Editing Davros (section)

==Concept==
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Davros first appeared in the 1975 serial ''[[Genesis of the Daleks]]'', written by [[Terry Nation]]. Nation, creator of the Dalek concept, had deliberately modelled elements of the Daleks' character on [[Nazism|Nazi]] ideology, and conceived of their creator as a scientist with strong [[fascism|fascist]] tendencies.<ref>{{cite video |people=[[Ian Levine|Levine, Ian]] (Director) |date=10 April 2006 |title=Genesis of a Classic |medium=Documentary accompanying ''[[Genesis of the Daleks]]'' DVD |publisher=[[BBC Worldwide]] |time=13:35 }}</ref> The physical appearance of Davros was developed by visual effects designer Peter Day and sculptor John Friedlander, who based Davros' chair on the lower half of a Dalek.<ref>{{cite video |people=[[Ian Levine|Levine, Ian]] (Director) |date=10 April 2006 |title=Genesis of a Classic |medium=Documentary accompanying ''[[Genesis of the Daleks]]'' DVD |publisher=[[BBC Worldwide]] |time=35:00 }}</ref> Producer [[Philip Hinchcliffe]] told Friedlander to consider a design similar to [[the Mekon]] from the ''[[Eagle (comic)|Eagle]]'' comic ''[[Dan Dare]]'', with a large dome-like head and a withered body.<ref>{{cite video |people=[[Ian Levine|Levine, Ian]] (Director); [[Philip Hinchcliffe]] (Interviewee) |date=10 April 2006 |title=Genesis of a Classic |medium=Documentary accompanying ''[[Genesis of the Daleks]]'' DVD |publisher=[[BBC Worldwide]] |time=36:00 }}</ref>

Cast in the role of Davros was [[Michael Wisher]], who had previously appeared in several different roles on ''Doctor Who'' and had provided Dalek voices in the serials ''[[Frontier in Space]]'', ''[[Planet of the Daleks]]'' and ''[[Death to the Daleks]]''. Wisher based his performance as Davros on the philosopher [[Bertrand Russell]].<ref>{{cite video | people = Michael Wisher | title = The Making of Shakedown & DreamWatch '94 Highlights | medium = [[VHS]] | publisher = Dreamwatch Media Ltd | location = [[London]] |date = 1994}}</ref> In order to prepare for filming under the heavy mask, Wisher rehearsed wearing a paper bag over his head.<ref>{{cite video |people=[[Ian Levine|Levine, Ian]] (Director) |date=10 April 2006 |title=Genesis of a Classic |medium=Documentary accompanying ''[[Genesis of the Daleks]]'' DVD |publisher=[[BBC Worldwide]] |time=43:40–47:30 }}</ref> Friedlander's mask was cast in hard latex, with only the mouth revealing Wisher's features; make-up artist Sylvia James shaded the mask's tones and blackened Wisher's lips and teeth to hide the transition.<ref>{{cite video |people=[[Ian Levine|Levine, Ian]] (Director); [[Philip Hinchcliffe]] (Interviewee) |date=10 April 2006 |title=Genesis of a Classic |medium=Documentary accompanying ''[[Genesis of the Daleks]]'' DVD |publisher=[[BBC Worldwide]] |time=37:00 }}</ref>

In the serial ''[[Destiny of the Daleks]]'', Davros is played by [[David Gooderson]] using the mask Friedlander made for Wisher after it was split into intersecting sections to get as good a fit as possible.<ref>Information text from the ''[[Destiny of the Daleks]]'' DVD</ref> When [[Terry Molloy]] took over the role in ''[[Resurrection of the Daleks]]'', a new mask was designed by Stan Mitchell.

In 2023, Julian Bleach, who played the character in four episodes of the revived series, reprised the role of Davros for a minisode aired during ''[[Children in Need]]'', informally titled "[[Doctor Who (2023 specials)#Supplemental episodes|Destination: Skaro]]", in which Davros is depicted as non-disabled and without [[scar]]ring. In an interview for ''[[Doctor Who: Unleashed]]'', executive producer [[Russell T. Davies]] said that this is how Davros will be depicted in future appearances, to avoid contributing to harmful tropes of disabled villains in media.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Doctor Who's Russell T Davies explains major change to Davros |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/doctor-who-davros-change-newsupdate/ |access-date=2023-11-18 |website=Radio Times |language=en-GB}}</ref>

{{Blockquote
|text="We had long conversations about bringing Davros back, because he's a fantastic character, [but] time and society and culture and taste has moved on. And there's a problem with the Davros of old in that he's a wheelchair user, who is evil. And I had problems with that. And a lot of us on the production team had problems with that, of associating disability with evil. And trust me, there's a very long tradition of this.

"I'm not blaming people in the past at all, but the world changes and when the world changes, Doctor Who has to change as well.

"So we made the choice to bring back Davros without the facial scarring and without the wheelchair – or his support unit, which functions as a wheelchair.

"I say, this is how we see Davros now, this is what he looks like. This is 2023. This is our lens. This is our eye. Things used to be black and white, they're not in black and white anymore, and Davros used to look like that and he looks like this now, and that we are absolutely standing by."
|author=Russell T. Davies
}}

The decision to portray Davros as an able-bodied character received a divisive reception from fans.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Valle |first=Ali |date=2023-11-19 |title=Doctor Who Unveils Radical Redesign of the Dalek's Creator Davros |url=https://movieweb.com/doctor-who-radical-redesign-daleks-creator-davros/ |access-date=2023-11-20 |website=MovieWeb |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Davros' new look in Children in Need minisode divides Doctor Who fanbase {{!}} indy100 |url=https://www.indy100.com/tv/davros-doctor-who-wheelchair-davies |access-date=2023-11-20 |website=www.indy100.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-20 |title=Doctor Who's Russell T Davies shatters the disabled villain stereotype for new era |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2023/11/18/doctor-who-russell-t-davies-disabled-villain-trope/ |access-date=2023-11-20 |website=[[The Daily Telegraph ]]|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-21 |title=Doctor Who's Davros reinvention is crucial for disabled fans |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/doctor-who-davros-change-disabled-fans-comment/ |access-date=2023-11-21 |website=[[Radio Times]]|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Odom |first1=Dani Kessel |title=Doctor Who's Toymaker Makes The "New Davros" Criticism Look Wildly Misplaced |url=https://screenrant.com/doctor-who-toymaker-davros-change-backlash-misplaced/ |website=[[Screen Rant]] |access-date=30 March 2024 |date=16 December 2023}}</ref>