The Daleks

Editor: Nick Scovell · Last update: 10 February 2007

I love Daleks. I know that anyone reading this does as well. I also know that no one reading this article knows why!

How can one explain an attraction, on any level and of any description, to something? Why do I love Banoffee Pie? Chocolate digestives? Real ale? I don’t know, I just do! Daleks excite me. They’re special. They are an unqualified success. They simply work. But, like Doctor Who itself, they are loved. Even though they are the meanest, scariest and most downright unpleasant baddies ever to glide across anyone’s television screens.

I suspect the first time I ever saw them was Christmas, 1975. I remember watching the omnibus repeat of Genesis of the Daleks. I was three years and eight months at the time, but I clearly remember it. Then came Destiny of the Daleks in 1979. Oh, the excitement! They hadn’t been on for years and no one had videos in those days. It was a real event. My brother, five years older and a subscriber to Doctor Who weekly, held a tape recorder to the telly speaker to tape it for us. We kept it for ages! Thankfully, by the time of Resurrection of the Daleks in 1984 we had a video recorder. I think it was then that my true Whovian side really came into being. It hasn’t left me for twenty-two years…

I had faced the Daleks before, in Rob Thrush’s rightfully acclaimed fan video The Millennium Trap. Two had been specially constructed for that production and I shall never forget the thrill of walking into the studio for the first time and there they were. It was a great experience, and I even got to double up as Dalek voices at some points during filming. My most enjoyable moment was yelling the line; “You will tell us where the Doctor is located – now!” Great stuff. I never really thought I would play opposite such wonderful lumps of plywood again. We always thought the rights would be impossible to get. How wrong we were, and here we are!

Before I move on to our actual Dalek props, I should mention the voice aspect. To me, it is the voice that really makes the Daleks work. If you don’t get the voice right, the Daleks lose an enormous amount of their impact – and virtually all their scare factor. The ones in Day, Revelation and Invasion of Earth were all failures, in my book. The ones in Resurrection weren’t quite right either. I was determined to have the real echoing, harsh metallic grate on those spitting tones! So, I contacted Nick Briggs. I had met him some years ago when I featured in a couple of Big Finish audios when I was working professionally as an actor. We had kept in touch with various ideas and projects and he helped me get in touch with the Terry Nation Estate. I phoned him about ring modulators and ended up talking about doing the voices for the show. He said he would be delighted! This was great news, as his presence would add great weight and kudos to the project, plus I knew if anyone could do the voices just right, it was him! He is with us pending any long term work that may come up, as we only need him for the one week. Fingers crossed! We have also purchased our own ring modulator, so we have no worries on the voice front.

Back to the props. Our first problem was getting hold of a set for the show. We did not have the budget, facilities or time, to build our own. The ones from The Millennium Trap had been sold off (one to the exhibition in Wales where it still resides as the one people can get inside of!). Some had to be found. I contacted many organisations, including This Planet Earth, The Dalek Builders Guild and Hyde Fundraisers. All wished they could help, but didn’t have enough of the same type for us to work with. We needed a complete set that would be robust enough to use, and to all match. We also needed them to rehearse with. We were after a set of Daleks we could repaint, strengthen and keep for seven weeks! It was a tall order…

The redoubtable Rob Thrush found the solution.

“Have you heard of Devious?” He said to me on the phone one day.
“Yes,” I replied. The famous fan video that featured Jon Pertwee. “Why?”
“Why do you think..!”

Ashley Nealfuller came to the rescue! He and his team had been working on their epic film for many years and I dropped him an email once Rob had made the initial contact. He agreed to help in every way. Luckily he has a set of eight – yes eight! – Daleks that were all fully functional, robust and he was willing to convert them however we wanted them for the show. I am still enormously grateful to him for all his time, effort and enthusiasm for our project.

His Daleks were painted as they appeared in the original Evil; silver with blue balls. His film is, in many ways, a sequel to Evil, so he naturally painted them thus. However, plain silver under stage lights has a tendency to blank out the colour. It would have made the Daleks look almost flat and white. Rather like those in Death to the Daleks, colour and silver do not mix well. Likewise the silver Daleks in the second Dalek movie have less impact than their darker/more colourful superiors. This is because that original colour scheme was chosen to be seen on black and white television, on which it works perfectly. This is why the colour went to dark grey from Day of the Daleks onwards (although, I suspect, a concurrent reason was the state the props were in and in grey they would look newer!). Interestingly, in the reverse, if you watch the episode of Planet of the Daleks that is in black and white you can see the opposite – the dark grey ones lose their impact without the subtlety of colour! An interesting paradox…

So, we had to decide on a new colour scheme. First, we looked to the already established ones. The standard grey Genesis type, although my personal favourites, might look a little dull on stage. Likewise the dark grey/black from Resurrection of the Daleks would have a similar problem. I didn’t want to go down the Revelation/Remembrance white route, as those Daleks never looked scary to me. So it was a question of finding a happy medium that reflected the established Dalek look, worked on stage and was also a little unique to our production.

Then, Dalek was broadcast. The magnificent revamp of the Daleks was plain for all to see. Ashley and I had many conversations, now that someone had dared to alter the design, although subtly and successfully. We decided to reach a half-way house with ours, and blend the new and traditional Dalek designs to come up with a version that reflected both, but was unique to our production. You can see the intended ‘missing link’ look of our Daleks on our posters. The image from which adorns the front of this website.

The last thing to decide was the colour scheme. We looked at many variations, including gold/brazen tones like the new series ones, to darker shades of metallic silver and gun metal, like the poster image. However, we eventually settled on a completely new colour scheme. A set of colours, textures and tones, and a colour that Daleks have never been seen in before! Texture is also important. We have decided to texture the casings to give our Daleks a greater degree of depth and subtlety which will also work well under stage lights, giving them a more striking, visual impact. This also tied in with one of the layers I added at the script stage. So, the Daleks in our stage production are truly something new and unique. But, if you want to see what it is, and know what the extra story layer is, you’ll just have to book tickets!

To keep up with the progress of our Dalek conversion, check out the Devious website at: www.doctorwho-devious.com

Ashley has set up a separate section on the site for the show. He will be revealing tantalising glimpses of our new Daleks as his work progresses…

Nick Scovell – 7 April 2006