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In The Daleks (1963–64), Skaro is described as being the twelfth planet from its sun,[2] and in Genesis of the Daleks (1975) it is stated that Skaro is situated in the "Seventh Galaxy".[3] It is portrayed as having various moons: Flidor,[4] Falkus and Omega Mysterium,[5] with Falkus being presented as an artificial construct created by the Daleks as a last refuge. Falkus and Omega Mysterium are also referenced in the Big Finish ProductionsI, Davros audio dramas I, Davros: Innocence (2006)[6] and I, Davros: Purity (2006).[7] In Destiny of the Daleks (1979) the Movellans refer to Skaro as D–5–Gamma–Z–Alpha.[8]
Geography
The Dalography of Skaro as illustrated in The Dalek Book (1964)
The BBC-licensed The Dalek Book (1964) includes a map entitled "The Dalography of Skaro" on which three continents are shown; Dalazar, Darren and Davius. Dalazar is described as the most habitable part of Skaro, having a subtropical climate and being the location of the Dalek city. To the south-east is the Lake of Mutations and to the south the Drammankins mountain range, which stretches across the entire continent from the east to west coast. To the north-east Dalazar is joined to the continent of Darren by a land bridge. Darren is indicated to be the site of the neutron bomb explosion which transformed the Daleks from their humanoid form into mutants. The north and south regions are separated by the "Radiation Range" mountains. The third continent, Davius, is shown divided into east and west regions by the "River of Whirling Waters", with the eastern region being identified as the home of the Thals. Five seas are shown; the Ocean of Ooze, Sea of Acid, Sea of Rust, Serpent Sea and the land-locked Bottomless Sea. Other major features are the Island of Moving Mountains and an island chain named the Forbidden Islands, both situated in the Ocean of Ooze, and the Island of Gushing Gold located in the Sea of Rust.[9]
The BBC-Licensed The Dalek Outer Space Book (1966) confirms some of these details in a cutaway illustration entitled "The Strata of Skaro". A sea called The Ocean of Death is added, together with the Islands of Mist which, from the description, is an alternative name for the Dalek Book's Forbidden Islands.[10] Further information is added by the 1977 Dalek Annual article "The Dark Side of Skaro", which mentions the Crystal Continent, Serpent Island and a feature called The Rocks, consisting of stone needles projecting thousands of feet high out of the sea and populated by gigantic flying creatures. Other areas listed are a prison colony, a region populated by the mutated descendants of prisoners used in early Dalek neutron weapon tests and The Swamp Lands, described as possibly being a vast, living organism that engulfs and feeds upon anything coming near its surface.[11]
In most media, Skaro is portrayed as a nuclear wasteland and almost entirely devoid of plant life, with only a petrified forest located close to the Dalek city.[14] Several exceptions are mentioned, however. Varga plants, resembling large, motile cacti studded with poisonous thorns, are seen in Mission to the Unknown (1965). Native to Skaro, they have been deliberately mutated by the Daleks to act as sentries and deter other life forms from interfering with their activities. An individual poisoned by the thorns develops an urge to kill and eventually transforms into another Varga plant.[15]
Only a few examples of Skaro's native wildlife have been seen. In The Daleks, a small, dead reptilian creature with long teeth, a pointed snout and pliable metal skin is discovered, the First Doctor surmising that its body is held together by a magnetic field.[16] This is later identified by a Thal as a "Magnedon".[17] A multi-tentacled creature with two luminous eyes is also shown inhabiting the Lake of Mutations.[18] A large, aggressive, tentacled animal called a "Slyther" appears in The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964). It is described as the Black Dalek's "pet" and is used to patrol the Dalek mine workings.[19] Giant land-based clams, capable of crushing bone, are seen in Genesis of the Daleks (1975). They are described as being the discarded results of Davros' genetic experiments.[3] In "Asylum of the Daleks" (2012) a flock of bird-like creatures are seen briefly, flying in the distance above the ruins of the Dalek City.[20]
In the television serial The Daleks two sapient, humanoid species are described as having existed on Skaro; the Dals, teachers and philosophers, and the Thals, a race of warriors. Radiation from a neutronic war caused both species to mutate. By the time of the story, the Thals are a blond-haired caucasian people, their physical mutation having come full circle. They have renounced violence and survive by farming. In contrast, the Dals have evolved into hideous, aggressive, xenophobic creatures which have encased themselves in protective metal shells and rely upon technology for survival. They now refer to themselves as Daleks.[14]
This evolution of the Dalek and Thal races is contradicted in the TV serial Genesis of the Daleks. The story depicts the Dalek progenitors as being a humanoid race called the Kaleds. They have been at war with the Thals for generations, turning Skaro into a wasteland devastated by chemical and nuclear weapons. While the Kaleds and Thals have each engineered their own huge, protective dome in which to shelter, the disfigured victims of chemical and radioactive contamination are banished to roam the surface as "mutos". The Kaled scientists realise that the planet's toxic environment will eventually cause the mutation of their species, bringing their genetic purity to an end. Their chief scientist, Davros, decides to accelerate the mutation to find the ultimate Kaled form, in the process "improving" it by removing all traces of conscience, feeling and emotion. The resulting organisms are placed into armoured travel machines and referred to by Davros as Daleks.[3]
The Big Finish ProductionsI, Davros series of audio plays (2006) places the divergence of the Kaled and Thal species at a point 10 million years prior to the events depicted in Genesis of the Daleks[21] and refers to two other species, the Tharons and the Dals, as both being extinct due to Kaled genocide by the time of the Kaled-Thal war.[7]
Fictional history
The central plot device of the Doctor Who television programme, and of the Whoniverse, is time travel. Coupled with successive programme producers' and scriptwriters' uneven approach to continuity, attempts at imposing a strict chronology upon Skaro's fictional history are problematic.
The events leading to the creation of the Daleks, as depicted in Genesis of the Daleks (1975), apparently pre-date those of The Daleks (1963–64) while in The Evil of the Daleks (1967), the story of which concludes with the apparent destruction of the Daleks due to a civil war on Skaro, the Second Doctor states that this is the creatures' "final end".[22]
In Destiny of the Daleks (1979), set many centuries after the events of Genesis of the Daleks, the Daleks return to an abandoned and still radioactive Skaro to retrieve their creator, Davros.[8] In the subsequent serial Revelation of the Daleks (1985), the Daleks are shown to have re-occupied Skaro; those loyal to the Dalek Supreme travelling from there to capture Davros and destroy his new Dalek army on the planet Necros.[23]
Skaro's final appearance in the classic series is in the story Remembrance of the Daleks (1988), in which the Seventh Doctor tricks Davros and his Imperial Daleks into using a Time Lord device called the Hand of Omega on Skaro's sun to recreate the Gallifreyan time travel experiments. The Doctor sabotages the device, however, causing their sun to turn into a supernova which completely obliterates the planet.[24]
An image of Skaro is shown briefly at the start of the 1996 Doctor Who television movie, the narrative indicating that it is the site of a trial of the Master. No reference to the destruction of the planet is made.[1] An attempt to explain this incongruity is made in the novel War of the Daleks (1997) in which, at the climax of the events portrayed in Remembrance of the Daleks, the Daleks manipulate Davros and the Seventh Doctor into destroying a planet called Antalin which they have terraformed to resemble Skaro and take its place. The novel further places the story Destiny of the Daleks on the disguised Antalin, and not Skaro.[25]
In the revived Doctor Who series, Skaro is referenced by the introduction of the Cult of Skaro in "Doomsday" (2006)[26] and "Daleks in Manhattan" (2007), where the character Dalek Caan states that the planet is "gone... destroyed in a great war".[27] Later, in the episode "Asylum of the Daleks" (2012), the Eleventh Doctor is lured to Skaro briefly. The planet is depicted as having been abandoned once again and is shown with a stormy, rain-swept red sky, the landscape filled with derelict structures and skyscrapers.[20] This is consistent with the appearance of post-Time War Skaro as seen in the downloadable computer game City of the Daleks[13] and an article written by Russell T Davies in the Doctor Who Annual 2006, which states that Skaro was devastated at the end of the Time War.[28]
Skaro appears in "The Magician's Apprentice" and "The Witch's Familiar" (2015), where Davros is shown first as an adolescent lost on a desert battlefield, and then having returned to the planet many years later to die with his "children", the Daleks. The planet has been made invisible and, when questioned by the Doctor, Davros states that the Daleks have rebuilt it.[29][30]
The Dalek Outer Space Book (1967) contains a chart entitled "The Evolution of Skaro" which traces the development of the planet from its creation, through various geological periods, to the advent of the Daleks.[31]
Skaro appears in the Big Finish Doctor Who audio stories The Mutant Phase (2000)[33] and Davros (2003),[34] and features prominently in the I, Davros spin-off series (2006), which focuses on Davros' life and the events that led to his creating the Daleks.[35]
Skaro makes an appearance in the Doctor Who: The Adventure Games episode "City of the Daleks". In the narrative the Daleks remove Skaro from the Time War, preventing its destruction. The Eleventh Doctor thwarts the Dalek's plan, negating the planet's survival and restoring the proper timeline.[13] In April 2010 Piers Wenger, executive producer of Doctor Who at the time, stated that the games constitute "episodes" and form part of the Doctor Who universe.[36]
Skaro appears in Daleks!, a five part animated series launched by the BBC on its YouTube channel in November 2020 as part of its multi-platform story, Time Lord Victorious!.[37]
Davros is a fictional character from the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He was created by screenwriter Terry Nation, originally for the 1975 serial Genesis of the Daleks. Davros is a major enemy of the series' protagonist, the Doctor, and is the creator of the Doctor's deadliest enemies, the Daleks. Davros is a genius who has mastered many areas of science, but also a megalomaniac who believes that through his creations he can become the supreme being and ruler of the Universe. The character has been compared to the infamous dictator Adolf Hitler several times, including by the actor Terry Molloy, while Julian Bleach defined him as a cross between Hitler and the renowned scientist Stephen Hawking.
The Daleks are a fictional extraterrestrial race of extremely xenophobic mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. They were conceived by writer Terry Nation and first appeared in the 1963 Doctor Who serial The Daleks, in casings designed by Raymond Cusick.
Terence Joseph Nation was a Welsh screenwriter and novelist. Especially known for his work in British television science fiction, he created the Daleks and Davros for Doctor Who, as well as the series Survivors and Blake's 7.
Remembrance of the Daleks is the first serial of the 25th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The serial was first broadcast in four weekly episodes from 5 to 26 October 1988. It was written by Ben Aaronovitch and directed by Andrew Morgan.
Planet of the Daleks is the fourth serial of the tenth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 7 April to 12 May 1973. It was the first Dalek story to be written by their creator Terry Nation since 1965’s The Daleks' Master Plan.
Genesis of the Daleks is the fourth serial of the twelfth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was written by Terry Nation and directed by David Maloney, and originally broadcast in six weekly parts from 8 March to 12 April 1975 on BBC1.
Since their first appearance in 1963 there have been a number of variant models of the Daleks, a fictional alien race in the BBC science fiction television programme Doctor Who.
Resurrection of the Daleks is the fourth serial of the 21st season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts on BBC1 between 8 February and 15 February 1984. The serial was intended to be transmitted as four 23-minute episodes but a late scheduling change by the BBC meant that it was transmitted as two episodes of 46 minutes; reruns restored it to its intended format.
Destiny of the Daleks is the first serial of the 17th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 1 September to 22 September 1979. The story introduces Lalla Ward as the newly regenerated Romana.
The Time War, also called the Last Great Time War, is a conflict within the fictional universe of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The war occurs between the events of the 1996 film and the 2005 revived series, with the Time Lords fighting the Daleks until the apparent mutual destruction of both races. The war was frequently mentioned when the show returned, but was not directly seen until the show's 50th anniversary special.
Davros is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.
War of the Daleks is an original novel written by John Peel, published in 1997, based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Eighth Doctor and Sam.
I, Davros: Innocence is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It stars Terry Molloy reprising his role as Davros, the twisted creator of the Dalek race. "Innocence" is the first in a four-part mini-series exploring Davros' early life on Skaro. According to Gary Russell, the title is an allusion to the drama I, Claudius.
The Davros Mission is a Doctor Who audio play written and directed by Nicholas Briggs. Initially exclusive to the Complete Davros Collection DVD box set released on 26 November 2007, it was later made available for digital purchase outside of the set by Big Finish in January 2012. It was recorded on 15 August 2007. The music and sound design were composed by David Darlington.
Emperor of the Daleks is a black-and-white comic strip based on the television series Doctor Who. It ran primarily in the pages of Doctor Who Magazine, written by John Freeman and novelist and future television series writer Paul Cornell. The story used elements of previous television continuity, as well as the continuity used by the comic strip, reviving popular characters such as "Dalek Killer" Abslom Daak and the Star Tigers. It also attempted to bridge the gap between Revelation of the Daleks and Remembrance of the Daleks.
This is a list of Dalek comic strips, illustrated annuals and graphic novels. Cameo appearances and reprints are only covered if notable.
"The Magician's Apprentice" is the first episode of the ninth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 19 September 2015. The episode was written by showrunner Steven Moffat and directed by Hettie MacDonald. It is the first of a two-part story; the second part, "The Witch's Familiar", aired on 26 September.
"The Witch's Familiar" is the second episode of the ninth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 26 September 2015. It was written by Steven Moffat and directed by Hettie MacDonald, and is the second part of the story begun by "The Magician's Apprentice" on 19 September.
Engines of War is a BBC Books original novel written by George Mann and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the War Doctor.
"Destination: Skaro", also known as "Doctor Who Children in Need Special 2023", is a 5-minute mini-episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It first aired on 17 November 2023, on BBC One as part of the 2023 Children in Need special. "Destination: Skaro" is the second television appearance of David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor and preceded Doctor Who's sixtieth anniversary specials. In the episode, a newly regenerated incarnation of the Doctor mistakenly lands on Skaro at the time Davros is creating the Daleks. It was written by Russell T Davies, the Doctor Who showrunner, and directed by Jamie Donoughue. The special received positive reviews but was met with criticism from some fans for the changes made to Davros.
1 2 James Parsons, Andrew Sterling-Brown (writers); Gary Russell (director); Gary Russell, Jason Haigh-Ellery (producers) (October 2006). I, Davros: Purity (CD). Berkshire: Big Finish Productions. ISBN1-84435-232-3. BFPDAVCD02.
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