The following sections discuss some of the major inconsistencies that have become apparent over the years concerning the Daleks and their history. Each element is discussed from the varying perspectives before a conclusion is drawn based on the author's personal perspective drawn from reviewing the source materials.
One of the major considerations is how to rationalise the two BBC Publishing Eighth Doctor novels that feature the Daleks with the Big Finish audio adventures. Specifically, how can the events of War of the Daleks be rationalised with Terror Firma. One solution is to accept one range as being canon and the other not. In this case, preference would be given to the Big Finish range which has far more to offer in the way of Dalek history and development.
It has been suggested within other stories from both ranges that the two ranges exist in different universes. Each of these is internally consistent and therefore no problem exists. Primarily, interest in the BBC Publishing range comes from the introduction of new Dalek casings and hierarchy references. If the alternate universe theory holds, then it is perfectly feasible that the Dalek race in each universe use consistent technology and system of hierarchy.
A third option is that both events happened but neither the Doctor nor Davros see the need to discuss them. In Davros' case, amnesia from his deteriorating mental state could account for missing memories. This option is adopted for this site's History sectiondespite the other rationalisation problems that this may create.
Throughout the course of Dalek stories, the term used for the leader of the Daleks is used interchangeably. Dalek Supreme, Supreme Dalek, Emperor Dalek and Dalek Prime all seem to relate to the ultimate authority in the Dalek race.
For the purposes of this web site, it is assumed that the Dalek Supreme refers to one of the Black or Gold cased Dalek leaders, of whom there were many in the Dalek Empire. In some cases this logic does not at first glance appear to hold. For example, in the television story Revelation of the Daleks and the follow up Big Finish audio adventure The Davros Mission, Davros was taken to face trial on Skaro by the Dalek Supreme as a seemingly unique individual – not the Dalek Prime or Emperor. When the existence of a Supreme Council is considered, however this is not at all contradictory. It is likely that one of the council members would have been charged with the recovery and trial of their creator by the leader of the Dalek race.
This site considers that Emperor and Prime are an evolution of the same position within Dalek society. Initially, the first Dalek seen in Genesis of the Daleks established itself as the leader, overthrowing Davros and his followers. To designate itself as being above and beyond its compatriots, it gave itself the designation "Dalek Prime" – the first Dalek both in terms of rank and length of existence. This designation was fixed throughout the early parts of Dalek history. Later, when the race has conquered and subjugated other worlds, the term Emperor was adopted. First this term was used by those outside the Empire as the natural term for such a government's ruler. Internally, Dalek Prime was still used. Eventually, the term found its way into the Dalek vocabulary and was used interchangeably.
A Dalek Emperor has appeared in a number of sources. In the TV series, a large, immobile Emperor was presented in Evil of the Daleks. This Emperor was never referred to after this story in which it was apparently destroyed, although a single, pulsing light suggested that this may not be the case. In Remembrance of the Daleks, Davros was exposed as being the Emperor of the Imperial Dalek faction. Finally, in the new series episode Parting of the Ways, A large Dalek Emperor was seen on the Dalek flagship where it confronted the Doctor. This Emperor is clearly not Davros as the creature within was visible and was clearly not continuation of Davros' own mutation. In addition, Davros showed no qualms about creating new Daleks from other races, but the Daleks ine Parting of the Ways hated their own existence because they were not pure blood Dalek.
Most of the Big Finish Dalek audio adventures feature or refer to the Emperor of the Daleks. This emperor was vocally similar (nearly identical to) the emperor in Parting of the Ways, suggesting that they may be the same entity. This potential ties in quite neatly with the concept used as a basis for this web site ( see Generations of the Daleks) and would seem to fit in with the timeline presented in this section of the site.
The comic strips, both TV 21's Dalek Chronicles and those in Doctor Who Magazine featured an emperor that was essentially a regular Dalek, with a shortened "skirt" section (only three rows of sensor globes were present, rather than four) and an enlarged head dome. The novel War of the Daleks describes the Dalek Prime in a manner that fits with a casing of this description.
This site attempts to reconcile these occurrences of an emperor into a consistent, reasonable and logical accounting. In brief, it is conjectured that there were at least three Dalek Emperors through the race's existence. The first was initially known as the Dalek Prime and is housed in the large domed casing. Later in the history, this Dalek became integrated into the Dalek City's operations to increase decision making efficiency. This Emperor was virtually destroyed in Evil of the Daleks and finally perished during the Dalek Civil War against Davros' Imperial faction.
After a struggle with Davros' Imperial Daleks, a new Emperor was gestated, this one far more intelligent and cunning than its predecessor. This Dalek masterminded the invasion of the Seriphia galaxy and survived the Time War to begin rebuilding the Dalek race. It is unclear what became of Emperor Davros following the events of Terror Firma. It has been suggested that he evolves into the Big Finish emperor, however the conjecture used within this site is that his new race of Earth Daleks were hunted down and eliminated by the Daleks from Seriphia. Whatever his fate during the previous centuries, it is clear that Davros survived his creations' destruction at the end of the Time War. Whether this Davros was a cloned body with the scientist's original consciousness or his original form is uncertain.
During the course of his adventures battling the Daleks, the Doctor has been known to divulge previously unknown facts about the race and their history. Considering the source of these statements, they are usually taken at face value. After all, none are as familiar with the Daleks as is the Doctor. In some cases however, his comments are difficult to reconcile with information from elsewhere in the series and make determining a rational history extremely difficult.
An early example is in The Dalek Invasion of Earth when the Doctor stated that the events of The Daleks took place "Millions of years in the future", which was later contradicted by Planet of the Daleks where the Thals of the 26th century explicitly state that the events of The Daleks were in the distant past. Both of these stories were written by Dalek creator Terry Nation.
Further more, in Genesis of the Daleks, the Doctor refers to "the Dalek Invasion in the Earth Year 2000" which failed due to the Earth's magnetic properties. It is possible to rationalise the latter half of this statement by claiming that in the original history, the invasion failed as a result of magnetics as per the movie adaptation, but modifications made to the Dalek casings as a result of this information being passed on to Davros mean that a bomb causes the invasion's failure and the Web of Time re-asserts itself. The date in the Doctor's statement here is blatantly false, however – there was no invasion in the year 2000 in the universe of Doctor Who. At least not in the Earth Year 2000, and unlikely in the Skarosian year 2000 either (see the history section for more details).
In order to help maintain a consistent and logical timeline, this document accepts the fact that the Doctor is fallible. He makes mistakes both in deed and words. Sometimes these are deliberate, either to make himself look clever (for example the Dalek Invasion of Earth statement referred to above), others a deliberate attempt to mislead and manipulate is being made. Sometimes a genuine error is made by the Time Lord.
