Dalek variants

Since their first appearance in 1963 there have been a number of variant models of the Daleks, a fictional alien race in the BBC science fiction television programme Doctor Who.

First seen in the serial The Daleks, the outward manifestation is portrayed as a powerful, technically advanced travel machine in which a hideous and malevolent mutant, the Dalek creature, resides. Although the general appearance of the Daleks has remained the same, details of both the casing and the mutant creature have changed over time. Alterations were made to accommodate the requirements of specific plot elements in various serials and episodes or at the request of producers, designers and directors to revitalise the Dalek appearance. On other occasions design changes have been the result of practical considerations when filming the Dalek props on location or the mixing of components acquired from different sources.

The episodes "Asylum of the Daleks" (2012), "The Magician's Apprentice" (2015) and "The Witch's Familiar" (2015) feature many of the Dalek variants seen in the Doctor Who programme since its inception.

The component names listed below are used in this article as an aid to tracking the detail changes made to the basic Dalek design to create variants. From the base up, the major components are:

Externally Daleks have the appearance of a truncated cone varying between approximately 1.5 metres (5 feet) and 2 metres (6 feet 6 inches) tall depending on the variant. They are equipped with a single mechanical rod-mounted eye which protrudes from a rotating dome, a directed energy weapon and a telescopic arm. Usually the arm is fitted with a manipulating device resembling a sink plunger. This item is shown in various episodes to be capable of holding people and objects, seemingly using a powerful vacuum. The weapon is depicted as having a variable output which can paralyse, stun or kill most life forms, disintegrate other Daleks and destroy buildings and spacecraft.

In Remembrance of the Daleks (1988) and the episodes "The Parting of the Ways" (2005) and "Doomsday" (2006) the Doctor states that Dalek casings are constructed from "bonded polycarbide", this material being referred to as "dalekanium" in The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964) and "Daleks in Manhattan" (2007). The casing is depicted as being impervious to most projectile and energy weapons, although Daleks are not indestructible. They can be damaged or destroyed by overwhelming firepower, their own weaponry and falls from a height. In addition, in Revelation of the Daleks (1985), they are said to be vulnerable to "bastic-headed bullets". In appearances from 2005 onward a Dalek's defensive capability has been shown to include an invisible force shield, with the eye remaining a weak point.

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