The Daleks & Davros (TV story)

The Daleks & Davros was the name given in the programme for the 2008 edition of Doctor Who at the Proms^[1] for a skit which followed Music of the Spheres, in which the Proms were hijacked by Davros and his Daleks.

The Daleks & Davros

Main character(s):

Davros

Featuring:

Bad Wolf entity

Main enemy:

Conductor

Main setting:

Royal Albert Hall, 21st century

Release details

Premiere broadcast:

1 January 2009

Premiere networks:

BBC Three, BBC One

Format:

1x8 minutes skit

*Doctor Who at the Proms* minisodes
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Music of the Spheres	Symphony of the Daleks

Unlike Music of the Spheres, which featured David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor is prerecorded footage, Davros's part was acted live by Julian Bleach, in only his second appearance as Davros, before being recorded on television and audio in a definitive broadcast form. However, some prerecorded material still went into the original performance, in the form of a Bronze Dalek broadcasting from other areas of the Royal Albert Hall than the concert hall itself.

Synopsis[[edit] | [edit source]]

Davros and the Daleks take control of the Royal Albert Hall in the 21st century, with Davros intent on making the building the heart of a new Dalek Empire, and the Daleks terrorise the orchestra into playing Dalek music. However, after initially complying, the orchestra play a a very different, ethereal song whose power banishes the Daleks and their creator back through time.

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

Just as the audience of the Royal Albert Hall finishes cheering for the Tenth Doctor after he banishes a Graske through a portal, a Bronze Dalek broadcasts a message on a screen, announcing that the building is "now under Dalek control". A force of Daleks files into the concert hall, explaining that they have "travelled back in time" to alter "the history of the Proms". The Daleks intimidate the conductor, who tried to flee, into returning to the platform, ordering him to conduct the human musicians in a rendition of some Dalek music.

Davros, the creator of the Daleks himself, soon joins his creations in the concert all, appearing on a raised platform from which he proclaims the Royal Albert Hall "the imperial palace of his new Dalek Empire", and the humans in attendance his "obedient slaves". As the "music of destruction" begins, with the conductor under explicit threat of extermination if he does not comply, Davros watches in impassive glory as records of past Dalek battles flash on the raised screen. As the music plays on, a single Cyberman briefly follows the Daleks' time corridor and finds itself in the Royal Albert Hall, but, seeming as confused as the Daleks themselves, it soon heads back where it came from without initiating a conflict.

However, an altogether different threat soon dispatches the Daleks. The orchestra begin playing a very different song that summons the power of the Bad Wolf, images of whose dispatching of the Daleks, followed by other records of their many defeats, begin appearing on the screen instead. The Daleks realise what is happening, but are powerless to stop it as they find themselves bathed in a red energy which banishes them back through time, with Davros trying vainly to physically hang on as he is pulled away. Finally, the orchestra end their piece having completely banished the Daleks, to rapturous applause from the audience.

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

Prosthetics and Creatures - Millennium FX
Costume Design - Louise Page
Engineering Manager - Jeremy Turner
Camera Supervisor - Vince Spooner
Lighting Gaffer - Mark Gardiner
Lighting Desk Operator - David Bishop
Event Sound - Phil Wright, Sound by Design
Floor Managers - Richard Wyn Jones, Donna Tait
Projections - Anna Valley Display
Screen Sequence Editor - Gary Skipton
Screen Sequence Edit Producer - Paul Symonds
Production Team - Lindsey Sisk, Llywela Jones, Sue Perry-Grech, Anwen Rees
Screens Vision Mixer - Llinos Metcalf
Screens Director - Rhian Williams
Production Assistant - Sian Parry
Vision Mixer - Hilary Briegal
Sound Supervisor - Julian Gough
Dubbing Mixer - Peter Jeffreys
Colourist - Jon Everett
Film Editor - Dylan Goch
Lighting Director - Bernie Davis
Movement Director - Denni Sayers
Production Designer - Eryl Ellis
Brand Executive - Edward Russell
Production Executive - Julie Scott
Line Producer - Jo Marks
Executive Producers - Julie Gardner, Russell T Davies

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Daleks are attempting to change history.

Story notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

This story takes place directly after TV: Music of the Spheres.
The credits of Doctor Who at the Proms did not specifically include credits for the narrative Daleks & Davros segment as distinct from other moments throughout the performance where Doctor Who monster actors appeared in costume, in those cases without any fictional context. However, Paul Kasey was credited as playing all "Hero Monsters", allowing one to deduce that he portrayed the lone Cybusman, and Barnaby Edwards was the sole credited Dalek operator. Indeed, only one Dalek prop was evidently present, with the prerecorded message on the screen being used to imply the presence of a greater force off-screen. Beyond those casting details, it can be understood that the rest of the crew credits given for the overall special apply to this skit as much as the rest of it.