Resurrection of the Daleks (TV story)

It was the final regular appearance of Tegan Jovanka, who left the Fifth Doctor for the second time. It also marked the return of Davros and the Daleks after their last appearance in Destiny of the Daleks. Lytton makes his debut and, strangely for villains of the time, survives with no ill effects.

Notably, this story was separated into two 45-minute episodes in place of the usual four 25-minute ones, a format that would temporarily become the norm during Season 22; the 45-minute length eventually became the established episode length for the series following its revival in 2005.

Synopsis

Captured in a time corridor, the Doctor and his companions are forced to land on 20th century Earth, diverted by the Doctor's oldest enemy - the Daleks. It is here the true purpose of the time corridor becomes apparent: after ninety years of imprisonment, Davros, the ruthless creator of the Daleks, is to be liberated to assist in the resurrection of his army.

Not even the Daleks foresee the poisonous threat of their creator. Indeed, who would suspect Davros of wanting to destroy his own Daleks - and why?

Only the Doctor knows the truth. Will he descend to Davros' level of evil to stop him?

Plot

Part one

A group of futuristic humanoids are running down Shad Thames in 1984. As they attempt to escape, they are gunned down by two policemen led by Commander Lytton in the uniform of an inspector. Two of the humanoids, Galloway and Quartermaster Sergeant Stien, escape into the adjacent wharf where a time corridor is situated. Galloway is killed, leaving Stien alone. Lytton transports back to his battle cruiser and prepares to attack a prison space station. Its only prisoner is Davros, the creator of the Daleks.

Meanwhile, the Doctor, Tegan and Turlough are being dragged down a time corridor in the Doctor's TARDIS, following on from the events at the end of Frontios. They land in an apparently disused part of London.

The Daleks try a direct frontal assault on the prison station with poor results. The station crew, led by Dr. Styles and Lt. Mercer, fight back in force. Lytton persuades the Dalek Supreme to use poisonous gas to dispose of the crew. This proves a success and the Daleks have little trouble taking over the ship. Following orders, Watch Officer Osborn tries to destroy Davros, first with a non-functional automated system, then in person. However, Lytton and an engineer break into the cell and kill Osborn before she can complete her mission, then release Davros from his cryogenic imprisonment.

The Doctor and his friends have by now met a traumatised Stien. He joins them in returning to the warehouse to hunt for the time corridor. There they meet a military bomb disposal squad, called in after builders uncovered what they believed unexploded bombs. While the others are distracted, Turlough stumbles into the time corridor, ending up on the Dalek ship.

Having learned the Doctor is in the warehouse, the Supreme Dalek dispatches a Dalek to detain him. The Dalek travels through the time corridor and appears as if from nowhere. The Doctor yells at everyone to take cover as it prepares to exterminate them.

The Dalek kills several men before the Doctor gets them to focus their fire on its eyestalk, blinding it. In the struggle, the humans push the Dalek out of the loading bay doors. It hits the ground and explodes. Tegan suffers a head injury and blacks out. On the prison station, only Styles, Mercer and two guards are left alive of the original crew. Disguised in uniforms taken from Lytton's guards, they plan to blow up the station with its self-destruct system.

Davros explains to Lytton that his cryogenic sentence lasted for "ninety years of mind-numbing boredom." He vows revenge on "that meddling Time Lord," the Doctor. Lytton insists he is in their grasp. While Davros' travel chair is undergoing maintenance by the engineer Kiston, Lytton explains the Daleks lost their war against the Movellans due to the development of a virus that specifically attacks Dalek tissue. They have woken Davros to find a cure. Despite Lytton's reservations, Davros demands he remain on the prison ship while working on the virus. It may be necessary for him to be refrozen. When Lytton leaves to discuss this with the Supreme Dalek, Davros uses a hypodermic-like mind control device to take control of Kiston.

A Kaled Mutant attacks a soldier.

Meanwhile, the Doctor and the members of the bomb disposal squad have brought the remnants of the wrecked Dalek back inside. They search for the Kaled mutant inside. They find and kill it after it wounds one of the squad's men. The squad's medical officer looks after the victim and a recovering Tegan. The Doctor and Stien head into the TARDIS to find out what is happening at the other end of the time corridor.

The TARDIS materialises inside the Dalek ship and narrowly avoids being captured. The Doctor tells Stien they should find Turlough and make a swift exit. Stien points his own weapon at the Doctor, revealing himself an agent of the Daleks...

Part two

A squadron of Daleks close in to exterminate the Doctor, but Lytton enters and tells them the Supreme Dalek has ordered the Doctor is not to be killed - yet. The Daleks confirm this and lead the Doctor away. On the prison ship, Turlough joins forces with the remnants of the crew. He tells them of the time corridor to escape the ship's self-destruction. On Earth, the man attacked by the Dalek behaves very strangely. He wanders away, mumbling nonsense. The commander, Colonel Archer, decides to radio for help, although his own radio is dead. He heads outside, finds two policemen (Lytton's associates) and asks for assistance. As he tries the radio, a policeman holds a gun to his head. The Daleks reveal their plan of cloning the Doctor and his companions and using the clones to assassinate the High Council of Time Lords on Gallifrey. Stien begins the mind-copying sequence while the Doctor tries to talk him into resisting his Dalek mind conditioning. Styles and the two station guards are killed while trying to activate the station's self-destruct system.

Back on Earth, Colonel Archer returns to the warehouse, obviously under Dalek control. Tegan tries to escape by running east down the Thames Path, but is soon recaptured by the policemen. She is taken through the time corridor to the Dalek ship. The squad's scientific advisor, Professor Laird, is shot while trying to flee the soldiers. Meanwhile, in the duplication chamber, Stien is overcome by confusion. The Doctor has realised Stien's conditioning is unstable. He challenges his ability to think for himself. As the mind-copying sequence nears completion, Stien breaks his conditioning and stops the process, freeing the Doctor.

A Dalek is turned to Davros' cause.

The Doctor finds Turlough and Tegan. They return to the TARDIS with Stien and the last surviving station crew member. Rather than depart, the Doctor decides he must destroy Davros once and for all. With Stien and Lt. Mercer he heads to the station lab. He leaves Tegan and Turlough in the TARDIS, which he has secretly programmed to return them to the warehouse on time delay. In the lab, Davros has heard the Doctor has been taken prisoner by the Daleks. He announces that once the Doctor has been exterminated, he will build a new race of Daleks which shall be even more deadly. They shall again become the supreme beings.

The Doctor confronts Davros in the lab. His chance to kill him is lost when Stien's conditioning re-asserts itself long enough to let Lytton's troops kill Lt. Mercer. Horrified by his actions, Stien refuses to accompany the Doctor back to the time corridor. He runs off into the station.

Davros' army (a biochemist, Kiston, a soldier, and two Daleks) is growing. He dispatches his Daleks to Earth. Anticipating resistance from the Daleks not loyal to him, Davros opens a capsule of the Movellan virus. Two Daleks enter to exterminate him, but are killed by the virus.

Davros succumbs to the Movellan virus.

Back at the warehouse, a battle rages between Davros' Daleks and those loyal to the Supreme Dalek. The TARDIS arrives and the Doctor returns through the time corridor. He now knows the "unexploded bombs" discovered earlier are cannisters of the Movellan virus. He opens a cannister that Turlough and Tegan have brought into the TARDIS. He places it behind the Daleks, who all start to die.

Lytton has escaped. He gleefully watches the Daleks' demise. He swaps his Dalek uniform for that of a policeman, and joins his two fellow "bobbies" on their next vigil. Back on the space station, Davros prepares an escape pod to flee from the station, but the Movellan virus attacks and seems to kill him.

The Daleks are dead. Tegan is appalled at the deaths. The Dalek Supreme appears on the TARDIS scanner and threatens the Doctor, claiming the Daleks have duplicates of prominent humans all over Earth. It is just a matter of time before Earth falls.

Tegan says goodbye to the Doctor.

Meanwhile, a wounded Stien tries to activate the self-destruct sequence. Just as he is about to finish, the Daleks enter and exterminate him. Although dying, he manages to complete the sequence, destroying the station and the Dalek ship.

The Doctor calls for them all to leave, but Tegan refuses. This has been one massacre too many. She no longer enjoys her adventures and wants to give it up, so she says a brief goodbye to the Doctor and Turlough before running off. The Doctor sadly remarks that he left originally left Gallifrey for much the same reason that Tegan has just left him; he had tired of the nature of their lives and notes that he should try and mend his ways. With that, the Doctor and Turlough return to the TARDIS and as it vanishes, Tegan runs back, remembering the Doctor's old admonishment: "Brave heart, Tegan." She calls out to the empty air that, despite everything, she will miss him.

Cast

The Doctor - Peter Davison
Tegan Jovanka - Janet Fielding
Turlough - Mark Strickson
Davros - Terry Molloy
Stien - Rodney Bewes
Lytton - Maurice Colbourne
Styles - Rula Lenska
Colonel Archer - Del Henney
Professor Laird - Chloe Ashcroft
Sergeant Calder - Philip McGough
Mercer - Jim Findley
Osborn - Sneh Gupta
Trooper - Roger Davenport
Crewmembers - John Adam Baker, Linsey Turner
Galloway - William Sleigh
Dalek Voices - Brian Miller, Royce Mills
Dalek Operators - John Scott Martin, Cy Town, Tony Starr, Toby Byrne
Kiston - Leslie Grantham (as Les Grantham)

Crew

References

Animals

A cat is mistaken for a Dalek mutant.

Daleks

The Supreme Dalek is in charge of one Dalek faction.
It is explicitly shown that Daleks can electronically communicate with each other without words.
The Daleks can clone subdued humanoids in duplication chambers. The duplicates were meant to infiltrate strategic Earth positions and to hit the High Council of Gallifrey through a Doctor's duplicate.
The Daleks identify Turlough as a companion of the Doctor, despite having not met him directly yet.
Davros has got a device for mind control for both humanoids and Daleks.

The Doctor

Flashbacks through the Doctor's mind on the Dalek's mind analysis machine included: Turlough, Tegan, Nyssa, Adric, Romana II, Romana I, K9, Harry Sullivan, the Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith, Jo Grant, the Brigadier, Liz Shaw, the Third Doctor, Zoe Heriot, Victoria Waterfield, Jamie McCrimmon, the Second Doctor, Ben Jackson, Polly, Dodo Chaplet, Sara Kingdom, Katarina, Steven Taylor, Vicki, Barbara Wright, Ian Chesterton, Susan and the First Doctor. A prepared clip of Leela was unfortunately omitted from the sequence by mistake.
The Doctor decides that Davros must be killed and accepts the role of executioner with great reluctance. He ultimately does not kill him.
The Doctor vows to change his ways after the massive death toll and Tegan's stinging criticism of his lifestyle.

Individuals

Tegan quotes her dead aunt Vanessa to justify her decision to stay on Earth.

Locations

There are cylinders of the Movellan virus stored on Earth.
The TARDIS materialises near Tower Bridge in 1984.

Time travel

The Daleks use time corridor technology to travel between their space craft, the space station and Earth.
The Cloister Bell can be heard ringing while the Doctor is trying to free the TARDIS from the Daleks' time corridor.

Weapons

The Doctor handles a pistol, killing a Dalek mutant.
The Movellans hid a number of anti-Dalek virus containers on Earth, possibly knowing that Earth is a prime candidate for future Dalek anti-Movellan operations.
The Daleks equip their android duplicates with time period specific weapons (such as sub-machine guns for Lytton's faux-policemen). This causes some consternation for Lytton, who abhors the waste of useful slaves/subjects for experimentation after the prisoners escape.
Dalek Troopers are armed with laser weapons that have no visible beam but are lethal to humans in a single shot and can damage a Dalek with enough shots.

Story notes

This story had the working titles of Warhead, The Return, and The Resurrection.
Although recorded as four separate episodes, it was broadcast as two forty-five-minute episodes to free up transmission slots for the broadcast of the 1984 Winter Olympics.
Rodney Bewes (Stien) is erroneously credited as 'Stein' in Radio Times for part one.
Leslie Grantham (Kiston) is credited both on-screen and in Radio Times under the name Les Grantham. He is uncredited on-screen for part one, but is credited in Radio Times.
An article by Russell T Davies in the Doctor Who Annual 2006 suggested that the Dalek Supreme's attempt to assassinate the High Council was one of the initial clashes in the Last Great Time War mentioned in the 2005 series.
Eric Saward was unsatisfied with the story, saying in a DVD commentary that it was too frantic, with too many ideas. The main plot was the Daleks releasing Davros so he might find a cure for the Movellan virus. There were several sub-plots: the creation of duplicates to invade the Earth; the capture of the Doctor to create a clone to assassinate the Time Lords' High Council; Davros's scheme to create a new race of Daleks. As none of these are dealt with at any length, he felt they distracted from the central plot.
John Nathan-Turner hated the Dalek-like helmets of Lytton's troops, but did not have the time to change them.
Michael Wisher (who had played the original Davros in TV: Genesis of the Daleks) was unavailable to reprise his role due to theatrical work, so he was replaced by Terry Molloy.
In the fan novelisation, it is mentioned that Professor Laird is UNIT's scientific adviser, who is currently on attachment to Colonel Archer's Bomb Disposal Squad. This was not derived from any information given in the televised version.
A clip of the battling Daleks was used in the first episode of the TV series James May's 20th Century; This clip was used to illustrate an item about lasers.
This story has an unusually high body count, even for Doctor Who. Besides the Doctor, Tegan and Turlough, only Lytton and his two policemen survive (the Dalek Supreme may also have survived, as it's unclear whether it is actually on the Dalek ship at the time of its destruction). Much of the violence appears gratuitous, such as the murder of Laird, the killing of a crew member infected by a disease, and the shooting of the man with the metal detector whose attention Tegan tries to attract.
This story was never officially novelised due to unsuccessful negotiations with Eric Saward, but the New Zealand Doctor Who Fan Club had novelised it Resurrection of the Daleks By Paul Scoones.

Ratings

Part one - 7.3 million viewers
Part two - 8.0 million viewers

Myths

It was due to the success of the double-length episode format of this story that the BBC decided to adopt the format for the whole of the following season. (It had already been decided before this that season twenty-two would consist of thirteen episodes of approximately forty-five minutes each).

Filming locations

Curlew Street, Bermondsey
Butler's Wharf, Bermondsey, London
Shad Thames, Bermondsey
Lafone Street, Bermondsey
BBC Television Centre (TC6 & TC8), Shepherd's Bush, London

Production errors

If you'd like to talk about narrative problems with this story — like plot holes and things that seem to contradict other stories — please go to this episode's discontinuity discussion.

Near the end of part two, three Daleks go into the time corridor — but four come out.
Many of the broadcast videotapes of parts three and four episodes seen on PBS stations in the US lacked sound effects; actors pointed lasers at each other noiselessly and the final explosion was silent. (This was due to an unfortunate mix-up of videotapes at BBC Enterprises, which resulted in undubbed copies being supplied. US viewers should perhaps have felt privileged, as the only people to see these particular tapes are the programme makers themselves!)
The Dalek pushed out of the warehouse's loading bay doors at the beginning of part two differs from the Dalek in the studio-shot combat scene just before. It's a different colour, its eye stalk is shorter, and the rings around its mesh are mutilated with severe dents.
When the Doctor shoots the Dalek mutant, no bullet holes appear in the sheet.
When Davros says the line, "Now for the Daleks", his mouth does not move at all.
In part one in the TARDIS, you can see the shadow of the boom microphone.
In many scenes the 'cuffs' on the Dalek grills vary positions between each other throughout the entire story.
On some grey Daleks there is no wire mesh between the solar panel slats.
The actor's left eye can be seen in a scene underneath Davros's mask.
In part one, when Turlough comes across the room containing the corpses of the Daleks' victims, including the real Colonel Archer and Sergeant Calder, the body of the Colonel is still wearing the gun-belt he gave to the Doctor.

Continuity

Despite having been in suspended animation for the past few centuries, Davros shows knowledge of Time Lords — something that had never been said in front of the character in his past two appearances.
The Daleks know of Gallifrey and want the Doctor's duplicate to assassinate the High Council. They previously had not shown such knowledge before this story.
With the exception of a brief scene in TV: The Five Doctors, this is the only story to feature the Daleks during the Peter Davison era on screen.
Davros was placed in suspended animation 90 years ago. (TV: Destiny of the Daleks)
Lytton and his two faux-police goons reappear in TV: Attack of the Cybermen.
As the Daleks probe the Doctor's mind, flashbacks on the mind analysis machine included: Turlough (TV: Terminus), Tegan (TV: Logopolis), Nyssa (TV: Black Orchid), Adric (TV: Warriors' Gate), Romana II (TV: Warriors' Gate), Romana I (TV: The Ribos Operation), K9 (TV: Warriors' Gate), Harry Sullivan (TV: Terror of the Zygons), the Fourth Doctor (TV: Pyramids of Mars), Sarah Jane Smith (TV: Pyramids of Mars), Jo Grant (TV: The Mutants), Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (TV: The Ambassadors of Death), Liz Shaw (TV: Spearhead from Space), the Third Doctor (TV: The Mutants), Zoe Heriot (TV: The War Games), Victoria Waterfield (TV: The Enemy of the World), Jamie McCrimmon (TV: The Enemy of the World), the Second Doctor (TV: The War Games), Ben Jackson (TV: The Tenth Planet), Polly Wright (TV: The Tenth Planet), Dodo Chaplet (TV: The War Machines), Sara Kingdom (TV: The Daleks' Master Plan), Katarina (TV: The Daleks' Master Plan), Steven Taylor (TV: The Time Meddler), Vicki Pallister (TV: The Rescue), Barbara Wright (TV: The Daleks), Ian Chesterton (TV: The Daleks), Susan Foreman (TV: The Daleks) and the First Doctor (TV: The Daleks' Master Plan). Leela and Kamelion do not appear; a clip of the former, taken from TV: The Face of Evil was to featured during the aforementioned flashback sequence, but was omitted by mistake. Of the companions seen, six never encountered the Daleks on-screen: Dodo, Zoe, Liz, Romana I, Adric, and Nyssa.
Tegan leaves the TARDIS but is eventually reunited with the Doctor in Brisbane, Australia on 22 September 2006, 22 years later. (AUDIO: The Gathering)
Tegan also has another different encounter with the Doctor in PROSE: Good Companions.
Davros next appears in AUDIO: Davros. He next appears on screen in TV: Revelation of the Daleks.
With the exception of the Doctor, Tegan and Turlough, Lytton is the only named character in the story who does not die. However, Davros would later be resurrected by Arnold and Lorraine Baynes in AUDIO: Davros.
The use of contagion by the Daleks as a weapon is a recurring element of the classic Dalek stories. In TV: The Dalek Invasion of Earth they infect Earth with a plague. In TV: Planet of the Daleks, they conquer Spiridon with disease. In TV: Death to the Daleks, they threaten to launch plague missiles. In TV: Genesis of the Daleks, Davros contemplates a hypothetical situation proposed by the Fourth Doctor of a disease that would wipe out all life. He later creates it in AUDIO: Terror Firma. In this story, the Daleks use disease to capture the prison ship.
When the Doctor makes his decision to murder Davros, he justifies his plan by recalling the events of TV: Genesis of the Daleks, specifically his hesitation (and eventual decline) to cause the genocide of the Daleks before they could develop into ruthless, ethno-supremacist monsters. The Doctor then explains that it was a mistake he aims to amend by killing Davros before he can "save" the Dalek race.
When Tegan protests the violence which seems to surround the Doctor wherever he goes, he remarks, "It seems I must mend my ways". This foresees a similar remorse which continues through his future incarnations.
Tegan previously encountered a Dalek in the Cathedral of Power of the Elite on Florana. (AUDIO: The Elite)
Having many times expressed distaste for guns and similar weapons, the Doctor has the opportunity to kill Davros using one, but ultimately does not do so.
The Doctor says he wouldn't know what to do with an army, but will command one later against Morbius. (PROSE: Warmonger) The Twelfth Doctor later states that he doesn't need an army because he has his companions when offered one by Missy. (TV: Death in Heaven)

Home video and audio releases

DVD releases

Released as Doctor Who: Resurrection of the Daleks, the UK DVD release was the 4-part edition untransmitted in the UK, which came with an additional rubber case that went over the top of the standard packaging.

Released:

Region 2 - 18 November 2002

PAL - BBC DVD BBCDVD1100

Region 4 - 3 February 2003
Region 1 - 1 July 2003

NTSC - Warner Video E1759

Contents:

On Location - Return to London's Shad Thames with Eric Saward, Matthew Robinson, and John Nathan-Turner
Breakfast Time - Janet Fielding and John Nathan-Turner
Deleted Scenes
Trailer
5.1 Mix
Music-only Option
TARDIS-Cam #4
Photo Gallery
Production Subtitles
Easter Egg - Original VT countdown used before part two. To access this hidden feature, press left at On Location on the Special Features menu.
Easter Egg - Opening and closing themes, without credits. To access this hidden feature, press left at Who's Who on the Special Features menu.
Commentary: Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, and Matthew Robinson

Rear Credits:

Starring Peter Davison
By Eric Saward
Produced by John Nathan-Turner
Directed by Matthew Robinson
Incidental Music by Malcolm Clarke

Notes:

Editing for the DVD release was completed by the Doctor Who Restoration Team.
It has also been released as part of the Davros box set with Genesis of the Daleks, Destiny of the Daleks, Revelation of the Daleks and Remembrance of the Daleks.

Region 2 UK DVD cover
Region 4 DVD cover
Region 1 DVD cover
Region 2 Netherlands DVD cover
Davros Region 1 cover
Region 4 Davros cover
Davros Region 2 cover

Special Edition release

This story was released as Doctor Who: Resurrection of the Daleks: Special Edition

Released:

UK 28 March 2011 Region 2
Australia 5 May 2011 Region 4
TBA - Region 1

Special Features:

The story's original 2-part edition, released on DVD for the first time. The 4-part edition is featured as well.
Audio Commentary with Terry Molloy (Davros), writer Eric Saward and visual effects designer Peter Wragg.
Casting Far and Wide - Actor interviews
The Last Dalek - Behind the scenes of 1967's The Evil of the Daleks (moved here from The Seeds of Death)
Come In Number Five - Fifth Doctor retrospective presented by David Tennant
Tomorrow's Times - The Fifth Doctor
Walrus short
All previous special features

Notes:

It is only available in the UK and Australia as part of the Revisitations 2 box set.

Region 2 DVD UK cover
Region 4 cover
Revisitations 2 Region 2 cover
Region 4 Revisitations 2 cover

VHS releases

This story was released as Doctor Who: Resurrection of the Daleks.

Released:

First Release:

UK November 1993

PAL - BBC Video BBCV5143

Australia/NZ February 1994
US May 1994

NTSC - Warner Video E1261

Notes: It was presented in the non-broadcast (original edit) four part format.

Second Release:

UK September 2001

PAL - BBC Video BBCV7253

Notes: W H Smith exclusive as part of the The Davros Collection box set.

US VHS cover
Australian VHS cover
UK VHS cover
UK VHS box set cover
UK box set spine art
UK VHS re release cover
VHS AUS box set cover
Australian VHS re release cover

External links

Anonymous

Search

Resurrection of the Daleks (TV story)

Namespaces

More

Page actions

Contents

Synopsis