Talk:Davros

Infobox image
I have re-added the image File:Davros.jpg to the infobox for this article. In the interest of preventing edit wars, the reason is explained here. Any replacement of this image with file:DavrosJE1.jpg or similar images will be reverted.

We have certain rules for infobox images, some of which you can read at Tardis:Guide to images. One of the rules is that the infobox image must be representative of the story/character/location, etc. In this particular case, Davros has appeared in more of the classic episodes than those of NuWho, so the image of the older version is more appropriate, as User:OttselSpy25 stated in his edit summary.

For similar examples, you can check out the articles for Ice Warrior and Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart.

The current image is the best possible image currently available, but it doesn't quite satisfy all our guidelines for infobox images. If someone uploads a more tightly cropped image of the classic era Davros, it can be posted here for consideration. Also, images of Davros from the current series (and series 4 of course) are allowed anywhere else on the page. Shambala108 ☎  01:38, September 29, 2015 (UTC)

"Not been born yet"
Years ago, when I was a student at the Ottawa Child Study Centre, I had a cab mate who told me that the story of GENESIS OF THE DALEKS took place in the future and that Davros "hasn't been born yet."Glammazon ☎  03:49, September 18, 2020 (UTC)
 * I'm not entirely sure what your point is? But the dating of Skaro history relative to Earth history is a fraught point. There is a significant following for the idea that TV: The Dead Planet takes place in 1963, for example, which would necessarily place Genesis contemporary to the Middle-Ages, or thereabouts. --Scrooge MacDuck ☎  10:07, September 18, 2020 (UTC)

Infobox image - tabbed?
Hey all. Given the new guidelines and rules which allow for recasts to be shown in infobox galleries (see how First Doctor shows Hartnell, Hurndall and Bradley), would it be appropriate to do the same for Davros' actors/infobox? It's a slightly weirder one because every Davros is meant to be the very same character, and even though the mask changes three or more times, it's still meant to be the same face in-universe. Any thoughts? Fractal Doctor ☎  12:38, 15 March 2023 (UTC)


 * The two Decayed Masters are essentially the same, but that infobox gallery has Pratt and Beevers in. So should Davros? Fractal Doctor ☎  12:40, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Absolutely. Hurndall isn't meant to be a different face from Hartnell in-universe, either. Scrooge MacDuck ⊕ 12:55, 15 March 2023 (UTC)

I agree entirely. I personally think we should show every actor to play Davros, in order of introduction. Thus we can include the "child Davros" without it being the default image. I also think an extra image should be included for the "Emperor" Davros incarnation. Thus:

So now that we've settled, how does everyone feel about this selection? OS25🤙☎️ 03:07, 6 April 2023 (UTC)
 * I don't love the one of the kid, honestly. It's a good picture in itself, but the angle makes his facial proportions look a bit different from what he's actually like — thinner, with less baby fat — so it's not ideal for an infobox picture. The others work for me. Scrooge MacDuck ⊕ 03:18, 6 April 2023 (UTC)


 * I apologise, I meant to swap that one out for the more recent consensus. I've now corrected it, as it was sincerely a mistake. OS25🤙☎️ 02:09, 7 April 2023 (UTC)

I think that selection is mostly good. I'm not sold on the Wisher pic. I think it's low-quality, dark, and there's no reason we have to use a screengrab from that scene. This is my proposal (right). Otherwise, I think the rest are great. Fractal Doctor ☎  12:32, 8 April 2023 (UTC)

Wisher pic proposals
Here are my proposals for the Wisher Davros image. Fractal Doctor ☎  12:45, 8 April 2023 (UTC)


 * I think the first one is the only one that comes close to matching the "To hold in my hand" image. The others are too dark or too poorly framed. OS25🤙☎️ 15:50, 8 April 2023 (UTC)


 * Any movement on this? Would be nice to get a gallery in place 🚀 Fractal Doctor 🔮  17:57, 3 June 2023 (UTC)

We're 4 months post-main discussion on this with still no clear resolution. For no good reason other than it's the anniversary coming up, and this Wiki has already had a good amount of freshening up, it'd be nice to get an infobox gallery going soon. I think the selection as posted most recently by OS25 is solid, and seems to be generally agreed upon (?) - it's just the Wisher photo that we need to agree on :) — Fractal Doctor @  18:25, 19 August 2023 (UTC)


 * My preferred image would be the one that says "My preferred pic". Imo it's by far the nicest, clearest, with the best lighting. Aquanafrahudy  📢  18:33, 19 August 2023 (UTC)


 * For reference, I've continued this discussion below. Hoping a simple vote can end this discussion. — Fractal Doctor @  18:30, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Davros with 2 hands (new production photos)
May be of relevance/interest for this page. Some photos from the 1970s production have been unearthed, showing behind the scenes of Frontier in Space and Genesis of the Daleks. Michael Wisher is shown with both hands. Photos are in black and white. Posting here in case anybody can use them, or in case they may be useful for a the new gallery section. (Also cross-posted to the Genesis talk page too.) Fractal Doctor ☎  11:20, 24 March 2023 (UTC)

Infobox gallery proposal
Further to discussion above, what do we think of this for the infobox gallery?

I understand there may have been an objection to the "Price" Davros pic, but we are very limited with screencaps and I think this is the best we have. — Fractal Doctor @  18:29, 20 August 2023 (UTC)


 * Think that's good, yeah. Aquanafrahudy  📢  19:09, 20 August 2023 (UTC)


 * Could we crop Price further, even if we stick with this picture? It's not too wide anymore in general by policy but I do think the different framing to all the others is very distracting. Scrooge MacDuck ⊕ 12:38, 28 August 2023 (UTC)

Davros' appearance
So in Destination: Skaro (TV story), Davros is shown with all of his limbs and without disfigurement while inventing the Daleks. A significant subset of fans have taken this as just a conflicting account showing a pre-disfigurement Davros, but Davies has said otherwise in Doctor Who: Unleashed. Quote, "We had long conversations about bringing Davros back, because he's a fantastic character, [but] time and society and culture and taste has moved on. And there's a problem with the Davros of old in that he's a wheelchair user, who is evil. And I had problems with that. And a lot of us on the production team had problems with that, of associating disability with evil. And trust me, there's a very long tradition of this. I'm not blaming people in the past at all, but the world changes and when the world changes, Doctor Who has to change as well. So we made the choice to bring back Davros without the facial scarring and without the wheelchair – or his support unit, which functions as a wheelchair. '''I say, this is how we see Davros now, this is what he looks like. This is 2023. This is our lens. This is our eye. Things used to be black and white, they're not in black and white anymore, and Davros used to look like that and he looks like this now, and that we are absolutely standing by. It's a night where issues of disability or otherness or being excluded from society come right to the front of the conversation. So of all the nights to make this change, I thought it was absolutely vital to do this. And I'm very, very, very proud of the fact that we have.'" This statement makes it very clear that the short was not meant to depict Davros in the past, but that it was a retcon of Davros' appearance over the decades. A statement like "Davros used to look like that and he looks like this now" does not in any way imply that the short took place pre-accident; it specifically calls out Davros' design of the past 48 years and says it is a thing of the past. "I say, this is how we see Davros now, this is what he looks like" heavily implies that any depiction of him using the old design has been declared invalid by showrunner fiat. And while some people might argue that Unleashed took his words out of context, or that he wasn't speaking clearly, Chris Chibnall has been interviewed and he specifically complimented the retconning of Davros, saying, "He's made some decisions, the decision around Davros, and stuff like that, [they're] really fantastic, wonderful decisions and it has to keep changing. It has to keep evolving, it has to keep checking itself against the world and being a little bit ahead of the world.''". This clearly goes beyond the Children in Need sketch, and while the BBC hasn't tried to make George Lucas-style edits to Davros' previous appearances (even if they want to they could probably never afford to), RTD's sentiment is pretty clear. This is Davros now and for all time. And so I think the TARDIS Datacore needs to reflect or at least acknowledge that in some way. This is something that's happening, the wiki can't stick its collective fingers in its ears and wait for something that isn't going to change to blow over. I'm not a regular contributor to this wiki, so I don't think I can say what should happen, but I can try and start this very necessary conversation, so I'm doing that. Teridax2000 ☎  01:07, 22 November 2023 (UTC)


 * Rule 1. RtD's comments are irrelevant until this appears in other media. Najawin ☎  02:26, 22 November 2023 (UTC)


 * Well... I'm not sure. We've let authorial intent guide our coverage before, and if it is clear that this Davros is not meant to be before his disfigurement, but one who was never disfigured, lends more credence to Destination: Skaro being set in a different version of reality than . As I'm sure this will be heavily discussed in the not-too-distant future, this may be a very pertinent element to the discussion. 02:53, 22 November 2023 (UTC)


 * We'd just remain agnostic on the issue until there's such a story, per current rules about speculation, no? Najawin ☎  05:04, 22 November 2023 (UTC)


 * In theory, but currently we have two stories, one explicitly showing two realities existing, and one that sorta implies it. It's the issue with these semi-promotional stories, as they deserve coverage due to being officially released but make contextless references to unreleased material, leaving us in a tricky spot with coverage. 06:46, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

But... Even if we grant that, it doesn't imply that this would handle coverage this way, as a moving forward thing. That's precisely something we'd be agnostic about. Najawin ☎  07:34, 22 November 2023 (UTC)


 * We can acknowledge this in the BTS section, sure. But this shouldn't influence our real world coverage any more than Genesis of the Daleks' decision to overwrite the comics from the sixties. And changing Davros' appearance is an out of universe occurrence. It should in no way influence our in-universe coverage besides "according to one account this happened and according to another this happened". And Davies' comment was not remotely clear as to whether Davros would be brought back at all under his reign. This whole thing is ridiculously blown out of proportion. RTD's quotes merit nowt but a note in the "Behind the scenes" section. 07:47, 22 November 2023 (UTC)