2020 has been a troubling year for us all. From pandemics to politics there has been some serious turmoil for the human race, yet for one of the Earth's greatest foes, it was a different story. Whilst we've been living under a rock and have become enslaved to the omnipotent entity known as 'Zoom', the Daleks have had one of their most successful years in a while.
Despite not appearing on-screen, save for some archive footage in The Timeless Children, the Daleks have had an incredible prominence in the realms of extended media. Over the course of this post, I will explore all the Dalek-themed paraphernalia that has been released and announced over the course of this year and try to examine what is it exactly that has led to this rise in Dalek popularity when it has been almost 2 years since their last appearance and what it is about the Daleks that sells so well.
In a year without any new televised content, the Daleks have remained dominant by reflecting on the past. 2020 has seen the release and announcement of steelbooks featuring prominent Dalek stories from Series 5 & 7 (Victory of the Daleks and Asylum of the Daleks respectively) as well as the 50th anniversary specials (The Day of the Doctor and The Time of the Doctor) in which the Daleks play a major role. Doctor Who Magazine's Issue 553 offered a feature on newly discovered interviews from the sets of Death to the Daleks and the Daleks as always have commonly featured in other issues and special editions.
Perhaps the most interesting of all is the way in which a number of releases have echoed back to the 60s during the time of 'Dalekmania' that seems to be making somewhat of a resurgence. A new special edition release of Patrick Troughton's debut, The Power of the Daleks, as well as brand new Blu-Ray editions of both Peter Cushing's Dr. Who and the Daleks, and its sequel Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. Yet perhaps the greatest of all of these new releases is 'The Daleks' bookazine from the publishers at Doctor Who Magazine- a remastered and republished compilation of the original TV Century 21 comics from the 60s. Highly sought after, and highly worth it, I can safely say that the comics are a great detour from the usual escapades of the 60s Daleks and it serves as a great precursor to the Daleks! animated series that I will come back to later.
Eaglemoss Hero Collector have had a very busy year. 8 Dalek figurines have featured in the various 2020 releases as regular issues, special subscription Daleks and 2 as part of special Big Finish themed sets. The mega figurines collection also saw the addition of Davros and Genesis Dalek models to add to the run. Also new this year was the Episodic Collection's brand new apparel and homeware featuring exclusive art for classic Dalek stories, Genesis of the Daleks and The Day of the Doctor, as well as a new stylised design for the Daleks as part of their chibi range including pin badges as well as homeware and other apparel.
Character Options have also had a Dalek-filled 2020. Riding on the success of their Big Finish themed Doctor & Dalek sets in 2019, this year featured lots of new Daleks. The year started with repainted versions of 2019's Big Finish sets as part of its interim wave, before the 60s Daleks came to dominate in the new 'History of the Daleks' sets 1-4 that featured in the Summer and October waves. In addition, 2 brand new sculpts entered the fray, the first of which being the long-anticipated Scrap Metal Reconnaissance Dalek model from 2019's Resolution, complete with a rubbery mutant accessory. The second set came as a total surprise when the 'Jungles of Mechanus' set offered us the closest we've ever gotten to Peter Cushing's movie Daleks in a brand new online exclusive from the Character website that is now entirely sold out. And if that wasn't enough, two more releases dropped just in time for Christmas with the highly sought after 12th Doctor hoodie variant and Davros, and Ace with a more accurate Imperial Dalek. Given their success this year the Daleks seem a stable bet for future releases, with new variants almost a dead cert for the 2021 B&M range and potential new online exclusives, given the unmitigated success of the Mechanus Daleks.
Big Finish have also announced and released so many Dalek releases their image is practically burned into our retinas. Only the Doctor's most iconic adversary could attract big names like Richard Armitage as Rassilon in Gallifrey: Time War 4 and Big Finish have continued their Time War releases with the 4th part of the Eighth Doctor's Time War series in addition to the Gallifrey announcement. Eric Roberts' Master is also set to go up against the Daleks whilst the Tenth Doctor also teamed up with his former self against the Daleks as David Tennant and Tom Baker starred in Out of Time which is available now. The Time War releases also look set to continue in The War Doctor Begins, featuring Jonathon Carley as a younger version of Sir John Hurt's War Doctor as seen in the 50th anniversary special, with the cover of its first volume teasing more bronze Dalek action!
With the team at Big Finish moving away from the Monthly range model, they have promised that each Doctor will have their own dedicated range, and one of the first of these has been announced as a new series for David Tennant's Tenth Doctor in Dalek Universe, landing next year. The range consists of three 4-disc volumes plus a prequel starring Tom Baker, Louise Jameson and John Leeson as the Fourth Doctor, Leela and K9, entitled The Dalek Protocol. Jane Slavin (Line of Duty), Joe Sims (Broadchurch), Mark Gatiss (Sherlock, The League of Gentlemen), Kevin McNally (Pirates of the Caribbean) and Gemma Whelan (Game of Thrones, Killing Eve) are also set to star in the main range, which will see the Tenth Doctor up against Daleks, Mechonoids, Movellans and Davros!
Undoubtedly the Time Lord Victorious multi-platform storytelling extravaganza has done wonders for the Daleks this year. As much as the Doctor himself, the Daleks have played a central role in many of the plot threads of this story. Titan Comics' segment, entitled 'Defender of the Daleks' features the Daleks in one of their most prominent roles over the course of the TLV timeline, giving readers an insight into a previously unseen part of the Daleks' history - the Restoration Empire. A variety of covers were produced for these comics depicting various different Daleks from this new empire, and in addition to this, Eaglemoss have released 3 special 2-packs containing the new Dalek models from this storyline - the Dalek Emperor, Drone, Scientist, Time Commander, Executioner and Strategist - plus additional information about them. These Daleks also feature in various other pieces of merchandise ranging from T-shirts to homeware and are also featured in the stunning Time Lord Victorious iconic created by Lee Binding to promote the project. Other previous Doctors - Four, Eight and Nine - also feature in Big Finish audios and new original novels as part of this story, designed to be accessible from any medium exclusively. The story itself has been tied to various episodes throughout Doctor Who's expansive history, compiled on Blu-Ray in The Road to the Dark Times, including iconic Dalek stories like Planet of the Daleks and Genesis of the Daleks from the 70s. However, the most prominent story for the Daleks is their self-titled animated series on YouTube for free, allowing them to take centre-stage without the Doctor. Plenty of Daleks! merchandise is available, and if you want to know more about the series, my series review is up on my blog now!
Undoubtedly this year has been troubling for many, but the Daleks have been there to help us through every lockdown. Big Finish released the Shadow of the Daleks audio anthologies, entirely recorded and produced during lockdown, specially written to use the same actors in different roles in each story, which turned out to be a wondrous success. We also took comfort in many classic Dalek stories from the revival in the lockdown watchalongs that were arranged - Dalek, Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways, The Stolen Earth/Journey's End, The Day of the Doctor and The Pilot all enjoyed watchalongs with fans being treated to stars from the episodes tweeting alongside. To coincide with the 57th anniversary of their debut, in what is now being known as #DalekDay, a watchalong of Resolution has been arranged for this evening at 7pm ahead of its loose sequel on New Year's Day - the hotly anticipated Revolution of the Daleks.
But why do the Daleks sell so well? Ever since they first appeared on screens in 1963, the Daleks have captured the interests of generations. Their rise in the 60s was known as Dalekmania and to think that their first appearance was intended to be their only appearance seems crazy given the immense popularity that they have garnered. Their distinctive design and instantly recognisable voices and catchphrases make them an icon of British culture and truly worthy of their prestigious pedestal in the Doctor Who universe. But what is so important about the Daleks is what they represent. When they first came to fruition in 1963, Terry Nation allegorised the Nazis in the Dalek race. Their beliefs embodied those held by Hitler, in terms of a pure race, and anyone different to them automatically being the enemy. In that sense, when we see the Doctor defeat the Daleks time and time again, it essentially sees our favourite hero triumphing over the epitome of evil, whilst their constant reappearance serves as an important reminder that there is still evil within some corners of society that needs to be stamped out.
So, last but not least, let us look to the future! Revolution of the Daleks is barrelling towards us at great speed and I for one cannot wait! The special looks set to provide a promising start to 2021 as we leave behind this shambles of a year and start a new chapter with a refreshed TARDIS team, with Graham and Ryan leaving, Yaz staying on and Jack coming along for the ride on New Year's Day to ease the transition. The Daleks are back with a revamped look that has already caused a great deal of discussion among the fans and already we are seeing potential for the Daleks' domination of the extended media to continue into the next year. Eaglemoss Hero Collector have already unveiled the first 2 pin badges in a special set devoted to the episode, and have also announced that a special figurine set will also be produced in honour of the special. Given their success this year, it seems likely that Character Options will have more Dalek releases in their highly successful 'History of the Daleks' range at B&M, and given the release of the Reconnaissance Scout Dalek this year, it certainly seems possible that these new models from Revolution of the Daleks could see their own 5" plastic counterparts released with some retooling on the mould for the Resolution Dalek. Big Finish are always full of surprises so whether there will be any further Dalek stories announced next year remains to be seen, but it would probably be a bigger shock if they didn't.
Overall, 2020 has been a majorly successful year for the Daleks and with the New Year's Day special now on the horizon, things look set to continue on this same positive trajectory and I can't wait to see what the Daleks do next. And Happy Dalek Day!