Blog:Dalek variants

The new Dalek from the 2005 series revival This article discusses the various variant models of the fictional alien race known as the Daleks in the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. Externally, Daleks resemble overgrown pepper shakers, with a single mechanical eyestalk in a rotating dome, a gunstalk containing a directed energy weapon (or "death ray"), and a telescoping robot arm. Usually, the arm is fitted with a device for manipulation that, to the amusement of generations of viewers, resembles a plunger, but various episodes have shown Daleks whose arms end in a tray, a mechanical claw, or other specialised equipment. The casings are made of a material that has been called dalekanium. The lower shell is covered with many hemispherical protrusions or "Dalek bumps". These have been variously described as some kind of sensor array, but were also seen in the episode Dalek to be part of a self-destruct system. The creatures inside their "travel machines" are depicted as soft and repulsive in appearance, but still vicious even without their mechanical armour. Although the general appearance of the Daleks has remained the same, the colours and some details of the model have evolved over time.

Standard Dalek
A standard, "renegade" Dalek firing its weapon, from Remembrance of the Daleks. When they first appeared in the 1963 serial, The Daleks, the standard Dalek models sported a silver band along their chest areas, but their mobility was limited to metal walkways in the Dalek City on Skaro, being powered by static electricity. The concept of a "glass Dalek" also appeared in Terry Nation's original story for The Daleks, but due to budgetary considerations did not appear in the serial. It was, however, mentioned in the David Whitaker novelisation. In 1964's The Dalek Invasion of Earth, the size of the base of the Dalek was expanded, and radio dishes were mounted on their backs. These Daleks were more mobile, but still relied on external transmitted power, and were disabled when those transmitters were destroyed. In The Chase (1965), the Daleks were further modified by including what was termed a solar panel array, consisting of wiring and metal slats. The Daleks of the 1960s serials were mainly silver coloured with blue Dalek "bumps". In The Evil of the Daleks (1967), certain Daleks had black domes. Also, the dishes on their backs had vanished, so presumbly they now had independent motive power systems. In the movies based on the first two Dalek serials, Dr. Who and the Daleks and Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD, the Daleks had larger bases as well as larger, jam-jar shaped ear-bulbs, and were painted in a variety of bright colours. When the Daleks returned to the series in 1972's Day of the Daleks, the Daleks adopted a grey colour scheme, with the Dalek commander being painted gold. By the time of Death to the Daleks (1974), the Daleks returned to a silver colour scheme with black bumps, but once again reverted to greys in Genesis of the Daleks (1975). In Remembrance of the Daleks (1988) the standard grey-black Daleks were part of the Renegade Dalek faction, with the dominant Imperial Daleks sporting a white-gold colour scheme.

The Daleks returned to the series in the 2005 episode Dalek, with a lone Dalek that had somehow survived the Time War which had resulted in the mutual annihilation of both the Daleks and the Time Lords. There were no major alterations to the Dalek design, except for an expanded base and an all over metallic brass finish, similar to the gold Dalek commander of Day of the Daleks. The ear-bulbs also resembled the movie versions. The Dalek design also exhibited abilities not seen before, including a swivelling mid-section that allowed the Dalek a 360-degree field of fire, and a force field that dissolved bullets before they struck it. In addition to the ability to fly, it was also able to regenerate itself by means of absorbing electrical power and the DNA of a time-traveler. The "plunger" manipulator arm was also able to crush a man's skull in addition to the technology interfacing abilities shown by earlier models. There are unconfirmed rumours of a more radical redesign for the Daleks that may appear in a later story, but when an army of Daleks appeared in The Parting of the Ways, they featured no changes in design from the one seen in Dalek.

Dalek agents
An Ogron (from Day of the Daleks

Despite their penchant for racial purity, the Daleks are not adverse to using other species in subordinate roles. They routinely enslave planetary populations, putting them in labour camps and using them as operatives, willing or otherwise. In The Dalek Invasion of Earth they converted selected humans into Robomen overseers, using oversized mind-control helmets. However, these Robomen were mentally unstable and eventually went insane, then turned suicidal. By the time of Remembrance of the Daleks, the control device had been refined and reduced to the size of a microchip implanted behind the subject's ear which could also shut the agent down when they were in danger of being compromised. In the alternate future of Day of the Daleks humans who willingly served the Daleks supervised slave labour. The Daleks also use mercenaries. In Day of the Daleks and Frontier in Space (1973), the Daleks used Ogrons to police their slaves and as foot soldiers. In 1984's Resurrection of the Daleks, the Daleks used human mercenaries as Dalek troopers (who wore helmets resembling the domed head and eye-stalk of a Dalek) as well as human duplicates known as Dalek Agents. Dalek battle computers were mentioned in 1979's Destiny of the Daleks. It was their completely logical nature that caused the centuries-long stalemate in the war with the android Movellans. As a result, the Daleks decided to harness human creativity by using them as part of their battle computers, as seen in Remembrance of the Daleks. In that serial, the battle computer was a brainwashed human child sitting in a Dalek-styled chair and wearing a helmet similar to that of the Dalek troopers. The child was also capable of attacking with bolts of energy emanating from her hands, although the Dalek control (and presumably, the offensive capability) finished when the Dalek Supreme on Earth was destroyed.

Dalek Emperor
The Dalek Emperor from The Evil of the Daleks. Four different incarnations of the Emperor Dalek are known, three seen on the television series, and one in the TV21 comic strip (a squat, golden Dalek with an enormous head-section). The first seen on screen was an enormous immobile conical shell plugged into a corner of the control room in the Dalek City on Skaro, the second being Davros in a Dalek casing very similar to the TV21 comic version of the Emperor and the third a visible Dalek mutant in a tank surrounded by a giant Dalek head and armour. It is unclear whether any these are the same Dalek, or up to four different Daleks. The Dalek Emperor was first introduced in the TV21 comic strip The Daleks, reproduced in collective format as the Dalek Chronicles (http://ganolan.users.btopenworld.com/Chronicles/chronicles.htm). According to this comic strip version of events, the Emperor was originally a standard Dalek, one of those created by the blue-skinned humanoid Dalek scientist Yarvelling. After the nuclear war that devastated Skaro, it persuaded Yarvelling to build more Dalek casings for their mutated descendants. Before the last of the humanoid Daleks died, a special casing was build for the Emperor, slightly shorter than the other Daleks, with a disproportionately large spheroid head section and in gold rather than grey. This origin story is completely different from that portrayed on television in Genesis of the Daleks. The Emperor first appeared on television in The Evil of the Daleks (by David Whitaker, who also wrote most of the comic strips) where it was the immobile shell described above. The novelisation of Evil, (adapted from Whitaker's scripts by a different writer) several years later, stated that this Emperor had originally been one of the Daleks who had tried to exterminate their creator Davros in Genesis of the Daleks. In Remembrance of the Daleks, Davros appeared to be greatly deteriorated and apparently reduced to a head and torso. He was contained in a customised Dalek casing similar to that seen in the comic strips, and was referred to as the Emperor (of the Imperial Dalek faction). The Emperor features in the finale of the 2005 series The Parting of the Ways, its ship having barely survived the Time War. After its ship fell through time, it went into seclusion and went on to rebuild a new race of Daleks. A Dalek Emperor also appears in the Dalek Empire series of audio plays by Big Finish Productions.

Supreme Dalek
A Black Dalek, from The Dalek Invasion of Earth. Also known as the Dalek Supreme, the type of Dalek originally simply designated as a Black Dalek and later identified with the Dalek Supreme served in the role of an elite or commander Dalek. In The Dalek Invasion of Earth, a Black Dalek is seen directing the Bedfordshire operation. It had a terrifying pet called the Slyther which it used to let roam free around the mines at night killing those it found. A Dalek Supreme also led the Daleks in The Daleks' Master Plan. The Black Dalek was replaced by the Dalek Emperor in The Evil of the Daleks, which used black-domed Daleks as lieutenants. During the Third Doctor's era, the Black Dalek as field commander appeared to have been replaced by a Gold Dalek (in Day of the Daleks), but the rank returned and was now positively identified as the Dalek Supreme in Planet of the Daleks (1973). In that serial, a movie-style Dalek in black and gold trim was used to represent a member of the Supreme Council of Daleks, with an eye-stalk that lit up when it was speaking. In Destiny of the Daleks, the Dalek Supreme was briefly mentioned as the supreme commander of the Daleks. A Dalek lieutenant is also seen as an intermediate rank in that serial. The Dalek Supreme, as a Black Dalek, made further appearances in Resurrection of the Daleks and Remembrance of the Daleks. In the latter serial it was the leader of the Renegade Daleks that opposed the Imperial Daleks commanded by the Dalek Emperor. It ended up as the last surviving Dalek on Earth and destroyed itself. In the Big Finish Productions series of Dalek Empire audio plays, the rank of Supreme Dalek is equivalent to an Army General, subordinate to the Emperor Dalek on Skaro. John Peel's BBC Books Doctor Who novel War of the Daleks combines the ranks of Dalek Supreme and Emperor Dalek in the form of the "Dalek Prime", a Black Dalek with alternating gold and silver bumps. In the novel, the Dalek Prime is the judge at Davros's trial on Skaro.

Imperial Dalek
A Special Weapons Dalek followed by two Imperial Daleks. From Remembrance of the Daleks. The Imperial Daleks are a faction of Daleks loyal to their creator, Davros, rather than the Dalek Supreme. They first appeared in Revelation of the Daleks (1985). The Imperial Daleks had white livery with gold bumps, and high-pitched voices. These Daleks were not descended from the original Kaled mutants, being instead made from the modified heads of human corpses infused with the Dalek factor. They were destroyed along with Davros's laboratory in the Tranquil Repose funeral home on Necros by the original Daleks. The glass Dalek also finally made an appearance in Revelation - a prototype Dalek with a transparent casing that revealed the mutated head inside. In Remembrance Of The Daleks, Davros had somehow escaped whatever fate the Daleks had in store for him and had gained control of Skaro, becoming the Emperor. He recreated the Imperial Daleks by grafting bionic appendages onto the bodies of Kaled mutants. Their casings now had golden eye-stalks and a lozenge shape on the front of their casings, and their gold plungers were slotted to fit into machinery. Imperial Daleks could also hover up a flight of stairs. A civil war, ostensibly over racial purity, broke out between the original, now Renegade Daleks, and the Imperial Daleks. Although their firepower was weak, Imperial Daleks augmented their battle tactics with the Special Weapons Dalek. It is not clear if any Imperial Daleks survived the conclusion of the serial, as both Skaro and the main Imperial Dalek warfleet were apparently destroyed by the Hand of Omega.

Special Weapons Dalek
The Special Weapons Dalek is a heavily-armoured Imperial Dalek first seen in Remembrance. Unlike a conventional Dalek, the Special Weapons Dalek has no manipulator arm or eye-stalk. Instead, it has an enormous energy cannon mounted on the front of the armoured casing in place of the usual small gunstick and several red squares around the dome in place of the usual eyestalk. Special Weapons Daleks do not appear to be able to speak, but do have massive firepower. In Remembrance the Special Weapons Dalek's firepower was so great that one shot completely destroyed two conventional Renegade Daleks, leaving only a pair of burn marks, and the armour was sufficient to deflect conventional Dalek energy weapons without suffering any apparent damage. Like the other Imperial Daleks, its livery was white with gold bumps, but with sections of metallic gray armour covering most of the upper portion with much battle scoring. The Special Weapons Dalek was also mentioned in the novel War Of The Daleks. In Ben Aaronovitch's novelisation of Remembrance it was stated that the enormous power source required for its weapon resulted in high levels of radiation being released and altering the structure of the Dalek's brain, resulting in insanity. It was only used in extreme situations and was unofficially known among the Daleks as the "Abomination."