Write your own Dr Who adventure...
- Publication: Radio Times
- Date: 1972-12-30
- Author:
- Page:
- Language: English
- Notes: reprinted in An Adventure in Space & Time 12
Below, Terry Nation, inventor of the Daleks, starts a new adventure for RADIO TIMES readers. Complete the story and you could win a unique Dalek worth over £100 that talks and moves just like those on TV
Write your own Dr Who adventure...
Dr Who: Saturday 5.50 BBC1 Colour
Who are the Daleks?
Dr Who's most dangerous enemies, written into his second adventure in 1963 by Terry Nation, who named them after an encyclopaedia volume covering DAL - LEK.
Where do they come from?
The planet Skaro, where radioactivity from a neutron war, years earlier, had triggered off a hideous mutation: the Daleks completely lost the use of their arms and legs, and finally their bodies atrophied as well.
What makes them tick?
Inside each Dalek's metallic protective shell is a brain, all that is left of the original body, and a loudspeaker which acts as the Dalek's electronic voice, transmitting what the brain wants to say. The Daleks' hostility may well stem from their jealous hatred of every living thing which still has a body— particularly the Doctor, who has defeated them so often.
AMONG the things that Dr Who most treasures is a crumpled and grubby piece of paper (right), a single page from the log of the Spaceguard patrol ship Defender. The edges of the page are charred by the fire that burned out the Defender when she re-entered the atmosphere of Earth too fast after returning from her mission to the planet Destron.
The being who wrote these words is long dead or has not yet been born, for the event he describes may be in the past or the future. In deep space, time as we know it has no meaning.
The events of which this single page tells intrigued the Doctor for many years. Finally his curiosity overcame his natural caution and he could resist no longer. He set the controls in the Tardis, and with Jo started for Destron. The moment they were under way, he handed Jo the page from the log. If all goes well, Dr Who and Jo will reach Destron. They may face the same dangers as the crew of the Defender. Perhaps become involved in the great battle. Anything might happen ...
The competition
We want you to take up Dr Who's adventure from this point.
Tell what happens in the struggle for the arsenal. Tell it as though you were there, either seeing it, or taking part in it. Tell it from any point of view that you want. Don't restrict yourself in any way. For instance, you might tell the rest of the story as it was seen by the Daleks, or by one of the creatures of Destron.
You decide who wins and who loses. (Or does neither side win?) The only condition we make in the telling of the story is that you limit its length to approximately 400 words.
We want you to illustrate your story with not less than three drawings or paintings. The subjects of these will be:
1 A landscape showing what the planet Destron looks like.
2 Illustrations of some of the monsters that inhabit Destron.
3 The battle between the Task Force from the Defender and the Daleks.
You may enter any further illustrations that you feel help you tell your story.
And that's all. Remember, let your imagination fly. It's your story. Your planet. Your monsters. Your entry can be a solo effort, or the combined work of a group. However, if the entry is the work of a group, please put the names and ages of all the contributors on the entry form.
Rules: Employees of the BBC, printers of RADIO TIMES and anyone connected with this competition, and their families, are not eligible. Entry is free, but all entries must be on a form cut out from RADIO TIMES, and no correspondence will be entered into. The competition is for two age groups: (a) under 10 (b) over 10. If the entry is not entirely the work of one individual, the names of all people who gave assistance must he attached to the entry form, with their ages. Judging the competition is Terry Nation, and his decision is final and legally binding. The top prize in each section is a Mark 7 Dalek (below, right) and an expenses-paid day for two people to visit the television studios during the making of Dr Who episode. In each section there will be six consolation prizes of miniature battery-operated Daleks. The competition closes on 31 January 1972.
Win-a-Dalek Entry Form
AND SO LITTLE TIME. PERHAPS ONLY A MATTER OF HOURS. BECAUSE OF MY WOUND, I CAN CONTRIBUTE NOTHING TO THE ACTION THAT IS ABOUT TO BEGIN. TWO OF THE CREW MEMBERS CARRIED ME TO THIS HIGH VANTAGE POINT WHERE I SHALL BE ABLE TO OBSERVE THE BATTLE.
THIS PLANET, DESTRON, IS LIKE NO OTHER I HAVE EVER VISITED. EVERYTHING ABOUT IT SEEMS TO HAVE SPRUNG FROM OUR WORST NIGHTMARES. EVERY HORROR THAT MY MIND IS CAPABLE OF IMAGINING IS HERE, AND MANY MORE BEYOND MY IMAGININGS. THE VERY LANDSCAPE IS DIFFERENT AND TOTALLY ALIEN TO ANY I HAVE SEEN. DIFFERENT IN COLOURS, SHAPES AND TEXTURES. THERE ARE THINGS THAT GROW HERE, THEY ARE MANY AND VARIED, BUT I HESITATE TO CLASSIFY THEM AS VEGETATION, FOR MANY OF THE SPECIES HAVE THE POWER OF MOBILITY. THEY HUNT AND FEED UPON ONE ANOTHER. THE ANIMAL LIFE FROM THE TINIEST ORGANISM TO THE MOST GIGANTIC MONSTER, SEEM, TO MY EYES, HIDEOUS BEYOND DESCRIPTION. ALL EXHIBIT THE MOST VIOLENT SAVAGERY AND AGGRESSION.
THAT DESTRON WAS ONCE INHABITED BY A CREATURE OF HIGHER INTELLIGENCE IS CERTAIN. THE BUILDINGS HERE, STRANGE BY OUR ARCHITECTURAL STANDARDS, REMAIN AS MONUMENTS TO THEIR CIVILIZATION. THE CONCERN OF OUR MISSION IS IN ONE PARTICULAR BUILDING. WE KNOW THAT IT WAS THE ARSENAL OF THE CREATURES THAT LIVED HERE. AN ARSENAL CONTAINING WEAPONS SO ADVANCED, OF SUCH INGENUITY, OF SUCH TERRIFYING POWER, THAT NO FORCE IN THE SEVEN GALAXIES COULD DEFEND AGAINST THEM. HOW THE DALEKS LEARNED OF THE WEAPONS OF DESTRON WE DO NOT KNOW. BUT, THEY DO KNOW. THEY ARE HERE. NOW. OUR FORCE IS MADE UP OF UNITS FROM ALL THE PLANETS THAT FORM THE CONFEDERATION OF THE SEVEN GALACTIC GOVERNMENTS. OUR MISSION, 'TO PREVENT THE ARSENAL ON DESTRON FALLING INTO THE HANDS OF THE DALEKS, AND TO DESTROY ALL THE WEAPONS STORED WITHIN IT'.
We ARE ON A HOSTILE PLANET THAT FAVOURS NEITHER SIDE. IF OUR FORCE WINS, THE SAFETY OF ALL THE COLONIZED WORLDS IS ASSURED. IF VICTORY GOES TO THE DALEKS, THEY CAN FULFIL THEIR AMBITION TO DOMINATE ALL THE KNOWN UNIVERSE.
SOMETHING IS HAPPENING ON THE FAR SIDE OF THE CRATER. THE DALEKS ARE BEGINNING TO MOVE INTO POSITION. OUR FORCE HASN'T SEEN THEM YET. IT'S BEGINNING AND I
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- APA 6th ed.: (1972-12-30). Write your own Dr Who adventure.... Radio Times .
- MLA 7th ed.: "Write your own Dr Who adventure...." Radio Times [add city] 1972-12-30. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: "Write your own Dr Who adventure...." Radio Times, edition, sec., 1972-12-30
- Turabian: "Write your own Dr Who adventure...." Radio Times, 1972-12-30, section, edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Write your own Dr Who adventure... | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Write_your_own_Dr_Who_adventure... | work=Radio Times | pages= | date=1972-12-30 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=16 May 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Write your own Dr Who adventure... | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Write_your_own_Dr_Who_adventure... | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=16 May 2025}}</ref>
