The Man Who Invented the Daleks

by Alwyn Turner

  * part of an organized lobby – Times, 14 November 1983

  * When the Blake’s 7 Magazine – Darrow, You’re Him, Aren’t You?, p. 144

  * the British public – Gittins, Top of the Pops, p. 53

  * because they thought – Cross and Priestner, The End of the World, p. 231

  * I retain an enormous – Foreword to Peel and Nation, The Official Doctor Who & the Daleks Book

  * American aficionados – Times, 13 March 1997

  * He loved it – Groves, The Terry Nation Story

  * was rubbish – appearance on Room 101 (BBC TV), 15 April 2002

  * We were told – Howe, Stammers and Walker, Doctor Who: The Eighties, p. 171

  * Your day’s gone – Sykes, If I Don’t Write It, Nobody Else Will, p. 453

  * My agent and I – Davies, Dalekmania

  * We were forced – Segal and Russell, Doctor Who: Regeneration, p. 82

  * Mr Hancock had demanded – Daily Telegraph, 5 August 2004

  * We want to protect – Guardian, 5 August 2004

  * too evil – News of the World, 4 July 2004

  * Doctor Who without Daleks – Sun, 2 July 2004

  * thanks to the Sun’s campaign – Sun, 7 August 2004

  * Whoever’s in charge – Daily Telegraph, 10 August 2004

  * This was the one – Daily Express, 2 May 2005

  * For thirty – Sunday Mirror, 1 May 2005

  * It’s a bit like – interviewed on Doctor Who Confidential (BBC TV), 30 April 2005

  * a raving, grinning maniac – Times, 10 December 2008

  * croak-voiced Daleks – James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture, 1993

  * I’m not sure I want – Ophir, Gies and Best, Horizon, 1989

  * I don’t know – Peel, Starburst, 1995

  OUTRO: Closing Credits

  * My intention is always – Fleming, Starburst, 1979

  * Let every part – Hewison, Culture and Consensus, p. 44

  * right to triviality – Thompson, Discrimination and Popular Culture p. 61

  * The disquiet about television – Hewison, Culture and Consensus, p. 118

  * I was determined – Tinker, The Television Barons, pp. 47–8

  * a follow-up – Kibble-White and Williams, The Encyclopaedia of Classic Saturday Night Telly, p. 14

  * the function of people – BFI Screen Online

  * I’d get very uneasy – Ophir, Gies and Best, Horizon, 1989

  * If Terry sent you – Fantasy Empire #4, 1982

  * It was not difficult – Groves, The Terry Nation Story

  * I didn’t want – Ophir, Gies and Best, Horizon, 1989

  * written at white heat – Haggard, She, p. xv

  * lapped up – Daily Mirror, 11 December 1964

  * I delivered something – Nazarro, TV Zone #33

  * If I had my way – Nikkel and Dougherty, Information

  * Terry Nation had a thing – DVD commentary, ‘Planet’ ep. 3

  * As a wartime child – Fleming, Starburst, 1979

  * Much of sci-fi – Guardian, 15 July 1989

  * Whilst we remain – Nation, ‘Blake’s 7: Series Two’

  * They’d watch from – Davies, Dalekmania

  * To have written – Ophir, Gies and Best, Horizon, 1989

  * I suppose that – South Wales Echo, 2 March 1974

  * A type of robot – Oxford English Dictionary (http://www.oed.com – retrieved 28 November 2010)

  * A good story – Nazarro, TV Zone p. 33 http://www.oed.com

  Bibliography

  A.  Interviews with Terry Nation

  In the last few years of his life, Nation gave several interviews to fan and genre magazines which remain the best record of his opinions on his work. Other newspaper articles are cited in the References.

  Howard Loxton, Guardian (31 January 1966)

  Brian Hoey, Sunday Best (BBC Radio 4, 6 February 1972), available on Doctor Who at the BBC (BBC CD)

  Denis Frost, Today (BBC Radio 4, 8 January 1973), available on Doctor Who at the BBC (BBC CD)

  John Stead, South Wales Echo (2 March 1974)

  John Fleming, Starburst, volume 1, number 6 (January 1979)

  Chris Stuart, BBC Radio Wales (unknown date, c.1985)

  Jamie Nikkel and Diana Dougherty, Information: The Newsletter of Star One, the Bay Area Blake’s 7 & British Media Club, volume 3, issue 5 (July 1988)

  Joe Nazarro, Doctor Who Magazine, issue 145 (February 1989)

  Jackie Ophir, Diane Gies and Nicola Best, Horizon: The Blake’s 7 Appreciation Society, issue 22 (June 1989)

  Michael Macomber, The Liberator’s Log: Newsletter of the Cygnus Alphans, a Delaware Valley Blake’s 7 Fan Club, volume 5, issues 6 and 7 (February – March 1992)

  Joe Nazarro, TV Zone, issues 31, 33, 34 and 35 (June – October 1992)

  John Peel, Starburst, issue 200 (April 1995)

  B.  Archives

  I am extremely grateful to Deb Boultwood for allowing me access to documents from the archives of her father, Dave Freeman; to Paul Fishman, who similarly allowed me access to his archive of Daleks material; and to Anthony Brockway for sharing items from his own collection.

  The following files at the BBC Written Archives Centre (WAC) in Reading have been consulted and quoted from:

  RCONT1 Terry Nation; RCONT18 Terry Nation; RC0NT20 Terry Nation; RCONT21 Terry Nation; T5/1241/1 Doctor Who: ‘The Chase’; T5/1246/1 Doctor Who: ‘The Daleks’ Master Plan’; T5/1247/1 Doctor Who: ‘The Daleks’ Master Plan’; T12/391/5 The Ted Ray Show; T65/29/1 Doctor Who: ‘Death to the Daleks’; T65/72/1 Blake’s 7 series one, two and three copyright billing; T65/85/1 The Incredible Robert Baldick; T75/90/1 Blake’s 7 General; Teli/c/781/5948

  Also quoted from is ‘Blake’s 7: Series Two’, a paper written by Terry Nation in 1978.

  C.  Documentaries and DVDs

  Many of the following were made for inclusion as special features or extras on DVD releases of various television shows. The Doctor Who DVDs are included since the commentaries and the subtitled production notes are an invaluable source of information; similarly the Blake’s 7 DVDs and the 2003 edition of the Survivors DVDs contain commentaries and – in the latter case – interviews.

  Blake’s 7 (BBC DVD, 2003–6) – commentary: Chris Boucher, Jan Chappell, Brian Croucher, Paul Darrow, Stephen Greif, Michael Keating, Sally Knyvette, David Maloney, Jacqueline Pearce, Gareth Thomas

  Steve Broster, The Rumble in the Jungle: Remembering ‘Planet of the Daleks’ (2 Entertain, 2009)

  Phil Clarke, 30 Years (BBC Radio 2, 20 November 1993), available on Doctor Who at the BBC (BBC CD)

  Kevin Davies, Dalekmania (Amity, 1995)

  Doctor Who: ‘The Daleks’ (BBC DVD, 2006) – production text: Martin Wiggins; commentary: Carole Ann Ford, Christopher Barry, Verity Lambert, Richard Martin, Gary Russell, William Russell

  Doctor Who: ‘The Keys of Marinus’ (BBC DVD, 2009) – production text: Richard Molesworth; commentary: Raymond Cusick, Carole Ann Ford, John Gorrie, William Russell

  Doctor Who: ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’ (BBC DVD, 2003) – production text: Martin Wiggins; commentary: Carole Ann Ford, Verity Lambert, Richard Martin, Gary Russell, William Russell

  Doctor Who: ‘The Chase’ (BBC DVD, 2010) – production text: Richard Bignell; commentary: Richard Martin, Maureen O'Brien, Peter Purves, William Russell

  Doctor Who: ‘Planet of the Daleks’ (BBC DVD, 2009) – production text: Martin Wiggins; commentary: Terrance Dicks, Prentis Hancock, Barry Letts, Katy Manning, Tim Preece

  Doctor Who: ‘Genesis of the Daleks’ (BBC DVD, 2006) – production text: Richard Molesworth; commentary: Tom Baker, David Maloney, Peter Miles, Elizabeth Sladen

  Doctor Who: ‘Destiny of the Daleks’ (BBC DVD, 2007) – production text: Richard Molesworth; commentary: David Gooderson, Ken Grieve, Lalla Ward

  Paul Giddings, Cusick in Cardiff (2 Entertain, 2009)

  James Goss, Daleks Beyond the Screen (2 Entertain, 2009)

&nbs
p; James Goss, Daleks! Conquer and Destroy (2 Entertain, 2009)

  James Goss, The Thrill of the Chase (2 Entertain, 2009)

  Steve Groves, The Terry Nation Story: A Radio Wales Arts Show Special (Parrog Productions for BBC Radio Wales)

  Marcus Hearn, Stripped for Action: The Story of Doctor Who Comics (2 Entertain, 2009)

  Richard Molesworth, Terror Nation: Terry Nation and Doctor Who (2 Entertain, 2007)

  Stewart La Rivière and Thomas Cock, The Morning After: Remembering the Persuaders! (Swinging Star, 2006)

  Stewart La Rivière and Thomas Cock, The Saint Steps in to Television (Swinging Star, 2006)

  Survivors: Series One (BBC DVD, 2003) – commentary: Lucy Fleming, Ian McCulloch, Andy Priestner, Pennant Roberts, Carolyn Seymour; plus interviews with: Lucy Fleming, Ian McCulloch, Pennant Roberts, Tanya Ronder, Carolyn Seymour

  D.  Non-fiction books and articles

  Some of the material quoted, as will be apparent from the References, comes from newspapers and magazines, but the following books have also been consulted. Where a paperback or revised edition is shown, it indicates that any page references cited are to that edition.

  Kingsley Amis, New Maps of Hell (Victor Gollancz, 1960; pbk edn: New English Library, 1969)

  Arthur Askey, Before Your Very Eyes (Woburn Press, 1975; pbk edn: Coronet, 1977)

  Tony Attwood (ed.), Blake’s 7: The Programme Guide (W.H. Allen, 1982; rev pbk edn: Virgin Books, 1994)

  Robert Baden-Powell, Scouting for Boys: A Handbook for Instruction in Good Citizenship (Scout Association, 1908; pbk edn: 1994)

  J.G. Ballard, Miracles of Life: An Autobiography (Fourth Estate, 2008; pbk edn: HarperCollins, 2008)

  Martin Barker, A Haunt of Fears: The Strange History of the British Horror Comics Campaign (Pluto, 1984)

  Tony Benn (ed. Ruth Winstone), Against the Tide: Diaries 1973–76 (Hutchinson, 1989; pbk edn: Arrow, 1990)

  Bernard Bergonzi, The Early H.G. Wells: A Study of the Scientific Romances (Manchester University Press, 1961)

  Jonathan Bignell and Andrew O’Day, Terry Nation (Manchester University Press, 2004)

  Ronald Blythe, The Age of Illusion: Some Glimpses of Britain between the Wars 1919–1940 (Hamish Hamilton, 1963; pbk edn: Oxford University Press, 1983)

  Christopher Booker, The Neophiliacs: A Study of the Revolution in English Life in the Fifties and Sixties (Collins, 1969; pbk edn: Fontana, 1970)

  Julia Briggs, Night Visitors: The Rise and Fall of the English Ghost Story (Faber and Faber, 1977)

  David Butler and Anne Sloman, British Political Facts 1900–1979 (Macmillan, 1980, 5th edition)

  David Butler (ed.), Time and Relative Dissertations in Space: Critical Perspectives on Doctor Who (Manchester University Press, 2007)

  William Vivian Butler, The Durable Desperadoes (Macmillan, 1973)

  Humphrey Carpenter, Spike Milligan: The Biography (Hodder & Stoughton, 2003; rev pbk edn: 2004)

  Andrew Cartmel, Through Time: An Unauthorised and Unofficial History of Doctor Who (Continuum, 2005)

  Max Caulfield, Mary Whitehouse (Mowbrays, 1975)

  James Chapman, Saints and Avengers: British Adventure Series of the 1960s (I.B. Tauris, 2002)

  Lewis Chester, All My Shows Are Great: The Life of Lew Grade (Aurum, 2010)

  John R. Cook and Peter Wright (eds), British Science Fiction Television: A Hitchhiker’s Guide (I.B. Tauris, 2006)

  Paul Cornell, Martin Day and Keith Topping, The Avengers Dossier: The Definitive Unauthorised Guide (Virgin Books, 1998)

  David Croft, You Have Been Watching … (BBC Books, 2004)

  Rich Cross, Worlds Apart: The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to the BBC’s Remake of Survivors (Classic TV Press, 2010)

  Rich Cross and Andy Priestner, The End of the World: The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to Survivors (Telos Publishing, 2005)

  Tony Curtis and Barry Paris, The Autobiography (William Heinemann, 1994)

  Paul Darrow, You’re Him, Aren’t You? An Autobiography (Big Finish, 2006)

  Terrance Dicks (ed.), Terry Nation’s Dalek Special (Target, 1979)

  Jeff Evans, The Penguin TV Companion (Penguin, 2001)

  Kilmeny Faye-Saunders (ed.), Radio Times Guide to Films (BBC Worldwide, 2000)

  Paul Ferris, Sir Huge: The Life of Huw Wheldon (Michael Joseph, 1990)

  John Fisher, Tony Hancock: The Definitive Biography (HarperCollins, 2008)

  Paul Gambaccini and Rod Taylor, Television’s Greatest Hits: Every Hit Television Programme since 1960 (Network Books, 1993)

  Denis Gifford, The Golden Age of Radio (B.T. Batsford, 1985)

  Ian Gittins, Top of the Pops: Mishaps, Miming and Music – The Adventures of TV’s No. 1 Pop Show (BBC, 2007)

  Cliff Goodwin, When the Wind Changed: The Life and Death of Tony Hancock (Century, 1999)

  Freddie Hancock and David Nathan, Hancock (William Kimber, 1969; pbk edn: BBC Publications, 1986)

  Ian Hernon, The Blair Decade (Politico’s, 2007)

  Robert Hewison, Culture and Consensus: England, Art and Politics since 1940 (Methuen, 1995; rev edn: 1997)

  Douglas Hill (ed.), Tribune 40: The First Forty Years of a Socialist Newspaper (Quartet, 1977)

  David J. Howe, Mark Stammers and Stephen James Walker, Doctor Who: The Sixties (Doctor Who Books, 1992; pbk edn: 1993)

  David J. Howe, Mark Stammers and Stephen James Walker, Doctor Who: The Seventies (Doctor Who Books, 1994; pbk edn: 1995)

  David J. Howe, Mark Stammers and Stephen James Walker, Doctor Who: The Eighties (Doctor Who Books, 1996; pbk edn: 1997)

  Frankie Howerd, On the Way I Lost It: An Autobiography (W.H. Allen, 1976)

  Clive James, Visions Before Midnight: Television Criticism from the Observer 1972–76 (Jonathan Cape, 1977; pbk edn: Picador, 1981)

  Paul Jennings, The Paul Jennings Reader: Collected Pieces 1943–89 (Bloomsbury, 1990)

  Ted Kavanagh, Tommy Handley (Hodder and Stoughton, 1949)

  Jack Kibble-White and Steve Williams, The Encyclopaedia of Classic Saturday Night Telly (Allison & Busby, 2007; pbk edn: 2008)

  Joan Le Mesurier, Lady Don’t Fall Backwards: A Memoir (Sidgwick & Jackson, 1988)

  Eiluned and Peter Lewis, The Land of Wales (B.T. Batsford, 1937)

  Peter Lewis, The Fifties (Heinemann, 1978)

  Mark Lewisohn, Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy (BBC Worldwide, 1998)

  Jimmy Logan and Billy Adams, It’s a Funny Life (B&W Publishing, 1998)

  John A. Loraine, The Death of Tomorrow (Heinemann, 1972)

  Robert Lynd, Life’s Little Oddities (J.M. Dent, 1941)

  Graham McCann, Spike & Co: Inside the House of Fun with Milligan, Sykes, Galton & Simpson (Hodder & Stoughton, 2006)

  Ronald McIntosh, Challenge to Democracy: Politics, Trade Union Power and Economic Failure in the 1970s (Politico’s, 2006)

  Patrick Macnee and Marie Cameron, Blind in One Ear (Harrap, 1988)

  Patrick Macnee and Dave Rogers, The Avengers: The Inside Story (Titan Books, 2008)

  George Melly, Revolt into Style: The Pop Arts in Britain (Allen Lane, 1970)

  Bob Monkhouse, Crying With Laughter: My Life Story (Century, 1993)

  Roger Moore, My Word Is My Bond: The Autobiography (Michael O’Mara Books, 2008)

  Roy Moseley with Philip and Martin Masheter, Roger Moore: A Biography (New English Library, 1985)

  Frank Muir, A Kentish Lad: The Autobiography of Frank Muir (Bantam, 1997; pbk edn: Corgi, 1998)

  Andy Murray, Into the Unknown: The Fantastic Life of Nigel Kneale (Headpress, 2006)

  Richard Nichols, Radio Luxembourg: The Station of the Stars (Comet, 1983)

  Denis Norden, Sybil Harper and Norma Gilbert, Coming to You Live! Behind-the-Screen Memories of Forties and Fifties Television (Methuen, 1985)

  Philip Oakes, Tony Hancock (Woburn-Futura, 1975)

  Mark Oliver, The Blake’s 7 Merchandise Guide (Telos, forthcoming)

  George Orwell, The Road to Wigan Pier (Victor Golla
ncz, 1937)

  George Orwell, ‘Boys Weeklies’ (1939) in Inside the Whale and Other Essays (Victor Gollancz, 1940)

  Bill Osgerby and Anna Gough-Yates (eds), Action TV: Tough Guys, Smooth Operators and Foxy Chicks (Routledge, 2001)

  Gareth Owen and Brian Burford, The Pinewood Story: The Authorised History of the World’s Most Famous Film Studio (Reynolds & Hearn, 2000)

  John Peel, ‘I Can Take Comedy Very Seriously’, interview with Dennis Spooner in Fantasy Empire issue 4, 1982

  John Peel and Terry Nation, The Official Doctor Who and the Daleks Book (St Martin’s Press, 1988)

  P.M. Pickard, I Could a Tale Unfold: Violence, Horror and Sensationalism in Stories for Children (Tavistock Publications, 1961)

  Malcolm Pill, A Cardiff Family in the Forties (Merton Priory Press, 1999)

  David Pirie, A New Heritage of Horror: The English Gothic Cinema (I.B. Tauris, 2008)

  Andrew Pixley, ‘The Daleks Master Plan’, Doctor Who Magazine issue 272, 16 December 1998

  Andrew Pixley, ‘Daleks’ Invasion USA 1967 A.D.’, Doctor Who Magazine issue 406, 1 April 2009

  Andrew Quicke, Tomorrow’s Television: An Examination of British Broadcasting Past, Present and Future (London, 1976)

  Ted Ray, My Turn Next: A Book for Happy Tipplers (Museum Press, 1963)

  Adrian Rigelsford, The Making of Terry Nation’s Blake’s 7 (Boxtree, 1995)

  Robert Ross, Sid James: Cockney Rebel (JR Books, 2009)

  Paul Scoones, ‘Terry Nation: Writing for the Screen’, TSV #51 (June, 1997)

  Philip Segal and Gary Russell, Doctor Who: Regeneration (HarperCollins, 2000)

  Dominic Shellard (ed.), The Golden Generation: New Light on Post-War British Theatre (British Library, 2008)

  Irene Shubik, Play for Today: The Evolution of British Drama (Davis-Poynter, 1975)

  Joan Sims, High Spirits (Partridge, 2000)

  Alan Stevens and Anthony Brown, ‘Chris Boucher’, interview in Dr Who Bulletin issue 107 November 1992 to issue 109 January 1993

  Alan Stevens and Fiona Moore, Liberation: The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to Blake’s 7 (Telos Publishing, 2003)

  Paul Matthew St Pierre, Song and Sketch Transcripts of British Music Hall Performers Elsie and Doris Waters (Edwin Mellen Press, 2003)

  Eric Sykes, If I Don’t Write It, Nobody Else Will (Fourth Estate, 2005; pbk edn: Harper Perennial 2006)