Editing Dalek (section)

==Dalek culture==
Daleks have little, if any, individual personality,<ref name=Doomsday/> ostensibly no emotions other than hatred and anger,<ref name="Dalek (episode)"/> and a strict command structure in which they are conditioned to obey superiors' orders without question.<ref name=Evil>''[[The Evil of the Daleks]].'' Writer [[David Whitaker (screenwriter)|David Whitaker]], Director Derek Martinus, Producer [[Innes Lloyd]]. ''Doctor Who''. BBC1, London. 20 May–1 July 1967.</ref> Dalek speech is characterised by repeated phrases, and by orders given to themselves and to others.<ref>Peel (1988), p. 4</ref> Unlike the stereotypical emotionless robots often found in science fiction, Daleks are often angry; author [[Kim Newman]] has described the Daleks as behaving "like toddlers in perpetual hissy fits", gloating when in power and flying into a rage when thwarted.<ref>Newman, p. 33</ref> They tend to be excitable and will repeat the same word or phrase over and over again in heightened emotional states, most famously "Exterminate! Exterminate!"

Daleks are extremely aggressive, and seem driven by an instinct to attack. This instinct is so strong that Daleks have been depicted fighting the urge to kill<ref name=Evolution/><ref name=Resurrection/> or even attacking when unarmed.<ref name="Dalek (episode)"/><ref name=Death>''[[Death to the Daleks]].'' Writer [[Terry Nation]], Director [[Michael E. Briant]], Producer [[Barry Letts]]. ''Doctor Who''. BBC1, London. 23 February–16 March 1974.</ref> The [[Fifth Doctor]] characterises this impulse by saying, "However you respond [to Daleks] is seen as an act of provocation."<ref name=Resurrection/> The fundamental feature of Dalek culture and psychology is an unquestioned belief in the superiority of the Dalek race,<ref name=Evil/> and their default directive is to destroy all non-Dalek life-forms.<ref name="Dalek (episode)"/> Other species are either to be exterminated immediately or enslaved and then exterminated once they are no longer useful.<ref name=Resurrection>''[[Resurrection of the Daleks]].'' Writer [[Eric Saward]], Director [[Matthew Robinson (producer)|Matthew Robinson]], Producer [[John Nathan-Turner]]. ''Doctor Who''. BBC1, London. 8–15 February 1984.</ref>

The Dalek obsession with their own superiority is illustrated by the schism between the Renegade and Imperial Daleks seen in ''Revelation of the Daleks'' and ''Remembrance of the Daleks'': the two factions each consider the other to be a perversion despite the relatively minor differences between them.<ref name=Remembrance>''[[Remembrance of the Daleks]].'' Writer [[Ben Aaronovitch]], Director Andrew Morgan, Producer [[John Nathan-Turner]]. ''Doctor Who''. BBC1, London. 5–26 October 1988.</ref> This intolerance of any "contamination" within themselves is also shown in "Dalek",<ref name="Dalek (episode)"/> ''The Evil of the Daleks''<ref name=Evil/> and in the [[Big Finish Productions]] [[audio play]] ''[[The Mutant Phase]]''.<ref name=Mutant>''[[The Mutant Phase]]''. Writer and Director [[Nicholas Briggs]]. Producers [[Gary Russell]] and [[Jason Haigh-Ellery]]. [[Big Finish Productions]], 2000.</ref> This superiority complex is the basis of the Daleks' ruthlessness and lack of compassion.<ref name="Dalek (episode)"/><ref name=Evil/> This is shown in extreme in "[[Victory of the Daleks]]", where the new, pure Daleks destroy their creators, impure Daleks, with the latter's consent. It is nearly impossible to negotiate or reason with a Dalek, a single-mindedness that makes them dangerous and not to be underestimated.<ref name="Dalek (episode)"/> The [[Eleventh Doctor]] ([[Matt Smith]]) is later puzzled in the "Asylum of the Daleks" as to why the Daleks don't just kill the sequestered ones that have "gone wrong". Although the Asylum is subsequently obliterated, the Prime Minister of the Daleks explains that "it is offensive to us to destroy such divine hatred", and the Doctor is sickened at the revelation that hatred is actually considered beautiful by the Daleks.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bartner |first=Nicole |date=2012-10-01 |title="Doctor Who: Asylum Of The Daleks Review" |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/doctor-who-asylum-of-the-daleks-review/ |access-date=2024-02-12 |website=Den of Geek |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Falls |first=Amanda Harris |title='Doctor Who,' Season 7, Episode 1, 'Asylum of the Daleks': TV Recap (Season Premiere) |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-SEB-71428 |access-date=2024-02-12 |work=WSJ |language=en-US}}</ref>

Dalek society is depicted as one of extreme scientific and technological advancement; the Third Doctor states that "it was their inventive genius that made them one of the greatest powers in the universe."<ref name=Death/> However, their reliance on logic and machinery is also a strategic weakness which they recognise,<ref name=Remembrance/><ref name=Destiny/> and thus use more emotion-driven species as agents to compensate for these shortcomings.<ref name=Remembrance/><ref name=Resurrection/><ref name=Evil/>

Although the Daleks are not known for their regard for [[due process]], they have taken at least two enemies back to Skaro for a "trial", rather than killing them immediately. The first was their creator, Davros, in ''Revelation of the Daleks'',<ref name=Revelation>''[[Revelation of the Daleks]].'' Writer [[Eric Saward]], Director [[Graeme Harper]], Producer [[John Nathan-Turner]]. ''Doctor Who''. BBC1, London. 23–30 March 1985.</ref> and the second was the renegade [[Time Lord]] known as [[Master (Doctor Who)|the Master]] in the 1996 television movie.<ref name=TVM>''[[Doctor Who (1996 film)|Doctor Who]]''. Writer [[Matthew Jacobs]], Director [[Geoffrey Sax]], Executive Producer [[Philip Segal]]. 1996. DVD. [[BBC Video]], 2001.</ref> The reasons for the Master's trial, and why the Doctor would be allowed to retrieve the Master's remains, have never been explained on screen. The ''Doctor Who Annual 2006'' implies that the trial may have been due to a treaty signed between the Time Lords and the Daleks.<ref>[[Russell T Davies|Davies, Russell T.]] "Meet the Doctor." ''Doctor Who Annual 2006''. Ed. [[Clayton Hickman]]. [[Tunbridge Wells]]: [[Panini Comics|Panini]], 2005. pp. 20–21.</ref> The framing device for the ''[[I, Davros: Innocence|I, Davros]]'' audio plays is a Dalek trial to determine if Davros should be the Daleks' leader once more.<ref>''[[I, Davros: Innocence]]''. Writer Gary Hopkins, Director [[Gary Russell]]. Producers [[Gary Russell]] and [[Jason Haigh-Ellery]]. [[Big Finish Productions]], 2006.</ref>

Spin-off novels contain several [[tongue-in-cheek]] mentions of Dalek poetry, and an anecdote about an opera based upon it, which was lost to posterity when the entire cast was exterminated on the opening night. Two stanzas are given in the novel ''[[The Also People]]'' by Ben Aaronovitch.<ref>{{cite book |last=Aaronovitch |first=Ben |author-link=Ben Aaronovitch| year=1995 |title=[[The Also People]]| location=London |publisher=Virgin Books |isbn=0-426-20456-5| page=199}}</ref> In an [[Parallel universe (fiction)|alternative timeline]] portrayed in the [[Big Finish Productions]] audio adventure ''[[The Time of the Daleks]]'', the Daleks show a fondness for the works of [[Shakespeare]].<ref>''[[The Time of the Daleks]]''. Writer [[Justin Richards]], Director [[Nicholas Briggs]], Producers [[Gary Russell]] and [[Jason Haigh-Ellery]]. [[Big Finish Productions]], 2002.</ref> A similar idea was satirised by comedian [[Frankie Boyle]] in the BBC comedy quiz programme ''[[Mock the Week]]''; he gave the fictional Dalek poem "Daffodils; EXTERMINATE DAFFODILS!" as an "unlikely line to hear in ''Doctor Who''".<ref>''[[Mock the Week]]''. 7 July 2007. Season 5, episode 3.</ref>

Because the Doctor has defeated the Daleks so often, he has become their collective [[arch-enemy]] and they have standing orders to capture or exterminate him on sight. In later fiction, the Daleks know the Doctor as ''"Ka Faraq Gatri"'' ("Bringer of Darkness" or "Destroyer of Worlds"), and "The Oncoming Storm".<ref name=Parting/><ref name="Journey"/> Both the [[Ninth Doctor]] ([[Christopher Eccleston]]) and [[Rose Tyler]] ([[Billie Piper]]) suggest that the Doctor is one of the few beings the Daleks fear. In "[[Doomsday (Doctor Who)|Doomsday]]", Rose notes that while the Daleks see the extermination of five million [[Cybermen]] as "pest control", "one Doctor" visibly un-nerves them (to the point they physically recoil).<ref name="Doomsday"/> To his indignant surprise, in "Asylum of the Daleks", the [[Eleventh Doctor]] ([[Matt Smith]]) learns that the Daleks have designated him as "The Predator".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ruediger |first=Ross |date=2012-09-02 |title=Doctor Who Recap: A Hammer House of Dalek Horrors |url=https://www.vulture.com/2012/09/doctor-who-recap-season-7-episode-1.html |access-date=2024-02-12 |website=Vulture |language=en}}</ref>