New type of Daleks coming to New Year Doctor Who
The Daleks will be returning to our screen on New Year’s Day in a new Doctor Who episode called ‘Revolution of the Daleks’. And they are sporting a snazzy new look. In an interview with the Radio Times, the series bosses Chris Chobnall and Matt Strevens tried to explain the new design without too many spoilers.
“It’s difficult to talk about without giving too many spoilers away, but I think what we wanted is something sleek and shiny and powerful, and slightly different to any Dalek you’ve seen before,” Chibnall told Radio Times.
“You want to contemporise them, and make them hold up to scrutiny under modern filming techniques, and to look as high-end as you possibly can,” added Strevens.
One main difference seems to be the addition of snazzy blue light. The Daleks were never ones for sneaking around, so they might as well look nice and threatening. As you will see in the trailer below, they turn red when they decide to do a bit of exterminating which is a nice touch.
Another noticeable change is that the deadly sink plunger that used to stick out of its head has been replaced by a less toilet-based manipulator type of gizmo. It looks roughly 100% more deadly.
In the Radio Times article, they point out that the lighting is reminiscent of the Dalek in the 2019 New Year episode Resolution. (Which you can watch here.) That one was cobbled together by a rogue Reconnaissance Dalek and looked a bit skinny. This new version seems bulkier and more deadly. This similarity to the Recon Dalek seems important.
“We wanted the audience to see the origins in the Reconnaissance Dalek. Because in a sense, that Dalek gives birth to this next iteration that we see in Revolution of the Daleks,” Strevens said.
I think they look pretty cool, especially when they turn red. It is a good thing they changed the plunger and as long as they still shout ‘EXTERMINATE’ at every given opportunity, I’m in.
Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks will be on BBC One at 6:45pm on New Year’s Day, 2021. Hopefully, heralding a better year than the pile of shite that was 2020.
Here is the trailer, where you can check out the Daleks in action. Enjoy and Happy Christmas.