Who would have thought that a pepper pot with an eye stock and a plunger for an appendage would go on to become one of pop culture’s most notorious villains? That’s exactly what happened with Doctor Who’s most infamous foe, the dreaded Daleks.
Over the past 50+ years, the Daleks have remained hell-bent on galactic domination and the extermination of all life in the universe, save themselves. That doesn’t leave a lot of room to grow as villains, and that’s why we’re taking a look at 10 ways the Daleks need to evolve if they hope to remain relevant. Let’s dive in.
DIAL BACK THEIR MENACE
Classic Dalek stories were fun to watch, because it showcased Dalek ambition on a much smaller scale than the 2005 series. Over the years, this began to change, especially with the final classic Dalek story Remembrance Of The Daleks, involving their quest to obtain the destructive Hand Of Omega device. By then, the first seeds of the Time War were germinating in Who lore, which would be explored later.
The 2005 Who series gave the Daleks nearly God-like powers, and it quickly evaporated any sense of reality that once grounded them. Their near-indestructibility and the power to steal entire planets from solar systems seemed a little too far-fetched. We need to get back to smaller-scale stories with menacing Daleks in dimly lit corridors, where story matters more than spectacle.
THEY NEED TO REVISIT THEIR ORIGINS
Eventually, every hero and villain needs to return to their origins, so they can gauge their accomplishments. The Daleks have had a one-track mind for so long that this has become difficult.
Not impossible, however. We’d love to see a subset of Daleks splinter off and reject their original programming in favor of embracing what they were originally supposed to be – the eventual mutation of the Kaled race. By ignoring Davros’ directives, these Daleks could even retake the Kaled title, and work together with other races to combat the main Dalek menace.
THEY NEED TO STOP COMING AND GOING
2005’s Who series established that only one Dalek had survived the Time War, and it was quickly dealt with by the ninth Doctor. It didn’t stop there, however. The end season episode established that an entire legion of Daleks had rebuilt itself under the leadership of the Emperor Dalek.
Then they were wiped from existence. Then they came back again. Then they died again. Then they came back again. If you’re sensing a pattern, you’re not alone! Each new Dalek story since Matt Smith’s tenure fails to establish where the villains are at that particular moment. Are they still a supreme threat to the galaxy, or have they been relegated to low-level clandestine activities? It’s time to stop writing out of convenience and start forming a cohesive guideline regarding Dalek strength and numbers.
NO MORE DAVROS
Classic Who revitalized the Daleks by introducing their creator in the seminal serial Genesis Of The Daleks, and it was an amazing plot device. Davros’ subsequent appearances helped jump-start several excellent stories that focused on his inability to fully trust his own creations.
New Who has done a lot of damage to Davros as a character, even going so far as to make him cry, and open what everyone previously thought were irreparably damaged eyes. Davros needs to go. He’s not doing anything for the Daleks anymore, and his continued presence only serves to remind the audience that he should have checked out for good in Journey’s End.
MORE CHARACTERIZED DALEKS
The Daleks are essentially a race of villains that rolled off the assembly line, so there’s not much to distinguish one from another. This changed somewhat in the episode Army of Ghosts, which introduced the Cult of Skaro and its leader, Dalek Sec. This was the first time that Daleks were encouraged to take on their own names and set themselves apart; a privilege normally retained for the Supreme Dalek.
To evolve as villains, the Daleks need more of this, not less. There’s only so much you can do with a race of pre-programmed evildoers – a lesson Star Trek wisely learned with the Borg. By individualizing those within the hive, you create new and interesting characters.
NO MORE CRAZY MUTANT POWERS
Dalek mutants were previously nothing more than vile little blobs with a nasty bite if you got too close. Over the years, they’ve become a bit too over the top when it comes to feats and abilities, such as when Dalek Sec enveloped an entire human being from head to toe.
These kinds of preposterous plot devices need to go. They’ve since been dialed back somewhat, but we don’t want to see them returning as a crutch for writers who merely want to add in the next outlandish thing.
NO MORE LONE WOUNDED DALEKS
The 2005 episode Dalek featured the last survivor of the Time War, who was wracked with pain over its loss of purpose and chose suicide. Next, we had Dalek Caan, the lone survivor of the Cult of Skaro, who inadvertently went insane after temporally shifting itself back into the Time War. After that, we had Rusty, a Dalek suffering from a condition that caused it to hate its own race.
While the idea of putting a lone Dalek up against the Doctor has worked well in the past, it’s a plot device that needs to go on ice for a while. We’ve simply seen it too many times.
NO MORE UBER-STRONG DALEKS
By the time the 2005 show had brought Doctor Who back into the public consciousness, the Daleks were given far too many upgrades, making each one a biblical-level threat, all of its own. Bastic bullets were no longer up to the task, and only the most powerful (and impractical) of weapons was capable of cracking one wide open.
The Daleks should be powerful, but not so powerful that they shrug off anything short of a nuclear blast. Back in the day, the Daleks were certainly a threat, but they’d require greater numbers to overcome stronger opposition. Time to get back to that.
NO MORE GOING SOLO
The Daleks seem to work best when they have a human element to carry out their whims. This provides a mechanism to give the audience an insider’s perspective as to what’s going on. No Dalek story showcased this better than 1984’s Resurrection Of The Daleks. The combative Commander Lytton carried out the Supreme Dalek’s orders while simultaneously butting heads with it, and that created an excellent narrative.
Subsequent stories have shown the Daleks using proxies, slaves and puppets to achieve their goals, but they need to start bringing back servants with independent thoughts who are either on board with Dalek policy, or simply have no choice but to obey begrudgingly.
MORE EQUALS TO FIGHT
The Daleks may be scared out of their domes by the Doctor, but they haven’t had the best track record against certain other races, either. At one point, the Daleks were brought to a century-old standstill by their robotic foes, the Movellans. Only by digging up the cobwebbed corpse of Davros did they stand any chance of breaking a mathematical stalemate.
They’ve also squared off against the Galactic Federation, the Cybermen, the Draconians, and the Mechanoids, to name a few. We’d like to see more races of equal approximate power to spice up the stories a bit. Being the strongest villains in the galaxy must get a bit boring after a while!