Genesis of the Daleks

078 – *Genesis of the Daleks*
078 – Genesis of the Daleks
Doctor Who serial
Cast
	Doctor Tom Baker – Fourth Doctor;
	Companions Elisabeth Sladen – Sarah Jane Smith; Ian Marter – Harry Sullivan;
	Others Michael Wisher – Davros; Peter Miles – Nyder; Stephen Yardley – Sevrin; Harriet Philpin – Bettan; Dennis Chinnery – Gharman; James Garbutt – Ronson; Guy Siner – Ravon; Jeremy Chandler – Gerrill; Drew Wood – Tane; Andrew Johns – Kravos; Tom Georgeson – Kavell; Ivor Roberts – Mogran; Richard Reeves – Kaled Leader; Peter Mantle – Kaled Guard; Michael Lynch – Thal Politician; Pat Gorman, Hilary Minster, John Gleeson – Thal Soldiers; Max Faulkner – Thal Guard; John Scott Martin, Cy Town, Keith Ashley – Daleks; Roy Skelton – Dalek Voices; John Franklyn-Robbins – Time Lord;
Production
Directed by	David Maloney
Written by	Terry Nation
Script editor	Robert Holmes
Produced by	Philip Hinchcliffe
Music by	Dudley Simpson
Production code	4E
Series	Season 12
Running time	6 episodes, 25 minutes each
First broadcast	8 March 1975
Last broadcast	12 April 1975
Chronology
← Preceded by; The Sontaran Experiment	Followed by →; Revenge of the Cybermen
	List of episodes (1963–1989)

Genesis of the Daleks is the fourth serial of the twelfth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was written by Terry Nation and directed by David Maloney, and originally broadcast in six weekly parts from 8 March to 12 April 1975 on BBC1.

In the serial, the alien time traveller the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) and his human travelling companions Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) and Harry Sullivan (Ian Marter) are directed by the Time Lords to the planet Skaro at the time of the Daleks' creation to prevent them from becoming the dominant race in the universe.

Genesis of the Daleks was originally commissioned under producer Barry Letts and script editor Terrance Dicks, who believed that the outline submitted by Nation was too similar to his previous Dalek adventures, and encouraged him to explore the origin of the Daleks. The story introduces the Daleks' creator Davros (Michael Wisher), who had a unique visual design. The script was handed to Letts and Dicks' successors, producer Philip Hinchcliffe and script editor Robert Holmes, who made changes to the original script which gave it a darker tone. Nation, having intentionally modelled the Daleks on the Nazis, further explored the theme in Genesis. It also addresses the moral issues that come with time travel and genocide. The story was filmed over January and February 1975, with some location filming in a quarry in Betchworth.

Genesis of the Daleks premiered with 10.7 million viewers and concluded five weeks later with 9.1 million, with the least-watched episode being Part Three with 8.5 million viewers. Since its broadcast it has been widely praised as one of the series' best. The story was novelised in 1976 by Dicks, and released as a condensed LP in 1979, before being released on VHS in 1991 and DVD in 2006.