Dalek

Doctor Who is a long-running British science-fiction television series that began in 1963. It stars its protagonist, the Doctor, an alien who travels through time and space in a ship known as the TARDIS, as well as their travelling companions. When the Doctor dies, they are able to undergo a process known as "regeneration", completely changing the Doctor's appearance and personality. Throughout their travels, the Doctor often comes into conflict with various alien species and antagonists. Daleks are highly xenophobic violent, merciless and pitiless cyborg aliens who hail from the planet Skaro. They lack any emotion other than hate, and demand total conformity to the will of the Dalek with the highest authority. They are bent on the conquest of the universe and the extermination of any other forms of life, including other "impure" Daleks which are deemed inferior for being different to them. The Daleks are a militant race, with little in the way of culture. They wish only to destroy any other beings they come across, and see hatred as beautiful. The Daleks are cyborgs, with the creature inside of the casing greatly resembling a one-eyed, gelatinous squid-like creature. The Dalek armour is virtually indestructible. Classic Era The Daleks first appeared in the 1963 serial The Daleks, where they are depicted as the inhabitants of a city on the irradiated planet Skaro. In the past, they had engaged in a nuclear war with the Thals, the other native species of Skaro, which forced the Daleks into their city, which they are unable to leave due to a dependency on static electricity. The First Doctor's (William Hartnell) companion and granddaughter Susan Foreman (Carole Ann Ford) attempts to negotiate peace between them and the Thals, but the Daleks seek to kill the Thals. The Doctor stages an uprising, with the Thals seemingly killing the Daleks as their static electricity power supply is knocked out. The Daleks re-appeared in the 1964 serial The Dalek Invasion of Earth, where the Daleks invaded Earth following the planet's devastation in the far future from a meteor storm and plague. They attempted to drill to the planet's core and pilot the Earth through space, but were stopped by the Doctor. they again re-appeared in 1965's The Chase, where the Daleks have developed time travel technology and attempt to kill the Doctor, but are defeated once again. 1965-1966's ''The Daleks' Master Plan'' depicted them attempting to use a device to destroy time. The Doctor and his allies are able to thwart the Daleks' plans, but at the cost of the death of the Doctor's companions Katarina (Adrienne Hill) and Sara Kingdom (Jean Marsh). The Daleks later re-appeared in the 1966 serial The Power of the Daleks, where they infiltrated a human colony on the planet Vulcan, pretending to be servant robots. The newly regenerated Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) was able to halt their plans and destroy them, saving the colony. 1972 serial Day of the Daleks depicted a group of Daleks who conquered Earth in the future using time travel to ensure their success in the past, but they are defeated by the Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee). The Third Doctor subsequently encounters them in the 1973 serial Frontier in Space, where they are revealed to secretly be behind the story's events. The Doctor pursues them, leading to the events of the 1973 serial Planet of the Daleks, where he allies with the Thals to destroy a Dalek army kept frozen on the planet Spiridon. The 1974 serial Death to the Daleks depicted their power systems as being drained due to the effects of the Exxilon city on the planet Exxilon, leading to them using low tech weapons in order to accomplish their goal of obtaining a highly plentiful deposit of a rare mineral found on the planet. The Daleks are destroyed at the serial's culmination. Revived Era Sometime following the events of the 1996 film, the Daleks fought in a war against the Time Lords, which was pre-meditated by the Time Lords' interference in the Daleks' creation. The Daleks and Time Lords fought for an undisclosed amount of time in a devastating war known as the Last Great Time War. An incarnation of the Doctor who fought in the War used a weapon known as The Moment, which destroyed both sides of the conflict and ended the war. The Daleks were thought destroyed by the wider universe. The Daleks first appeared in the revival in the 2005 episode "Dalek". In the episode, a sole survivor of the war wound up on Earth in 2012, and attempted to escape, though eventually committed suicide after a restoration process gave it human emotions. The Daleks appeared again in the 2005 two-part story, "Bad Wolf" and "The Parting of the Ways", where the Daleks' Emperor was revealed to have survived. The Emperor managed to rebuild the Dalek empire, but both he and his empire were destroyed after the Doctor's companion Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) absorbed the power of the time vortex, removing them from existence. The Daleks re-appeared in the later 2010 episode, "The Pandorica Opens", where they are among the many species who have allied together to imprison the Eleventh Doctor inside a prison known as the Pandorica. After all of the members of the alliance are wiped from existence, a Dalek is inadvertently revived by the opening of the Pandorica in the story's second part, "The Big Bang" (2010). Being petrified and made of stone, it mortally wounds the Doctor before being killed by his companion River Song (Alex Kingston). The Daleks appeared in the 2012 episode "Asylum of the Daleks". The Daleks kidnap the Doctor, having rebuilt their empire, and make him enter a planet designed to imprison insane Daleks for the purpose of destroying it. The Doctor meets a girl named Oswin (Jenna Coleman), who is revealed to have been turned into a Dalek after her ship crashed on the surface. She helps the Doctor with disabling the planet's forcefields, allowing the Daleks to destroy the planet, and additionally erases the Daleks' memories of the Doctor. They recover their memories via harvesting memories of the Doctor from the Church of the Papal Mainframe, Following a cameo by a Dalek in 2017 episode "The Pilot", Rusty would re-appear in the 2017 Christmas special "Twice Upon a Time", where the Doctor uses him to access information regarding an alien being known as the Testimony. 2019 episode "Resolution" depicted a Reconnaissance Dalek, stated to be among the first Daleks to have left Skaro. It is defeated on Earth in the ancient past, but reforms and possesses a police officer named Lin. Using Lin's body, the Dalek reconstructs a makeshift casing for itself, which it uses in an attempt to summon the Dalek battle fleet. The Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) destroys the casing, and is able to trick the Dalek into falling into a supernova. This Dalek's casing is later recovered during the 2021 episode "Revolution of the Daleks", where its DNA is used to clone new Daleks to inhabit "Security Drones". These Daleks go rogue and end up in a civil war with the "pure" Daleks, who destroy the Security Drones. The Doctor defeats the "pure" Daleks by trapping them in a spare TARDIS and sending them to the void between dimensions. The Daleks re-appeared throughout 2021's Doctor Who: Flux, where they are shown taking advantage of the devastation caused by a massive anti-matter cloud known as the Flux, which destroys much of the known universe. When the Flux returns, they accept an offer from the Sontarans for safety from the Flux, but are deceived and destroyed by the Sontarans. The Daleks subsequently appear in 2022 episode "Eve of the Daleks", where a squad of Executioner Daleks, equipped with gatling gun-like weapons, seek revenge against the Doctor for letting the bulk of their fleets die to the Flux. Trapped in a time loop, the Doctor and her allies are killed many times by the Daleks, but they are able to thwart the Daleks just before the time loop runs out. They also appear in 2022's "The Power of the Doctor", where they aid the Master in his plan to finally defeat the Doctor. The Daleks appeared in the 2023 Children in Need sketch "Destination: Skaro", which depicts Davros and a Kaled named Mr. Castavillian (Mawaan Rizwan) discussing the creation of Davros's travel machines prior to the events of Genesis of the Daleks. The Fourteenth Doctor's (David Tennant) TARDIS crash-landing accidentally causes the Dalek's manipulator arm to break, and the Doctor accidentally gives Castavillian the idea for the Daleks' name, the usage of the phrase "Exterminate", and the plunger-like arm present on the Daleks' design, before leaving. Other appearances Doctor Who spin-off media Following the first two Dalek serials, many different books and comic strips based on the Daleks were released. These spin-off materials greatly expanded the Dalek lore, which was used in the hopes of expanding the Daleks' popularity and creating new opportunities for their usage. These stories predominantly focused on the Daleks' conflicts with humans in the far future, though depicted many other events as well, such as documenting the creation and history of the Daleks, or by showing Dalek interference in events throughout history. This early media introduced several ideas that would recur in later media include the concept of a Dalek Emperor, as well as the idea of Daleks flying, though featured several differences from the Daleks personality wise from later media. Film adaptations of the first two Dalek serials, Dr. Who and the Daleks and ''Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.'', were produced, following largely similar plots to the originals, though with slight differences in the plot. Having previously featured in comics in TV Comic, the Doctor Who comic shifted to Countdown for TV Action!. Shortly after the Daleks' re-appearance in Day of the Daleks, they appeared in several comics in Countdown. Following the absorption of TV Action into TV Comic in 1973, the Daleks appeared in that comic in a strip made to tie in with Death to the Daleks. TV Comic would continue producing strips for the next three years featuring the Daleks, though these appearances primarily relied on reprints of older Dalek strips. The Daleks were featured in the 1974 stage play Doctor Who and the Daleks in the Seven Keys to Doomsday, where they attempted to regain control of seven components of an all-powerful crystal. Due to the increasing popularity of the show under the tenure of Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker as the leads, new waves of tie-in merchandise were produced, with much of it featuring the Daleks. This included toys, games, and other miscellaneous merchandise, such as tea-drinkers. The Daleks also appeared in a novella titled The Dalek Factor in 2004. audio dramas, video games, toys, and other media were released throughout the 2010s and 2020s. Other appearances The Daleks have cameoed in several other pieces of media, such as Mr. Bean,The Vicar of Dibley, The Daleks made a cameo appearance in the 2003 film Looney Tunes: Back in Action. The Daleks appear in several pieces of Lego media. They appear in a Doctor Who-themed Lego set, in the crossover toys-to-life video game Lego Dimensions, and in The Lego Batman Movie. and Fall Guys. In 2024, the Daleks made an appearance in a Doctor Who-themed expansion of Magic: The Gathering. == Conception and design ==

Creation and The Daleks Writer Terry Nation, between jobs, wrote the 1963 serial The Daleks for the series. The Head of Drama at the BBC, Sydney Newman, initially disliked the idea of the Daleks, believing that Doctor Who should have no aliens or monsters. The production team, however, had no other stories ready to be made, which resulted in the Daleks' debut serial, The Daleks, being produced. Wishing to create an alien creature that did not look like a "man in a suit", Terry Nation stated in his script for the first Dalek serial that they should have no legs. Nation drew on the cultural memory of the Nazi Party and World War II for the Daleks' design, David Whitaker, the script editor, also enforced the Daleks' genocidal nature by removing ambiguity in the original serials' script of who was an aggressor in the war, making the Daleks appear to more directly be evil creatures. He emphasised their evil to show how it could only be overcome when people are working together to stop it, idealised by the Thals in the Daleks' debut serial. Ridley Scott, at the time working for the BBC, was originally slated to design the Daleks, but he left to work for another company before production began. As a result, Cusick took over in Scott's stead. Cusick, believing that the Daleks had evolved into creatures that were no more than brains, sought to create a design that made sure that viewers never saw how the Dalek moved. Originally, more of the mutant inside of the Dalek casing was planned to be shown, but this was scrapped for both pricing issues and concerns the mutant would be too terrifying. In the final serial, the mutant was only seen briefly as a jelly-like substance. Cusick designed the Daleks based on Terry Nation's script directions. Cusick decided quickly that the Daleks' casings had to be physical props, as mechanical props would be prone to technical failures, with the design constructed so a human could fit inside the prop. Hemispherical bumps were added to the bottom, which Cusick hoped to have flash when the Daleks got overly emotional, but this was scrapped. Other elements that had to be dropped were the idea of the Dalek's arm-like extensions being able to rotate, as well as the idea of a tricycle fitting inside the props, as the Dalek prop was unable to fit one inside. Cusick also helped with designing the Daleks' home planet, Skaro, in its initial appearances. The prop was built in two pieces: a lower and upper section. Operators would sit on the lower section, and the upper section would be inserted on top. The operators would look out of the Dalek costume through the cylindrical section below the Dalek's dome, with a mesh in the cylindrical section preventing the audience from seeing the operator's face. Though the Daleks have wheels on their base, they are manually controlled within by their operators. Nation tried branching the Daleks out in order to capitalise on their popularity. Nation sold the film rights of the Daleks to writer Milton Subotsky. Subotsky worked with Amicus Productions for the films. Subotsky and Amicus produced, Dr. Who and the Daleks, an adaptation of the Daleks' debut serial. This was followed by the development of a sequel, ''Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.. Due to the popularity of the Daleks, the originally six-part Master Plan was upped to twelve parts, meant to be the largest ever Dalek story put to air. Nation did not return to write this serial, unlike prior Dalek serials, and writers David Whitaker and Dennis Spooner were brought on to write the script. Though many Dalek props were re-used for the serial, a scene in which Daleks were being mass-produced utilised many toy Daleks produced as merchandise. Other scenes used cardboard cutouts and a rotating group of three Daleks to simulate there being more Daleks than the number of casings actually in storage. A large, golden, dome-headed Emperor was depicted in early spin-off material for the series, and the writer of the 1967 serial The Evil of the Daleks'', David Whitaker, elected to depict the Emperor on-screen, though this Emperor was immobile, using a variant of the standard Dalek casing. Other monsters, such as the Cybermen, Ice Warriors, and Yeti, would serve as recurring antagonists in an attempt to fill the gap left by the Daleks. Though there was a plan for the Daleks to appear in a serial alongside the Cybermen, these plans were given a veto by Nation, who had right of first refusal on future Dalek serials. 1970s Negotiations for the Dalek spin-off series, after years of discussion, eventually fell through. Nation would return to write Planet of the Daleks for the first time since the mid-1960s. Planet pays homage to many past Dalek stories, utilising several past plot elements, most notably bringing back the Thals after their debut appearance. For the first time since 1964, new props were constructed for the Daleks, though these were of lower quality than the 60s props and largely kept to the background. The three props that featured in Day of the Daleks featured most prominently in the episode. Several Dalek toys and models were used for group shots and scenes were Daleks were destroyed. The Dalek casings were repainted a silver color to harken back to the Daleks' original 1960s color scheme. The same three main Dalek props were re-used from the prior serial, as were the lower quality Dalek models that were used in order to boost the number of Daleks on-screen. A pellet-firing gun was constructed and installed into the props to simulate the manual weapons the Daleks used in the serial. The Daleks' Nazi origins were leaned into in the serial, with the Kaleds, the species that would later mutate into the Daleks, wearing Iron Crosses and performing Nazi salutes. The Daleks' origins had previously been explored in comic strips produced in the 1960s; one origin depicted the Daleks as survivors of an accidental bomb detonation, with the resulting mutants housing themselves in war machines that would become their casings, while another depicted the Daleks as the result of the human race several hundred years in the future. For the serial, these origins were altered, with the Daleks instead being created by a scientist of the Kaled race, Davros. Davros was created as an "in-between" stage between Kaled and Dalek, with Davros being able to think "in a human fashion". Davros was written in a way that he could be brought back in subsequent serials, with his apparent death scene in the serial not showing the actual moment of his demise. Dalek props proved problematic for usage in the serial, as the production team lacked budget to produce more props, and many of them were in terrible condition. Saward would write the following Dalek serial, 1985's Revelation of the Daleks, which Saward wrote while amending specific disdains he had for the prior story. Saward sought to write the script to rely less on pre-existing Dalek continuity, and also sought to incorporate a series of unique characters as a result. Saward also included Davros once more for the same reasons he included them in Resurrection. 1985's Revelation of the Daleks introduced a new white and gold-colored Dalek casing, using new molds for the Dalek props. Turner and script editor Andrew Cartmel, while working on developing serials for the 1988 season of the show, decided to incorporate the Daleks into the first serial of the season; Cartmel felt there needed to be a "gimmick" to highlight the start of the season, as it was the year of the show's 25th anniversary. The serial would be named Remembrance of the Daleks, and would be written by Ben Aaronovitch. Aaronovitch reviewed prior scripts and felt Dalek stories had become boring due to a lack of differentiable dialogue between members of the species. As a result, he elected to focus the serial on a newly created Dalek civil war. Aaronovitch also included Davros, with his scenes allowing for more "versatility" and emotion in the serial's closing scenes, though he made sure to limit Davros's role in the story so he did not overshadow the Daleks.'' The grey Renegade Daleks had two of their props re-used from the prior serial, with two others being re-used from earlier in the show's run. A new prop was constructed for the serial, with part of it later being re-used for the serial's Emperor Dalek. Four white and gold Imperial Dalek props would be constructed for the serial. Various props and dummies were used for action scenes where Daleks were needed to be destroyed. Originally designed as a floating weapons platform for the serial, it was redesigned in order to meet the serial's budget quota. and 2015's "The Witch's Familiar". Remembrance would be the last serial to feature the Daleks before the show's cancellation in 1989. Davies wished for the episode, titled "Dalek", to be written by Jubilee's writer, Robert Shearman. Shearman sought to bring the Daleks back to a level of menace he felt hadn't been seen since prior to Davros's introduction, as he felt Davros turned the Daleks into his "lackeys" rather than letting the Daleks be an independent force of their own. Shearman sought to characterise the Daleks as emotional creatures, emphasising the fact there was a mutant creature inside the casing. an industrial look, Three props were constructed for the episode: one damaged prop for use in scenes featuring the damaged Dalek, a pristine prop for use in scenes featuring the repaired Dalek, and one open prop used for when the Dalek opens its casing to reveal the mutant inside. Though the Daleks here resembled their appearance in "Dalek", their plunger arm was substituted for a variety of other attachments on different Daleks, including a claw and a blowtorch. Their ships, additionally, were based off the "saucer" design seen in 1960s TV Comic strips. Sec, part of a group of four Daleks dubbed "The Cult of Skaro", would re-appear in 2007's "Daleks in Manhattan" and "Evolution of the Daleks", which would focus more on the elements of Daleks being born out of survival that were present in the show's original run. Sec would be mutated into a part-human hybrid, portrayed by Eric Loren. Loren wore a heavy prosthetic which had internal cooling fans, making hearing difficult during production. He studied the Daleks' vocal patterns, asking their voice actor, Nicholas Briggs, to speak their lines without the modulation usually used for the voice so he could replicate their delivery in his performance. For the 2008 finale, "The Stolen Earth" and "Journey's End", Davies wanted a climactic finale that would raise the stakes higher than previous finales, featuring an antagonist that would threaten to destroy reality. The Daleks were brought back as antagonists, as was their creator Davros. Dalek Caan, one of the four Daleks of the Cult of Skaro, also returned, though he was now driven insane after saving Davros's life in-universe. Caan was portrayed with a destroyed casing, with the mutant inside visible. A new Dalek Supreme also served as a commander for the Daleks in the story. Moffat had writer Mark Gatiss write an episode about "Churchill versus the Daleks", which became "Victory of the Daleks". The Daleks would be redesigned again for the episode. This introduced the "New Dalek Paradigm", a brightly colored group of six Daleks with different roles: "Drone", "Strategist", "Scientist", "Supreme", and "Eternal". A green, sixth Dalek was planned, but scrapped. Steven Moffat wished for the Daleks to be redesigned, in accordance with the brand-wide revamp that would accompany his introduction as series showrunner. Taking into account criticism by Cusick about the 2005 design having visible screws, nuts, and bolts in the design, Moffat aimed for the new Dalek design to have smoother lines than the previous design. Due to the unpopularity of the New Paradigm designs among fans, the Paradigm were slowly phased out of the series, only being used for exhibitions and live events. Showrunner Steven Moffat, in 2011, announced that the Daleks were being put on hiatus for a period, believing that the Daleks' frequent appearances made them the "most reliably defeatable enemies in the universe" and that their legacy as British icons had made them "cuddly" over the years. 2012's "Asylum of the Daleks" was intended to bring a level of malice back into the Daleks. The production team elected to include a variety of Dalek designs into the episode's narrative, with designs from 1963 to 2010 featuring throughout the story. The story also gave the Daleks the ability to use small robotic creatures to convert other lifeforms into "Dalek Puppets", which act as servants to the Daleks. They are used for subterfuge, disguising their identity by maintaining their original outward appearance. 2014's "Into the Dalek" was inspired by a discussion in early 2009 regarding Doctor Who: The Adventure Games. Moffat had pitched the idea of shrinking down into a Dalek, inspired by the 1966 film Fantastic Voyage, and decided to instead adapt that concept into an episode. Episode writer Phil Ford centred the themes of the story around the Twelfth Doctor's moral conflict of good and evil, having the Doctor want to go inside a Dalek to see if he could make it "good" to deal with the darkness within himself. This Dalek, nicknamed Rusty in the episode, would later be brought back for the 2017 Christmas special "Twice Upon a Time", with Moffat and Briggs citing a fondness for the character that led to his return. Under Chris Chibnall and beyond When Chris Chibnall took over as Doctor Who's showrunner in 2017, he announced that Doctor Who series 11 would not feature any returning alien species, including the Daleks. The Daleks would later return in the 2019 New Year's Day special episode "Resolution". Chibnall stated he wanted the Daleks to return so lead actress Jodie Whittaker could encounter them, and also so the Daleks would act as the bookend to series 11. For "Resolution", the Daleks' casings received a redesign, though it was specified that the design would not be species-wide and only apply to the Dalek in the episode. The design has a more industrial and rusty look from prior designs, To avoid the Daleks' return being leaked prior to its official reveal, the Dalek was given the codename "Kevin" to refer to it. A similar design was later introduced in 2021 episode "Revolution of the Daleks", which is heavily based on the design featured in "Resolution." Chibnall and executive producer Mark Strevens wished to "contemporize" the Daleks, and make a different and sleeker Dalek design. The new models have slightly altered proportions, emanate a substantial amount of blue light from their domes, and have had their sink plunger-like appendage replaced with a spiky, all-purpose tool. The Daleks were "bulked up" in response to criticism that the "Resolution" design was too thin. The skirt of the Dalek was also redesigned. Following Russell T Davies's return as showrunner in 2023, he stated that the Daleks would be put on "pause", believing that their frequent appearances during Chibnall's tenure as showrunner resulted in them being on the cusp of being overused in the series. Other subjects Voice The Daleks' voice originated with sound designer Brian Hodgson at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Hodgson had previously helped with making a robot voice for the radio show Sword From The Stars. Due to little discussion on how the Daleks' voice would sound, Hodgson re-used the technique from the radio show for the Daleks, with Hodgson experimenting with a ring modulator device, which distorted the voices of actors speaking into it. Actor Peter Hawkins was brought on board to voice the Daleks. The Daleks' signature staccato voice was made by Hawkins as a result of technical issues with the modulator; the modulator would only affect vowels, and Hawkins would elongate the vowels at Hodgson's request in order to ensure the voice's audibility. The 1985 episode Revelation of the Daleks, at the request of director Graeme Harper, would remove more modulation from the Daleks' voice. Early Dalek actors would speak their lines in a booth off-screen, with Dalek actors having to make sure they moved in sync with the dialogue. Royce Mills, who portrayed the Daleks between 1984 and 1988, and Roy Skelton, who portrayed the Daleks from 1967 until 1988, with a later reprisal in Comic Relief special The Curse of Fatal Death. Actor Nicholas Briggs voiced the Daleks in Big Finish Productions' licensed audio dramas following the series' cancellation in 1988. Briggs adopted the same usage of the ring modulator, but added a more hateful staccato inspired by the Nazis to make the Daleks sound more intimidating. Briggs attempts to give each Dalek he voices a unique personality, adding small details to differentiate each performance. Copyright status Reforms caused by Sydney Newman in the script-writing department led to scripts being held on a contracted, self-employed basis. Doctor Who's scripts were the first held under this system, and due to uncertainties resulting from this system, the Daleks' copyright status was left unclear. Though this was initially without issue, the Daleks' immense popularity meant a solution had to be ironed out. This was eventually resolved as the BBC and the Nation estate having joint ownership over the Daleks, Prior to the show's revival in 2005, the BBC and Nation's estate came into disagreement over the BBC's usage of the Daleks. The BBC stated that the Nation estate demanded "unacceptable levels of editorial control" over the Daleks' appearances, while the Nation estate accused the BBC of trying to ruin the Daleks' public image, such as via allegedly trying to produce a television series starring "gay Daleks" as well as due to letting Warner Bros. use the Daleks in Looney Tunes: Back in Action without the Nation estate's permission. the BBC and Nation estate were able to come to an agreement in August 2004. == Reception and analysis ==

Dalekmania Doctor Who was initially under threat of being axed. The first serial of the programme underperformed, and many believed it would not survive its allotted 52-week run. Merchandise followed, such as The Dalek Book. The book was the first attempt to create a dedicated mythology for the creatures beyond the programme, and was incredibly successful, with high predicted sales. A 1966 piece by The Guardian identified the Daleks as being popular due to the simplicity of their character, with audiences knowing exactly what to expect of how they would act. The Daleks were also easy to replicate, with children being able to mimic their mannerisms easily. Andrew Blair, writing for Den of Geek, stated that the Daleks' ruthlessness and tendency to cause heavy amounts of destruction allows for them to become stronger and more effective antagonists, with episodes lacking in those qualities resulting in the Daleks being less well-received as antagonists. The Daleks' frequent re-appearances, and whether they should have "breaks" from the program, have been the subject of commentary. J.R Southall, writing for Starburst, stated that the Daleks were an antagonist that set the stage for all future antagonists to come in the series, and that their appearances heightened the episodes they were in. He believed it was an incredibly exciting moment for children to see them, and that the Daleks being put on a pause would hinder the show's overall success. Blair, in another article for Den of Geek, stated that the Daleks, despite objections of their over-familiarity, had a large number of potential concepts for stories, with past concepts that were considered "hypocritical" to the Daleks' lore being emphasised as only expanding on the Daleks' own in-universe character. Blair felt the Daleks should be re-invented without needing to feel bound to the constraints of their lore, which he considered a better alternative than shelving the Daleks. Radio Times, in their podcast, cited similar sentiments, believing that the Daleks had a large amount of potential for future stories despite their frequent appearances. The popularity of the Daleks during Dalekmania led to the Daleks becoming too familiar, rendering their further appearances lacking in impact. The Guardian considered the Daleks an example of the "pop art" movement due to the mix of the "absurd and marvellous" present in their design. In 2023, fourteen newly discovered wasp species were named with the genus name of "Dalek", with one being named "Dalek nationi" after the Daleks' creator Terry Nation. Dr. John Noyes named them after the Daleks due to being a fan of the series and finding the name to be a good fit for a genus. The word Dalek was added as a word to the Oxford English Dictionary. Analysis Charlie Jane Anders, writing for Gizmodo, analysed the Doctor's dynamic with the Daleks, stating that the Doctor's hatred for them leads to him being defined as a character in opposition to the Daleks, and highlighted how "Into the Dalek" emphasised and expanded on the dynamic between the Doctor and the Daleks. The book Being Bionic: The World of TV Cyborgs analysed this dynamic present in the episode "Dalek", pointing out the episode's emphasis on the similarities between the Doctor and the Dalek, which showed how the Doctor was becoming more Dalek-like in his actions while the Dalek became better able to showcase its individuality and suffering. The dichotomy between the Doctor and the Daleks is stated to be further emphasised in subsequent episodes in the series, which are stated to redefine the Doctor's beliefs of "good" and "bad" by portraying neither the Doctor nor the Daleks as explicitly either. The book The American Villain: Encyclopedia of Bad Guys in Comics, Film, and Television questioned the Daleks' nature in the series, stating that since the Daleks are defined by how a non-Dalek society is perceived as evil, it is unclear whether the Daleks are themselves evil or if they would be able to change without turning them into something they are not. It cited how this reflected how the series reflected the interpretation of the individual versus the interpretation of a collective. Robots in Popular Culture: Androids and Cyborgs in the American Imagination stated that the Daleks reflected a fear of a weapon created by humans growing out of humanity's control. Who is Who?: The Philosophy of Doctor Who identified the Daleks as being characterised as an "Other" psychologically, and that the fear that came with that feeling dwindled as more about the Daleks became known. It stated that the show's revival and the upgrades that came with the Daleks helped reinvent the species for a modern audience, allowing the threat that came with them to be credibly shown on screen, while also providing further depth to the character of the species. The book Doctor Who: A British Alien? similarly characterised the Daleks' first appearance in The Daleks as relying on viewers to see them as an "Other", and that, as a result, and that it characterises the Doctor comparatively as someone unwilling to compromise with someone unfamiliar to them.'''' ==See also==