As viewers we often think of the horrors of the Daleks from the outside, their totally alien appearance, the obsession with extermination, however, in one scene from 2006's Doomsday, we are introduced to the horror of the Daleks from inside. 'Sealed inside your casing,' the Tenth Doctor taunts the Cult of Skaro. 'not feeling anything, ever. From birth to death, locked in a cold, metal cage. That explains your voice, no wonder you scream.' It's a chilling reminder of the terrible existence the Daleks must lead. They do not only hate everything because they are programmed to, they are isolated and devoid of physical contact their whole lives. Of course, they are a little miffed.
9. The Final End The Evil Of The Daleks
In 1968, Dalek creator Terry Nation was attempting to option a Dalek spin-off series in the US, which meant that the Daleks had to leave Doctor Who. And they needed to go with a bang. With half the Daleks infected with the Human Factor (remember that from earlier?), war has broken out on Skaro between the Emperor's loyalists and the rebels. Standing back, the Doctor lets the Daleks tear themselves apart until the Emperor himself is destroyed. The Doctor is hopeful that this is the Daleks' 'final end'. Though there is a single, blinking light... Of course, the spin-off fell through and in 1972 the Daleks returned to Doctor Who, but for a certain amount of time, the Daleks really seemed to have met their final end. But the Doctor and the viewers should have known better.
8. Dalek In The Sun Dalek
The Evil of the Daleks is not the only time that Daleks have been infected with human nature. Decades later something similar would happen in the metal meanies' initial reappearance in the modern series. Re-energised by the touch of time traveller Rose, a lone Dalek goes on a killing spree but soon finds that it has picked up something it didn't expect; Rose's emotions. The Dalek finds out it wants more than just to kill, specifically to feel the sunlight on its bare skin. However, it hates itself and, as a Dalek needs orders, forces Rose to order it to destroy itself. 'This is not life,' it decrees. 'This is sickness.' After giving an almost tearful final 'exterminate', the Daleks self-destructs. While many moments in the Daleks' history make us hate them, scared of them, sometimes even laugh at them, this is perhaps the only moment which makes us care for them. Come on, everyone, go and hug your nearest Dalek.
7. Dalek Civil War! Remembrance Of The Daleks
But for any normal Dalek, their favourite thing to pass the time with is a good old fight. Sometimes they get so itching for some exterminating that they turn on each other. With one side led by Davros and the other by the Supreme Dalek, the Imperial (ivory-coloured) Daleks and the Renegades (black) go at it in 1960s London for control of the Hand of Omega. And, boy, do Daleks apparently hate each other. It's a thrilling battle of Dalek proportions, suitably buffed up by the bulky Special Weapons Dalek, and also the concluding chapter in a long-running story arc of Dalek civil war that had crossed several episodes. When the Dalek were next seen, they seemed to have patched up their differences and combined against a common enemy: the Time Lords.
6. The Fall Of Arcadia The Day Of The Doctor
To modern audiences, one of the most important things about the Daleks is their involvement in the Last Great Time War, the eternity-spanning conflict that destroyed Time Lords and Daleks alike (well, let's not go into that now). In The Day of the Doctor, this much-mythologised event was finally seen when the Fall of Arcadia, one of the war's final battles, was presented at the start of the adventure. Arcadia, Gallifrey's second city, is devastated by the Daleks as the grizzled War Doctor looks on unable to stop it. Well, perhaps he can soon fix that... For actually showing us the legendary Time War and in breath-taking 3D fashion to boot! this truly cinematic scene makes for one of the most significant Dalek scenes in many years.
