Doctor Who Has Changed The Daleks, Here’s Their New Look
Doctor Who has redesigned the Daleks. Here's what they look like.
This article is more than 2 years old
Doctor Who’s Christmas Special is on its way and with it comes the return of the Doctor’s most feared enemy, the Daleks. But not only are the Daleks returning, but they are also coming with a new look.
The Christmas Special, aptly titled Revolution of the Daleks brings the extraterrestrial race of mutants back into the Doctor Who fold with a new design and color scheme. Compared to some of the many earlier versions of the Dalek, this one looks to be quite menacing. Check out the new design on the cover of Radio Times:
Bradley Walsh, who portrays Graham, told Radio Times, “This new special is the Daleks taking on the universe. For Whovians and the show, it’s massive.” The Thirteenth Doctor, Jodie Whittaker, also said, “To be honest, they always seemed like Christmassy imagery to me — appropriate for this time of year!”
There was considerable consternation surrounding Doctor Who with the COVID pandemic wreaking havoc on its shooting schedule. Fans were left in limbo while the long delay ensued, not knowing when the good Doctor would be returning and in what form. But showrunner Chris Chibnall recently put minds at ease when he told Radio Times, “In this strangest of years, the Doctor Who production team have worked wonders to get the show back into production. Given the complexity of making Doctor Who, and with new and rigorous COVID working protocols, it’s going to take us a little longer to film each episode, meaning we expect to end up with eight episodes, rather than the usual 11.” While the news of eight episodes rather than 11 isn’t the best of news, at least the fans are getting something. Including the annual Christmas special.
Chibnall and company must have been able to peek into the future because according to voice actor Nicholas Briggs, who voices the Dalek, filming of the special took place before the pandemic shutdown. “I think it was great that they got ahead and did this festive special – and it’s turned out to be extremely fortuitous actually, a lot more than they had probably intended,” he told Radio Times. “So I think it will be a great gift to Doctor Who fans and a lovely, lovely bit of Doctor Who at Christmastime, or round about whenever it’s going to be.”
As for the Dalek, Chibnall said, “No question, they’re a part of British culture – they’re like the Mini of Doctor Who. You can keep updating them but the brilliant design endures.” Executive producer of Doctor Who Matt Strevens agreed, “Even if you don’t know much about Doctor Who, everyone knows the Daleks.”
With the leak of the new Dalek design hitting social media, the reactions came in. One Whovian tweeted, “I think it’s a controversial opinion but I always loved the dalek sec design and I now absolutely adore this new design. It jusy looks so sleek. Can’t wait to see it in action in all its glory!”
Another said, “I love the Dalek Sec design. I like the colour of the new design and the bottom half looks good but it looks way too skinny overall.” Others, though, were not so kind. “Front, side, back, it doesn’t matter what angle I look at it from – I fucking hate it and would literally take any other Dalek design over it (yes, even the power ranger Daleks)”
While news of the return of the Dalek is big, Doctor Who also provided Whovians earlier big news with their announcement that Captain Jack Harkness will be back in action. John Barrowman plays Captain Jack and had this to say about his return via the BBC, “Putting on Jack’s coat and setting foot back on the set of Doctor Who was just like going back home. It’s always thrilling to play Captain Jack. He’s a character very close to my heart who changed my life, and to know the fans love him as much as I do makes his return even sweeter. I hope everyone enjoys Jack’s Heroic adventure with Thirteen.”
There is no word on how Jack returns to the TARDIS to join forces with The Doctor in the battle against the Dalek so Whovians, you’re going to have to wait for the Christmas Special. Speaking of which, it is still unknown if the special will play on Christmas Day, as it has many times in the past, or if you’ll have to wait until New Years Day, as Whovians have had to the past couple of years.
