The Daleks have been the Doctor’s bitter enemy almost since the show began. Appearing in the second ever Doctor Who serial, aptly titled “The Daleks,” the insane pepper pots have returned to menace the Time Lord on many occasions. They are as associated with the show as the TARDIS, and it’s impossible to mention the Doctor without touching upon his oldest enemy.
The Daleks are known for being the ultimate evil, hating and destroying any life that isn’t Dalek. But despite all the horrible atrocities the natives of Skaro have committed, they have done some good as well, however unintentional or misguided.
Any Time The Daleks Killed Each Other
The only good Dalek is a dead Dalek. While there are more specific examples of Daleks turning on each other later on in this list, the fact is that the Daleks don’t even get on within their own species. They’re just that full of hate.
The Daleks have been prone to killing each other for a while now, and their creator, Davros, was partly responsible for this, creating a new line of Daleks that were loyal only to him. This led to many Dalek civil wars, with each faction determined to wipe the other out. Another excuse that the Daleks have given for exterminating their own kind is they were an inferior breed (“Victory Of The Daleks”).
Tasha Lem Regains Control
The Daleks are the most evil beings in the whole of the universe. They even dampen their energy weapons in order to inflict maximum pain on their victims before their death. And those are the lucky ones. Those who the Daleks don’t kill usually end up working for them against their will.
The Daleks have been known to keep human slaves in the past, but at least these slaves had free will. In Season 7, the Dalek Puppets were introduced, where dead bodies were reanimated with Dalek DNA. Tasha Lem was one such Puppet, but despite being dead, she managed to break through her Dalek conditioning and help the Doctor protect Trenzalore.
The Dalek Spares Rose
The Daleks’ first appearance in the new series of Doctor Who did not disappoint. The episode “Dalek” gave the Daleks a sleek new makeover, brand new weapon functions and, most importantly, the ability to climb stairs. More than that, though, the episode also featured a unique take on the Daleks, one that had not been tested before.
In order to rejuvenate itself, van Statten’s Dalek prisoner had to absorb the DNA of a time traveler via touch. Fortunately, Rose Tyler was there to lend a hand. However, the Dalek also absorbed her humanity, rendering it unable to kill both Rose and its captor, van Statten himself.
Dalek Sec Becomes Human
Whenever the Daleks get desperate, that’s when they’re at their most dangerous. After the disastrous Dalek invasion in “Doomsday”, the Cult of Skaro initiated an emergency temporal shift to escape the pull of the void and they ended up in New York in the 1930s. Not the most technologically advanced era, to be sure.
Regardless, the Cult decided they had to survive by any means necessary. They began conducting experiments in the sewers, all of which lead up to Dalek Sec merging himself with a human. The Human/Dalek hybrid was a success right up until the moment it started displaying mercy. Naturally, the Daleks shot it to death.
The Ironsides
The Ironside Project was a scheme first thought up by Professor Bracewell, who insisted he could design the ultimate war machine to win the Second World War for the Allied troops. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a massive scam set up by the Daleks who, once their true nature was revealed, proceeded to shoot everyone. Again.
Okay, so maybe this wasn’t the Daleks being good, and yes, maybe it was all part of a master plan to trick the Doctor into giving his testimony so that the new Dalek race could live on. However, the very fact that the Daleks served tea to Winston Churchill allows the Ironsides a place on this list.
A Dalek Spares Adelaide
“The Waters Of Mars” was an emotionally draining, action-packed episode in which the Tenth Doctor displayed a side of our favorite Time Lord we would all rather forget. Essentially, the Doctor arrives on Mars and meets Adelaide Brooke, a future pioneer for the human race whose tragic demise on Mars inspires her granddaughter to follow in Adelaide’s footsteps.
In fact, Adelaide was so important to the whole history of the universe that even the Daleks recognized that there was something special about her. She told the Doctor that during the Dalek Invasion of Earth 2008 AD, a Dalek flew to her window and looked deep into Adelaide. And then, the Dalek simply flew away, leaving Adelaide to begin her legacy.
Rusty Kills The Daleks
Although many fans and critics panned Doctor Who’s eighth season, some found it to be a refreshing and funny take on the Doctor and Clara. What’s more, some of the stories in Season 8 were genuinely thrilling. In “Into The Dalek,” the Doctor and Clara literally journey into a damaged Dalek to find out why it has suddenly turned “good.”
The reason for Rusty’s sudden burst of conscience turns out to be a little bit of radiation leakage and as soon as the Doctor plugs the leak, Rusty becomes all-evil again. However, there was more to the story, and the Doctor managed to get Rusty to accept his own way of thinking, which meant waging war on the Daleks. Not perfect, but it’s a start.
Dalek Caan Betrays The Daleks
Like we said, the Daleks love to kill. It doesn’t matter who or what — if they can die they’re fair game. Dalek Caan possessed that attitude as the last living member of the Cult of Skaro. And then he went cuckoo. Caan used his emergency temporal shift to go back in time to the Time War, which drove him mad.
Caan was no longer a Dalek. Instead, he was an insane, deranged and broken Abomination, kindly christened by Davros. However, for the first time, Caan had clarity. He was able to see into the future and see what the Daleks would become and he decreed no more. So, he lied to his creator and manipulated events so that Team TARDIS would save the day.
The Doctor And Davros Laugh Together
Seeing as how Davros is the creator of all Daleks, he more than qualifies for an entry on this list. Davros is one of Doctor Who’s most intriguing villains; he’s not insane (not like the Master anyway) and he often appears as more of an intellectual than a fighter, which makes sense given his scientific background.
All this means that when he and the Doctor do come face to face, their interactions are electric. In Season 9, the Doctor meets a dying Davros, and the two share their regrets, with Davros remarking that the Doctor is not actually a good doctor. This makes the two men chuckle, which is an extremely rare sight for both involved.
The Oswin Dalek
Oh, this last one is adorable and so, so sad in equal measure. No matter what your feelings about Clara Oswald as a companion, Jenna Coleman’s introduction to the series proved what a capable actress she truly is. Oswin Oswald’s fate, and the slow reveal, will be forever remembered in Doctor Who history.
The Doctor set out to rescue a woman he barely knew from the Dalek Asylum. Oswin flirted with the Doctor over intercom until he revealed that she was actually a Dalek in denial. Devastated, Oswin gave in to her Dalek nature, until she decided she was better. Oswin brought down the Asylum’s shields and saved the Doctor in the process, while breaking millions of hearts along the way.
