Dalek saucer commander
A Dalek saucer commander, or spaceship commander, (PROSE: Dalek Combat Training Manual) was the designated commander of the Dalek flying saucer.
History[[edit] | [edit source]]
In Bedfordshire during the 2150s Dalek invasion of Earth, the First Doctor encountered a saucer commander, which served as the second-in-command to the Supreme Dalek. Unlike Dalek drones, the Saucer Commander had a unique casing featuring a black dome and alternating black-and-silver panels on the base unit. The commander, along with the Supreme Dalek and the Dalek fleet, was destroyed at the climax of the invasion by the uprush from the exploding penetrative explosive capsule. (TV: The Dalek Invasion of Earth) In the version of history "B", a red Saucer-Pilot Dalek served in the 2150 Dalek invasion of Earth. (PROSE: Dalek Survival Guide, TV: Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.)
A Dalek saucer commander led a saucer to destroy satellites during the Cold War, hoping the Americans and the Russians would blame each other and the conflict would escalate. It exterminated a Dalek for questioning an order. However, the Dalek saucer was infiltrated by the Third Doctor, who contacted a submarine, the HMS Pandora, and ordered it to fire on the ship. The Daleks, including the Saucer Commander, died as the ship flooded. (COMIC: The Threat from Beneath)
A Dalek Saucer Commander commanded the saucer X-K Beta-19 in Galacton's orbit. (PROSE: Mission to Galacton)
Behind the scenes[[edit] | [edit source]]
- The Saucer commander was the first different Dalek variant and Dalek in authority to be shown on-screen.
- The prop for this Dalek is the same prop for the Supreme Dalek. The production team did not paint it in time for the show as seen during the attack on the saucer — the Commander went in but the Supreme came out — for it was not seen during the second part of part 2 and the rest of the episode.
- In the remake of The Dalek Invasion of Earth starring Peter Cushing, the saucer commander's roles are taken up by the Red Dalek.
- Makkith, a humanised Dalek subordinate to the Red Dalek Alpha in the comic story Children of the Revolution, has a black and blue casing reflecting the saucer commander.
- The colour scheme used for the saucer commander has not reappeared in any subsequent televised episodes to date. However, the "Dalek Patrol Ship" sets released in 2014 by Character Options included an exclusive 3.75-inch bronze "Dalek pilot" figurine bearing a black dome and alternating black "skirt" panels identical to the colour scheme of the saucer commander.
- A designated Command Dalek, identical to its bronze subordinates, leads a saucer in Into the Dalek. A similar Bronze Commander leads the Dalek Death Squad spacecraft in Revolution of the Daleks.
