Doctor Who Has A Posse Dept.: No Daleks in the new series
from The BBC with big ups to wiggins and the prof

The BBC has confirmed the Daleks will not appear in its new Doctor Who series after a failure to agree terms.

Talks between the BBC and the estate of late sci-fi writer Terry Nation, who created the Daleks, broke down over issues of editorial control.

A BBC spokeswoman said: "After lengthy negotiations, the BBC and Terry Nation have been unable to reach an agreement on the terms of the use of the Daleks."

While this is indeed a disappointment, in a way it is a signal that this will not be your mama's Doctor Who. I am a Dalek fan, but they are pretty silly any which way you slice it, and imagining them as the most evil badasses in the universe requires a great suspension of disbelief. While this show will still be Doctor Who, it needs to be "Next Generation"-ized a bit if it is going to be a success. Another interesting thing about this story is that the Daleks, the most famous Doctor Who monsters, are owned by the estate of their creator, Terry Nation. In the mid- 1960s, the Daleks were the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles of England, shilling everything from soap to feature films. How Nation managed to retain the rights to his creation must be an interesting story in its own right. Every time they wanted to do another show featuring the Daleks, the BBC had/have to get his permission. Can you imagine if Star Trek:TNG had to get permission every time they used the Klingons, or the Cybermen- I mean, the Borg?

posted by santo26 | 10:22 AM