The Dalek’s new paradigm

I’m kinda a big Doctor Who fan. I’m not a flagrant whovian fundamentalist, not even an old-school follower, but for South American standards I think I’m alright. I’ve been aching since last season’s finale for something new to watch and calm my crazy cravings and now we’re just month away from the Christmas’s Special, when our Lord and Savior will return to grace the small screen. So, I’ve been thinking about writing some stuff about the show from time to time until our countdown reaches zero. And today is the 47th aniversary of the series, so it's a perfect day to start.




I think I should start with a loud bang and talk about one of the most classical enemies and trademarks from the show: the Daleks. For those not familiar with the show, the Daleks are a race of extraterrestrial mutant-cyborgs whose physical appearance is that of a human-sized, tank-like robot. They have only one goal in their mind: to exterminate any non-Dalek life form.

Tony Blair as a Dalek by Dave Gaskill.

Now, the Daleks’ design has always looked like something straight from 50’-70’ sci-fi pulp: chunky and clumsy and with a plunger instead of a hand. But good writing and direction have kept these monsters effective against all odds and trends. I think that rather than hindering it, the Daleks’ original design has enhanced the effect they cause when they appear on screen. Let me explain.

The Daleks are race of creatures obsessed with the destruction of anything non-Dalek. In 1963, when they first appeared, the resemblance of their shape with tiny German Panzerfausts was clearer, and the terror of a nation bent on erasing any semblance of individuality was palpable. Beyond some minor changes in the design, there isn’t much to distinguish one Dalek from another. Their armor don’t present many (if at all) trades to make them relatable, anything with which to identify as a viewer. They’re not the gentle giants from Laputa: Castle in the Sky, the Iron Giant or even Le Roi et L’Oiseau. They’re a uniform, homogeneous force that can’t be reasoned with, almost as a force of nature with a will or a consciousness that axiomatically disregards our own individuality. A sort of suspension of disbelief is necessary to accept that, beyond our first impression, they are completely alien to us. And they want us dead.

Now is 2010 and militaristic fascist nations bent on having a homogeneous repopulation of the Earth are not a so-present fear. During Steven Moffat’s first year running the show something happened that I thought would have more impact in the fandom than it actually did: the Daleks changed. A race obsessed with homogeneity, frozen in a belief system that deems a creature superior the more Dalek-y it is, suddenly changed. Five differently colored Daleks individuals were presented, carrying the name of “The New Paradigm”.



Jokes aside, it would be good to analyze what these changes mean to our understanding of the Daleks. Among the definitions of paradigm I found two that suit best the point I want to make: 1) “A set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality for the community that shares them, especially in an intellectual discipline”, and 2) “One that serves as a pattern or model”. The new Dalek present, along with the new coat of paint, a different set of function for the individuals: drone, strategist, scientist, eternal and supreme. They all seem, at least nominally, to have different functions, and with that comes a new sense of individuality.

For old Daleks, this makes no sense. They’re all what they consider to be supreme beings and, in a way, the same being. Well, actually, copies of the same being. Anything different would be less supreme and, thus, fall into something deserving extermination. But it seems now that their assumptions, concepts, values and practices have shifted from this individual approach to what constitutes a Dalek to a more hive-like one. By all means, they still want to kill you, your family and your dog, but they became different among themselves to better pursue their objective as a group.

The last series has also shown them more cunning and smarter, in general. After all, they orchestrated along other species (something preposterous for Daleks) a way to (SPOILER ALERT) trap the Doctor inside the Pandorica by the end of the season. Yeah, it seems they learnt how to say something aside from “EXTERMINATE” and went into politics to form an alliance against the Doctor.

You know what happened? They went corporate, the 21st century monsters that absorb and destroy individuality. That’s the new pattern, and it's scary.

See you next time!