means of vision and communication, a dome with a set of twin speaker 'lights' on the upper part of the sides, and a periscope-like eyestalk in the middle. This was attached to the midsection by a "neck", the grating section. (TV: *The Daleks*)

On the Dalek's midsection the gunstick and manipulator arm were attached. These provided the Dalek's means of offence and operating capabilities. In later models, the midsection was capable of swiveling. Most of the mass of the Dalek mutant was located inside the midsection. (TV: *The Daleks*)

The bottom was the Dalek's means of mobility, consisting of a sturdy base with a skirt-like structure of plates studded with sense globes. The base unit appeared much like the life-support chair used by Davros. (TV: *Genesis of the Daleks*) This allowed movement and, in later models, flight. (TV: *Remembrance of the Daleks*)

The interdependence of biological and mechanical components made the Daleks a type of cyborg. The Imperial Daleks created by Davros during the Imperial-Renegade Dalek Civil War were true cyborgs, surgically connected to their shells, (TV: *Remembrance of the Daleks*) while the early Daleks on Skaro had initially had no fonder wish than to be able to leave their casings once again (TV: *The Daleks*) and one of the Daleks in the crashed colony ship on Vulcan was able to climb out of its casing on its own volition. (TV: *The Power of the Daleks*)

The Dalek casing also functioned as a fully-sealed environment suit, allowing travel through the vacuum of space or underwater without the need for additional life-support equipment. (TV: *The Dalek Invasion of Earth*)

Due to their gliding motion, earlier models of Dalek were baffled by stairs, which made them easy to overcome under the right circumstances. One time the Fourth Doctor and his companions escaped from Dalek pursuers by climbing into a ceiling duct. The Doctor even taunted a single Dalek before disappearing. (TV: *Destiny of the Daleks*) Some models were able to hover, or fly under their own power like small spacecraft and travel up the stairs, ending the original weakness. (TV: *Revelation of the Daleks* et al.)

#### Power sources

The power source of the Dalek casing also changed several times. During his first encounter with them on Skaro, the First Doctor learned that the casing was externally powered by static electricity transmitted through the metal floors of the Dalek City. Isolating a Dalek from the floor using a non-conductive material shut down the casing, although it was not immediately fatal to the occupant. (TV: "*The Escape*") The Daleks initially overcame this weakness by adding dishes to their casing to receive power, (TV: *The Dalek Invasion of Earth*) although even these were ultimately replaced by vertical rectangular slats around the midsection which absorbed other sources of power. (TV: *The Chase*)

Even quite late into their history, some Daleks originating on Skaro itself remained powered by static electricity: this was the case with the Daleks from the ship that crashed on Vulcan, (TV: *The Power of the Daleks*) Even Daleks who did not visibly draw their power supply from static electricity retained some sort of association with it, as it was by involving static electricity in his experimental time machine that Theodore Maxtible accidentally summoned into his home Daleks who nevertheless could move freely along its wooden floors. (TV: *The Evil of the Daleks*)

Whatever the power source the Daleks used in the interim, it was (apparently uniquely) immune to being drained by the Great City of the Exxilons. Strangely, the Daleks retained motive power and the ability to speak even though their weaponry was shut down, which suggests the weapon systems had a separate power supply. The Third Doctor indicated that this was because the Daleks were psychokinetic and moved around through the power of thought alone, and the City was unable to absorb psychic energy. Other references to the Daleks having psychic potential are scarce. (TV: *Death to the Daleks*)

#### Speech

According to certain accounts, the Dalek creature had no visible vocal apparatus as such and their voices were electronic, as the mutant inside could barely utter a squeak. (TV: *Resurrection of the Daleks*)

One incident showed that a human voice spoken from within a Dalek casing would gain the typical Dalek voice's metallic quality. (TV: *The Daleks*)

At any rate, Daleks spoke in high-pitched, stilted, robotic voices that were easy for others to mimic; (TV: *The Evil of the Daleks*, their most infamous battle-cry was "EX-TER-MINATE!", each syllable screeched in a frantic-sounding, electronic scream (the last two syllables together). Other common utterances included "I (or "WE") OBEY!" to any command from a superior. (TV: *Destiny of the Daleks*, et al.) Daleks also had communicators built into their shells to emit an alarm to summon other Daleks if the casing was opened from outside. (TV: *Planet of the Daleks*)

Daleks were able to speak of concepts such as friendship, mercy and servitude, often to affect cunning deceptions, set traps and manipulate others to their will (TV: *The Daleks*, *The Power of the Daleks*, *The Evil of the Daleks*)

#### Interior

The inner casing, in which the actual Dalek mutant resided, also held a life-support system and a battle-computer for strategic and tactical knowledge. The Dalek mutant operated the casings manually. Once removed, other life forms could pilot one if they could fit within. (TV: *The Daleks*, *The Space Museum*)

#### Mutant

The creatures inside true Daleks were Kaled mutants. In the first appearance of the mutant form, (TV: *The Daleks*) they were shown to have small hands that somewhat resembled the claws of a lizard, though the entire form was never shown. Later appearances of the mutants were very different, with the Seventh Doctor once describing them as "little green blobs". (TV: *Remembrance of the Daleks*) According to one account, the creatures inside the Dalek casing were originally known as Dals. (TV: "*The Ambush*")

The living Dalek mutant possessed numerous tentacles, and a central, single eye. Despite their apparent lack of mobility, they were capable of defending themselves, as demonstrated when a Dalek attacked and killed a soldier. (TV: *Resurrection of the Daleks*)

#### Vulnerabilities

Although they were nearly invulnerable, Daleks had several exploitable weaknesses. Though these varied from type to type, their consistently biggest weakness was their eyestalk, which if damaged enough would leave a Dalek completely blinded. (TV: *Resurrection of the Daleks*, *Revelation of the Daleks*, *Remembrance of the Daleks*,  Merely covering it rather than destroying it could sometimes work, for example the Fourth Doctor once blinded a Dalek by throwing his hat over its eyestalk, (TV: *Destiny of the Daleks*)

The vast majority of projectile weapons were near-useless against them, however bastic bullets (TV: *Revelation of the Daleks*)  and Nitro-9, (TV: *Planet of the Daleks*, *Remembrance of the Daleks*), and weapons upgraded by the Hand of Omega (TV: *Remembrance of the Daleks*) have been known to damage and/or destroy them. Most weapons capable of destroying Daleks are energy-based weaponry, such as the Daleks' own weaponry. (TV: *The Evil of the Daleks*, *Planet of the Daleks*, *The Five Doctors*, *Resurrection of the Daleks*, *Revelation of the Daleks*, *Remembrance of the Daleks*, *The Last of The Daleks*)

### Society and culture

#### Psychology

The most fundamental feature of Dalek culture and psychology was an unquestioned belief in the superiority of the Daleks. Other species were either to be exterminated or enslaved, and then exterminated when no longer necessary. The default directive of a Dalek was to destroy all non-Dalek life forms. (TV: *The Power of the Daleks*, et al.) They interestingly tended to project a similar mindset on other species; they found it difficult to understand that humans sometimes destroyed members of their own species, (TV: *The Power of the Daleks*)

Daleks even regarded "deviant" Daleks as their enemies and worthy of extermination. The civil warbetween the Renegade and Imperial Daleks was an example of this. Each faction considered the other a perversion despite the relatively minor differences. (TV: *Remembrance of the Daleks*)

Their reliance on logic and machinery was a weakness, albeit one that they recognised. Daleks considered illogical actions impossible. (TV: *Destiny of the Daleks*) They transferred emotions from other life-forms twice, in one case humans, having refined the Human Factor with the help from the Second Doctor to create humanised Daleks. (TV: *The Evil of the Daleks*)

#### Dalek Writings

They were able to read human numerals and words, even using them upon occasion. (TV: *Planet of the Daleks*)

#### Names

By the time of the Dalek Emperor's scheme to isolate the Dalek factor and implant it in all of humanity, it was a mark of the Humanised Daleks' oddness that they took on names — starting with Alpha, Beta and Omega. (TV: *The Evil of the Daleks*)

In place of names, Dalek soldiers could be designated with a number by their superiors; the newly-created Daleks on Vulcan were referred to by the original three by designations such as "Dalek 9" and "Dalek 10". (TV: *The Power of the Daleks*)

### Dalek Technology

The key item of Dalek technology was the casing, derived from the Mark III Travel Machines built by Davros. The casings of Davros' Imperial Daleks were made out of bonded polycarbide. (TV: *Remembrance of the Daleks)*

The eyestalk of the casing bestowed superior vision to the Dalek creature. The plunger-shaped attachment functioned as a flexible and adaptable limb. (TV: Dalek) Dalek gunsticks could kill almost any sentient being (TV: *The Daleks*, et al.) and could paralyse their victims temporarily or permanently. (TV: "*The Survivors*")

The Daleks' gunstick evolved alongside other aspects of Dalek technology. When the First Doctor met them in the Dalek City, the gunstick seemed to have the same qualities as a human gun. Daleks could also change the effects of their guns' energy projectiles; at the lowest level, they would merely temporarily disable an individual in the area the projectiles struck. (TV: *The Daleks*)

On the surface of Skaro, within the confines of the Dalek City, the machines ran on static electricityfed from the city floor. They were incapacitated if removed from the floor. The casing technology changed over the years. The first Daleks to emerge from the bunker in which they had been entombed built a city and power from those. (TV: *The Daleks*) Those occupying Earth during the their 22nd century invasion had dishes on their backs. (TV: *The Dalek Invasion of Earth*)

Throughout time and space, there were many Dalek variants that sported different casings. A Dalek's ability depended on what features its casing offered. (TV: *The Daleks*, *The Evil of the Daleks*) The default manipulator arm could be replaced with the likes of flamethrowers and seismic detectors. (TV: *The Chase*, *The Daleks' Master Plan*)

## History

### Origins on Skaro

The Daleks were by most accounts native to the planet Skaro. (TV: *The Daleks*)

Ronson, a member of the Scientific Elite under the command of Davros, mentioned that the word "Dalek" had never been heard before the Fourth Doctor used it — hours later, Davros himself was first heard to utter it in reference to his creations. (TV: *Genesis of the Daleks*) Other accounts still suggested that the race from whom the modern Daleks mutated were already known as "Daleks". (TV: *The Daleks*)

They were at any rate mutants, the descendants of a rival race to the Thals who had once had humanoid form. (TV: *The Daleks*)

Some accounts held that the mutants within the shells had come to be through unguided mutation following the neutron bomb detonation that destroyed both the Thals and the Daleks' forefathers' civilisations, (TV: *The Daleks*)

However, according to many other accounts, the eventual mutation of the Kaleds into the blobby, impotent Daleks had been foreseen by the Kaled scientific elite before it actually came to pass, and the mad genius Davrosset about intentionally accelerating this process, making his own alterations to the Daleks' genome to make them into heartless warriors who would harbour innate hatred for all other living things, and similarly designing the Dalek travel machine as an impregnable minitank even as he led his superiors to believe it was only to be used as a life-support system for the Kaleds' sickened, radiation-poisoned descendants. (TV: *Genesis of the Daleks*)

### On Skaro

When the Doctor first encountered them, the Daleks were stranded in their city on Skaro, as their casings were powered by static electricity channeled by the metal floors of the City, preventing them from leaving it. They eventually found that the Thals had also survived what was known as the neutronic war. After discovering that they had become dependent on the background radiation to the point of the anti-radiation meds Susan Foreman gave them being lethal to them, the Daleks attempted to vent radiation from their nuclear reactors into the atmosphere which would have left them as the only living species on Skaro. The First Doctor and his companions led a Thal assault and deactivated their power, believing that he had wiped out the Daleks altogether in the process (the necessity of which crime he lamented, though he saw no other way). (TV: *The Daleks*)

The Daleks survived this apparent defeat; although the Doctor believed the Daleks he encountered on 22nd century Earth were from a point in history prior to the supposed destruction of the City Daleks. (TV: *The Dalek Invasion of Earth*)

### Space travel

#### Rise of the Dalek Empire

The Daleks forged an interstellar (and later intergalactic) Dalek Empire, (TV: *The Daleks' Master Plan*)

#### Targeting Earth

The Daleks did eventually conquer and occupy the Earth in the 22nd century. The Dalek invasion force were led by the Black Dalek known as the Supreme Controller and each saucer was under the command of a Dalek saucer commander. They used Robomen for patrols and overseeing slaves. The Daleks commenced a mining operation in Bedfordshire in order to reach the Earth's magnetic core, replace it with a propulsion system, and turn the whole planet into a massive spacecraft. Some time after their takeover of Earth, however, the First Doctor foiled the plan before its completion; the pit they had dug turned into an active volcano, the eruption of which killed the remaining Daleks and destroyed their base. (TV: *The Dalek Invasion of Earth*)

#### Further Strengthening of the Dalek Empire

The Daleks continued to improve their technology: they developed factory ships for conquest, (TV: *The Power of the Daleks*) and the radio dishes which had originally been required to allow them to travel on surfaces without a static charge (TV: *The Dalek Invasion of Earth*) also vanished, enabling Daleks to move under their own power on any planet.

After the Dalek war, a Dalek Saucer travelled to the planet Exxilon in search of Parrinium, where all of its power was taken by the Exxilon City. The Dalek task-force encountered the Third Doctor and his companion Sarah Jane Smith along with a human expedition. They attempted to gun down the humans, but discovered that the Exxilon City had also drained their power supplies, rendering their gunsticks useless and forcing the Daleks to form an unholy alliance with the humans. While their gunsticks didn't work, the Daleks replaced them with machine guns and enslaved the Exxillons in search for parrinium. When their power was restored, the Daleks revealed they were the cause of the Space plague and were about to fire plague missiles to kill the Exxilons and the Doctor as they made their getaway in their ship. However, it and its crew were destroyed by Dan Galloway, who had stowed away on the ship with a Dalek bomb, which he detonated. (TV: *Death to the Daleks*)

### Time travel

#### The Great Dalek Civil War

after Daleks under the leadership of the Emperor were eventually summoned to 19th century Earth by the human businessman and amateur alchemist Theodore Maxtible, who had devised a new form of time travel involving mirrors and static electricity, they took over Maxtible's techniques for themselves. Armed with this venue for time-space travel, they used it to trick the Second Doctor into a trap. They asked him to implant the Human Factor into three Daleks, claiming that they desired to become humanised Daleks allying the best of mankind and Dalek-kind. In truth, the Emperor's design was that the Doctor's experiment would, by contrast, also identify the Dalek Factor, which they would then spread through Earth's history — thus preventing their Great War with Earth from happening.

However, having realised the Daleks' plan, the Doctor encouraged the three humanised Daleks, Alpha, Beta and Omega, to defend themselves. Fearful of the implications, the Emperor ordered many Daleks through an archway that would re-implant the Dalek Factor. However, the Doctor switched factors so that all Daleks through the archway were humanised. A conflict between the normal and humanised Daleks inevitably broke out across Skaro, apparently ending the Daleks. (TV: *The Evil of the Daleks*)

#### Resurrection of the Empire

A group of Daleks were sent in a time machine to track down the Doctor and exterminate him and his companions as revenge for thwarting their plans in the 22nd century. The Daleks persued the TARDIS crew through many locations before finally arriving on Mechanus where they were eventually destroyed by Gubbage Cones and later the Mechanoids. (TV: *The Chase*)

The Daleks led by a Gold Dalek, invaded Earth in an alternate 22nd century after the World Peace Conference was destroyed by Shura from the future. World War III started as various global factions accused each other of having done so. They used Ogrons as enforcers. The Third Doctor and Jo Grant travelled back to the 1970s and undid that alternate timeline. Shura used the bomb to destroy the Daleks and Ogrons in the Auderly House. (TV: *Day of the Daleks*)

### Dalek-Movellan war

The Daleks got involved in a war with a race of robots called the Movellans.   The conflict soon resulted in a stalemate: each side's purely logical battle computer kept them in deadlock. To circumvent this stalemate, the Daleks returned to Skaro to find Davros so his biological mind could reprogram their battle computers to win the war. However, the Fourth Doctor defeated them and the Movellans and Davros was taken by the Daleks' former slaves to stand trial. (TV: *Destiny of the Daleks*) The war continued for another 90 years, until the Movellans developed a Movellan virus to defeat the Daleks. (TV: *Resurrection of the Daleks*)

### The Game of Rassilon

A lone Dalek was taken to an area of the Death Zone on Gallifrey via a Time Scoop. There it encountered the First Doctor and Susan and attempted to exterminate them, but was defeated when they pushed the Dalek into an enclosed space causing it to fire randomly in every direction, destroying it. (TV: *The Five Doctors*)

### Imperial-Renegade Dalek War

Afterwards, a detachment of Daleks led by a Supreme Dalek went to free their creator to find a cure for the Movellan virus. They also used a time corridor and a Dalek duplicate called Stien to trap the Fifth Doctor to duplicate him and his Companions to assassinate the Time Lord High Council. However, the Doctor broke free of the duplication apparatus and turned Stien to his cause. Meanwhile, Davros turned several Dalek Troopers and two Daleks to his cause but the Supreme's Daleks destroyed the rebels. Both Davros and the Doctor unleashed the virus and the Dalek ship was destroyed by Stien. (TV: *Resurrection of the Daleks*)

Davros escaped to Necros and began to turn intelligent cryogenically frozen people into Imperial Daleks to conquer the universe. However, Takis called the Renegade Daleks to take Davros to stand trial. The Renegades fought their way past the Imperials to take Davros. He tried to get them to take the Sixth Doctor, but they didn't recognise him. The Renegades' attempt to recondition the Imperials failed because of the Imperials' destruction by the Doctor and Orcini. (TV: *Revelation of the Daleks*)

The Imperial and Renegade Daleks both headed to Earth in 1963 to claim the Hand of Omega. The Imperials controlled H. Parson, while the Renegades used a young girl as their battle computer and "allied" with the Association. The two factions waged a lengthy battle at Shoreditch. Aided by the Special Weapons Dalek, the Imperial Daleks won, almost wiping out the Renegades aside from the Supreme. The Imperial Daleks took the Hand of Omega, as the Seventh Doctor had planned all along. Davros (as "Emperor" of the Imperials) plotted to use the Hand of Omega, giving the Daleks the power of unlimited time travel. In the Imperial Daleks' time zone, he did so, causing it to go supernova. This action, however, destroyed the planet and the Imperial fleet. On Earth, the Doctor talked the last Renegade Dalek, the black Supreme Dalek, into self-destructing. (TV: *Remembrance of the Daleks*)

## List of Appearances

### Doctor Who

#### Season 2

* *The Dalek Invasion of Earth*
* *The Space Museum*(cameo)
* *The Chase*

#### Season 3

* *Mission to the Unknown*
* *The Daleks' Master Plan*

#### Season 4

* *The Power of the Daleks*
* *The Evil of the Daleks*

#### Season 10

* *Frontier in Space*
* *Planet of the Daleks*