Davros

In the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, Davros is a wheelchair-bound scientist from the planet Skaro who created the Daleks during a long-running war between his race, the Kaleds, and their enemies the Thals. Horribly scarred and crippled, with only one functioning arm and one cybernetic "eye" mounted on his forehead, he depended upon his life-support chair completely; it would become an obvious inspiration for his eventual design of the Dalek.

Davros first appeared in the 1975 serial, Genesis of the Daleks, where he was played by Michael Wisher, whose performance in the role is acclaimed by many fans. It has been said that almost everything said by Davros in this story is quotable, with a discussion between himself and the Fourth Doctor on the topic of the creation of a hypothetical lethal virus being an example.

In Genesis, Davros realized that radioactive contamination from the nuclear weapons used in the war were mutating the Kaled race. His solution was to accelerate the mutations and place them in tank-like "travel machines". He named these creatures Daleks, an anagram of Kaled. He quickly became obsessed with his creations, considering them to be the ultimate form of life and superior to all others. To stop his own people from shutting down his Dalek project, he arranged for them to be wiped out by the Thals. The Daleks then exterminated the Thal victors, but ultimately turned on Davros and apparently killed him.

He proved too effective a character to be kept dead, however, and was resurrected four years later in 1979's Destiny of the Daleks (this time played by David Gooderson), on the grounds that his chair had a defense mechanism built in which had kept him in suspended animation and then, over a period of centuries, restored him.

Further appearances followed in Resurrection of the Daleks and Revelation of the Daleks, where he created a new variety of Daleks loyal to him, distinguished from the others with white and gold livery and slightly changed design. In these serials, Davros was portrayed by Terry Molloy.

Davros's last appearance (played by Molloy) was as the Dalek Emperor in Remembrance of the Daleks, with his white and gold Daleks termed "Imperial Daleks". By this time, Davros was physically reduced to a head in a customised Dalek casing. In the serial, set in London in 1963, both he and Skaro were apparently destroyed by the Seventh Doctor using the Time Lord artifact known as the Hand of Omega. However, a Dalek on the bridge of Davros's ship was seen reporting that the Emperor's escape pod was being launched at the time of its destruction, leaving a clear route to bring the character back in the future. Although a Dalek appeared in the 2005 episode Dalek, where it was revealed that the Daleks were wiped out in a time war with the Time Lords, Davros's fate is unclear.

Molloy has reprised his role as Davros in the spin-off audio plays produced by Big Finish Productions, mostly notably Davros (taking place during the Sixth Doctor's era), which explored the scientist's life prior to his crippling accident.

Davros' catchphrase was "Excellent!" (see Montgomery Burns).

External link

• Some quotes, including the virus discussion