The Klade were a humanoid species who lived on the Needle in the far future.
History[]
During the genesis of the Daleks, Davros's assistant, Castavillian, thinking an anagram of Kaled should be the name for the Mark III Travel Machine, suggested "Klade" as a name for what would eventually become known as the Dalek, but Davros, despite stopping to think it over, did not like the name. (TV: Destination: Skaro [+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who (BBC One, 2023).)
On the Needle, the Klade were led by Prefect Ferran. The Doctor encountered the Klade on Falkus and Galspar. (PROSE: Father Time)
The Doctor mentioned the Klade as being a potential threat to Gallifrey. (PROSE: The Infinity Doctors) Marnal claimed that the Klade had the power to destroy the Time Lords and Gallifrey, but admitted that they would not have had the nerve to do so. (PROSE: The Gallifrey Chronicles)
Closer to the end of the universe, Gordel theorised that the Needle People were the super-evolved survivors of the Thal race, fleeing the Final Dalek War. (PROSE: The Infinity Doctors)
Behind the scenes[]
- Klade is both an anagram of "Dalek" (as "Dalek" is itself of "Kaled") and a play on the biological term "clade", which is a group of species sharing a common ancestor. According to reference book AHistory, the Klade were the humanoid descendants of the Daleks.
- In Lance Parkin's rejected pitch for an Eighth Doctor novel called Enemy of the Daleks, the Klade were confirmed to be the humanoid descendants of the Daleks and the ultimate destiny of all life in the universe. To repent for the sins of their ancestors, the Klade joined an alliance, led by the Doctor's father, to fight the Enemy and avoid Last Contact.
- The Klade's "Gods of War and Legacy" are a reference to John Peel's two Dalek EDAs, War of the Daleks and Legacy of the Daleks.
- In his book Whoniverse: An Unofficial Planet-by-Planet Guide to the World of the Doctor from Gallifrey to Skaro, Parkin stated that the Klade were the remnants of the Daleks. As described in the text, the Klade were "a race of blond supermen" who were consumed with a desire to "exterminate" their enemies and to ensure their race became "supreme". He then notes they operated fleets made up of "flying saucers" that had time travel capabilities.
- The use of the term in Destination: Skaro was subject to a discrepancy in subtitles between BBC iPlayer, which offered the spelling "Klade", and YouTube, which instead used the spelling "Klaed". The script itself spelt it as "Klade." [1]