Part 2 of The Tymecian version of Dalek History (a.k.a - The Right Version)
This one's a long one. So I've decided to break it down a bit and will release the chapters over the next little while so that it's a bit more digestible! Since the entire essay is complete, the wait between posts won't be quite as long as it normally is....
PART TWO: THE WARS AGAINST EARTH AND THE RETURN OF
DAVROS
Having been forced off Skaro, the Daleks were roaming
through the cosmos in two distinct versions.
The solar-powered Mark Threes probably stayed in space as much as
possible but sent the Mark Twos down to various planets to be employed as
occupation forces. It's likely they
attacked various worlds in this way.
The Mark Threes would form blockades around an alien planet so that
other neighbouring worlds could not assist in resisting the invasion. And then the Mark Twos would go down to the
surface of the blockaded planet to subjugate and plunder.
Most likely, the Doctor in his
Second Incarnation had several unseen adventures against the Daleks during this
period. Which is why the Second Doctor
was easilly recognizeable to the Daleks during
Power of the Daleks. From the Doctor’s perspective, he had these
clashes against the Daleks sometime after his encounter with them in Evil of the Daleks.
Of course, our space-faring Mark
Threes were also into exploring the universe.
All kinds of scout ships were sent out in this era. Not all of them came back, though. One of those scoutships crashed on the
planet Vulcan. A planet that was
eventually colonised by humans from the planet Earth. The story of Power of the Daleks takes
place.
There seems to be some controversy with the
dating of Power of the Daleks. From
what I’ve heard of the audio tracks and seen of the still images, there is no
clear indication of the date this story takes place. I believe a Radio Times
listing claims it is 2020 - which seems a bit too early. Space travel
technology seems a bit too sophisticated for a 2020 Earth society to handle
(either that, or we make some huge strides in the next 5 years). It is obvious Power takes place before Dalek Invasion of Earth as the humans
don’t seem to recognize the Daleks they’ve revived. I would be more inclined to
think this is a late 21st Century/Early 22nd Century
timeline that we’re dealing with.
While some expeditions into Deep Space are failing, the Mark Twos and Threes are
gaining more and more ambition as they invade more and more planets. Perhaps, at this point, they might have even
had a close brush or two with the Cybermen.
They delve into the Cybermen's past and are inspired by their use of the
planet Mondas. And while the scout
ship on Vulcan never returns to the Dalek fleet, other scout ships have come
back from Earth-occupied Space.
Reports are logged and the Daleks have noted the abundancy of rescources
on Earth. They also note that Earth is
expanding quickly and could become a formidable foe if they are not nipped in
the bud, soon. So the Daleks decide to
attack the planet Earth and create their own version of Mondas. A planet they can pilot around the
universe, too.
And so, Dalek Invasion of Earth ensues
and their plans are ruined. This is a
most crippling loss to the Dalek War Effort.
Before the lifeless Mark Twos can be recovered, the Mark Threes are
attacked by a spacefleet assembled from Earth's colony worlds and driven back
to their own end of the cosmos. It is
for this reason that we only ever see the solar-powered Dalek from this point
onward. The other model is never used
again. The failure to invade Earth
also becomes the Daleks' first actual battle that they've lost. And while they continue to invade other
parts of the Universe - what happened on Earth is never forgotten. The Daleks vow that they will, someday, take
revenge.
During
this period of time where the Daleks have turned away from Earth, the Third
Doctor probably had a few unseen run-ins with them. These adventures probably take place after
his exile but before he meets Sarah Jane Smith (Sarah doesn't recognise the
Daleks in Death to the Daleks).
Which would explain why the Daleks know what his third body looks like
in such stories as Frontier In Space,
Planet of the Daleks and Death to the Daleks.
After a few years of conquest in
other parts of the Universe, however, the Daleks do finally return their
attention to Earth and its ascociated colonies.
The first attempt at the Daleks' revenge on Humanity doesn't happen
until some centuries after Dalek Invasion of Earth. The Daleks turn their eyestalks back to that
end of the galaxy, but they have become cleverer this time. They decide to intentionally weaken Earth's
forces before engaging them in intergalactic war. And, of course, we witness the events of Frontier
In Space.
Sometime between these two stories,
we might guess that the Daleks poked around near or even on Skaro and
re-established some sort of contact with the Thals. This incited the peace-loving species to
take action against them, again. Having
never taken much interest in space travel, they, at last, develop prototype
space vessels and use them to begin assaulting the Dalek Fleet. They discover their operations on the
distant planet of Spiridon and a mission is sent there to investigate. And Planet of the Daleks takes
place.
Even though their pre-war efforts
have been thwarted, the Daleks are still resolved to fight the human menace and
decide to engage Earth's forces. Or,
perhaps, Daleks can just hold on to a grudge forever and can't resist avenging
their loss way back in the 22nd Century. Whatever the case, a legitimate Space War
ensues. Most likely, during this
particular war, the Thals are finally wiped out. As we never seem to hear from them again
after Planet.
As we all know, there are problems
with a Plague near the end of the huge Earth/Dalek Space War. In an effort to cure that plague, an
expedition is sent to the Planet Exillon where large deposits of paranium have
been detected. Death to the Daleks takes
place at this point.
We can't be sure of exactly how the
Space War between Humanity and the Daleks ended. It seems certain, however, that Earth came
out on top of things. Whether the
Daleks withdrew in defeat or became busy in other parts of the cosmos - none
can say for sure. But Earth seemed free
of the Dalek Menace by the time we start hitting the 27th Century.
However, the Daleks were still
holding that grudge and want to conquer the Earth in some way. Political machinations, plague and full
frontal attack had all failed. As they
look for a more lateral approach, they end up making one of their most pivotal
discoveries:
Time Travel.
Unable to defeat Earth in the
present, they explore the Fourth Dimension and attempt to go back into the past
to manipulate Human history to their advantage. Somehow, their meddling creates an
alternative timeline in which Earth's Cold War ends up resolving in much the
same way theirs' did back when they were merely Dals on Skaro. Humanity is ravaged by atomic bombs and the
Daleks can easily come in and take control of the planet.
And so, Day of the Daleks takes
place. It should be noted that the
Space Wars of 26th Century have actually done a lot of damage to Dalek Records
and they, at first, don't recognise this incarnation of the Time Lord. Only after a brain scan is his identity
verified.
With this second conquest of 22nd
Century Earth now averted, the Daleks temporarilly give up the fight to defeat
the Earth and turn their attention elsewhere.
A short time later, they meet the Movellans and declare war on
them.
Of course, the Great Empasse ensues
as neither side could bring themselves' to launch an attack against the
other. In an effort to eliminate the
stalemate, the Daleks return to Skaro to unearth their creator. The Movellans send a mission of their own to
stop them. Destiny of the Daleks now
happens. Again, one should note the
conspicuous abscence of Thals on Skaro during this story. Either they've been wiped out - or they've
left Skaro and live somewhere else.
It's highly unlikely that the Daleks could be running a mining operation
on Skaro if the Thals were still there.
We would have, at least, seen some sort of effort on the Thals' behalf
to stop the operation.
We also see what appears to be a far
more elaborate underground bunker in Destiny
of the Daleks than the one we saw in Genesis
of the Daleks. If you refer back to Chapter One of the essay, you’ll see
that I mentioned that the Mark Threes seriously expanded the bunker during
their Great Wait. At some point, the Fourth Doctor must’ve had an unseen
adventure in the expanded bunker (a second covert mission for the Time Lords,
perhaps?) as he knows his way around it quite well.
Sometime around this era, a Dalek is
plucked out of Time and Space and sent to the Death Zone on Gallifrey (The
Five Doctors).
The progression of stories is quite
evident for the next little while since continuity in Dalek stories is quite
tight during the 80s. The Daleks lose
the war against the Movellans and Davros is rescued from his prison to help the
survivors of the Movellan virus. Ressurection
of the Daleks takes place, here.
How Davros survives the virus and
ends up on Necros is a bit vague. One
gets the impression that a few unseen skirmishes may have taken place between
the Sixth Doctor and the Dalek Creator between Ressurection and Revelation
(Davros seems to instantly recognise the Sixth Doctor and can even build
statues in his likeness - perhaps these confrontations occur in the Doctor's
timeline somewhere between Trial of a Time Lord and Time and the Rani
since Peri doesn't seem to recognise a Dalek or Davros). Eventually, however, the Sixth Doctor is lured to Necros and we
see the events of Revelation of the Daleks.
Again, how Davros survives his fate
at the end of this story is uncertain.
But much happens between Revelation and Remembrance. He is brought back to Skaro and put on trial
(the Daleks, weakened from their war effort against the Movelllans,
"return to their ancestral seat" and become planet-bound again for a
time) Davros, for some reason, is not
punished for his treachery against the Daleks.
In fact, he somehow manages to create a Civil War. In the process of doing this, he becomes a
self-appointed Emperor (or, more than likely, clones another head and makes
that the Emperor while he remains hidden, somewhere) and a renegade faction
still loyal to the Supreme Dalek splinters off and begins openly fighting the
Imperial Daleks.
In this political climate, the
events of Remembrance of the Daleks take place.
Now, the destruction of the planet
Skaro does create some predicaments for future continuity. But the Doctor does explicitly state that
he sent the Hand of Omega some "thousand years into the future" from
the date of 1963 (he loves doing things in "millenial chunks" when it
comes to Daleks, doesn't he?) This
would mean that Skaro is destined for destruction sometime in or around the mid
29th Century. But the Daleks we see in
Remembrance are, more than likely, only from the 28th Century. So they still have a little time left before
their homeworld is obliterated forever.
In fact, it's entirely possible that the Daleks spent nearly another
century on Skaro knowing it was doomed.
You are coming up with some interesting ideas on Dalek History. I look forward to seeing what you have planned for Remembrance (one of my two favorite Dalek Stories) and the Time War.
ReplyDeleteNot sure if you'll be satisfied with my take, Harry. I know lots of people like to see Remembrance of the Daleks as "the first shot fired in the Time War" but that doesn't really fit in with my chronology.
ReplyDeleteThis is extremely impressive. Sadly I'm past the days when I knew classic Who in sufficient detail to add to it or critique it!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the compliment, Iain. Apparently, I never made it past those days!
ReplyDeleteOk, finally had a chance to read this. A couple thoughts:
ReplyDelete-The 2020 date for "Power" is from both the RT and the trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwFJMHn643o), but as it's not in the finished programme it's not something you need to worry about, I feel.
-I'm curious to see where "The Chase" is going to fit in all this.
Timeline wise, The Chase would come after Power, but before Dalek Master Plan.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Adam. I was pretty sure the date for Power was only ever given in promotional material. Which, to me, means it's not "proper canon." But a lot of what I've read about Power seems to use that date. Some even theorize that the ship that went to colonize Vulcan left on that date and took many years to reach its destination. But, due to contrived circumstances involving cryogenic suspension or other such things, still uses their departure date.
ReplyDeleteAs for dating The Chase, it comes up in the next chapter. I, more or less, place it in the same spot that John Peel and Terry Nation do in their Dalek book.
ReplyDelete