The Daleks & Davros (TV story)

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
← Previous	Music of the Spheres
Next →	Symphony of the Daleks

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

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

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

• Julian Bleach - Davros
• Nicholas Briggs - Voice of the Daleks
• Barnaby Edwards - Dalek operator
• Ben Foster - Conductor
• Paul Kasey - Cyberman

Crew

• 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

• The Daleks are attempting to change history.

Story notes

• 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.

Filming locations

• Royal Albert Hall

Continuity

• The Daleks play footage from the Planetary Relocation Incident, (TV: The Stolen Earth, Journey's End) the Battle of Canary Wharf, (TV: Doomsday) the Metaltron's escape from the Vault, (TV: Dalek) the Battle of the Game Station, (TV: Bad Wolf, The Parting of the Ways) and the Cult of Skaro's plot in 1930s New York City. (TV: Daleks in Manhattan, Evolution of the Daleks)
• The orchestra are able to call upon the powers of the Bad Wolf entity by playing music associated with it. After recovering from her experience as the entity, the only thing Rose Tyler remembered was "singing", on the nature of which the Ninth Doctor refused to comment. (TV: The Parting of the Ways)

Home video releases

DVD releases

As part of Doctor Who at the Proms, the recorded version of the skit was included on the DVD release of The Next Doctor.