Dalek hierarchy

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Due to their highly militaristic culture, the Daleks operate under what is nominally a rigid hierarchy; there are often variations to it, however, depending on era and circumstance.

Overview

Command structure

Figurehead

The Golden Emperor.

Council

The Cult of Skaro. (DW: Doomsday)

Commanders

Low Ranking Daleks

Non-Daleks - Servants, Mercenaries and Slaves

Visual distinctions

Daleks often showed their rank via colours. In one version, gold Daleks are the highest, followed by black, red, blue and grey. (EDA: War of the Daleks) The Dalek Tapes, a feature in the Genesis of the Daleks DVD, has golden Daleks as members of the Supreme Council, followed in rank by black (Dalek Supreme), partially black, silver (scientific corps), and grey. Doctor Who: The Dalek Handbook says that the Black Daleks used to be the highest command until the civil war, and a Supreme was always taken from their ranks; after the war, the Supremes and their Council were gold-and-black, the Black tier was replaced with the golden Commanders, and the standard Daleks were grey-black, with a group commander picked from their ranks.

In the early days, the majority of Daleks were silvery with blue "bumps", with mid-ranking Daleks like the Saucer Commanders being partially black and a black Dalek Supreme as the highest commander. (DW: The Dalek Invasion of Earth)

During the Last Great Time War and in the New Dalek Empire, almost the entirety of Daleks shown were of the same colour; the Supreme Dalek in the latter was marked out by being red with golden trimmings, while Dalek Sec of the Cult of Skaro was black.

The restored Daleks sported bright colours, with each colouring showing their role: the Supreme was white, the strategist was blue, the scientist was orange, and the drones were red. The yellow Dalek was given the mysterious title of "Eternal" and was the only one to have black orbs instead of silver. (DW: Victory of the Daleks, Doctor Who Confidential)

Purity

Daleks ranks have often been established by their genetic purity. In Parting of the Ways, the Dalek Emperor created his new army out of Human DNA, which caused them to not only obey but worship the Emperor as the only pure Dalek.

When the new Dalek Race was created from pure Dalek DNA found in the progenitor (DW: Victory of the Daleks) both they and the impure Daleks which created them believed the new race was superior due to their purity, and that any impure forms must be destroyed.

History

The original Dalek hierarchy saw the Dalek Emperor as the overall leader of the Daleks. Daleks with black domes acted as both the Emperor's guards and lieutenants. (DW: The Evil of the Daleks) Black Daleks acted as Supreme Controllers during planetary invasions and other missions of high importance, and were part of a tier of Dalek commanders. (REF: Doctor Who: The Dalek Handbook) Each Dalek saucer was put under the command of a Dalek Saucer Commander. (DW: The Dalek Invasion of Earth) Standard Daleks had silver casing.

This hierarchy for the most part remained unchanged until the defeat of the Humanised Daleks at the end of the Great Civil War, after which the Daleks were able to restore order and rebuilt. A new hierarchy was established. The Dalek Emperor remained the overall ruler, but black Supreme Daleks were replaced with gold Daleks (DW: Day of the Daleks, Frontier in Space) and Dalek workers and soldiers were distinguished by their grey casings. (REF: Doctor Who: The Dalek Handbook) A Dalek Council was also organised, of which a special black and gold Dalek was a member among others. (DW: Planet of the Daleks) Dalek taskforces were silver with black globes. (DW: Death to the Daleks)

After the Time Lords sent the Doctor on a mission to prevent the creation of the Daleks, some points of Dalek history were supposedly changed. Grey Daleks remained as drones and took orders from the Supreme Dalek, a position which black Daleks once again took up rather than gold. This was an unstable arrangement, as discovered during the Dalek-Movellan War. With both the Daleks and the Movellans at a logical stalemate, the Daleks went in search of Davros to gain his aid in resolving the situation. (DW: Destiny of the Daleks) Davros was displeased to learn that the Daleks were taking orders from a Supreme Dalek instead of him. He built his own Daleks to oppose those of the Supreme Dalek, delcared himself the Dalek Emperor and a civil war between Davros' white and gold Imperial Daleks and the "Renegade Daleks" loyal to the Supreme Dalek broke out. Neither side could claim victory. (DW: Resurrection of the Daleks, Revelation of the Daleks, Remembrance of the Daleks)

During the Last Great Time War, Dalek soldiers had bronze casings and were led once again by the Emperor. Davros also took part in the war but was supposedly killed during the first year. (DW: The Stolen Earth) Following the near-destruction of both the Time Lords and the Daleks, what Daleks managed to survive attempted to rebuild their race. The Cult of Skaro - a secret Dalek order - tried twice but were foiled by the Doctor on both occasions. The Cult's leader, Dalek Sec, had a completely black casing while the other three - Thay, Jast and Caan - had the standard bronze, although they were more than just soldiers. In the end, Sec was overthrown and Caan replaced him. (DW: Doomsday, Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks)

Caan, the last of the Cult, escaped from the Doctor back into the Time War, where he rescued Davros but lost his sanity due to breaking the time lock. Davros rebuilt the Daleks from his own cells and created the New Dalek Empire. The leader was a Supreme Dalek with a unique red and gold casing. Davros and Caan were not allowed to lead, as the Daleks saw them both as impure, demonstarting how strict the Daleks were about purity in their race and leadership. The Empire was obilterated by a clone of the Tenth Doctor. (DW: The Stolen Earth/Journey's End)

The Dalek race was finally restored fully after the only survivors of the New Dalek Empire's destruction came across a Projenitor device. The restored Dalek race was led by a white Supreme Dalek. Drone Daleks were red, strategists were blue, scientists were orange, and the Eternal Dalek was yellow. (DW: Victory of the Daleks) These Daleks also had an Emperor which was blue, but when the Doctor prevented the Daleks from taking control of Skaro, no Dalek became the Emperor and so the Supreme Dalek likely continue to lead the Daleks full time. (VG: City of the Daleks)