Custom Classic Series Daleks – Part 3

As Character Options are slowly releasing History of the Daleks figure double-packs in B&M that each contain two Daleks from each classic episode from The Daleks to The Daleks’ Master Plan, it is only a matter of time before all the Classic Dalek stories are represented in figure form, so there is no better time for me to showcase my collection of Custom Classic Daleks before they become completely superfluous. On the upside, having all these Classic Daleks out on the shelf does mean that the History of the Daleks sets can be kept mint in box. These Daleks have been customised to resemble Daleks from the classic stories Destiny of the Daleks and Revelation of the Daleks, and each one started out life as a more common classic Dalek figure before being modified and painted to stand in for rarer Dalek figures that are not commonly available at the moment.

Custom Destiny of the Daleks Drone 1

Although Destiny of the Daleks is far from being my favourite classic Dalek story, (it is in fact my least favourite classic Dalek story) the unique light-grey colour schemes of the Drones make customs inspired by Destiny of the Daleks particularly interesting. The oddly bright grey base coupled with the huge variety in detailing on each individual Dalek definitely makes ‘Destiny‘ Daleks stand out from the crowd, which is ironic given how shoddy the Dalek props looked in this story. By the time Destiny of the Daleks was filmed, most Dalek props owned by the BBC had been rotting away in a storage for years, and this coupled with some particularly poorly-made stand-in props makes the Daleks in this story look shoddier than one of my early customs, meaning that despite the occasional paint errors on these customs they actually look better than the Daleks they are based on.

Custom Destiny of the Daleks Drone 2

This Dalek showcases the variety in paint detailing on the original Destiny of the Daleks props, as the previous Dalek had black slats but this one has the slats, mesh between the slats, the front circle and the band around the midsection all painted black, perhaps because this Dalek is a higher rank (though the episode doesn’t bring attention to this). Citadel paint was used for the grey base, black detailing and white dry-brushing on the mesh, and the glossy effect on the hemispheres was achieved using a black Promarker pen. Unlike the previous custom, in which the dome lights are coloured orange with Sharpee, this Dalek has dome lights that are painted block orange, it is up to you which looks best. Unfortunately, due to the paint used for this custom, a degree of the articulation had to be sacrificed as the ball joints are painted over which locks them in place.

Custom Necros Dalek 1

Unlike Destiny of the Daleks, which had a combination of shoddy old props and poorly-made newer ones, Revelation of the Daleks was lucky in that the old Dalek props had been recently refurbished for the previous story, Resurrection of the Daleks, and several new props were made to represent Davros’ new faction of Daleks being built on Necros. They are essentially standard Daleks but with an Imperial Dalek colour scheme, and that is exactly what this custom is representing. White gloss paint was used for the base and gold, metallic Citadel paint was used for the detailing on the neck grille, slat meshes, gunstick, manipulator arm and hemispheres. This Dalek started out as an Emperor’s Guard, meaning it is actually a 1960s Dalek with the base replaced. Unfortunately, the dome lights and eyestalk rings are innaccurate to actual Necros Daleks. Some artistic licence that I took with this particular custom was that I painted the neck grille gold, whereas on actual Necros Daleks (including my other Necros customs) the grille is black. This Dalek could also double as one of Davros’ guards on Lethe from the Big Finish audio, The Juggernauts.

Custom Necros Dalek 2

Like the previous custom, this 1960s Dalek base has been heavily modified with spares in order to resemble the base of a Necros Dalek. The dome has been replaced so the dome lights are accurate this time, but unfortunately the eyestalk is still slightly innaccurate as 1960s Daleks have the rings pushed forward to just behind the eye, whereas later Dalek props from the 1970s onwards have the rings pushed back to be more in the middle of the eyestalk. Aside from that, this Necros Dalek is a bit more accurate that the previous one, and like the previous one it has been painted using white gloss for the body, gold metallic Citadel paint for the detailing and black paint for the base. One final finishing touch on both of these Daleks was the addition of the dot in the eye, as the 1960s Daleks lacked this feature. I applied this using a very precise, tiny ink applicator to ensure that the pupil was tiny and perfectly rounded.

Custom Classic Series Daleks – Part 2

Although Character Options are releasing Classic Dalek figures for each episode in order, it seems as though it will be years before we get the complete collection of Classic Dalek figures. As such, we have bolstered the ranks of our Classic Dalek figure collection with some custom figures, each of which have been created using Daleks from the Dalek Collectors’ Set #2, which was extremely common several years ago, and from which many Dalek spares and customs have been created from. This set included the Saucer Commander Dalek from The Dalek Invasion of Earth, the Emperor’s Guard Dalek from The Evil of the Daleks, and the Supreme Dalek from Day of the Daleks.

Custom Planet of the Daleks Drone

This first custom uses the Supreme Dalek from Day of the Daleks, which uses the same basic mould as many other Daleks from the 1970s era of the show. For this custom I used more matt colours compared to other Dalek figures released in this mould, in an attempt to emulate the matt grey colours of the Daleks from Planet of the Daleks. The Drones in this story take extra care to be stealthy, and as such it makes sense that the would use dark, matt colours. This figure was painted using Citadel paints and the detailing on the hemispheres was done using a Pro Marker pen. The glossy finish on the hemispheres makes an excellent contrast with the matt finish on the casing, and the metallic silver finish on the eyestalk and manipulator arm stand out on this figure.

Custom Planet of the Daleks Supreme

This custom is much more elaborate than the previous one, and was created using the pieces from several Daleks. The base of this Dalek is from a Drone from The Dalek Invasion of Earth, but the body is an Emperor’s Guard Dalek from The Evil of the Daleks, which I repainted with black paint and detailed with bright gold. The actual Supreme Dalek from Planet of the Daleks was created using mismatched Dalek prop parts from Terry Nation’s private collection, so this method of construction is surprisingly appropriate. The large light pieces are actually LEDs which have been painted pinkish-purple, and the eyestalk has been painted white with a red light to emulate the Supreme Dalek’s illuminated eyestalk. Hopefully this Dalek will be released as part of the History of the Daleks sets from B&M, but until then it is only available as a rare collectible from the elusive Dalek Collectors’ Set #1.

Custom Death to the Daleks Drone

This Dalek is another custom made from the Day of the Daleks Supreme, except this custom is far more detailed. The Gold and Black colour scheme has been replaced with the distinctive Silver and Black design of the Daleks from Death to the Daleks. In order to create this custom, a complete disassembly of the figure was required as each piece of the neck rings and the midsection had to be painted independently with Citadel paint. Each section of the Dalek required multiple coats of paint to ensure the silver coat had full consistency. The dome lights were coloured using orange Pro Marker, and the eyestalk and gunstick have been recoloured to resemble the unique colour scheme of the Death to the Daleks drones.

Custom Genesis of the Daleks Drone

Perhaps one of the most iconic Dalek designs of them all, the distinctive gunmetal-grey colour scheme of Genesis of the Daleks is not to be underestimated. This custom was created using the Day of the Daleks Supreme, painted over with a gunmetal grey paint from Citadel with the detailing painted over with silver. This Dalek is meant to resemble the one that exterminates Davros and assumes the role of Dalek Prime, or Dalek Supreme, at the conclusion of Genesis of the Daleks. The silver pieces between the slats on the midsection are the giveaway artistic licence on this figure, as the majority of the Daleks from this story have a completely monochrome design, but the silver slats helps differentiate this particular Dalek from its subordinates.

Custom Classic Series Daleks – Part 1

Welcome to this showcase of my custom Classic Series Dalek figures, all of which are hand-painted and depict various types of Dalek from several episodes of the Classic Series aired in the 1960s. These Daleks are custom repaints of common Dalek figures that are made to represent less common Dalek figures. The vast majority of these Classic Daleks were donated to me in a damaged state, with scuffed paint and often missing appendages. I was able to create a small number of intact Classic Daleks (as in, featuring all three main appendages) using spare eyestalks, gunsticks and plungers collected from all of the Classic Daleks I have acquired over time.

These Daleks are constantly being updated and amended as time goes on, but I have photographed them in their current state as they are all at least presentable in their current state, though there are some that I am quite happy with as they are and will likely not require much modification.

Custom The Dalek Invasion of Earth Drone

This figure was made using a standard The Dalek Invasion of Earth Saucer Pilot Dalek from the Dalek Collectors Set #2, a recurring source of Daleks for customs based on this episode. The figure was spray-painted silver, apart from the base which was spray-painted black, and the cyan colour scheme was added using Citadel paint and a fine brush. A permanent marker was also used for the detailing on the eyestalk and the manipulator arm. This cyan colour scheme is unique to Series 9, and is not present on the standard Dalek figure from The Dalek Invasion of Earth. However, the cyan on the midsection does help to break up the colour scheme a bit.

Custom The Dalek Invasion of Earth Supreme

Like the previous custom, this Dalek was a Saucer Pilot from the Collectors Set #2 only this time it has been customised to depict the Supreme Dalek from The Dalek Invasion of Earth. Ironically, the Saucer Pilot only exists due to the fact that the Supreme Dalek prop was not finished when the episode in which the Saucer Pilot appeared was due to air, but the partly-painted prop was included anyway, thus the Saucer Pilot rank was born. Ironically, in creating this Supreme Dalek custom using a Saucer Pilot, I completed the half-finished paint job that has been immortalised in figure form. The end result is particularly striking – Supreme Daleks are usually decorated with the best colour schemes and this one from The Dalek Invasion of Earth is no exceptional. It is no wonder this particular type of Dalek was chosen for inclusion in the recent History of the Daleks #2 Collectors Set.

Custom The Daleks’ Master Plan Supreme

This figure was originally an Emperor’s Guard Dalek from the Collectors Set #2, but it has been modified to resemble the Supreme Dalek from The Daleks’ Master Plan. Although this Dalek has been depicted as red in some sources, the prop has been confirmed to have been black, and presumably that is the colour it was intended to be. This custom has gone through several iterations, as although the darker blue hemispheres shown in these photos are the same as those on my other The Daleks’ Master Plan customs, I later decided that the hemispheres looked too deep a blue compared to the skirt, so I repainted them with a lighter cyan colour which contrasts with the skirt much better.

Custom The Chase Guard Dalek

This custom is a heavily modified Dalek Saucer Pilot, albeit with the chunky section of the base removed and the figure itself heavily modified with blue Citadel paint on the dome and hemispheres and gold Citadel paint on the midsection. A genuine version of this figure exists, though it is extremely rare, having only been released once as part of the SFX Daleks line. The paint applications are the same as that of a Dalek from the movie Doctor Who and The Daleks, although the ear lights and base are more in line with the Daleks from the Classic TV series. I used blue and gold Citadel paint for the detailing, though the blue paint is slightly darker than that of the Doctor Who and The Daleks Drones, and the gunstick is technically incorrect as this figure retains the gunstick used by the Daleks in The Dalek Invasion of Earth.

Doctor Who – Who Created the Cybermen?

The Cybermen are one of the Doctor’s oldest and deadliest enemies, and since their introduction in The Tenth Planet, Doctor Who’s first regeneration story, the Cybermen have menaced almost every incarnation of the Doctor. As they are due to appear in Series 12 in 2020, fan interest in the Cybermen has peaked recently. However, a question that often comes up when discussing them is, how were they first created?

Unlike the Daleks, who get their own origin story in Genesis of the Daleks, the Cybermen were strangely neglected when it came to their origins in the Classic Series. The closest we came to an getting an explanation of their origins is the brief summary of how they came to be that we get in their first episode, as the Cybermen explain that their world, Mondas, was dying and that they needed to adapt in order to survive.

The Many Cyber-Origin Stories

Interestingly, although Classic Who didn’t divulge much about the origins of the Cybermen, the 21st century incarnations of Doctor Who have attempted to explain more about their origins.

Spare Parts, Big Finish Main Range, 2002

Spare Parts, a Fifth Doctor Big Finish Audio from the Main Range, depicts the Doctor and Nyssa arriving on Mondas just as the Cybermen are starting to take over, and although Nyssa is determined to try and save the planet, the Doctor is torn between helping the innocent and keeping history on track. Things are further complicated by the fact that this story is set not long after the death of Adric at the hands of the Cybermen.

This story shows that the Cybermen were created on Mondas as a means of allowing the citizens to survive in the increasingly hostile environment of a frozen, dead world. The Mondasian surgeons believe that they are saving the population, but the monstrous Committee, a unification of minds that acts as a precursor to the Cyber-Planner, sees the population as little more than resources to be harvested.

Rise of the Cybermen, Series 2, 2006

Another alternate race of Cybermen were created on a parallel version of Earth, as seen in 2005’s Rise of the Cybermen / The Age of Steel. Like Spare Parts, this story depicts a scientist attempting to prolong human life by inventing the Cybermen. In this case, Doctor John Lumic created the Cybermen as a means of achieving immortality, due to the fact that he was suffering from a debilitating, incurable disease. Ultimately, he manages to convert a sizeable population of parallel London into Cybermen, and is eventually converted into a Cyber-Controller.

Although the Doctor eventually stops Lumic and destroys his Cybermen, the parallel Earth would continue to see Cyber-incursions for many years afterwards, and some Cybermen from that universe would eventually find their way into our universe and assimilate into the ranks of the Mondasian Cybermen, according to some sources.

World Enough and Time, Series 10, 2017

Another origin story for a race of Cybermen is seen in 2017’s World Enough and Time. This episode shows that, at some point, a colony ship had departed from Mondas with a crew of 50, only to be trapped in the event horizon of a black hole. Due to the time dilation effect of the black hole, the crew lived out their entire lives on the ship and bred, eventually leading to a sprawling city being built on one of the habitation decks. Eventually, however, this city would be corrupted by the interference of the Master.

As the city became more polluted, eventually the Mondasians on board began to convert themselves into primitive Cybermen that would slowly evolve over time into the modern Cybermen. After infesting most of the ship, many of these Cybermen were destroyed by the Doctor, though it is likely that many more survived.

Other Potential Cyber-Origins

These are not the only potential origin stories for the Cybermen. We know that they have sprung up on many planets due to parallel evolution, including Telos, Marinus and Planet 14 as well as Mondas and Earth. Over time the many Cyber-races would coalesce into one, known as the Cyberiad, which would fight many centuries-long wars, known collectively as the Cyber-Wars, against Humanity and their allies. These included, among others, the Orion War and the Tiberian Galaxy War.

So, unlike the Daleks, the Cybermen were not created by one specific person, nor indeed do they have one comprehensive backstory. Although the finer details of how the Cybermen as a ‘race’ came to be are hazy in Doctor Who lore, we can assume that many different versions of Cybermen came together and combined technology as a form of adapting, which explains why in the show there are some Cybermen that look very primitive and others that are highly advanced, and also why some seem to possess physiological differences.

The Real-World Origin of the Cybermen

Interestingly, the real-world Cyberman origin story shares several distinct similarities to their fictional origins. The idea for the Cybermen first came about in the 1960s when Dr. Christopher ‘Kit’ Pedler, the unofficial scientific advisor for Doctor Who, became fascinated with the idea of ‘spare part’ surgery that was becoming increasingly more sophisticated in the 1960s.

Dr. Pedler foresaw a time in which all human beings incorporated cybernetic implants and adaptations into their bodies, and this inspired him to create the ‘Cyber-Men’. Working alongside writer Gerry Davis, Dr. Pedler contributed to the writing of The Tenth Planet, the 1966 debut of the Cybermen, and this explains why in that story the Cybermen look a lot more recognisably humanoid than they would in later stories.

Whilst Dr. Pedler’s predictions about the future have (so far) proved to be incorrect, his vision of the future has lost none of its potency. In fact, with the leaps and bounds that medical science has undertaken since the 1960s, we are closer than ever to having real-life Cybermen, though it will be a long time before we have the capability to create them.

However, the essence of Dr. Pedler’s prediction endures to this day – Humankind must always be wary of the potential for excessive cybernetic enhancements, as whilst so far they are used for purely medical purposes, there is always potential for the good nature of these technologies to be corrupted. Human vanity, greed and lust for power mean that the Cybermen will always endure as villains – as a constant reminder of what we, the human race, could so easily become.

Doctor Who – NEW Big Finish audio brings back Classic Who’s most infamous Supreme Dalek

Needless to say fans are excited about the return of this popular Dalek, but why is this particular Supreme Dalek so special?

Although the Daleks feature prominently in many of Big Finish’s Doctor Who Spinoff Audios, such as the Time War audios, it is a relatively rare occurence for the Daleks to feature in the monthly range. As the range approaches its 20th Birthday this year, it is interesting to look back on how the range has used the Daleks sparingly in the past compared to the current incarnation of the TV series. However, since it has been over a year since the last Monthly Range Dalek story, fans were teased with the title of August’s monthly release earlier this year, a Sixth Doctor story with the title: ‘Emissary of the Daleks’.

Fans are always quick to begin theorising over what the latest ‘of the Daleks’ buzzword actually means, with varying degrees of success. So far, all we really know about the story itself is that it stars the Sixth Doctor and Peri, and has something to do with someone acting as a go-between for the Daleks and another race, although even that is somewhat of a vague premise. All that changed with the reveal of the cover art, the first example of a Monthly Range Dalek story using the new Series 11 branding and logo, but the thing that really has fans talking is the inclusion of a specific and infamous Dalek on the cover – the Dalek Council Representative from Planet of the Daleks.

For those not in the know, this specific Supreme Dalek appeared in the 1973 Jon Pertwee story after Dalek activity on the planet Spiridon was disrupted by the Doctor, Jo and several Thals. Arriving on the planet in dramatic fashion in one of the most impressive uses of spaceship model shots in the era, the Supreme Dalek certainly made its mark on viewers with its unique appearance. The prop used for this Supreme was one of Terry Nation’s Movie Daleks painted black and gold, meaning that it is one of the most unique Daleks to appear in Classic Who and, in typical Classic Supreme style, he never appeared again after his first appearance.

Needless to say fans are excited about the return of this popular Dalek, but a logical question to ask would be: Why is this particular Supreme Dalek so special? After all, there were many Supreme Daleks in the Classic series, and there have been even more since the revival. The answer is in this Supreme Dalek’s attitude – thoughout Planet of the Daleks this Supreme is particularly ruthless – even by Dalek standards. He brutally murders his immediate subordinate for failing to capture the Doctor, and very nearly wipes out the entire population of the planet. After being thwarted and having his ship stolen by Thals, the Supreme Dalek is last seen plotting revenge of swearing the supremacy of the Dalek race, setting up a rematch with the Doctor that, sadly, never occured on-screen.

However, this distinctive Dalek Commander will hopefully be getting his chance at payback in Big Finish’s Emissary of the Daleks, as since we have never seen another Supreme Dalek quite like this one, there is a good chance that it is actually the same character. If so, this will be a rare example of a specific Dalek recurring in multiple stories. As the Dalek occupation of Spiridon was thwarted in another Big Finish story, it will be interesting to see what this Supreme has been up to, and given the sign warning of dangerous ‘Vitanium’ mining on the cover, it would seem this Supreme hasn’t lost his perhant for exploiting the natural resources of innocent planets. Hopefully Nick Briggs will also give his best shot at imitating the Pertwee-era Daleks’ distinctive voices as the pièce de résistance of this exciting-looking Dalek story.

Doctor Who – Top Ten Classic Who Dalek Stories

As Classic Who’s most iconic and enduring monster, the Daleks appeared many times throughout the 1963-1989 run of Doctor Who following their initial appearance in the show’s second aired episode. Over the many eras of Classic Who, the Daleks usually appeared at least once – and although their creator Terry Nation wrote many of their early episodes eventually other writers stepped in with alternate interpretations of the pepper pots and how they should be used on-screen. This, coupled with the fact that Nation himself toyed with many varying ideas related to the Daleks, means that their episodes vary dramatically in tone, setting and content, and this inevitably leads to varying levels of quality to match.

Honorable Mention – Destiny of the Daleks

Included here as an honorable mention is Destiny of the Daleks, simply because it cannot hold a candle to any of the other Dalek episodes on this list. Despite being written by Terry Nation and featuring Douglas Adams as the script editor, this episode is an absolute shambles in terms of the show’s lore and the depiction of Davros. The worst moments include scenes in which both the Doctor and Davros refer to the Daleks as robotic creatures, and the Daleks contradicting themselves by first claiming that self-sacrifice is illogical before volunteering themselves for a literal suicide mission. The only real upsides are Romana II, the great dialogue and Tom Baker as the Doctor, but otherwise this episode is hardly worth the time.

10 – Revelation of the Daleks

As previously discussed in How to Fix – Revelation of the Daleks, the Sixth Doctor’s only televised Dalek episode has its issues, particularly related to acting quality, pacing and story focus – it is still an enjoyable watch in its current state, although it does come across as a missed opportunity. The Doctor and Peri barely feature in this episode – and too much screen time is given to a strange DJ – but by far the highlight of the episode is Davros, and Terry Molloy is great as usual. Davros’ scheme is certainly twisted and insane, but what makes Revelation of the Daleks important to Davros fans is how it links two of the best Davros audios, Davros and The Juggernauts, as in the former we get to hear how Davros lays the foundations for his dreadful plans on Necros and the latter describes what happened to Davros immediately following this story, meaning Revelation forms the middle of a bizarre Sixth Doctor and Davros ‘trilogy’. One of the other highlights of this episode is the Glass Dalek, a monstrous creation by Davros that houses a human who has been mutated into a Dalek in much the same way that the Kaleds were in Genesis of the Daleks, laying the groundwork for Davros’ experimentation on the Dalek physiology that would ultimately culminate in the Imperial Daleks from 1988’s Remembrance of the Daleks. Whilst it is undoubtedly an important milestone in 1980s Dalek lore, Revelation does not stand up to many of the other Dalek stories on this list, particularly due to its odd pacing and tone issues that plagued many mid-1980s Doctor Who stories.

9 – Death to the the Daleks

This episode features one of the best Classic Dalek designs and colour schemes, with the ‘science division’ Daleks featured in this episode sporting a unique silver-and-black finish that is certainly striking, Unfortunately, as far as Classic Dalek episodes go, that’s about the best thing that can be said about this episode – although the idea of using a power drain to force the Daleks and Humans to work together is an interesting one, Death to the Daleks does little more than this, especially considering the fact that the Daleks get alternate weapons before long. Still, the sequences inside the Exxilon City are interesting, and the Exxilons themselves are an interesting species with tribal chants that give this episode a distinct vibe, making Death to the Daleks an iconic episode even if it is not among the best Classic Who Dalek serials. Interestingly, this story is apparently Nicholas Briggs’ favourite Dalek story, and several Big Finish audios pay homage to it including the Fourth Doctor Adventures story The Exxilons and the Dalek Empire story also entitled Death to the Daleks!. One of three Dalek stories in the Third Doctor’s era (ironic, considering Jon Pertwee himself disliked the Daleks as villains) Death to the Daleks ranks as the weakest, although Jon Pertwee and Elizabeth Sladen’s performances in this story are not to be underestimated, and fans of this Doctor-companion pairing will enjoy Death to the Daleks for that reason alone.

8 – The Daleks

The debut of the Daleks in Classic Doctor Who, The Daleks is definitely worth a watch but does suffer from issues of pacing, particularly since it is seven episodes long. Whilst this can be forgiven due to the fact that it was only the second ever serial of Doctor Who to air, The Daleks is perhaps best watched with the foreknowledge that it is in many ways a ‘prototype’ for future Dalek episodes – although at the time the creators had no idea the Daleks would become such an enduring recurring villain, many elements of this episode are developed in much more detail in subsequent Dalek stories, and The Daleks does dedicate a lot of its run-time to what is clearly filler. The best example of this is the chasm jumping sequence, in which the episode stops dead as we watch all five or six members of the Human-Thal party jumping over a chasm, taking up the majority of its episode’s run time. Ultimately, being the first Dalek episode and a very early episode in the show’s run, The Daleks is worth watching for historical interest but doesn’t contain as much Dalek action as it perhaps could, although there are many extended scenes in the Dalek control rooms that give the audience a good idea of what the Daleks are really like early on, as they scheme and manipulate the humanoids in the story with sinister mercilessness, with a particularly chilling moment being the line in which the Daleks decide to alter the environment of their planet to kill the Thals rather than adapting to the planet’s radioactivity.

7 – The Power of the Daleks

Although this episode is entirely lost, thankfully a complete animated recreation was released by the BBC in 2013 with all six episodes restored using the original audio and some of the best animation for a Doctor Who DVD release to date. The episode shows the Daleks at their best – manipulative and ruthless – and their scheme to appear docile in order to siphon power from the human colony is devious. As this was the Second Doctor’s first televised story it set the standard for Dalek stories to come, as many fans view The Power of the Daleks as among the very best Dalek stories, but its length and pacing mean it has not aged as well as other much-loved Dalek episodes. Another slight drawback to this episode for many is the lack of original visuals, and although the animated reconstruction is welcome, many have noted the apparent poor quality of some of the recreated scenes – particularly the initial post-regeneration sequence and basically any other scene where it is not immediately obvious what the original actors were doing in the episode. Regardless, the animated Daleks do look spectacular and hopefully The Power of the Daleks will be the first of many fully-animated lost Dalek episodes.

6 – Day of the Daleks

Having been recently remastered, Day of the Daleks went from being a somewhat mediocre Dalek story to a classic thanks to updated effects, re-dubbed Dalek voices performed by Nicholas Briggs and even whole new scenes filmed using the original camera equipment. In the original story, the final battle used only three Dalek props – the most that were available at the time – so the effect is lessened. With new Daleks added with CGI, the battle scene has been reinvigorated, and for Classic Who this episode is particularly exciting. With a complex time-travel plot that is similar to, but actually predates, the Terminator series, Day of the Daleks is a great action-packed Third Doctor story that incorporates time travel into the story as a core aspect of its main plot rather than simply a means of reaching Point A from Point B, making it unique among Dalek stories. Since its remaster, this episode has jumped up in quality from a mediocre Dalek serial that was bogged down by budget and production issues to a reinvigorated classic that is actually more like a longer episode of New Who than many other Classic Dalek serials. Living up to the action-adventure themes of the Third Doctor’s era, Day of the Daleks is well worth the time now that the much-needed remaster in the Special Edition has been released.

5 – Resurrection of the Daleks

Resurrection of the Daleks begins the three-part ‘Dalek Civil War’ arc involving Davros, the Daleks and various factions of in-fighting Daleks that also includes Revelation and Remembrance, and of the three Resurrection has by far the best depiction of Davros in all his manipulative, scheming glory. Terry Molloy’s debut as the twisted Kaled scientist is a must-watch for Dalek fans, and fans of the Fifth Doctor can rejoice as this episode features many watershed moments for his character, including his deliberation over whether or not to shoot Davros, and the fact that Tegan departs the TARDIS, both situations that test the more human and fallible Fifth Doctor. As far as the Daleks go, however, Resurrection portrays them as being noticeably weaker than previous Dalek stories, with the Movellan War crippling the Dalek Empire and forcing the Daleks to employ humanoid soldiers for assistance in combat situations. This leads to the introduction of Lytton, a fantastic character who appears in this episode and Attack of the Cybermen, and is somewhat of an anti-hero in both episodes.

4 – The Dalek Invasion of Earth

It was inevitable following the success of The Daleks that the Daleks themselves would return to Doctor Who, and their second appearance, The Dalek Invasion of Earth, has often being said to be their best episode of the Hartnell era, as depicting the Daleks assaulting familiar ground like central London is far more effective and heavy-hitting than having them attack a band of alien hippies in a forest, as in The Daleks. Relying heavily on imagery from the Second World War, an event that was still directly impacting many of the audience at the time, giving this episode a heavy impact at the time that still endures to this day. As if the depressing imagery of a subjugated Earth was not effective enough, The Dalek Invasion of Earth also features the first instance of a companion departure in the show, with Susan staying behind on the war-torn Earth as the TARDIS leaves, with the Doctor promising that one day, he would come back.

3 – Frontier in Space/Planet of the Daleks

As a pair, Frontier in Space and Planet of the Daleks link together to form one 12-part story involving the Master, the Ogrons and the Daleks attempting to destabilise the relationship between the Human and Draconian civilisations before awakening an army of Daleks, and either episode experienced on their own pales in comparison to watching the entire serial as one continuous story. Because Frontier in Space is just so excellent, featuring the final appearance of Roger Delgado’s Master, and Planet of the Daleks has some fantastic scenes with both Daleks and Thals, the pair of stories combine into an epic space opera revolving around the beginnings of the Galactic War against the Daleks. The only real criticism of this story is the length – although Frontier in Space makes a competent use of its runtime, Planet of the Daleks could have been shorter, and overall twelve parts for the entire double-serial run is just too long.

2 – Genesis of the Daleks

Arguably Terry Nation’s best contribution to the lore of his own creations, Genesis of the Daleks depicts the creation of the Daleks, centuries before their appearances in The Daleks and subsequent Dalek episodes, as well as being the debut episode of the mad Kaled scientist Davros. Like all the best six-part Classic Who stories, Genesis effectively utilises its run time to deliver a well-paced story with suitable doses of action, suspense, and exciting sequences in each episode. Unlike Planet of the Daleks, there is not a single individual episode of Genesis that feels as though it could have been cut out, and as the plot marches towards the inevitable creation of the Daleks the tension builds until the climax at the end of Part 6. Genesis has been praised for its great characters and dialogue, and there are some fantastic scenes between the Doctor, Sarah and Harry that show how the TARDIS team has bonded throughout the season. The Kaled characters in this story are also fantastic – Nyder, Ronson and, of course, Davros, who makes his debut here played for the first and only time by the legendary Michael Wisher who does a tremendous job as the maniacal scientist. Overall, Genesis is a classic and well-deserved of its status as one of the greatest episodes of Doctor Who. However, there is one other Dalek episode that takes the top spot, and that is…

1 – Remembrance of the Daleks

…ironically, the final Dalek episode of the Classic series, Remembrance of the Daleks. The Cartmel Masterplan made its debut in this episode, as script editor Andrew Cartmel decided to include more references to the idea of the question behind the Doctor’s identity, and Remembrance of the Daleks is the first in a series of episode that hint at the Doctor’s dark past and his history with the Time Lords and other powerful races. The depiction of the Imperial-Renegade Dalek Civil War as well as the return of Davros and the introduction of the Special Weapons Dalek make this episode an explosive and fitting finale to the Dalek plot arc in the Classic series, as the episode ends with a much darker and more ruthless Seventh Doctor destroying Skaro and wiping out both the Imperial and Renegade Daleks on Earth. If that were not enough, this episode is considered by fans to be the true 25th Anniversary Special (even thought the inferior Silver Nemesis’s broadcast coincided with the actual anniversary date of the 23rd of November) as this episode is littered with continuity references and is based in 1963, in the same place as the First Doctor and Susan parked the TARDIS in the very first episode of the show.