The Curse of the Daleks
Encyclopedia
The Curse Of The Daleks is a Dalek
stage play, written by David Whitaker and Terry Nation
, which appeared for one month at the Wyndham's Theatre
in London, beginning on December 21, 1965. It is notable for being Terry Nation's first live-action attempt to exercise his ownership of the Dalek concept independently of the BBC. As such, it does not include the Doctor
, the TARDIS
or any other elements from Doctor Who
.
It was performed mostly as a matinée, indicating its marketing towards children.
It was produced by John Gale
and Ernest Hecht, and directed by Gillian Howell. It starred Nicholas Hawtrey (Captain Redway), Edward Gardener (Rocket Smith), David Ashford (Bob Slater), John Moore (Professor Vanderlyn), Hilary Tindall
(Marion Clements), John Line (Jonathon Ladiver), Colin Miller (Harry Sline), Nicholas Bennet (Dexion), and Suzanne Mockler (Ijayna).
, one of the astronauts believes he can turn the Daleks into his servants. As ever, the Daleks have other plans.
One was the Doctor- and companion-less episode Mission to the Unknown
. Though commonly known as an introduction to the Doctor Who serial, The Daleks' Master Plan
, it was also preparatory to a proposed Dalek-only pilot called, The Destroyers. Had it made it been completed, The Destroyers would have been centred around the same "Space Security Service" seen in Mission to the Unknown and Master Plan.
The second was through this play, which introduced the idea of accidental human discovery of the planet Skaro (similar to what happened to the TARDIS crew in The Daleks
), and the humans' subsequent reaction against the Daleks.
While this was the only of the two approaches that actually got produced on the strength of Terry Nation's ownership alone, it received no further independent development. Elements from this play were later reworked by David Whitaker for the Second Doctor
television story The Power of the Daleks
.
In 2008, Big Finish Productions reproduced the play in an audio format starring Nicholas Briggs as the voice of the Daleks, along with The Ultimate Adventure and The Seven Keys to Doomsday.
newspaper's anonymous critic gave The Curse of the Daleks a mixed but generally positive assessment in a review published on December 22, 1965. "No less compelling on the stage than the television screen, the Daleks are the undoubted stars of this futuristic adventure story," opened the piece. The reviewer concluded that: "After their false start, depending too much on weak jokes and technical jargon, a feeling of genuine crisis is generated. And the patience of the youthful matinée audience is rewarded as the Dalek menace increases. Despite the rather stilted dialogue, the actors play with all possible conviction, and Gillian Howell's direction has the necessary pace."
An animated CGI version of 'Curse Of The Daleks' has been made by Dr Who enthusiast, Stuart Palmer, but was taken down so as not to compete with the Big Finish audio adaptation. It was available at www.alteredvistas.co.uk, which still shows CGI stills from the production.
audio drama based on the long-running British
science fiction television
series Doctor Who
.
Dalek
The Daleks are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Within the series, Daleks are cyborgs from the planet Skaro, created by the scientist Davros during the final years of a thousand-year war against the Thals...
stage play, written by David Whitaker and Terry Nation
Terry Nation
Terry Nation was a Welsh screenwriter and novelist.He is probably best known for creating the villainous Daleks in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who...
, which appeared for one month at the Wyndham's Theatre
Wyndham's Theatre
Wyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by the actor/manager Charles Wyndham . Located on Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, it was designed by W.G.R. Sprague about 1898, the architect of six other London theatres between then and 1916...
in London, beginning on December 21, 1965. It is notable for being Terry Nation's first live-action attempt to exercise his ownership of the Dalek concept independently of the BBC. As such, it does not include the Doctor
Doctor (Doctor Who)
The Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and has also featured in two cinema feature films, a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
, the TARDIS
TARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
or any other elements from Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
.
It was performed mostly as a matinée, indicating its marketing towards children.
It was produced by John Gale
John Gale (director)
John Gale, born Jun Gallardo, was a Filipino B-movie director, who started his career with martial arts movies in the 70's and continued to Z-movie actioners in the 80's, often produced by K.Y. Lim's Silver Star Film Company...
and Ernest Hecht, and directed by Gillian Howell. It starred Nicholas Hawtrey (Captain Redway), Edward Gardener (Rocket Smith), David Ashford (Bob Slater), John Moore (Professor Vanderlyn), Hilary Tindall
Hilary Tindall
Hilary Tindall was an English stage and television actress. She is best remembered for the role of Ann Hammond in the BBC television series The Brothers....
(Marion Clements), John Line (Jonathon Ladiver), Colin Miller (Harry Sline), Nicholas Bennet (Dexion), and Suzanne Mockler (Ijayna).
Synopsis
Following the crash landing of an Earth spacecraft on SkaroSkaro
Skaro is a fictional planet from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who created by the writer Terry Nation as the home planet of the Daleks and, at times, the centre of the Dalek Empire....
, one of the astronauts believes he can turn the Daleks into his servants. As ever, the Daleks have other plans.
Background
Freelance writers for the BBC were allowed to retain intellectual property rights over concepts and characters they introduced into individual serials. As a result, Terry Nation found himself co-owning the Dalek phenomenon of the mid-1960s. Nation was eager to find some way of divorcing them from the Doctor Who universe so that he could build a franchise which would not require BBC cooperation, and two such attempts were made in 1965.One was the Doctor- and companion-less episode Mission to the Unknown
Mission to the Unknown
"Mission to the Unknown", sometimes known as "Dalek Cutaway", is an episode in the television series Doctor Who. It is a standalone episode, serving as an introduction to the 12 part story The Daleks' Master Plan...
. Though commonly known as an introduction to the Doctor Who serial, The Daleks' Master Plan
The Daleks' Master Plan
The Daleks' Master Plan is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The twelve episodes were aired from 13 November 1965 to 29 January 1966...
, it was also preparatory to a proposed Dalek-only pilot called, The Destroyers. Had it made it been completed, The Destroyers would have been centred around the same "Space Security Service" seen in Mission to the Unknown and Master Plan.
The second was through this play, which introduced the idea of accidental human discovery of the planet Skaro (similar to what happened to the TARDIS crew in The Daleks
The Daleks
The Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in seven weekly parts from 21 December 1963 to 1 February 1964...
), and the humans' subsequent reaction against the Daleks.
While this was the only of the two approaches that actually got produced on the strength of Terry Nation's ownership alone, it received no further independent development. Elements from this play were later reworked by David Whitaker for the Second Doctor
Second Doctor
The Second Doctor is the second incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by character actor Patrick Troughton....
television story The Power of the Daleks
The Power of the Daleks
The Power of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 5 November to 10 December 1966. It is Patrick Troughton's first full story as the Doctor.-Plot:...
.
In 2008, Big Finish Productions reproduced the play in an audio format starring Nicholas Briggs as the voice of the Daleks, along with The Ultimate Adventure and The Seven Keys to Doomsday.
Reception
The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
newspaper's anonymous critic gave The Curse of the Daleks a mixed but generally positive assessment in a review published on December 22, 1965. "No less compelling on the stage than the television screen, the Daleks are the undoubted stars of this futuristic adventure story," opened the piece. The reviewer concluded that: "After their false start, depending too much on weak jokes and technical jargon, a feeling of genuine crisis is generated. And the patience of the youthful matinée audience is rewarded as the Dalek menace increases. Despite the rather stilted dialogue, the actors play with all possible conviction, and Gillian Howell's direction has the necessary pace."
An animated CGI version of 'Curse Of The Daleks' has been made by Dr Who enthusiast, Stuart Palmer, but was taken down so as not to compete with the Big Finish audio adaptation. It was available at www.alteredvistas.co.uk, which still shows CGI stills from the production.
Audio adaptation
The Curse of the Daleks is a Big Finish ProductionsBig Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
audio drama based on the long-running British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
science fiction television
Science fiction on television
Science fiction first appeared on a television program during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary world not limited by the constraints of reality; this makes television an excellent medium...
series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
.
Cast
- Ladiver — Michael PraedMichael PraedMichael Praed born Michael David Prince, 1 April 1960 in Berkeley, Gloucestershire) is a British actor, is probably best known for his role as Robin of Loxley in the British television series Robin of Sherwood, which attained cult status worldwide in the 1980s...
- Captain Redway — Patric Kearns
- Marion Clements — Beth Chalmers
- Rocket Smith — Nick WiltonNick WiltonNick Wilton is an English actor and scriptwriter. His best known roles are playing Mr Lister in the BBC soap opera EastEnders a recurring character, making his first appearance on the 3 January 2008. He also appeared in Carrott's Lib, Fast Forward and Jackanory.-Early and personal life:Wilton was...
- Bob Slater — James George
- Professor Vanderlyn — John Line
- Harry Sline — Derek Carlyle
- Dexion — Glynn Sweet
- Ijayna — Denise Hoey
- The DaleksThe DaleksThe Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in seven weekly parts from 21 December 1963 to 1 February 1964...
/Narrator — Nicholas BriggsNicholas BriggsNicholas Briggs is a British actor and writer, predominantly associated with the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who and its various spin-offs, particularly as the voice of the Daleks. Briggs sometimes uses the pseudonym Arthur Wallis...