Dalek Council – Sacred Icon

Custom Davros figure from Davros

Although the Big Finish audio simply titled Davros makes no mention of physical changes to Davros’ chair during the events of the story, those who have listened to it will know that during the story Davros gains considerable influence over ‘Trans Allied Inc’, an intergalactic corporation that he intends to use to collapse the galactic economy. I created this custom to represent Davros allied with TAI, including a computer systems interface installed on the side of his chair and the infamous projectile injector that Davros wields during this story. I made Davros using an Auton figure, and I made the face particularly grotesque by adding quantities of hot glue to reflect Davros’ desiccated state in this story.

Custom Davros ‘Great Healer’ figure

Though it may seem hypocritical to dissect the design quality of the ‘Great Healer’ prop from Revelation of the Daleks after unveiling this monstrosity, I created this custom in an attempt to re-imagine the ‘Great Healer’ as less of a disguise and more of a false deity, incorporating aspects of the Dalek design into an artificial figurehead for a species that was completely ignorant of the Daleks’ intentions. The false Davros head inside is made using the head of an Auton, and using an intricate system of decorative wires one can move the head left and right. I constructed the housing using pieces of Dalek, plastic frames from a Warhammer set and pieces of an old phone charger. The figure is draped in sheets adorned with symbols, intended to be offerings from adoring worshipers, which I created using masking tape and permanent marker.

Custom Davros figure from Revelation of the Daleks

Despite the existence of a Davros figure for Revelation of the Daleks, I always found Davros’ appearance in that story to be somewhat lacking, particularly after hearing some of the Big Finish audios. The production team missed a trick by not showing some of the physical decay or damage that both Davros himself and his life support chair would have acquired by that point, and I created this custom to show some of the ideas that could have been present in Revelation of the Daleks. For one, Davros’ chair is much more battered and missing quantities of its control console – not only that, but Davros himself looks worse for wear, as I have emphasised the deformed face on this custom to illustrate Davros’ decay. I created the Davros figure from an old Pig Slave figure from Series 3, and ironically the Dalek skirt came from a Dalek Sec figure.

Due to the temporally unstable nature of Dalek history, establishing who their primary leadership are can get a little confusing. Between Dalek Emperors, Supreme Daleks, Dalek Parliaments and interference from their creator Davros, the Daleks have had numerous rulers or ruling bodies over their corrupted history.

However, one concept that has remained constant throughout most of the Dalek timeline is the concept of the Dalek Supreme Council, a ruling body that served directly under the Emperor. This concept was perhaps best expressed in the Third Doctor story Planet of the Daleks, with the black and gold Supreme Dalek being a representative of the Dalek Supreme Council. The idea was later elaborated upon in the Big Finish audio We Are The Daleks, in which the Dalek Emperor summons the Supreme Council to preside over the Doctor’s execution.

Although the concept of the Dalek Supreme Council is fairly well-established, which unique Daleks actually make up this council remain mostly a mystery. Other than the Supreme Dalek seen in Planet of the Daleks there has been no reference to specific members of the Council on-screen. As the Doctor Who fanbase is known for speculation, however, there have been several theories as to which Daleks feature on the Council.

The Dalek Supremes

Undoubtedly the primary members of the Dalek Supreme Council were the various Dalek Supremes that were active during Dalek history. Although Dalek Supremes vary in design and colour schemes, and it is unlikely that all Supreme Daleks were members of the council at once, it seems only logical that the Dalek Supreme Council was made up of Supreme Daleks. There are various distinct Supremes from across Dalek history, from the Gold Daleks of Jon Pertwee’s era to the Black Daleks that ruled in the 1980s.

The Black Dalek from Remembrance of the Daleks

The most likely candidates for inclusion on the Supreme Council include the commander-class Daleks of the early Dalek empire – identified by the black base colour of their casings, replacing the standard silver. Later Supreme Daleks include the previously mentioned Gold Daleks and Black and Gold Supreme, the Black and White Supreme featured in Resurrection of the Daleks, and the Black and Silver Supreme featured in Remembrance of the Daleks. Although counted as Supreme Daleks, the red New Series Supreme as well as the White Paradigm Supreme are unlikely to qualify, as their post-Time War placement in Dalek chronology means they outlast the Council itself.

Whilst there are probably dozens, if not hundreds of Supreme Daleks, there are likely others that make up the Supreme Council. The Big Finish audios have proven that Daleks would often specialise certain members of their ranks for particular roles, and the same is true of their upper echelons of command. Whilst the Supreme Daleks would have made up the majority of the Council, these Daleks are a more elite caste designed for the development of special weapons, secret strategies and temporal machinations.

The Eternity Circle

First mentioned in the War Doctor novel Engines of War, the Eternity Circle were an elite group of five Daleks sported blue and silver casings that were tasked with creating temporal weapons for use against the Time Lords during the Last Great Time War. These Daleks possessed abilities above and beyond that of a standard Dalek, capable of temporal engineering, advanced reasoning, and even laughter.

Though it may be an error, some are described as being blue and gold, suggesting that not all in the order possess the same markings. However, the recent release of the Dalek Interrogator Prime figure in the B&M Exclusive Doctor and Dalek Figure two-pack suggests that the Blue and Silver colour scheme was not exclusive to the Eternity Circle either, as the Dalek Interrogator Prime from the Big Finish audio In the Garden of Death is apparently depicted with this colour scheme too.

As they form a key component in the Dalek war effort, as well as possessing capabilities above that of the standard Dalek, it is highly likely that the Eternity Circle were also granted seats on the Dalek Supreme Council. Likewise, high-ranking individuals such as the Dalek Interrogator Prime were also likely granted seats on the Council, as they would likely deliver important information to the Council first-hand.

The Cult of Skaro

Although they were only part of the main Dalek Empire for a relatively short amount of time, the Cult of Skaro – an elite order of Daleks capable of imagination – were commissioned by the Emperor to create strategies and long-term survival plans during the waning days of the Last Great Time War.

Due to their high status among the Dalek ranks, allegedly ‘above and beyond’ the Emperor, the Cult of Skaro were likely privy to Supreme Council meetings, and would likely offer their insight into battle strategy or survival tactics. It is known that before the end of the war the Cult of Skaro served as front line commanders before fleeing the war in their Void Ship, meaning their tenure over the Supreme Council was likely very brief, even by Time War standards.

Interestingly, as mentioned in a previous Dalek theories post detailing a possible appearance from Dalek Sec in the Series 9 two-parter The Magician’s Apprentice and The Witch’s Familiar, it is possible that the temporal nature of the Cult of Skaro allowed them to preside over multiple incarnations of the Dalek Supreme Council throughout Dalek history, though this is merely speculation.