Resurrection of the Daleks (TV story)

"Without Davros, we have no future!"

- Supreme Dalek

Plot
In a deserted urban street, a group of panicked ragged fugitives in futuristic uniforms try to run from two policemen. The policemen shoot the fugitives with machine guns, whereupon both the policemen and the corpses glow and vanish.

Elsewhere, the Doctor's TARDIS has gotten caught in a time corridor. The Doctor manages to free it and it then materialises in present day London, in some docklands, within sight of Tower Bridge not far from the shooting of the fugitives. They poke their noses into some nearby warehouses, and find a survivor of the massacre, a middle-aged man named Stien.

Far in the future, Daleks attack a space station. Their aim is to rescue their creator, Davros, who has been held there in suspended animation since his capture by humans. They want him to help them find an antidote to the Movellan virus.

In addition, the Daleks have constructed android duplicates and installed some of them in key positions of authority on Earth. They now intend to send duplicates of the Doctor and his companions to Gallifrey in order to assassinate the High Council of the Time Lords.

These plans ultimately fail, however, as one of their duplicate humans, Stien, rebels and destroys the space station. Davros is unable to find a cure for the virus but has an escape pod ready in case of problems.

Commander Lytton, an alien mercenary working for the Daleks, escapes to Earth. Tegan, sickened by all the killing she has seen, decides to remain on her home planet.

Crew

 * Assistant Floor Manager - Matthew Burge
 * Costumes - Janet Tharby
 * Designer - John Anderson
 * Film Cameraman - Ian Punter
 * Film Editor - Dan Rae
 * Incidental Music - Malcolm Clarke
 * Make-Up - Eileen Mair
 * Producer - John Nathan-Turner
 * Production Assistant - Joy Sinclair
 * Production Associate - June Collins
 * Script Editor - Eric Saward
 * Special Sounds - Dick Mills
 * Studio Lighting - Ron Bristow
 * Studio Sound - Scott Talbott
 * Theme Arrangement - Peter Howell
 * Title Music - Ron Grainer
 * Visual Effects - Peter Wragg

Story Notes

 * This story had the working titles of: Warhead, The Return, The Resurrection
 * Although recorded as four separate episodes it was broadcast as two 45 minute episodes in order to free up transmission slots for the broadcast of the Winter Olympics.
 * An article by Russell T Davies in the Doctor Who Annual 2006 suggested that the Dalek Supreme's attempt to assassinate the High Council was one of the initial clashes in the Last Great Time War mentioned in the 2005 series.
 * Eric Saward was unsatisfied with the story, saying in a DVD commentary that it was too frantic, with too many ideas. The main plot was the Daleks releasing Davros in order that he might find a cure for the Movellan virus. There were several other sub-plots: the creation of duplicates to invade the Earth; the capture of the Doctor in order to create a clone that would assassinate the Time Lords' High Council; Davros's scheme to create a new race of Daleks. None of these are dealt with at any length, and they distract from the central plot.
 * John Nathan-Turner hated the Dalek-like helmets of Lytton's troops, but did not have the time to change them.
 * Michael Wisher (who had played the original Davros in DW: Genesis of the Daleks) was unavailable to reprise his role as Davros due to theatrical work so he was replaced by actor Terry Molloy.
 * A clip of the battling Daleks was used in the first episode of the TV series "James May's 20th Century". This clip was used to illustrate an item about lasers.

Ratings

 * Part 1 - 7.3 million viewers
 * Part 2 - 8.0 million viewers

Myths

 * It was due to the success of the double-length episode format of this story that the BBC decided to adopt the same format for the whole of the following season. (It had already been decided before this that season twenty-two would consist of thirteen episodes of approximately forty-five minutes each).

Filming Locations

 * Curlew Street, Bermondsey
 * Butler's Wharf, Bermondsey, London
 * Shad Thames, Bermondsey
 * Lafone Street, Bermondsey
 * BBC Television Centre (TC6 & TC8), Shepherd's Bush, London

Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors

 * Many of the airings of the third and fourth episodes seen on PBS stations in the US lacked sound effects; actors pointed lasers at each other noiselessly, and the final explosion was silent. Ironically, this could be seen as more realistic lasers don't produce sound, and the sound of an explosion won't travel through a vacuum, the sounds are put in for the audience, these are called non-diogetic sounds, if the characters heard the sound of the lasers or the explosions than it would be an error.


 * Davros, although aware of the Movellan War, is surprised and fascinated by the problem of the impasse. Yet in Destiny of the Daleks he was aware of the problem. He still finds the situation fascinating.
 * Despite having spent his time in suspended animation he has been able to make his mind control device and has learnt enough about Time Lords to deduce that they're 'all soft'. He most likely built the device and learned of Time Lords during his Trial. However, this theory is merely supposition as there has been no evidence in the show or other materials to support it.


 * Davros appears to distrust the Daleks, and declares that they will not abuse him again. Yet in Destiny they were slave-like in their obedience. Perhaps he is referring to their betrayal in Genesis of the Daleks.


 * Who are the prisoners who escape at the start? Duplicates? The originals of duplicates? Why use duplicates as soldiers, rather than to infiltrate?


 * Why are the cylinders of Movellan virus left on 1984 Earth, a planet that the Daleks want to invade? It's a bit like the Allies hiding an atom bomb in Berlin. When Tegan handles a cylinder she remarks on how light is. But later it takes two Dalek agents to lift one. - It is not a matter of weight as a need to be very careful as the contents of the cylinder will kill their employers


 * How do the Daleks have duplicates of Tegan and Turlough? The 1984 earth soldiers appear to be duplicated in an extraordinarily short time. And why do the Daleks make such a fuss to keep the Doctor alive to clone him, when they can clone dead people as well? They needed him alive to copy his memories as well.


 * How are the Daleks able to view what's going on inside the station from their own ship? They could have hacked into the stations surveillance systems


 * Why does Davros immediately assume correctly that Lytton and his troopers are working for the Daleks after they unfreeze him? The Daleks are likely the only creatures in the universe that would want Davros free. The obviously Dalek-inspired design of Lytton's headgear probably also helped convince Davros that his creations were behind the attack.


 * Why do the duplicated Earth soldiers attack Davros's Daleks with weapons they know will not harm them? It was the only thing they could do in the situation. They hadn't been given any other weapons, as doing so would have aroused suspicions about them (and the Daleks accidentally did so anyway by giving Archer a duplicate gun belt)


 * When the Doctor is captured by the Daleks he asks where Davros is. But he does not know that the Dalek ship is docked onto the prison ship where Davros was held, let alone that he has been released. He says that he assumes that Davros is about somewhere, he doesn't actually know that the Dalek ship is docked onto the prison ship.


 * The Dalek plan to infiltrate Earth with their duplicates is one of the weak points of the multi-layered and confusing plot. The Dalek plan is never really explained. At the end of the story the Dalek Supreme tells the Doctor that the duplicates have infiltrated Earth. The Doctor explains to Tegan and Turlough that these duplicates will become unstable like Stein. Does this mean they will die, or that they will lose their Dalek conditioning? In the meantime, could they not they create chaos on Earth?


 * In the warehouse, a Dalek is disorientated and pushed out onto the street below. The prop that is used for the ejection bears little resemblance to the Dalek in the combat scene. Most notably, its eye stalk is ridiculously short.


 * When the Daleks discover the Doctor they mean to exterminate him. Lytton appears and tells them that the Supreme Dalek wants him alive. One of the Daleks electronically confers with the Dalek Supreme and confirms this. Why would the Dalek Supreme give this command to Lytton, who is not entirely trustworthy, but not to the party of Daleks sent to the Doctor? Later, when the survivors of the ship's crew are killed in the self-destruct chamber, a Daleks tells Lytton it must inform the Dalek Supreme. But it physically leaves. Actually, the camera just switches to focus on Lytton. You can actually hear the Dalek electronically communicating with the Supreme Dalek in the background. It just doesn't appear in the shot itself.


 * Why does Davros look so different to when we last saw him in Destiny of the Daleks? A side-effect of the cryogenic freezing. Or possibly the change in actors. "After 80 years or so would you look the same? also indeed it was a change of actors which required a different mask, although there was a change of actors between Genesis and Destiny however the same mask is used!"

Continuity
Turlough (DW: Terminus), Tegan (DW: Logopolis), Nyssa (DW: Black Orchid), Adric (DW: Warriors' Gate), Romana II (DW: Warriors' Gate), Romana I (DW: The Ribos Operation), K-9 (DW: Warriors' Gate), Harry (DW: Terror of the Zygons), the Fourth Doctor (DW: Pyramids of Mars), Sarah Jane Smith (DW: Pyramids of Mars), Jo (DW: The Mutants), the Brigadier (DW: The Ambassadors of Death), Liz Shaw (DW: Spearhead from Space), the Third Doctor (DW: The Mutants), Zoe (DW: The War Games), Victoria (DW: The Enemy of the World), Jamie (DW: The Enemy of the World), the Second Doctor (DW: The War Games), Ben (DW: The Tenth Planet), Polly (DW: The Tenth Planet), Dodo DW: (The War Machines), Sara (DW: The Daleks' Master Plan), Katarina (DW: The Daleks' Master Plan), Steven (DW: The Time Meddler), Vicki (DW: The Rescue), Barbara (DW: The Daleks), Ian (DW: The Daleks), Susan (DW: The Daleks), and the First Doctor (DW: The Daleks' Master Plan).
 * With the exception a brief scene in DW: The Five Doctors, this is the only story to feature the Daleks during the Peter Davison era.
 * Davros was placed in suspended animation in DW: Destiny of the Daleks.
 * Lytton reappears in DW: Attack of the Cybermen.
 * Flashbacks on the Dalek's mind analysis machine included:
 * Tegan departs the Doctor and the TARDIS, but re-meets the Doctor in BFA: The Gathering.
 * Tegan also has another different encounter with the Doctor in ST: Good Companions.
 * Davros next appears in BFA: Davros, he next appears on screen in DW: Revelation of the Daleks.

DVD, Video, and Other Releases
DVD Releases

Released as Doctor Who: Resurrection of the Daleks, the UK DVD release came with an additional rubber case that went over the top of the standard packaging.

Released:
 * Region 2 18th November 2002
 * PAL - BBC DVD BBCDVD1100


 * Region 4 3rd February 2003
 * Region 1 1st July 2003
 * NTSC - Warner Video E1759

Contents:
 * On Location - Eric Saward, Matthew Robinson, and John Nathan-Turner interviewed about the story.
 * Breakfast Time - Two features from the BBC morning magazine show.
 * Deleted Scenes
 * Trailer
 * 5.1 Mix
 * Music-only Option
 * TARDIS-Cam #4
 * Photo Gallery
 * Production Subtitles
 * Easter Eggs (Countdown clock/Clean titles sequence)
 * Commentary: Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, and Matthew Robinson

Rear Credits:
 * Starring Peter Davison
 * By Eric Saward
 * Produced by John Nathan-Turner
 * Directed by Matthew Robinson
 * Incidental Music by Malcolm Clarke


 * It is also being released as part of the Davros box set with Genesis of the Daleks, Destiny of the Daleks, Revelation of the Daleks and Remembrance of the Daleks.

Video Releases

Released as Doctor Who: Resurrection of the Daleks.

Released:


 * First Release:
 * UK November 1993
 * PAL - BBC Video BBCV5143
 * Australia/NZ February 1994
 * US May 1994
 * NTSC - Warner Video E1261

Notes: Presented in the non-broadcast (original edit) four part format.


 * Second Release:
 * UK September 2001
 * PAL - BBC Video BBCV7253

Notes: W.H. Smith exclusive as part of the The Davros Collection box set.

Novelisation

 * This story was never official novelised due to unsuccessful negotiations with Eric Saward, however the New Zealand Doctor Who Fan Club had novelised it Resurrection of the Daleks By Paul Scoones.