The Doctor is eager to explore a futuristic city that they discover beyond the forest.
When the TARDIS arrives in a petrified jungle, the First Doctor and his companions are unaware that the planet is highly radioactive. The Daleks are all killed when, during the course of the fighting, their power supply is cut off. Joining forces with them and braving Skaro's many dangers, they launch a two-pronged attack on the Dalek city. They convince the Thals of the need to fight for their own survival. The TARDIS has brought the travellers to the planet Skaro where they meet two indigenous races - the Daleks, malicious mutant creatures encased in armoured travel machines, and the Thals, beautiful humanoids with pacifist principles. The Daleks was the basis for the first attempt to take Doctor Who to the United States market. Both were the first time Doctor Who had appeared in those media. Who and the Daleks, and the American comic book which was an adaptation of the film. The Daleks was also the source material for a theatrical film, Dr. Indeed, though agents are usually unknown and uncredited workers, this deal was known to have been negotiated by future British television legend and studio boss Beryl Vertue - mother of Sue Vertue, and mother-in-law of Steven Moffat.īesides Nation, other production personnel made their debuts with this story, including directors Christopher Barry and Richard Martin, designer Raymond Cusick, prolific costume designer Daphne Dare, and future director Michael Ferguson. The ramifications of this deal on the history of Doctor Who are difficult to overstate.
It also was the proximate cause for Nation's financial success, since his agent had cunningly negotiated Nation's co-ownership of the Daleks. Its reception led to his recommissioning for The Keys of Marinus later in the season, as well as the return of the Daleks every season until season 5.
DOCTOR WHO SEASON 1 EPISODE 2 WILLIAMS SERIAL
The serial was writer Terry Nation's first for the programme. A significant improvement over An Unearthly Child, The Daleks cemented Doctor Who's position on the 1964 BBC1 schedule. The Doctor's non- humanoid adversaries caught on immediately with the British public, as was obvious from the serial's ratings. It also continued and deepened the antagonistic relationship between the First Doctor and his new human companions, Ian and Barbara, which would come to a head in the next story. Initially titled The Mutants, its most obvious contribution to the Doctor Who mythos was the introduction of the Daleks, along with the Thals and the planet Skaro.
The Daleks was the second serial of season 1 of Doctor Who. You may wish to consult The Daleks (disambiguation) for other, similarly-named pages.