- "If someone who knew the future pointed out a child to you and told you that that child would grow up totally evil... to be a ruthless dictator who would destroy millions of lives... could you then kill that child?"
- ―The Doctor
| "Genesis of the Daleks" | |
|---|---|
| Series Doctor Who Season 12, Episode 16 | |
| |
| Air date | April 12th, 1975 |
| Writers | Terry Nation |
| Director | David Maloney |
| Producers | Philip Hinchcliffe |
| Starring | Tom Baker; Elisabeth Sladen; Ian Marter; Michael Wisher; |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous "Genesis of the Daleks (Part 5)" |
Next "Revenge of the Cybermen (Part 1)" |
"Genesis of the Daleks (Part 6)" is the sixth and final chapter in the "Genesis of the Daleks" serial, which ran through episodes 11-16 in series 12 of the television series Doctor Who. The episodes originally aired in six parts on BBC1 from March 8th to April 12th, 1975. The serial was directed by David Maloney and written by veteran Doctor Who screenplay writer Terry Nation. In this episode, The Thal resistance fighters storm the Kaled bunker. The Doctor faces a strong moral dilemma and Davros makes his final move as the Daleks patrol the bunker corridors wiping out all opposition.
Synopsis[]
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The Doctor emerges from the Dalek incubation room with a Dalek embryo wrapped about his throat. Sarah helps to pull it away from him, but it is a close call. The door is sealed shut behind him and the Doctor readies the explosive. He begins to have second thoughts however, and is reluctant to commit genocide against any species, even the Daleks. He reminds Harry and Sarah about all the worlds that united together and became allies out of their shared fear of the Daleks. He questions whether he has the right to wipe them all out. Sarah disagrees with him and tells him that destroying the Daleks would be no different than wiping out a deadly virus. The decision is momentarily taken out of the Doctor's hands as Gharman arrives in the corridor and tells them about Davros' surrender. He says that Davros is calling a meeting of both the Military and Scientific Elite Corps to hold an election and discuss the terms of his surrender. For the moment, it appears as if further production of the Daleks has been halted.
The Doctor, Harry and Sarah accompany Gharman to the meeting with Davros and the other Kaled leaders. Davros addresses them and points out the necessity of the Daleks and that in order for the universe to survive, one race must remain dominant. As they talk, Sarah notices the sonic screwdriver and the Time Ring on the laboratory table and sneaks them to the Doctor. Gharman poses his counter points to Davros and the others, and while he does not support the idea of wiping out the Daleks, he cannot abide the idea of them becoming unfeeling, unthinking machines. If this is what the Kaled race is destined to become, they must do so with compassion.
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Meanwhile, Bettan and Sevrin lead the Thal resistance fighters into the Kaled bunker. They are carrying their own supply of explosives and begin placing them at strategic points throughout the bunker. Sevrin knows that Sarah, Harry and the Doctor are inside and goes off to try and warn them. Bettan tries to give him enough time to find them and get out before the explosions begin.
Davros calls for a vote to see which members of the Elite will remain loyal to him, but very few join his side. Nyder makes an unexpected exit from the room and the Doctor, Sarah and Harry decide to follow him. They corner him in a corridor, but during the struggle, the Doctor drops the Time Ring. He fails to notice it rolling onto the floor. They ask Nyder where to find the data tape that contains the Doctor's dictation on how to defeat the Daleks. Nyder tells them that it is inside Davros' office. They bring him to the office and force him to open the safe containing the data tape. The Doctor picks up an unused Dalek gun from a table and uses it to incinerate the disk. Nyder takes this opportunity to run out of the room. He promptly returns to Davros' side.
Davros finally reveals his hand. He called this meeting solely to determine who were truly loyal to him and who would ultimately betray him. He presses his finger to a button on his chair and all the doors in the room suddenly open. Daleks begin pouring in and Davros shouts, "Exterminate!". The Daleks fire their energy weapons and kill everyone in the room except for Davros and Nyder.
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Fleeing from the Daleks.
Sevrin finds the Doctor, Harry and Sarah and tells them about the Thal incursion and that they have set explosives all throughout the bunker. Confident that the explosion would spell the end of the Daleks, the Doctor needs only to recover the Time Ring and they can return to the TARDIS. He finds it on the floor in the corridor and they take off running. As they criss-cross through the various corridors, they barely escape detection from the patrolling Daleks. The Doctor gives Sarah the Time Ring and tells them to go to the main entrance to the bunker. He is going to go back to the Dalek incubator room to destroy it after all. When he reaches it however, he finds himself caught in a Dalek crossfire.
Sevrin, Harry and Sarah reach the main entrance where they meet up with Bettan. They plead with her to wait a few more minutes to give the Doctor enough time to escape.
In Davros' laboratory, an indicator light on a control panel switches on, initiating an automated sequence on the Dalek production line. Knowing that he had issued no such instructions, he asks who is responsible. His response comes from one of the Daleks. He orders it to stand down and instructs Nyder to shut down the program. The Dalek fires its energy cannon, killing Nyder. The other Daleks surround Davros, refusing to obey his commands any longer. They have advanced to the point that they no longer require the use of any non-Dalek. Davros continues to order them to stand down, but the Daleks refuse. He then begs for pity, but the Daleks literally do not know the meaning of the word. It was never programmed into their vocabulary. The Daleks fire their weapons at Davros and he screams in unbridled agony.
Meanwhile, the Doctor manages to reach Sarah and the others at the main entrance. Bettan gives the order to detonate the bombs and the entire bunker is wracked with explosions. Afterward, they look at a view screen and witness Davros' execution at the hands of the Daleks. The Doctor knows that although they were victorious this day, they have only forestalled the development of the Daleks by a thousand years at best. After saying goodbye to Bettan, Sevrin and the others, the Doctor, Harry and Sarah grab hold of the Time Ring and return home.
Cast[]
Principal Cast[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Tom Baker | The Doctor |
| Elisabeth Sladen | Sarah Jane Smith |
| Ian Marter | Harry Sullivan |
| Michael Wisher | Davros |
Guest Stars[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Peter Miles | Nyder |
| Dennis Chinnery | Gharman |
| Stephen Yardley | Sevrin |
| Harriet Philpin | Bettan |
| Andrew Johns | Kravos |
| John Gleeson | Thal soldier |
| John Scott Martin | Dalek operator |
| Cy Town | Dalek operator |
| Keith Ashley | Dalek operator |
| Roy Skelton | Dalek voice |
| William Ashley | Kaled scientist |
| David Billa | Thal survivor |
| Timothy Blackstone | Thal survivor |
| Roy Caesar | Elite guard |
| Les Conrad | Thal survivor |
| Tony Hayes | Kaled scientist |
| Charles Rayford | Kaled scientist |
| Mike Reynell | Kaled scientist |
| Paddy Ryan | Kaled scientist |
| Barry Summerford | Elite guard |
| Alan Charles Thomas | Kaled scientist |
| John Timberlake | Kaled scientist |
| Patrick Travis | Kaled scientist |
| Reg Turner | Thal survivor |
| Harry Van Engel | Kaled scientist |
Notes & Trivia[]
- Episode was included in the Doctor Who: Genesis of the Daleks DVD collection.
- Includes a recap of the climax to Part Five.
- The Time Ring and the sonic screwdriver were last seen in part one.
See also[]
Media
The World of Doctor Who
Doctor Who miscellaneous
External Links[]
| "Genesis of the Daleks" This is the fourth multi-part storyline from series twelve of Doctor Who and is divided into six chapters. Chapters
Characters
The Doctor • Sarah Jane Smith • Harry Sullivan • Davros • Nyder • Ronson • Gharman • Bettan • Sevrin • Daleks |
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