The Daleks are coming!
- Publication: Famous Monsters of Filmland
- Date: May 1967
- Author:
- Page: 32
- Language: English
WHO can save us? BE WHO, that's who! (Maybe!)
half men . . . half machines
The Daleks rule a scorched planet with an iron hand—and they plot to rule the universe! Fantastic . . . amazing . . . incredible—that's what they're called.
But what exactly, are they?
Well, their creator describes them thusly:
"The Daleks are a gelatinous mass of intensified brain power which is a product of mutations after radiation fallout."
Are you with us so far?
Good.
Then close your eyes and repeat after us aloud 10 times: "The Daleks are a gelatinous mass ..." etc.
Altho they are jello-fellows, the Daleks are anything but jolly. For protection, they have developed a cone-shaped shell from which to operate.
mad scientist's nightmare
"What looks like a figment of a mad scientist's frustrations," says the author, "the robot's power is seemingly limitless with its capacity of directing rays that can either kill or paralyze."
Whether a Dalek gasses you to death or merely stops you in your tracks depends on the mood of the living brain embedded in its metallic interior.
"Generated by electricity conducted thru metal floors," the picture's producer tells us, "the Daleks glide thru their custom-made city bent on destroying any other form of life."
So that's the word on these warlike beings, a far distant race of aliens who live inside mobile metal cones that shield them from the extreme radiation of their planet.
One more thing perhaps you would like to know about them: they are capable of instantly decoding any language but have one of their own which is unbreakable. Only 2 words in the Dalekian language are currently known to human beings:
Zyquivilly ... which is the equivalent of our "goodby," "farewell," "so long," "let's split" or "really gotta go now."
And clyffl, most easily pronounced if you have a cold with a sniffle, meaning, "I understand you but I do not agree with you."
Understood?
what's a tardis?
As DR. WHO AND THE DALEKS opens (it's in brilliant technicolor, by the way) Dr. Who himself is explaining the functions of his invention, the Tardis.
Dr. Who is played by none other than Peter Cushing, famous for his many roles in Hammer Films, his frequent appearances with Christopher Lee in horror pictures such as CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, THE MUMMY, THE SKULL, HORROR OF DRACULA, etc. (It is also a little known fact that he appeared in the British teleplays of The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas and "1984.")
And what, pray, may a Tardis be? One of Dr. Who's two granddaughters, Susan, explains:
"I made up the name from the initials.
"T-A-R-D-I-S.
"It stands for Time And Relative Dimensions In Space."
Dr. Who chooses to refer to Time & Space as the 4th & 5th Dimensions.
into dimensions 4 & 5
While Dr. Who is busy explaining to his two granddaughters, Barbara (Jennie Linden) & Susan (Roberta Tovey), about how his time machine operates, a young friend, Ian (Roy Castle) accidentally trips and stumbles into the control panel.
They are all instantly whisked off Earth! Where will they land?
And when?
The Tardis comes to rest in the midst of a petrified forest, trees that have gradually turned to stone thru the ages.
Beyond the stone forest looms a fantastic sight: a great futuristic city, like something out of BUCK ROGERS or FLASH GORDON.
captured by the creatures
After a long night spent in wonderment, trying to imagine just where they are in time & space, the quartet get out of the Tardis and are surprised to discover that during the nite a box of drugs has been mysteriously left near the time machine. Out of curiosity they pick it up and store it away for future investigation. Then they set off for the city.
Unfortunate decision!
For upon arrival at the great streamlined conglomeration of buildings, they are attacked by the Daleks!
Taken prisoners!
plot of the Daleks
The hostile life-forms that are the rulers of his planet have to stay shielded from the radiation that is the after-effect of a massive neutron war that once ravaged their world. When they discover that young Susan is only mildly affected by the impure atmosphere, they set her free (keeping the other 3 as hostages) and direct her to go to the Tardis and bring back the drugs. It develops that the drugs were left outside the time machine by a friendly tribe and can counteract the radiation. The Daleks lack such life-saving medication and want desperately to copy he formula so they can leave their protective hells and go out of the confines of their city and destroy the Thals, a peace-loving race which also exists on the planet.
On her way Susan meets Alydon (Barrie Ingham) , leader of the Thals. He gives her an additional supply of the drugs, his plastic cape and a message of peace for the Daleks.
Back at the all-metal city, the Daleks trick Susan into inviting the Thals into their strong-old.
Meanwhile, Dr. Who figures out that their captors receive their power via the metal floors covering their cell with Alydon's plastic cape, he captures their jailor. Cut off from the gen-rating power, the gruesome creature dies. The soaped prisoners manage to get to the Thals before they walk into a Dalek trap.
revenge of the Daleks
When the Daleks discover that the drugs are, in fact, fatal to them, in their rage they decide D explode a giant neutron bomb that will increase radiation to such a level that it will exterminate the Thals.
In a series of maneuvers which greatly imperil fie lives of Dr. Who and his companions, in addition to those of the valiant Thals, the evil Daleks are vanquished. Moments before the super-bomb is due to explode, Ian tricks the Daleks into destroying their complicated control panel.
With the countdown disrupted and the power cut off, most of the Daleks are killed and the dials are free to live in peace on their faraway Janet.
Dr. Who and his party return to the Tardis and their own problems of how to head home 3 Earth.
They make it—and there will soon be a sequel n the screens, INVASION OF THE DALEKS.
Caption: Thals (left) and humans (right) cower before the might of the menacing Daleks! Read all about it.
Caption: Paralyzed by a Dalek's deadly nerve gas.
Caption: Thals fall before the Daleks' weapons.
Caption: Dr. Who & the Thals fight for their lives against the enemies. Caption: "You must do as the Dalek tells you," Dr. Who tells his granddaughter.
Caption: Watch out for these metal menaces! If you ever encounter them, run for your LIFE—or this issue of FAMOUS MONSTERS!
Disclaimer: These citations are created on-the-fly using primitive parsing techniques. You should double-check all citations. Send feedback to whovian@cuttingsarchive.org
- APA 6th ed.: (May 1967). The Daleks are coming!. Famous Monsters of Filmland p. 32.
- MLA 7th ed.: "The Daleks are coming!." Famous Monsters of Filmland [add city] May 1967, 32. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: "The Daleks are coming!." Famous Monsters of Filmland, edition, sec., May 1967
- Turabian: "The Daleks are coming!." Famous Monsters of Filmland, May 1967, section, 32 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=The Daleks are coming! | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/The_Daleks_are_coming! | work=Famous Monsters of Filmland | pages=32 | date=May 1967 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=29 March 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=The Daleks are coming! | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/The_Daleks_are_coming! | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=29 March 2025}}</ref>
