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Revolution of the Daleks

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Synopsis

Dalek Death Squad

The Doctor is imprisoned halfway across the universe.

On Earth, the sighting of a Dalek alerts Ryan, Graham and Yaz.

Can the return of Captain Jack Harkness help them stop a deadly Dalek takeover?

Source: BBC Website

General Information

Season:

Thirty Eight (New Series 12)

Production Code:

12-X

Story Number:

296 (New Series: 140)

Episode Number:

862 (New Series: 166)

Number of Episodes:

Percentage of Episodes Held:

100%

Production Dates:

October 2019 - September 2020

Broadcast Date:

01 January 2021

Colour Status:

HD Colour

Studio:

BBC Wales (Roath Lock Studios, Cardiff)

Location:

Peak District; Cardiff (including Craiglee Drive; Tyndall Street; Wharton Street and the Capitol Shopping Centre Car Park, North Edward Street); Wales Karting Centre, Llandow; The Caerwent Training Area; Penallta House, Ystrad Mynach; Cardiff Castle; Maindy Barracks and the Clifton Suspension Bridge.

Writer:

Chris Chibnall

Director:

Lee Haven Jones

Series Producer:

Nikki Wilson

Producer:

Alex Mercer

Executive Producers:

Chris Chibnall and Matt Strevens

Executive Producer for the BBC:

Ben Irving

Assistant Directors:

Christian Jeffcoat and Jennifer Day

Script Supervisor:

Nicki Coles

Script Editors:

Fiona McAllister and Caroline Buckley (Assistant)

Series Script Editor:

Sheena Bucktowonsing

Editors:

Joel Skinner, Carlotte Baker (Assistant), David S J Davies (Assistant), Alastair Gray (Assistant VFX) and Georgina Careless (VFX)

Colourist:

Gareth Spensley

Head of Production:

Jacquie Glanville

Production Executive:

Tracie Simpson

Production Manager:

Delmi Thomas

Production Assistant:

Asha Bray

Post Production Producer:

Ceres Doyle

Location Manager:

Gareth Roberts

Supervising Location Manager:

Iwan Roberts

Production Designer:

Dafydd Shurmer

Director of Photography:

Luke Bryant

Casting Director:

Andy Pryor CDG

Line Producer:

Steffan Morris

Costume Designer:

Ray Holman

Make-Up Designer:

Claire Pritchard-Jones

Cameramen:

Dan Patounas (Assistant), Evangeline Davies (Assistant), Gwilym Jenner (Assistant), Scott Waller (Assistant) and Mark McQuoid (Operator)

Visual Effects:

DNEG

Additional VFX:

BBC Wales Graphics, Ben Pickles and Zodiak VFX

Special Effects:

Real SFX

Special Creature Effects:

Robert Allsopp & Associates

Stunt Co-ordinators:

Andy Merchant, Crispin Layfield, Dani Biernat and Stephanie Carey

Stunt Performers:

Andrew Burford, Danielle da Costa, Heather Phillips, Karen Teoh, Leon Gabbison, Lloyd Bass, Lukaz Leong, Maria Hippolyte, Matthew Paine, Paul Bailey, Samuel Stefan, Sarah Lochlan, Tracy Caudle and Xavier Lake

Incidental Music:

Segun Akinola

Sound Designer:

Harry Barnes

Sound Recordist:

Deian Llyr Humphreys

Dubbing Mixers:

Howard Bargroff and Natasha Haycocks

Music Conducted By:

Alec Roberts

Music Orchestrated By:

Alec Roberts

Music Recorded By:

Olga Fitzroy

Music Mixed By:

Goetz Botzenhardt

Title Sequence:

Ben Pickles

Title Music:

Ron Grainer and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Arranged by Segun Akinola

Daleks Originally Created By:

Terry Nation

Number of Doctors:

The Doctor:

Jodie Whittaker (The Thirteenth Doctor)

Number of Companions:

The Companions:

John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness) (Rejoins and Departs), Bradley Walsh (Graham O'Brien) (Departs), Tosin Cole (Ryan Sinclair) (Departs) and Mandip Gill (Yasmin Khan)

Guest Cast:

Sharon D Clarke (Grace O'Brien)

Additional Cast:

Chris Noth (Robertson), Harriet Walter (Jo Patterson), Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (Leo Rugazzi), Nathan Armarkwei-Laryea (Armen), Helen Anderson (Rachel), Nicholas Briggs (Voice of the Daleks), Barnaby Edwards (Dalek Operator 1), Nicholas Pegg (Dalek Operator 2)

Setting:

GCHQ, Cheltenham (2019); Osaka, Japan; Sheffield

Villain:

Daleks

The Episodes

No.	Episodes	Broadcast (UK)	Duration	Viewers (Millions)	In Archive
862	Revolution of the Daleks	01 January 2021	71'56"	6.3	Yes

Total Duration

1 Hour 12 Minutes

Audience Appreciation

Average Viewers (Millions)

6.3

Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2023)

Position = 14 out of 24

Archives

This story exists and is held in the BBC's Film and Videotape Library.

Notes

This story was the 2021 New Year Special. It was written by Chris Chibnall, and directed by Lee Haven Jones. It featured the return of John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness (who previously returned to the show in "Fugitive of the Judoon"), and marked the Thirteenth Doctor's reunion with her companions following the events at the end of "Ascension of the Cybermen/The Timeless Children". This story also saw the departure of Bradley Walsh as Graham O'Brien and Tosin Cole as Ryan Sinclair.

This story is a sequel to the 2019 New Year’s Day Special, "Resolution", as it follows on from what happened after a Dalek Scout attacked GCHQ in that story.

Continuing the ‘Recon Dalek’ storyline that began in "Resolution", a new line of Daleks was introduced, cloned from a remnant of the original recon scout. Their new design is a variant on the Recon Dalek's own casing. It also saw the introduction of a special black Dalek and the return of the bronze Daleks that were last seen in the 2017 story "Twice Upon a Time" - leading to a battle between both factions.

Executive Producer Chris Chibnall has said ‘We've crammed this year's Doctor Who festive special with an explosion of extraordinary acting talent’.

On the 23rd November 2020, John Barrowman confirmed that he would return for this festive special as Captain Jack Harkness. On returning to the show John Barrowman has said that it was ‘great being back’ and that returning to the show had been ‘like going home’. Having played Captain Jack Harkness in both Doctor Who and its spin-off Torchwood, has said the Daleks were the show's ‘quintessential villains’. He is also reported as saying ‘They are never to be underestimated as they will always find a way to survive, which is exactly why they have survived over centuries’.

On the subject of his and Tosin Cole’s leaving the show Bradley Walsh announced that viewers should ‘expect a lot of poignancy’ from this story. The pair have been at Jodie Whittaker's side since 2018. Tosin Cole has said it had been ‘an honour’ to play Ryan opposite Bradley Walsh's Graham and Jodie Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor and that filming his last scene had been ‘emotional’.

Bradley Walsh has also said that it was ‘amazing’ to be ‘only one of a few people on the planet’ to have battled the Daleks. The comedian, and host of the game show The Chase, has said he had ‘absolutely loved’ being on the long-running sci-fi programme and would miss ‘everyone and everything’ involved.

Tosin Cole has said that ‘Working with the Daleks is sort of like working with Doctor Who royalty. You have to respect them because they are so iconic’.

In November 2020, SFX (issue 355) reported that Chris Noth would return as business tycoon Jack Robertson (see "Arachnids in the UK"). This issue also reported that Bradley Walsh and Tosin Cole would depart the show in this story.

This special also had Dame Harriet Walter make her Doctor Who debut (as Jo Patterson) alongside Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, of Utopia and Misfits fame as Leo Rugazzi.

Chris Noth (Jack Robertson) is credited as "Robertson" on BBC iPlayer, and erroneously as ‘Alan Robertson’ in the Radio Times.

This story included an uncredited part for Emily Maitlis (a newsreader for the BBC) playing herself in a scene where Jack Robertson gives an interview on Newsnight.

The title of this special story was revealed after the credits of the 2020 story "Ascension of the Cybermen/The Timeless Children".

In April 2020, Chris Chibnall confirmed that post-production was continuing on this story remotely throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Promotional stills from filming were released at a virtual Comic Con held on the 9th October 2020.

Filming of this story was completed on the 28th October 2019. However, almost a year later, on the 10th September 2020, an additional TARDIS scene was picked up as part of a day’s work to test COVID-safe production procedures for the proposed filming of Season Thirty Nine (New Series 13).

The Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol was used as the setting for the scene when the two Dalek factions meet. These scenes were filmed in October 2019 while the bridge was closed, supposedly for repair.

Jack Harkness uses a temporal-freezing gateway disinhibitor bubble to break The Doctor and himself out of prison. He gets The Doctor's attention by knocking four times (see "Planet of the Dead", "The Waters of Mars" and "The End of Time").

Captain Jack Harkness travels by using a vortex manipulator ("Utopia", "The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords" and "The Stolen Earth/Journey's End") and uses a sonic blaster ("The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances"). The Doctor questions how Captain Jack Harkness was able to smuggle his vortex manipulator into the prison. Which Captain Jack Harkness responds; ‘You really want me to answer that?’.

Captain Jack Harkness recalls meeting The Doctor's companions and warning them about the Lone Cyberman ("Fugitive of the Judoon"). He is unhappy to find out that The Doctor did give him the Cyberium ("The Haunting of Villa Diodati") but The Doctor quickly claims that she resolved this, ‘sort of’ ("Ascension of the Cybermen/The Timeless Children").

The Doctor once again comments on how Captain Jack Harkness has ‘had work done’, to which Captain Jack Harkness replies; ‘You can talk’.

Captain Jack Harkness tells The Doctor’s companions how he became immortal (see the 2005 Ninth Doctor story "Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways") and that the person partially responsible for it is now stranded in a parallel universe ("Army of Ghosts/Doomsday" and "The Stolen Earth/Journey's End").

Captain Jack Harkness tells Yasmin that he is from the 51st century ("The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances") lived on the Boeshane Peninsula, ("The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords" and the Torchwood story "Adam") and how The Doctor abandoned him numerous times ("Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways" and "The Stolen Earth/Journey's End"). He noted that The Doctor was male then ("The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords").

Captain Jack Harkness turns down The Doctor's offer, to travel in the TARDIS, to instead reconnect with fellow Torchwood colleague Gwen Cooper. He had previously refused The Doctor's offer to travel with them to see Gwen again (see "The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords"). He also mentions Rose Tyler.

Captain Jack Harkness calls Graham ‘Silver Fox’ (see "Fugitive of the Judoon").

Yasmin has been studying the TARDIS that The Doctor sent her, Graham and Ryan back to Earth in (see "Ascension of the Cybermen/The Timeless Children").

Ryan reflects on taking on giant spiders ("Arachnids in the UK"), a sentient universe, ("It Takes You Away"), Cybermen ("The Haunting of Villa Diodati" and "Ascension of the Cybermen/The Timeless Children"), Skithra ("Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror"), Morax ("The Witchfinders") and the ‘mighty Pting’ ("The Tsuranga Conundrum").

Jack Robertson's political ambitions being ruined by a toxic waste scandal is mentioned from "Arachnids in the UK" and he remembers The Doctor and her travelling companions from that incident.

The Doctor's fellow prisoners include: a Weeping Angel, whom The Doctor nicknamed ‘Angela’: an Ood, whom The Doctor nicknamed ‘Bonnie’; a Sycorax, whom The Doctor nicknamed ‘Clyde’: a Pting, whom The Doctor nicknamed ‘Tiny’; a Silent; a Skithra; a Gathering Coil; a Cyberman; and a Thijarian.

The Recon Daleks have voices similar to those used by the Imperial Daleks in the 1988 Seventh Doctor story "Remembrance of the Daleks", the last televised instance of a Dalek Civil War.

Humans previously used Daleks to improve their nation's security without being aware of the dangers (see "The Power of the Daleks" and "Victory of the Daleks").

The Bronze Daleks kills the Recon Dalek's Defence Drone army because they view them as ‘impure’. The Eighth Doctor and Lucie Miller previously encountered a set of Daleks who wanted to wipe out genetically impure Mutant Daleks created by Martez on Red Rocket Rising ("Blood of the Daleks"). The Eleventh Doctor encountered the Supreme Dalek, who did likewise to the Ironside Daleks for similar reasons ("Victory of the Daleks"). The Metaltron Dalek once committed suicide because it mutated and saw itself as ‘impure’ ("Dalek").

Before of their demise, the Drone Daleks insist they had to adapt their DNA to survive. This was Dalek Sec's argument in favour of combining Dalek DNA with human DNA in "Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks".

The Daleks use ‘maximum extermination’ (see "The Stolen Earth/Journey's End" and "Victory of the Daleks").

The Daleks are transported to the Void to die. The Tenth Doctor twice before sent the Daleks and other enemies to the Void to destroy them (see "Army of Ghosts/Doomsday" and "The Next Doctor").

The Doctor is locked in prison for evading the Judoon twice and 7,000 other offenses. (see "Fugitive of the Judoon" and "Ascension of the Cybermen/The Timeless Children"). This prison is 79 billion light-years away from Earth.

The Doctor tells Ryan that Gallifrey is devoid of life after Ko Sharmus used the death particle (see "Ascension of the Cybermen/The Timeless Children").

Graham reminds Ryan of their destruction of the Cybercarrier while blowing up the Dalek saucer in a similar manner. In addition, The Doctor realises that, just like with the Cybercarrier, destroying the alien spaceship won't take care of all of the enemies and she requires a separate plan to finish the job (see "Ascension of the Cybermen/The Timeless Children").

The opening titles (‘A LONG TIME AGO... FAR, FAR AWAY...’) is a reference to the famous Star Wars opening title, ‘A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...’.

The Doctor recites the beginning of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone while in prison as a bedtime story to herself, calling it a ‘classic’. She mentions ‘Mr and Mrs Dursley of 4 Privet Drive’ - which are the opening words of the first book in the Harry Potter series.

The Tenth Doctor had previously expressed an admiration for the Harry Potter series and its author, J. K. Rowling. (see the 2007 story "The Shakespeare Code"). The Eleventh Doctor had previously recalled that when he was eight years old, he loved ‘classic’ bedtime stories (see the 2011 story "Night Terrors").

The Doctor misses her intended temporal destination when returning to pick up her companions. The Eleventh Doctor had a history of doing the same ("The Eleventh Hour" and "Let's Kill Hitler"), and the Ninth Doctor once returned Rose Tyler one year late, causing others to think she had disappeared ("Aliens of London/World War Three"). Graham blames it on the TARDIS herself, noting her tendency to take The Doctor where they need to go (see "The Doctor's Wife").

The Doctor gifts Ryan and Graham psychic paper as they leave the TARDIS (see "The End of the World", "Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks" and "Army of Ghosts/Doomsday").

Ryan puts on a grey beanie, with The Doctor remembering the yellow one he was wearing when they first met (see "The Woman Who Fell to Earth").

Ryan reads a story online about a village in Finland that is supposedly dealing with a troll invasion. Graham mentions having heard a story about a quarry in Korea that has been shut down due to reports of ‘gravel creatures coming to life’.

Ryan once again tries to learn how to ride a bicycle with Graham's help (see "The Woman Who Fell to Earth").

Graham and Ryan both see a vision of Grace O'Brien (see "The Woman Who Fell to Earth").

This story was broadcast on BBC One on the 1st January 2021, after being announced as being part of the 2020/2021 festive season. This story was aired in the United States on BBC America on the same day, and in Australia on ABC on the 2nd January 2021.

This was the first televised story, of the revived Doctor Who series, to be originally released to a streaming service, making its debut on iPlayer around 10 minutes before its BBC One broadcast, rather than shortly afterwards or live and concurrently, as is the norm. However, Series 1 of Class had previously debuted on the same service. (Perhaps coincidentally, the episodes of Class had also debuted on the iPlayer service earlier than the time that they were advertised to be released).

This is the first episode to have a 4K definition in the release, but only on iPlayer. "Twice Upon a Time" was re-released in that quality after the television broadcast of the story.

Before this story was broadcast there were a number of myths: This story would be a two-parter - This was proven false; The prison The Doctor was in would be revealed to be Shada (see the Fourth Doctor story "Shada") - This is unknown as this was neither confirmed nor denied; Davros would return - This was proven false; The Special Weapons Dalek would return - This was proven false; This story would continue the war between the Renegade Daleks and the Imperial Daleks - Although not entirely true, this story does contain a similar plot element; David Tennant would make a cameo as the Tenth Doctor - This was proven false; Graham or Ryan would die at the end of this story - This theory was proved to be incorrect as they would both leave the TARDIS alive at the end of the story and given an open ending (so could return in a future story).

Twelve selected pieces of score from this special, as composed by Segun Akinola, were released on digital music platforms on the 2nd January 2021 by Silva Screen Records.

First and Last

The Lasts (Subject to Future Stories):

The last story of Season Thirty Eight (New Series 12).

Bradley Walsh's last regular story as companion Graham O'Brien.

Tosin Cole's last story as companion Ryan Sinclair.

The Plot

WARNING: May Contain Spoilers

Hide Text

The Doctor Imprisoned

In 2019, shortly after the destruction of the Reconnaissance Scout Dalek in "Resolution", the damaged casing from it was transported to a government facility but intercepted en route. Using the Dalek parts, businessman Jack Robertson has funded a defence drone resembling a Dalek that could suppress public riots and has given some to politician Jo Patterson to use in her constituency.

In the present day, 10 months have passed since the events of "Ascension of the Cybermen/The Timeless Children". The Doctor’s travelling companions Graham O'Brien and Ryan Sinclair walk towards a TARDIS disguised as a house. Inside the TARDIS control-room they find Yasmin Khan surrounded by coloured paper and post-it notes covered in writing stuck to almost every surface. She has been working and sleeping inside the TARDIS, and is desperately trying to find The Doctor. Seeing that Yasmin is not getting very far, and has become besotted with the task, Graham and Ryan try to persuade her that she needs to move on, but she refuses to listen to them.

Graham then shows her some footage of the prototype Defence Drone that has been leaked from a fake riot Jack Robertson organised. They instantly recognise it as a Dalek, and see Jack Robertson overseeing the riot. Believing that he is in league with the Dalek, Yasmin agrees to help her friends investigate because it was what The Doctor would do.

Jo Patterson and Jack Robertson
Jo Patterson and Jack Robertson

They go to confront Jack Robertson as he gets out of his car. He recognises them from the encounter he had with giant spiders (see "Arachnids in the UK"). They question him about the Dalek, but Jack Robertson has no idea what they are talking about – claiming that he has never heard of Daleks. Suddenly, people with guns surround them and so they are forced to escape from Jack Robertson's bodyguards.

Jo Patterson - running for the position of Prime Minister - wants Jack Robertson to increase the drone production so they can be implemented nationally. She blackmails him by threatening to alert the treasury about how little tax his companies pay in the UK. This forces him to agree to her proposal.

Leo Rugazzi
Leo Rugazzi

However, unbeknown to Jack Robertson his scientist Leo Rugazzi has discovered organic cells in the Dalek remnants which he has used to clone - growing the cells into a Dalek mutant. When Jack Robertson discovers what Leo has done, he is horrified and demands that Leo dispose of the creature. But before Leo can incinerate the creature, it escapes and takes control of Leo's mind and body. The Dalek-controlled Leo then travels to Osaka in Japan so that more Dalek clones can be grown in a facility.

Meanwhile, The Doctor has been imprisoned in a distant asteroid. After carrying out her daily routines she starts to tell herself a bedtime story but is interrupted by a knocking from the other side of a wall. The following day she discovers the knocking has come from Captain Jack Harkness. On learning about her arrest, he has spent nineteen years committing a series of crimes so that he will be placed in the cell next to hers. He uses a temporal freezing gateway disinhibitor bubble that allows them to reach a vortex manipulator that he previously hid in his cell. Before they are captured Captain Jack Harkness uses it to transport them both back to the TARDIS. The Doctor, along with Captain Jack Harkness, then re-joins with her travelling companions.

On learning that Daleks are back on Earth The Doctor, Graham, and Ryan confront Jack Robertson, while Captain Jack Harkness and Yasmin investigate the facility in Japan. There they discover Leo being controlled by the Dalek that he created and that while growing it was able to build a Dalek clone farm. Captain Jack Harkness and Yasmin are then attacked by some of the Dalek mutants. They are rescued by the arrival of The Doctor. The Dalek then reveals its plan to take over Earth. Using ultraviolet light, the Dalek clones transport themselves into the defence drones which begin exterminating humans.

The Defence Drone

In desperation The Doctor sends out a Dalek reconnaissance signal, which reaches a death squad of Daleks. The Death Squad Daleks soon arrive on Earth and start to eliminate the Reconnaissance Daleks because they do not consider them pure Dalek due to them having traces of human DNA. Jack Robertson, impressed by their intelligence, decides to make an alliance with the Death Squad Daleks and reveals that it was The Doctor who actually summoned them.

When Captain Jack Harkness, Graham, and Ryan infiltrate the Dalek’s spaceship, so as to rig it with explosives, they witness the Death Squad Daleks exterminate the last Reconnaissance Dalek. They also manage to ‘rescue’ Jack Robertson before teleporting back to the TARDIS. As the Dalek’s spaceship blows up The Doctor then tricks the remaining Death Squad Daleks into the other TARDIS where she has set it to collapse on itself before being transported to the Void to be destroyed.

Back on Earth, and with the Dalek threat now over, Captain Jack Harkness elects to stay on Earth for a while so that he can spend some time catching up with fellow Torchwood colleague Gwen Cooper. Just as the group is about to depart on another adventure, Graham and Ryan decide to stay on Earth. They sadly part ways with The Doctor who gifts them with some psychic paper.

As The Doctor and Yasmine continue their adventures in the TARDIS, Ryan and Graham decide to use their new psychic paper to investigate strange phenomena that they have read about.

The Doctor is Free

Captain Jack is Back

Reconnaissance Dalek

Death by Dalek

Dalek Death Squad

Dalek Extermination

The Doctor

Ryan and Graham Depart the TARDIS

Quote of the Story

'You're messing with things you don't understand. The creature these are modelled on is the most evil killing machine in the universe'

The Doctor

Release Information

Format	Title	Release Date (UK)	Code Number	Cover Art	Remarks
DVD	Revolution of the Daleks	January 2021	BBCDVD 4457	Photo-montage
Blu-Ray	Revolution of the Daleks	January 2021	BBCBD 0519	Photo-montage
CD	Original Television Soundtrack - Flux	November 2022		Photo-montage	Music by Segun Akinola (includes music from "Revolution of the Daleks")

In Print

No Book Release

Doctor Who Magazine - Preview	Issue 559 (Released: January 2021)
Doctor Who Magazine - Review	Issue 560 (Released: February 2021)

Photo Gallery

The Doctor and Companions

The Thirteenth Doctor

Captain Jack Harkness

Graham O'Brien

Ryan Sinclair

Yasmin Khan

On Release

DVD Cover

VIDEO

Blu-Ray Cover

VIDEO

Original Television Soundtrack Cover

AUDIO

Magazines

Doctor Who Magazine - Preview: Issue 559

Doctor Who Magazine - Review: Issue 560

Who's Who

Who Me

Episodes of the
Thirteenth Doctor

Season 38 (New Series 12)

References

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