Saturday, July 10, 2004
Given the circumstances, I can't say that I'm that disappointed that the Daleks aren't going to be in the new series of "Doctor Who".
Despite being the series' most famous monsters, many of their stories haven't been great. In some ways this has been down to the series' notoriously low budget, as stories such as 'Day of the Daleks' and 'Destiny of the Daleks' have struggled to convince viewers with miniscule Dalek armies or shoddy looking cases cobbled together from what's left in the BBC warehouse.
However, many stories since 'Genesis of the Daleks' have also been damaged because of the Davros factor. 'Genesis' is a great story (although it has been somewhat overexposed), but its success didn't mean that Davros needed to be resurrected for every subsequent Dalek story. Not only has no-one matched Michael Wisher's performance, but the character has become increasingly embarrassing, while the Daleks have been reduced to the role of Davros' lackeys rather than a fearsome race in their own right.
If proof is needed, look at one of the more successful post-'Genesis' Dalek stories. 'Remembrance of the Daleks' keeps him as a mystery, disguised as the Emperor Dalek until the final episode, while the Daleks are better than they've been in years. Big Finish's 'Dalek Empire' series have also shown that the Daleks can work perfectly well without their creator.
A deal between the Nation estate and the BBC seems to have broken down over the control the estate has over Terry Nation's creations. I don't know what this is, but there have been some comments that the BBC wanted to make them "too evil", something that most fans and viewers would actually have liked to see. We might also speculate that the estate wanted to dictate how they were used by the production team, that possibly they wanted to see Davros included, or that they didn't want to see them redeveloped for the 21st century (which, let's face it, is a must - what might have looked startling back in 1963 now looks faintly ridiculous 40 years later).
Ironically, the lack of Daleks has already produced another wave of publicity for the new series. But in many ways the fact that they're not appearing (at least in the first season) is a good thing - the production team need to establish the show for a new generation of viewers, and not simply roll out old monsters that today's kids wouldn't know about.
Before this news broke, my ideal sight of the Daleks would have been during the closing 30 seconds of the final episode of the season. Existing viewers would have something to look forward to for season two, while newbies would have a "what was *that*?" moment that many of us had as children back in the 60s, 70s or 80s. I haven't changed that opinion, especially if the production team would have had to cede too much control to a writer's estate.
However, if we don't see them at all in season one, then so be it. If the production team make a success of season one, then the Nation estate will be a little more amenable for fear of the new series creating its own monsters that make the Daleks unnecessary...
Despite being the series' most famous monsters, many of their stories haven't been great. In some ways this has been down to the series' notoriously low budget, as stories such as 'Day of the Daleks' and 'Destiny of the Daleks' have struggled to convince viewers with miniscule Dalek armies or shoddy looking cases cobbled together from what's left in the BBC warehouse.
However, many stories since 'Genesis of the Daleks' have also been damaged because of the Davros factor. 'Genesis' is a great story (although it has been somewhat overexposed), but its success didn't mean that Davros needed to be resurrected for every subsequent Dalek story. Not only has no-one matched Michael Wisher's performance, but the character has become increasingly embarrassing, while the Daleks have been reduced to the role of Davros' lackeys rather than a fearsome race in their own right.
If proof is needed, look at one of the more successful post-'Genesis' Dalek stories. 'Remembrance of the Daleks' keeps him as a mystery, disguised as the Emperor Dalek until the final episode, while the Daleks are better than they've been in years. Big Finish's 'Dalek Empire' series have also shown that the Daleks can work perfectly well without their creator.
A deal between the Nation estate and the BBC seems to have broken down over the control the estate has over Terry Nation's creations. I don't know what this is, but there have been some comments that the BBC wanted to make them "too evil", something that most fans and viewers would actually have liked to see. We might also speculate that the estate wanted to dictate how they were used by the production team, that possibly they wanted to see Davros included, or that they didn't want to see them redeveloped for the 21st century (which, let's face it, is a must - what might have looked startling back in 1963 now looks faintly ridiculous 40 years later).
Ironically, the lack of Daleks has already produced another wave of publicity for the new series. But in many ways the fact that they're not appearing (at least in the first season) is a good thing - the production team need to establish the show for a new generation of viewers, and not simply roll out old monsters that today's kids wouldn't know about.
Before this news broke, my ideal sight of the Daleks would have been during the closing 30 seconds of the final episode of the season. Existing viewers would have something to look forward to for season two, while newbies would have a "what was *that*?" moment that many of us had as children back in the 60s, 70s or 80s. I haven't changed that opinion, especially if the production team would have had to cede too much control to a writer's estate.
However, if we don't see them at all in season one, then so be it. If the production team make a success of season one, then the Nation estate will be a little more amenable for fear of the new series creating its own monsters that make the Daleks unnecessary...
