T is for Temporal Shift – Personal time machines built into the casings of the Cult of Skaro. Only used in emergencies, the temporal shift could transport the individual Daleks to another place and time but usually depleted their power cells.
U is for Universe – The Daleks will not rest until they have conquered or destroyed all of creation. The Time Lords foresaw a time when the Daleks will have destroyed all other life forms and become the dominant creatures in the universe.
V is for VEPS – According to Terry Nation’s Dalek annuals of the 1960s, a vep is a Dalek measure of artificial light. The higher the vep, the quicker plants grow. In a similar way a rel was a measure of hydroelectricity. In later accounts, rels became a measure of time (Doomsday, Evolution of the Daleks, Journey’s End).
W is for Water – Daleks are more than capable of taking a dip. At the end of the first episode of The Dalek Invasion of Earth, a Dalek rose from the murky waters of the Thames. It’s not just the wet stuff either. The Chase showed that Daleks can hide under sand dunes, but groan like billy-o when rising to the surface. Well, that sand must get everywhere.
X is for X-ray – In the earliest days of Doctor Who, a Dalek’s death ray turned the entire picture negative. During the 1970s, advances in special effects meant the negative effect was limited to the victim itself, but from Remembrance of the Daleks, being shot by a Dalek meant that you lit up like a glowing X-ray, your skeleton on show for all to see.
Y is for Yarvelling – The creator of the Daleks – if you believe Genesis of Evil, a comic strip that ran in TV Century 21, that is. The blue-skinned scientist developed the mutant machine Daleks to survive the events of the neutron war on Skaro. His role in Dalek history was wiped away when Genesis of the Daleks revealed that Davros in fact was the mastermind behind the Daleks’ creation. However, in 2006, Big Finish Productions’ I, Davros mini-series revealed that Davros’s half-sister was named Yarvell.
Z is for Zeg – A Dalek inventor who accidentally created Metalert, a reinforced form of Dalekanium and went on to challenge the Emperor Dalek (TV Century 21 comic, Duel of the Daleks).
ARMED AND DANGEROUS
‘What you going to do? Sucker me to death?’
Simmons, Dalek
Don’t be fooled – that’s no ordinary sink plunger. The Dalek’s manipulator arm is a versatile and dangerous tool. Sometimes, however, it needs replacing for something a little handier.
Plunger – The first element of a Dalek we ever saw. Useful for waving in terrified teacher’s faces, operating Dalek controls and pliable enough to crack the combination of electronic door locks (Dalek). Can also be used to suffocate or crush a person’s skull (Dalek), scan brainwaves (Doomsday) or assess intelligence (Daleks in Manhattan). At times telescopic, the plunger unit can be removed from a deactivated Dalek and used to manipulate Dalek machinery (Remembrance of the Daleks).
Perceptor – A seismic detector used to track and locate time machines such as the TARDIS. Can also detect other life forms (The Chase).
Electrode Unit – An attachment similar to a radar dish that can override electronic locks without physical contact (The Chase).
Pyroflame Thrower – Used to burn through dense vegetation (The Daleks’ Master Plan).
Scoop – Used to transfer Dalek mutants into new casings (The Power of the Daleks).
Cutting tool – To cut through metal doors (Planet of the Daleks). Earlier Daleks used a long, thin tool mounted with two spheres and a protective screen (The Daleks), whereas after the Time War, the Emperor’s Assault Daleks were fitted with vicious-looking clawed cutting tools (The Parting of the Ways).
Percussive weapon – On worlds where the use of energy weapons is not possible, such as Exxilon, the Daleks replace their usual gunsticks with percussive projectile-firing weapons (Death to the Daleks). Other weapon attachments include the larger, extra gun sticks sported by selected Emperor Guard Daleks, replacing the sucker arm (The Parting of the Ways).
Syringe – Used by the Cult of Skaro to administer chemicals such as chromatin solution (Daleks in Manhattan).
Vault attachment – Guard Daleks on board the Crucible have special eight-pronged attachments for operating complex equipment found in Davros’s Vault (The Stolen Earth / Journey’s End).
Pincers – In the two Amicus Dr. Who films of the 1960s, some Daleks are fitted with pincers instead of plungers (Dr. Who and the Daleks, Daleks – Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.).
DALEK SERVANTS
Daleks may be the supreme beings in the universe but sometimes they need a little help. They’ve created many a slave in their time, with varying levels of success…
Humans conditioned into mindless drones by use of cybernetic implants. Weaknesses: Not the brightest plungers in the pack, plus a tendency to go insane, smash their heads against walls or drown themselves when the conditioning wears off.
A huge, carnivorous creature, native to Skaro, brimming with tentacles and claws. Transported to Earth to guard mines in the South of England during the 22nd-century occupation. A favourite of the Dalek Supreme. Weaknesses: If it catches you, it will eat you. Unfortunately for the Daleks (but fortunately for its prey) it moves very, very slowly.
Perfect copies of humans, created by biological or mechanical means, designed to infiltrate and kill.
Weaknesses: Dalek conditioning is a bit hit and miss. Annoying human memories and conscience have a habit of bubbling to the surface.
Prick yourself on a Varga plant and you’ll transform into a homicidal half-animal, half-vegetable plant. Originally only found on Skaro, the Daleks transplanted them to act as sentries on some of their occupied worlds.
Weaknesses: Almost as slow as a Slyther. Easy to dodge.
Hulking ape-like bipeds of limited intelligence. Violent, but thick-witted, Ogrons make excellent heavies.
Weaknesses: Almost as thick as Robomen. Phobia of the flesh-eating, blobby monsters that roam their home planet.
Genetically spliced human-porcine hybrids, created by the Cult of Skaro from New Yorkers of low intelligence (and, presumably, pigs). Can slit a human’s throat with their bare teeth.