''The Evil of the Daleks'' is the mostly-missing ninth and final serial of the fourth season in the British

science fiction television Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...

series ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...

'', which originally aired in seven weekly parts from 20 May to 1 July 1967. In this serial, the Doctor (

Patrick Troughton Patrick George Troughton (; 25 March 1920 – 28 March 1987) was an English actor who was classically trained for the stage but became known for his roles in television and film. His work included appearances in several fantasy, science fiction ...

) and his travelling companion

Jamie Jamie is a unisex name. It is a diminutive form of James or, more rarely, other names. It is also given as a name in its own right. People Female * Jamie Anne Allman (born 1977), American actress * Jamie Babbit (born 1970), American film and t ...

(

Frazer Hines Frazer Simpson Frederick Hines (born 22 September 1944) is an English actor. He began his career as a child actor and appeared in ''A King in New York'' (1957) with Charlie Chaplin. He later played Jamie McCrimmon in ''Doctor Who'', appearing i ...

), shortly after losing the TARDIS, are transported to 1866, where

the Daleks ''The Daleks'' (also known as ''The Mutants'' and ''The Dead Planet'') is the second serial in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast on BBC TV in seven weekly parts from 21 December 1963 to 1 ...

force the Doctor to help them in their latest plot to implement the human factor into Dalek brains in order to 'humanise' themselves into even deadlier living weapons. This serial marked the debut of

Deborah Watling Deborah Patricia Watling (2 January 1948 – 21 July 2017) was an English actress who played the role of Victoria Waterfield, a companion of the Second Doctor in the BBC television series ''Doctor Who'' from 1967 to 1968. She began her career a ...

as the Doctor's new companion, Victoria Waterfield. It is also notable for introducing the Dalek Emperor. Only episode two, the episode in which Victoria first appears, is held in the BBC archives; the other six remain missing. This story was initially intended to be the last

Dalek The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrials in fiction, extraterrestrial race of mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction on television, science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by write ...

story on ''Doctor Who''. Writer

Terry Nation Terence Joseph Nation (8 August 19309 March 1997) was a British screenwriter and novelist. Especially known for his work in British television science fiction, he created the Daleks and Davros for ''Doctor Who'', as well as the series '' Surviv ...

, the creator of the Daleks, was trying to sell the Daleks to American television at the time and it was intended to give them a big send-off from the series. However, this was not to be the Doctor's last encounter with them. Aside from a few cameos, the Daleks did not properly return to the series until ''

Day of the Daleks ''Day of the Daleks'' is the first serial of the ninth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 1 to 22 January 1972. It was the first of four Third Doctor serials ...

'' in 1972. In 1993, readers of '' DreamWatch Bulletin'' voted ''The Evil of the Daleks'' as the best ever ''Doctor Who'' story in a special poll for the series' thirtieth anniversary. The story was released on DVD and Blu-ray in animated form on 27 September 2021, with the remaining episode two included.

Plot

In 1966 London, the

Second Doctor The Second Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was portrayed by actor Patrick Troughton. While the Troughton era of ''Doctor Who'' is well-remembered by fans an ...

and

watch helplessly as the

TARDIS The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension In Space") is a fictional hybrid of the time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. Its exterior a ...

is loaded onto a lorry and driven away from

Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after ...

. The trail leads them to an antique shop run by Edward Waterfield, who sells Victorian-style antiques that curiously seem as though they were still new. Waterfield is being coerced by the

s, who appear in a secret room of his shop through a time machine, and exterminate his mutinous employee Kennedy. Investigating the store, the Doctor and Jamie succumb to a

booby trap A booby trap is a device or setup that is intended to kill, harm or surprise a human or another animal. It is triggered by the presence or actions of the victim and sometimes has some form of bait designed to lure the victim towards it. The trap m ...

that gasses them, and are dragged into the time machine by Waterfield. They wake to find that they have been transported to 1866, and are in the house of Theodore Maxtible, Waterfield's partner. The two had been trying to invent a time machine using mirrors and

static electricity Static electricity is an imbalance of electric charges within or on the surface of a material or between materials. The charge remains until it is able to move away by means of an electric current or electrical discharge. Static electricity is na ...

, when the Daleks emerged from their time cabinet. The Daleks then took Waterfield's daughter, Victoria Waterfield, hostage and forced Waterfield to travel a century forward in time to lure the Doctor into a trap by stealing the TARDIS. Waterfield is obviously fearful for his daughter's safety and his own, but Maxtible seems to be cooperating with the Daleks. The Daleks threaten to destroy the TARDIS unless the Doctor helps them by conducting an experiment to isolate the "Human Factor", the unique qualities of human beings that have allowed them to consistently resist and defeat the Daleks. Once the Doctor has isolated the Human Factor, he will implant it into three Daleks, who will then become the precursors of a race of "super" Daleks, with the best qualities of humans and Daleks. To that end the Daleks want the Doctor to test Jamie by sending him to rescue Victoria, who is being kept in the house. The Doctor is strangely cooperative with the Daleks, manipulating Jamie into the rescue mission but not telling him of the nature of the test. Jamie rescues Victoria, but she is taken prisoner again and transported through the time cabinet. The Doctor, observing how Jamie accomplished the rescue, distils the Human Factor, but suspects that there is more to the experiment than just this. Once the Human Factor is implanted in the three Daleks, they become completely human in personality and seem almost childlike, although the Doctor says their mentalities will mature quickly. This was the Doctor's intent all along: that the human factor would lead to "human" Daleks that would be friendly to humanity. He christens the three Alpha, Beta and Omega, but they soon return through the time cabinet to

Skaro Skaro is a fictional planet in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was created by the writer Terry Nation as the home planet of the Daleks. In ''The Daleks'' (1963–64), Skaro is described as being the twelfth ...

, the Daleks' home planet. Waterfield discovers that Maxtible has betrayed them all to the Daleks, hoping that he will be able to learn the

alchemical Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...

secret of transmuting base metals into

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

. However, Maxtible, who has travelled to Skaro through the mirror cabinet, is discovering just how ruthless the Daleks are and how empty their promises can be; he is tortured for his failure to bring the Doctor to them. Jamie, Waterfield and the Doctor are locked out of the time cabinet, but manage to use the Daleks' own short-range time machine to make the journey to Skaro before a Dalek bomb destroys Maxtible's house. The trio find their way into the Dalek city and are brought before the imposing Dalek Emperor, who reveals the true reason behind the experiments and the capture of the TARDIS: by isolating the human factor, the Doctor has succeeded in isolating the "Dalek Factor" as well. The Daleks will use the "Dalek Factor"—the qualities that make the Daleks relentless killing machines—to reconvert the "human" Daleks. In addition, the Emperor wants the Doctor to use the TARDIS to spread the Dalek Factor throughout human history, turning all humanity into Daleks. The Doctor knows that the Emperor realises that he would die before complying with this order, and so is concerned about why the Emperor seems so confident. Maxtible is tricked into walking through an archway that infuses him with the Dalek Factor, mentally turning him into a Dalek. He hypnotises the Doctor and lures him through the arch as well, apparently converting him. However, the Doctor is feigning his conversion and secretly plants a device on the arch while the Daleks hunt for the three "human" Daleks. As one still remains to be found, the Doctor suggests that all the Daleks be put through the conversion arch so that the "human" Dalek will once again be infused with the Dalek Factor. As the first batch of Daleks go through the arch, the Doctor frees the others. The arch did not work on the Doctor because it was calibrated for humans, and he is not one. The Doctor has also substituted the Human Factor for the Dalek Factor on the arch, so the Daleks that go through will become "human" and rebel against the Emperor. The Emperor calls out his Black Daleks as the rebellion spreads and the City falls into chaos. Waterfield throws himself in front of a Black Dalek blast meant for the Doctor; the Doctor promises that Victoria will be taken care of, and Waterfield dies content. The Emperor is attacked by the "human" Daleks. While the Doctor and his companions escape, Maxtible rushes back into the exploding city, screaming of the everlasting glory of the Dalek race. The Doctor tells Jamie that they will be taking the now-orphaned Victoria along on their travels. Jamie, Victoria and the Doctor watch the Dalek City in flames from the top of a hill as the civil war continues. The Doctor pronounces this the end of the Daleks – the final end. However a pulsating light is seen coming from the Emperor, indicating that the Dalek is still alive.

Production

Cast notes

Patrick Troughton only appears in pre-filmed insert scenes for the fourth episode, as he was on holiday. Likewise Deborah Watling only appears in a pre-filmed scene in episode four. John Bailey, who played Edward Waterfield, had previously appeared in ''

The Sensorites ''The Sensorites'' is the seventh serial in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Written by Peter R. Newman and directed by Mervyn Pinfield and Frank Cox, the serial was first broadcast on BBC1 in six weekly parts fro ...

'', and would later appear in ''

The Horns of Nimon ''The Horns of Nimon'' is the fifth and final broadcast serial of the 17th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 22 December 1979 to 12 January 1980. I ...

''. According to the short BBC Video documentary ''The Dalek Factor'' about the making of the story, released in September 2021 as part of the animated restoration of the serial, Denise Buckley was cast in the role of Victoria Waterfield by director Derek Martinus. The production team had been hoping that

Pauline Collins Pauline Collins (born 3 September 1940) is a British actress who first came to prominence portraying Sarah Moffat in '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' (1971–1973) and its spin-off, '' Thomas & Sarah'' (1979). In 1992, she published her autobiography, ...

would continue in the role of Samantha Briggs, that she had played in the previous story ''The Faceless Ones'', but had created Victoria as a back-up should Collins decline. When Collins confirmed she did not want to join the regular cast, it was decided to introduce Victoria as the new companion and Denise Buckley was released, but paid in full, with Deborah Watling replacing her as a more suitable actress for the ongoing role.

Missing episodes

This story was

wiped Lost television broadcasts are mostly those early television programs which cannot be accounted for in studio archives (or in personal archives) usually because of deliberate destruction or neglect. Common reasons for loss A significant prop ...

from the BBC's archives in the late 1960s. Episodes 1 to 6 were wiped in August 1968, and episode 7 was wiped in September 1969. Only episode 2 remains, in a

telerecording Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program on motion picture film, directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor. The process was pioneered during the 1940 ...

found at a

car boot sale Car boot sales or boot fairs are a form of market in which private individuals come together to sell household and garden goods. They are popular in the United Kingdom, where they are often referred to simply as 'car boots'. Some scientifi ...

then returned to the archive in May 1987. In 2004, analysis of the repeated clip used in '' The Wheel in Space'' episode six revealed it to be from episode one rather than episode two, as had been long believed. This, however, only constitutes a few frames of recovered footage. The discovery of a behind-the-scenes film, ''The Last Dalek'', made by the special effects team as they worked on the story's conclusion, facilitated a recreation of the climactic battle scenes. This recreation, along with the entire film, have been made available in different forms on various Troughton releases, and has often been used to fill in for the missing climax of Episode 7 in fan-made reconstructions, to give fans an idea of what it looked like when it first aired. In addition, tele-snaps and off-air audio recordings made by fans upon the original broadcasts exist for the entire story.

Broadcast and reception

Episode is missing The story was repeated in 1968 at the end of Season 5 (8 June 1968 to 22 June 1968 and 13 July 1968 to 3 August 1968 allowing for a two-week break for coverage of the 1968 Wimbledon tennis championships) at 5.15pm. At the end of '' The Wheel in Space'', the Doctor used a telepathic display machine to show new companion

Zoe Heriot Zoe Heriot (sometimes spelled Zoe Herriot) is a fictional character played by Wendy Padbury in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. A young astrophysicist who lived on a space wheel in the 21st century, s ...

the sort of monsters she would face if she joined the TARDIS crew, and shows a clip from the end of episode 1 of ''The Evil of the Daleks''. Over the following weeks (bridging the gap between Seasons 5 and 6) the entire story was shown, narration over the opening scene of episode 1 reminding viewers of the reason for the repeat. This was the only time any ''Doctor Who'' episodes (other than the first episode) were reshown in the 1960s. The repeat viewing figures were 6.3, 5.0, 6.3, 5.0, 5.1, 4.5, 5.2 million viewers respectively. Ironically, Zoe herself would never encounter the Daleks on television; decades later, the

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on cult science fiction properties. These include '' Doctor Who'', th ...

audio story ''

Fear of the Daleks ''The Companion Chronicles'' is a sci-fi audio series produced by Big Finish, detailing adventures usually featuring the Doctor, as told by various former companions of his, with only one further voice actor taking part in the narration. It b ...

'' would tell of an encounter between Zoe and the Daleks, set immediately after the Doctor's telepathic re-run.

Paul Cornell Paul Douglas Cornell (born 18 July 1967) is a British writer best known for his work in television drama as well as ''Doctor Who'' fiction, and as the creator of one of the Doctor's spin-off companions, Bernice Summerfield. As well as ''Docto ...

, Martin Day, and

Keith Topping Keith Andrew Topping (born 26 October 1963 in Walker, Tyneside) is an author, journalist and broadcaster. He is most well known for his work relating to the BBC Television series ''Doctor Who'' and for writing numerous official and unofficial g ...

gave the serial a positive review in ''

The Discontinuity Guide ''The Discontinuity Guide'' is a 1995 guidebook to the serials of the original run (1963–1989) of the BBC science fiction series ''Doctor Who''. The book was written by Paul Cornell, Martin Day and Keith Topping and was first published as ''D ...

'' (1995), describing it as "a grandiose production which papers over its scientifically implausible aspects with a confident swagger." In ''The Television Companion'' (1998), David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker noted how ''The Evil of the Daleks'' paid tribute to the series' past, and praised Whitaker's writing and the production values. In 2009, Patrick Mulkern of ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves ...

'' awarded it five stars out of five and wrote that the story "boasts an intriguing mystery, well-drawn characters, atmospheric settings and thrilling set-pieces", though it did have an "overly elaborate" plot. He particularly praised Jamie, as well as the incidental music.

Broadcast of recreation

The animated reconstruction mentioned under Home Media was shown on BBC America on Saturday, October 30, 2021, from 8 AM to 11:30 AM, the day before the release of The Halloween Apocalypse (Extended Cut), the first story of the 13th Series of New Who.

On stage

In 2006 the BBC and the Terry Nation estate licensed a charity stage version of the serial. It was adapted and directed by Nick Scovell, who also starred as the Doctor. Production was by Rob Thrush, who provided the

voices, and the orchestral score was by Martin Johnson. The production ran at the

New Theatre Royal The New Theatre Royal is a Victorian Grade II* listed theatre in the heart of Portsmouth, England, with a capacity of 667. The theatre building was constructed in 1854 as Landport Hall. It was converted to a theatre two years later. It was ...

, Portsmouth between 25 and 28 October 2006, playing to sell-out houses during its five-night run. £15,000 was raised towards the restoration of the theatre, with an additional £550 going to Children in Need.

Commercial releases

In print

Virgin Books Virgin Books is a British book publisher 90% owned by the publishing group Random House, and 10% owned by Virgin Group, the company originally set up by Richard Branson as a record company. History Virgin established its book publishing ...

published a novelisation of this serial by

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

in August 1993. It was the last serial of the original series to be novelised under the

Target Books Target Books was a British publishing imprint, established in 1973 by Universal-Tandem Publishing Co Ltd, a paperback publishing company. The imprint was established as a children's imprint to complement the adult Tandem imprint, and became wel ...

banner. Afterwards, only five serials (''

The Pirate Planet ''The Pirate Planet'' is the second serial of the 16th season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 30 September to 21 October 1978. It forms the second serial ...

'', ''

City of Death ''City of Death'' is the second serial of the seventeenth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor. It was produced by the BBC ...

'', '' Shada'', '' Resurrection of the Daleks'' and ''

Revelation of the Daleks ''Revelation of the Daleks'' is the sixth and final serial of the 22nd season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in two weekly parts on 23 and 30 March 1985. This was the final serial t ...

''), due to complex licensing, remained unavailable for adaptation. All five were finally novelised by James Goss, Gareth Roberts and

Eric Saward Eric Saward (; born 9 December 1944) is a British radio scriptwriter who worked for the BBC as a television script editor and screenwriter on the science fiction series ''Doctor Who'' from 1982 until 1986. He wrote the stories '' The Visitation' ...

respectively, for

BBC Books BBC Books (also formerly known as BBC Publishing) is an imprint majority-owned and managed by Penguin Random House through its Ebury Publishing division. The minority shareholder is BBC Studios, the commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasti ...

in the 2010s. All were subsequently re-published, in abridged form, under BBC Books' own relaunched Target branding.

Home media

As with all missing episodes, off-air recordings of the soundtrack exist due to contemporary fan efforts. In 1992 a set was released on audiocassette, accompanied by linking narration from the

Fourth Doctor The Fourth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Tom Baker. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from the ...

Tom Baker Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is well known for his portrayal of the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' from 1974 to 1981.Scott, Danny. (1 ...

. However, due to problems with background music clearance the scenes set in the Tricolour in episode one had to be deleted. Subsequently, better quality copies of the soundtrack emerged and in 2003, the remastered soundtrack was re-released with the excised scenes restored (albeit with the song " Paperback Writer" changed to " Hold Tight!") and with new narration by

. This CD release contains bonus tracks featuring the end of ''Episode 7'' without narration, raw dialogue and sound effect recordings and the narrated opening to ''Episode 1'' from the 1968 repeat. The serial was originally released on CD in the ''Doctor Who: Daleks'' collector's tin, alongside the soundtrack to ''

The Power of the Daleks ''The Power of the Daleks'' is the completely missing third serial of the fourth season of British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', and which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 5 November to 10 December 1966. It is ...

'' and a bonus disc featuring ''My Life as a Dalek'', a historical documentary presented by

Mark Gatiss Mark Gatiss (; born 17 October 1966) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, director, producer and novelist. His work includes writing for and acting in the television series '' Doctor Who'', '' Sherlock'', and '' Dracula''. Together with ...

; it was re-issued individually in 2004. Hines' narrated version was released on

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

Demon Music Group Demon Music Group (DMG) is a record company owned by BBC Studios that is mainly concerned with back-catalogue rights and re-issuing recordings as compilations on physical media (CDs and vinyl) via supermarkets and specialist stores. History DM ...

on 19 July 2019. To promote the vinyl release, an exclusive EP of the CD's bonus tracks was bundled with the "Deluxe Edition" of ''

Doctor Who Magazine ''Doctor Who Magazine'' (abbreviated as ''DWM'') is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. Launched in 1979 as ''Doctor Who Weekly'', the magazine became a monthly publication the follo ...

'' issue 539. In 1992, the sole surviving episode was featured in the ''Daleks: The Early Years'' VHS. In November 2004, the same episode was released on DVD as part of the '' Lost in Time'' box set. The story was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 27 September 2021, with all seven episodes animated in both colour and black-and-white, with the surviving Episode 2 also included.

References

Bibliography

External links

*
Photonovel of ''The Evil of the Daleks'' on the BBC websiteDoctor Who Locations
– The Evil of the Daleks

Target novelisation

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Evil of the Daleks, The 1967 British television episodes Dalek television stories Doctor Who missing episodes Doctor Who pseudohistorical serials Doctor Who stories set on Earth Fiction set in 1866 Fiction set in 1966 Second Doctor serials Television episodes set in London Victorian era in popular culture Television episodes set in the 1860s