The very first crew of the TARDIS land in a petrified forest on an alien planet. Determined to explore, the Doctor leads his companions into the metal city, where they discover danger at every corner and what will become his deadliest enemy... the mutant Daleks. It's time to encounter the Daleks once again, but this time in a way you've never seen them before. Originally transmitted in December 1963 to February 1964, the seven original episodes of the first Dalek story have received a cosmic makeover, dazzlingly colourised and woven together into a 75-minute blockbuster with brand-new sound and a brand-new score created by Mark Ayres. The Daleks has been gloriously updated, whilst ensuring the original story remains as thrilling as it was in 1963.
So the story goes that Doctor Who was at risk of cancellation after the previous four weeks. Verity Lambert (the producer) was told by Sydney Newman (Head of Drama) that under no circumstances should there be no BEMs (Bug Eyed Monsters) in the show. Verity took the risk, ignored Sydney and comissioned the script from Terry Nation. Thus the Daleks were born... It's no surprise the Daleks were a hit off the back of this story. Their design is the most unique of any alien I have ever seen, the lack of a humanoid shape, the way they glide across the floor and their voice! It's easy to forget in the twenty first century the wider historical context in which the Daleks were born, they are very much a product of the memory of WW2. Little fascist tanks barking aggressive fascist rhetoric and orders. They very much reflected the fear that the Nazis could rise again, in some ways that's why they still endure. That being said it'ss interesting to see how conversational the Daleks were back
