Dalek (novelisation)
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Dalek was a novelisation based on the 2005 television episode Dalek. It was written by the original writer Robert Shearman and released by Target Books on 11 March 2021.
Publisher's summary
'The entire Dalek race, wiped out in one second. I watched it happen. I made it happen!'
The Doctor and Rose arrive in an underground vault in Utah in the near future. The vault is filled with alien artefacts. Its billionaire owner, Henry van Statten, even has possession of a living alien creature, a mechanical monster in chains that he has named a Metaltron.
Seeking to help the Metaltron, the Doctor is appalled to find it is in fact a Dalek – one that has survived the horrors of the Time War just as he has. And as the Dalek breaks loose, the Doctor is brought back to the brutality and desperation of his darkest hours spent fighting the creatures of Skaro… this time with the Earth as their battlefield.
Chapter titles
- Prologue
- 1
- 2
- 3
- The Torturer's Tale
- 4
- The Collector's Tale
- 5
- 6
- 7
- The Agent's Tale
- 8
- The Genius's Tale
- 9
- The Soldier's Tale
- 10
- 11
- 12
- Epilogue
Deviations from televised story
- The story features a prologue, an epilogue, and some parts from the POV of some of the characters.
- Dialogue is switched around or altered in some places compared to how it was spoken on screen.
- There is an opening scene with the Doctor and Rose in the TARDIS that is not present in the televised story.
- The scene in which the Doctor and Rose observe a Cyberman head in Van Statten's museum is omitted.
- The Doctor and Rose are captured by guards after attempting to gain access to the Cage when they hear the Dalek screaming, as opposed to accidentally triggering an alarm as in the televised story.
- Despite being referred to by name in the TV story, De Maggio is replaced by a new character called Maya Klein.
- The Metaltron is purchased from a Hiram Duchesne.
- Simmons is revealed to have been given a new identity, with his original name being Aaron Denton.
- The Dalek is far more damaged initially than it was in the TV story, to the extent that its dome is malformed and its sucker is snapped.
- The book identifies the last person to touch the Dalek who "burst into flames" as Dr Yevgeny Kandinsky.
- The Dalek instructs Rose to touch it to ensure that it will not die alone, whereas in the TV story it merely states that it will die alone which encourages Rose to touch it of her own accord.
- The Dalek regenerates the damage to its casing immediately after absorbing Rose's DNA, whereas in the TV story it regenerates its casing when draining power from the base. This process is explicitly pointed out to be the Daleks' approximation of the Time Lords' own regeneration.
- The Dalek and Rose are implied to have more of a connection, with her being physically unable to run away from it on two occasions, closer to They Keep Killing Suzie.
- The Dalek does not have a shield, and is knocked over by the concentrated fire of the soldiers.
- Van Statten pulls a gun on the Doctor after the failed ambush, considering giving him to the Dalek.
- Diana Goddard is revealed as an undercover federal agent and she places Van Statten under arrest.
- The Doctor implies that the Dalek absorbed a huge amount of pornographic material from the internet and petitions to revive Buffy the Vampire Slayer, to which it bluntly replies that all data it considered irrelevant was immediately deleted.
- While scolding Van Statten and blaming him for the deaths caused by the Dalek, he knocks things from the desk.
- When contacting the Doctor demanding he reopen the bulkheads, the Dalek uses its sucker arm to clamp around Rose's face to prevent her from speaking to him.
- Bywater is revealed to have a first name. It's Owen. The book also reveals that he and Diana Goddard were in a relationship and that he was her superior in the undercover operation.
- Adam’s recruitment is depicted, including his original roommate Sven and being taken before the Dalek by Simmons.
- The Dalek allows Van Statten to touch it one final time before leaving with Rose.
- Van Statten erases his memory himself, rather than Goddard ordering it. This is prompted by the Dalek giving him a nightmarish vision of him repeatedly killing everyone he has harmed.
- The Dalek's backstory is depicted, including the Fall of Arcadia during which it encounters the War Doctor before being flung back through time.
- Instead of the Doctor saying he can't help Rose when he's closing the bulkheads, he says he won't help her.
- The Doctor does not berate Adam for leaving Rose behind, instead making a similar comment to Rose before they leave in the TARDIS, replacing their brief chat about Adam's looks.
- Van Statten asking Goddard's opinion on the next president and making her his second-in-command is moved to her back story rather than occuring just after the Doctor and Rose's arrival, with Polkowski not appearing at all.
- The scene of the Doctor and Adam searching through the alien artefacts for a weapon is omitted.
- The Dalek asks Rose "Who is the Bad Wolf?", replacing the use of the term as a helicopter callsign in the televised version.
- Several references to the original source material AUDIO: Jubilee are incorporated into the plot, such as the Dalek's line "No, you judged me correctly. I am a Dalek, and I die to safeguard the purity of the Dalek race." (a line taken from Jubilee), and a flashback scene depicted the Dalek having some of its limbs chopped off in order to fit into its casing (which Nigel Rochester did to his dwarves in Jubilee).
Writing and publishing notes
to be added
Additional cover images
to be added
Audiobook
This Target Book was released as an audiobook on 11 March 2021 complete and unabridged by BBC Audio and read by Nicholas Briggs.
Audiobook cover
External links
- Official Dalek page at Penguin Books
