Daleks

Dalek

The Daleks are a non-human species of warlike aliens from the British cult science fiction series Doctor Who .

You play the role of the most famous and popular adversary of the main character of the series, the time-traveling doctor . Daleks have become an integral part of British popular culture. There were and are countless fan articles in the shape of a Dalek, and in 1999 there was even a stamp depicting a Dalek. Since their first appearance in 1963 episode 1.05 The Dead Planet , they have appeared in 144 episodes of Doctor Who, 120 of them in the original series (dUS), the television film with the Eighth Doctor from 1996 and in 23 episodes of the sequel series (dFS) so far, every incarnation of the doctor had so far had to do with them.

Their ideology and their “racial purity” fanaticism are based on the National Socialist fascism of the Third Reich . Growing up during World War II , author Terry Nation created a multitude of parallels in terms of appearance, speech, characterization. As in the early days of National Socialism, the appearance of the Daleks should at first appear a bit clumsy, not very dangerous and almost laughable, but their radicalism, cold feeling, unstoppability and almost invincibility then just as quickly stifle the audience's laughter. The color of the original uniforms was modeled on the National Socialist uniform, as was the salute-like arrangement of eyes and weapons. The highest goal of the Daleks is to “maintain the purity of the race ” at any murderous price and to constantly expand the “ living space ” of this “ superior race ”, which corresponds directly to the National Socialist ideology. Creator and cast described these parallels as a "warning to the world of the danger of a renewed authoritarianism ".

origin

Installation of a "flying" Dalek

The Daleks were first seen in December 1963 in episode 1.05 The Dead Planet , the first episode of the Doctor Who storyline The Daleks (episodes 1.05-1.11 [dUS]) on the screen. They were hugely popular with audiences from their first appearance in the second series of Doctor Who episodes and have made a number of appearances since then, particularly when it came to devising cunning plans to conquer the earth.

Their origins in the series can be traced back to the planet Skaro, where the original race evolved into octopus-like mutants after a nuclear war, who created battle armor to replace their lost form. Later in the series, the character of Davros was introduced. Davros is a mad genius who created the Daleks from his own humanoid race, the Kaleds. In the Eternal War (Time War) he is said to have died together with the Daleks, but he reappears in the final two-part of the fourth season of the sequel series (dFS) 4.12 The Stolen Earth and 4.13 Journey's End . A time-traveling Dalek, Dalek Caan, who was the last remaining Dalek to escape the Doctor in episode 3.05 (dFS) Evolution of the Daleks , saved him from death. Davros then created a new army of Dalek, which is destroyed again at the end of episode 4.13 Journey's End . Davros refuses to accept the doctor's offer of help and remains in a crashing spaceship. Again, both Davros and three of his Daleks survive, who successfully create a new Dalek race in the episode Victory of the Daleks , which consists of pure Dalek DNA and is more powerful than ever. The twelfth doctor returns involuntarily to the planet Skaro in episode 277 (N 9.01) and meets Davros again there. The dying ruler reveals his terrible childhood and blames the doctor for the creation of the Daleks and his development from a fearful child to a hateful monster. The doctor, filled with remorse and pity, tries to help the dying person with the help of his regeneration energy, whereupon Davros reveals his sad story as a trap and misuses the doctor's energy to create a new, overpowering hybrid race of Daleks (episode 278 or N 9.02).

Outer shape

The slightly asymmetrical outer shape of the Daleks resembles oversized hydrants or salt shakers, with which they are often compared in jest. Instead of a head, they have a swiveling dome with a movably attached, rigid eye stem. The middle of the body is a swiveling segment, which is provided with two movable limbs, an extendable manipulator in the form of a puddle (source of further jokes) and a short-barreled radiation weapon. Daleks move sliding (or rolling) on ​​a broadened base. The most common Dalek joke is based on her inability to climb stairs; in an episode from 1988 ((dUS) 25.01-25.04 Remembrance of the Daleks ) you can see a Dalek who overcomes this problem in hover.

In the new episodes from 2005 onwards, they are even generally airworthy and exercise this both within the atmosphere and in space. Here they appear for the first time in episode 6 of the first new season with the title Dalek . In this episode and later, they are spoken in German by Michael Habeck and after his death by Gregor Höppner . The new paradigms of Daleks (from the victory of the Daleks ) are spoken in the German version by Josef Tratnik .

behavior

Voice of the Daleks

Daleks are deliberately modeled after National Socialists in many ways.

Daleks are extremely bellicose and always intent on conquest and destruction. They are racist fascists who do not respect any other race besides their own and are fixated on their "racial purity". This goes so far that they even kill their own "creator" Davros when he does not recognize their higher position and he wants to prevent the further production / breeding of Daleks. In “Daleks in Manhattan” (2007) they also kill or “eliminate” their cross between humans and Dalek, because they feel emotions, which forbids the greatest quality, the lack of emotion. Daleks are especially known for their choppy speech and their electronically distorted voices. Typical Dalek quotes are “Exterminate!” And “Obey!” (“Obey!”). In the German version, “Exterminate” becomes “Destroy!”, Whereby “Exterminate!” In “Journey's End”, when Daleks fly into Germany, is pronounced by them - in the original English language - as “Exterminate!”. In the follow-up series from 2005, “Exterminate!” Becomes “Eliminieren!” In the German dubbing. Daleks are completely devoid of pity and similar "debilitating" emotions. An exception is the sparing of a child who later becomes a very important and formative person in history and has further descendants of this kind. This is justified by the fact that the Dalek saw these events and had to keep the course of future history.

Although the Daleks are often considered dull, petty and inflexible, recent episodes often show a terrifying planning intelligence and the ability to play dead. Daleks are aware that the Doctor has compassion for his friends and often exploited this for their personal gain.

Doctor Who Episodes

Dalek at the Doctor Who Experience , Cardiff exhibition

The Daleks also appear in the officially licensed radio plays for the dUS by the company “ Big Finish ”. This is a list of her appearances in these radio plays:

• Monthly Release 7: The Genocide Machine
• Monthly Release 11: The Apocalypse Element
• Monthly Release 15: The Mutant Phase
• Monthly Release 32: Time of the Daleks
• Monthly Release 40: Jubilee
• Monthly Release 65: The Juggernauts
• Monthly Release 72: Terror Company
• Monthly Release 93: Renaissance of the Daleks
• Monthly Release 114: Brotherhood of the Daleks
• Monthly Release 121: Enemy of the Daleks
• Monthly Release 124: Patient Zero
• Monthly Release 129: Plague of the Daleks
• Eighth Doctor Adventures 1: Blood of the Daleks Part 1
• Eighth Doctor Adventures 2: Blood of the Daleks Part 2
• Eighth Doctor Adventures 33: Lucie Miller Part 1
• Eighth Doctor Adventures 34: To the Death Part 2
• Special Release V: Return of the Daleks
• Special Release IX: The Four Doctors
• The Stage Plays 1: The Ultimate Adventure
• The Stage Plays 2: The Seven Keys to Doomsday
• The Stage Plays 3: The Curse of the Daleks
• The Lost Stories 10: The Destroyers
• Doctor Who Unbound 8: Masters of War
• The Companion Chronicles 1.2: Fear of the Daleks
• The Dalek Empire Series

Trivia

• In the film Looney Tunes: Back in Action , two Daleks appear together with several other film monsters from the 50s and 60s.
• In the episode "Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean " the main character plays a nativity scene with a Dalek.
• The robot model "883" from the computer game Paradroid and the free successors Freedroid and Freedroid RPG looks like a Dalek. The description of the robot mentions that it causes fear in humans for unknown reasons.
• In the animated series Shaun the Sheep (Season 2, Episode 17, "Party Lions") one of the sheep dresses up as Dalek.
• In The LEGO Batman Movie , towards the end, the Daleks are among a host of well-known villains.
• In the second episode of the 15th season of South Park, the "Funnybot" developed by the Germans is portrayed as Dalek.

Web links

Commons : Daleks  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Essay on the Daleks in the Cold War weapon technology discourse by Stefan Höltgen

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Tom Baker , Terrance Dicks , Philip Hinchcliffe, Barry Letts , David Maloney, Elisabeth Sladen , Michael Wisher. (April 10, 2006). Genesis of a Classic  [DVD]. BBC Worldwide.
2. ↑ ^{a b} Lewis and Smithka, p. 190
3. ↑ Lewis and Smithka p. 180
4. ↑ Lewis and Smithka, p. 181
5. ↑ Project page with the robot data from Freedroid RPG ( Memento of the original from July 7, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)