The Doctor and his companions are sent to the planet Skaro by the Time Lords to prevent the creation of the Daleks.
Genesis of the Daleks by: Terry Nation Part One Running time: 24:30 [SCENE_BREAK] 1. EXT. (In a misty and desolate place, soldiers are firing at each others.) (The Doctor is standing there alone, and looks around. A man in black robes appears before him.) TIME LORD: Ah. Welcome, Doctor. DOCTOR: (Confused.) What's going on? Don't you realize how dangerous it is to intercept a transmat beam? TIME LORD: Oh, come, Doctor, not with our techniques. We Time Lords transcended such simple mechanical devices when the universe was less than half its present size. DOCTOR: Look, whatever I've done for you in the past... I've more than made up for. I will not tolerate this continual interference in my life. TIME LORD: Continual? We pride ourselves we seldom interfere in the affairs of others. DOCTOR: Except mine. TIME LORD: You, Doctor, are a special case. You enjoy the freedom we allow you. In return, occasionally, not continually, we ask you to do something for us. DOCTOR: I won't do it. Whatever it is, I refuse. TIME LORD: Daleks. DOCTOR: Daleks? Tell me more. TIME LORD: We foresee a time when they will have destroyed all other life forms and become the dominant creature in the universe. DOCTOR: That's possible. Tell on. TIME LORD: We'd like you to return to Skaro at a point in time before the Daleks evolved. DOCTOR: Do you mean avert their creation? TIME LORD: Or affect their genetic development so that they evolve into less aggressive creatures. DOCTOR: Hmm. That's feasible. TIME LORD: Alternatively... if you learn enough about their very beginnings, you might discover some inherent weakness. DOCTOR: All right, just one more time. TIME LORD: You'll do it? DOCTOR: Yes. If you'll let me have the space-time coordinates, I'll set the TARDIS for Skaro. TIME LORD: There's no need for that, Doctor. You're here. This is Skaro. DOCTOR: What? (He looks around incredulously.) TIME LORD (OOV.): We thought it would save time if we assumed your agreement. (The TIME LORD hands out a small golden device to the DOCTOR. It looks like a bracelet.) DOCTOR: What's this? TIME LORD (OOV.): A time ring. It will return you to the TARDIS when you've finished here. There's just one thing. DOCTOR: What's that? TIME LORD: Be careful not to lose it. That time ring is your lifeline. TIME LORD (OOV.): Good luck, Doctor. (The DOCTOR is examining the time ring.) DOCTOR: Just a moment. (When he looks up the TIME LORD has vanished.) DOCTOR (OOV.): (Angrily.) Don't just disappear. (Shouting.) What about Sarah and Harry? (The DOCTOR puts on the ring on his left wrist and starts walking.) (SARAH and HARRY are climbing the slope to meet him.) SARAH: Doctor? Doctor! DOCTOR (OOV.): Ah, there you are, Sarah. HARRY: I say, Doctor, that was a pretty rough landing. What happened? SARAH: Yes, where are we? This isn't the beacon. DOCTOR: No, there's been a slight change of plan. (Explosions can be heard not so far away. The DOCTOR instinctively ducks.) DOCTOR: This is Skaro. HARRY: (Looking at the sky.) What's that? It's gunfire. DOCTOR: Heavy artillery. SARAH: Doctor, it's getting closer! DOCTOR: It's a creeping barrage. Get down! (The three of them quickly retreat behind the slope while explosions are now really close and loud. They all have their hands on their ears. SARAH is screaming.) DOCTOR: Something's annoyed them. (Some more explosions. Then it stops.) SARAH: Doctor. Doctor, look. (A man wearing a gas mask is lying in front of them.) DOCTOR: All right. (They approach him and HARRY quickly examines him.) HARRY: Nothing can be done for this chap. (The DOCTOR is looking at the weapons the man was carrying.) DOCTOR: That's strange. There's centuries between these two weapons. SARAH: What's that on his jacket? HARRY (OOV.): Radiation detector and a gas mask. The two things don't go together, do they? SARAH: Part of his uniform is made of animal skins and yet the combat jacket is a modern synthetic fiber. DOCTOR: (Pensively.) It's like finding remains of a stone age man with a transistor radio. HARRY: Playing rock music. DOCTOR: A thousand year war? Civilization on the point of collapse. SARAH: What? DOCTOR: Nothing. Just theorizing, that's all. (The DOCTOR puts down the weapons.) DOCTOR: Come along. HARRY: Where are we going? DOCTOR: Er... forward. (They pass several dead bodies on the ground. The place is a battle field where only rocks and dead wood can be seen. Smoke is rising.) 2. EXT: THE MINEFIELD. (Several feet ahead of them are land mines, partly concealed under rocks and debris.) DOCTOR: Halt, don't move. SARAH: What is it? DOCTOR: I see a land mine. We're in the middle of a minefield. Follow me and tread in my footsteps. SARAH: Good King Wenceslas. (They start moving carefully; the DOCTOR is first, then goes HARRY and SARAH. All of a sudden the DOCTOR stops and looks up to their left.) HARRY: What? DOCTOR: I thought I saw something move. (They resume walking carefully on the rocks.) DOCTOR: I have a feeling we're being watched. SARAH: I get that feeling, too. HARRY (OOV.): I can't see anything. DOCTOR (OOV.): Let's hope it's imagination. (Suddenly, the DOCTOR stops walking again and stays very stiff and still.) HARRY: What is it? DOCTOR: Harry, I'm standing on a land mine. (And indeed, the DOCTOR has is left foot on a mine.) DOCTOR: I felt it shift. If I move my foot, it might detonate it. HARRY: Don't move your foot. DOCTOR: I won't. (HARRY moves cautiously to go in front of the DOCTOR. He crouches down and examines the land mine.) HARRY (OOV.): It's rocking. SARAH: Wedge something under it, make it firm. HARRY: Yes, I'm trying to, Sarah. (HARRY is trying to stabilize the land mine by putting small rocks under it.) HARRY: Back up, Sarah. DOCTOR: You back up, too, Harry. No point in risking both our lives. HARRY (OOV.): No, Doctor, you'll have a better chance if I hold it firm. DOCTOR: Please, Harry, don't be difficult. HARRY: Don't you argue, Doctor. (He has finished stabilizing the land mine.) HARRY: Now... just lift your foot very, very gently. (The DOCTOR lifts his foot. Nothing happens. HARRY stands up, visibly shaken.) DOCTOR: (Smiling.)Thank you, Harry. HARRY: (Smiling too with relief.) My pleasure. DOCTOR: Let's go. (Up on the rocky hill, unseen of the DOCTOR and his companions, a shrouded figure is standing, watching them.) [SCENE_BREAK] 3. EXT. OUTSIDE THE TRENCHES. DOCTOR: Hey, look. What do you think? (In the distance, through the smoke, can be see a great silver dome.) SARAH (OOV.): It's like a big bubble. DOCTOR (OOV.): Protective dome. SARAH (OOV.): What? (Incredulously.) Large enough to cover an entire city? DOCTOR (OOV.): Yes. HARRY: Why are they fighting with old-fashioned things like barbed wire and land mines if they can build something like that? [SCENE_BREAK] 4. EXT. BEHIND THE TRENCHES. (They approach what looks like tranches made of sandbags with barbed wire on top. There are dead men put on the trenches obviously in order to look like alive combatants.) DOCTOR: Even the dead have a part to play. Propped up to make the trenches appear fully manned. HARRY: Different sort of uniform from that other chap's. DOCTOR: Yes. We may have crossed the lines. SARAH: Same mixture of ancient and modern, though. DOCTOR: Yes. That's why I think this war has being going on for a very long time. They probably started out with the most modern equipment but no longer have the resources. Have to make do. HARRY: War of attrition, eh? Only backwards. At this rate, they're going to finish up with bows and arrows. DOCTOR: Well, it would explain the mixture of equipment. (SARAH has found a door, at the extremity of the trench.) SARAH: Psst. HARRY: (Whispering.) Be careful, Sarah. SARAH: (Also whispering.) It's all right. It's locked. HARRY: It's pretty solid, isn't it? Some kind of service tunnel, I suppose. It might even lead into the dome. DOCTOR: Let's see where the trench leads. (They move away from the door. Someone is watching them from a letter box like opening. He wears a gas mask.) (There is a projectile whistling, and greenish smoke is rising near them in the trench.) DOCTOR: It's a gas shell. SARAH: Gas! DOCTOR: Poison gas. HARRY: (Indicating the dead men.) Respirators, quick. (All three of them manage to put a mask on their head. Soldiers in a camouflage uniform and gas masks of their own appear in the trench and manage to subdue the DOCTOR and HARRY.) (Some more men, this time wearing a black uniform, get out from the door and start shooting at the other soldiers.) KALED LEADER: (Speaking about the DOCTOR.) This one's alive. Get him inside. (They help the DOCTOR to get inside through the door. HARRY is on the floor and coughs.) KALED LEADER: There's another one here. Get him inside. Quickly. (They retreat through the door and close it. SARAH is lying unconscious among the dead Thal soldiers, unseen.) [SCENE_BREAK] 5. INT. COMMAND COMPLEX - ENTRANCE. (The soldiers remove their gas masks. HARRY and the DOCTOR are recovering on the floor. The leader is holding them at gunpoint.) KALED LEADER: They don't look like Thals. I wonder... There have been rumors recently that the Thals were developing robots. Anyway, stick them on the transporter. I shall alert command headquarters with General Ravon. (HARRY, the DOCTOR and the KALED LEADER sit down on the transporter vehicle.) KALED LEADER: Count the ammunition and clean your weapons. [SCENE_BREAK] 6. INT. CORRIDOR. [SCENE_BREAK] 7. INT. COMMAND COMPLEX - HEADQUARTERS. (In the middle of the room is a great relief map of the battleground outside. The dome is represented, as well as the mountains. Small blocks, red and blue, with X or O on it, are figuring the position of the different forces. A man in a black uniform with gallons on his shoulders is moving a red block across the map.) (The DOCTOR and HARRY enter, visibly still shaky because of the gas.) RAVON: Well? KALED LEADER: Two prisoners, sir, captured section 1 01 . RAVON: For interrogation. Good. I enjoy interrogation. DOCTOR: Yes, you look the type. (One of the soldiers hit the DOCTOR from behind and he falls on his knees.) RAVON: You insolent Muto. KALED LEADER: Sir. RAVON: What? KALED LEADER: My section totally destroyed the Thal attackers except for these two. But our supply of ammunition is running low. RAVON: Then conserve it. Ammunition is valuable and cannot be wasted. KALED LEADER: Yes, sir. RAVON: For instance, when I've finished with these two animals, they'll be hanged. Not taken out and shot as in the past. And that will be all. Return to your unit. (They salute and clack their heels. The KALED LEADER exists the room.) RAVON: (In a mocking tone.) So... the Thals have come down to recruiting Mutos, have they? (He waves his gun at the DOCTOR. HARRY is sitting on a bench with his head low.) RAVON: (In an authoritative voice.) Turn out your pockets. DOCTOR: Certainly. (The DOCTOR begins pulling items out of his pockets. He puts them on the relief map. There is the sonic screwdriver, a large magnifying glass, a yellow yoyo...) DOCTOR (OOV.): It might take some time. (The DOCTOR continues to put things on the table. A pair of handcuffs and a sort of orange crystal.) RAVON (OOV.): Take a good look. RAVON: In a few weeks we're gonna change the shape of that map forever. We'll wipe the Thals from the face of Skaro. DOCTOR: (Muttering.) Yes, I've heard that before. RAVON: What? DOCTOR: I was just wondering how you propose to wipe the Thals from the face of Skaro with boy solders, no ammunition and very young generals. RAVON: You've had one warning about your insults. (A machine buzzes in the background.) DOCTOR (OOV.): I do beg your pardon. RAVON: When victory is ours, we'll wipe every trace of the Thals and their city from the face of this land. We will avenge the deaths of all Kaleds who've fallen in the cause of right and justice and build a peace which will be a monument to their sacrifice. Our battle cry will be ''Total extermination of the Thals!'' DOCTOR: That's very impressive. You mean you're going to sweep these wastelands absolutely... (While talking the DOCTOR is pointing at the map with a stick. He then uses it to disarm the General, whose gun lands in HARRY's hands. He quickly gets up and disarms the other soldier in the room.) DOCTOR: Harry. (The DOCTOR retrieves the handcuffs he has put on the table and passes them to HARRY.) DOCTOR: (To RAVON) Did I hurt your fingers? RAVON: You'll never get out of here alive. DOCTOR: Yes, so you said. So you're Kaleds, eh? (The DOCTOR uses his sonic screwdriver to destroy the communication device.) RAVON: Even you Mutos know the difference between Thals and Kaleds. DOCTOR: K-A-L-E-D-S. Why, that's an anagram of... How interesting. (To HARRY.) Are you fit, Harry? HARRY: (Holding his gun at RAVON with a smile.) Never felt fitter, Doctor. DOCTOR: Good. (To RAVON.) Now, Alexander the Great, you're going to lead us out of here. RAVON: Never! DOCTOR: You won't get any medals for being stupid, General. In fact, you won't be getting any more medals for anything. RAVON: Where do you want me to take you? DOCTOR: Back to the wastelands. RAVON: (With disdain and a contemptuous smirk.) Yes, that's home to you Mutos, isn't it? But you won't get that far, I promise you. HARRY: Come on, we're wasting time. [SCENE_BREAK] 8. EXT. IN THE TRENCHES. (SARAH is coming round and put off her gas mask.) SARAH: (Not very loudly.) Doctor? Doctor? Harry? (She coughs. She goes to the door and finds it closed. She picks up a gun but it is out of ammo; she throws it back on the floor with a sigh.) [SCENE_BREAK] 9. INT. CORRIDORS. HARRY (OOV.): Where are we? This isn't leading to the surface. RAVON: There's a platform lift at the end. You Mutos must have seen it. HARRY: You're still making the same mistake. We're not Mutos, whatever they may be. RAVON: Only Mutos live in the wastelands. DOCTOR: Come on! (They have arrived in front of the lift. HARRY is still holding RAVON at gunpoint.) HARRY: Sarah's all right? DOCTOR: Yes. RAVON: If you've a friend up there, they won't last much longer. DOCTOR: What do you mean? RAVON: Night's coming on. The Mutos start moving at night. (Two soldiers following a man with round glasses and gallons on his uniform shoulders are approaching in the corridor.) HARRY: (In a whisper, to RAVON. He holds him by the hand and has the gun hidden but pointed at his back.) Just remember, we're your friends. NYDER: General Ravon. RAVON: Nyder. NYDER: I wish to see you. RAVON: If you'll wait in my office, Nyder, I'll be a few minutes. DOCTOR: (To RAVON.) Perhaps you should introduce us, General. RAVON: (Reluctantly.) Security Commander Nyder. NYDER: You're civilians, I see. DOCTOR (OOV.): Yes, but we're not staying long. DOCTOR: Don't let us detain you. NYDER: You won't. (NYDER and the soldiers to carry on in the corridor, but suddenly their stop and they turn back, riffles raised.) NYDER: (Shouting.) Down, Ravon! (The soldiers start shooting in the direction of the lift.) NYDER: (On a small intercom on the wall.) Alert all guards. Two Thal intruders in the command complex. [SCENE_BREAK] 10. INT. CORRIDORS. (More soldiers are coming while an alarm is sounding. The DOCTOR and HARRY are running away.) DOCTOR: This way, Harry. Come on. [SCENE_BREAK] 11. INT. IN FRONT OF THE LIFT. RAVON: They took me by surprise. NYDER: Fool. What kind of soldier lets two unarmed prisoners overpower him in his own headquarters? RAVON: There's something different about those two. They're not Thals and they're not Mutos. NYDER: We'll find out what's different about them... by autopsy. [SCENE_BREAK] 12. INT. CORRIDORS. (The doors are closing before HARRY and the DOCTOR, trapping them.) HARRY (OOV.): We're trapped. DOCTOR: Yes. (The doors re-opens behind them.) DOCTOR: After you. (They get inside the lift just in time before soldiers start shooting at them.) NYDER: (On the intercom on the wall.) Alert surface patrols to watch for intruders in the area of platform lift 7. [SCENE_BREAK] 12. EXT. (The lift has brought the DOCTOR and HARRY outside. They start running.) HARRY: Now what? DOCTOR: Keep running. HARRY: What? DOCTOR: Keep running! (On the top of the hill appear the silhouettes of Kaled soldiers. They start shooting at the DOCTOR and HARRY who resume running.) [SCENE_BREAK] 13. EXT. MINEFIELD. (While running the DOCTOR notices a wire on the floor, linked to a landmine. HARRY is going to step on it.) DOCTOR: Down, Harry! (The two of them get down to the ground and escape the explosion. The DOCTOR helps HARRY to get on his feet.) DOCTOR: Are you all right? HARRY: That was a lucky escape. DOCTOR: I wouldn't say that, Harry. (Several soldiers are standing before them. They are surrounded.) [SCENE_BREAK] 14. EXT. SARAH: (Still not very loudly.) Doctor? Harry? Doctor. Harry. (A deformed creature is following SARAH.) [SCENE_BREAK] 15. INT. COMMAND COMPLEX - HEADQUARTERS. (NYDER is examining some of the DOCTOR's items left on the table. The DOCTOR and HARRY are pushed back into the room by armed soldiers.) NYDER: This is yours? DOCTOR: Yes. NYDER: What is its function? DOCTOR: Well, it's an etheric beam locator. It's also useful for detecting ion-charged emissions. NYDER: Oh, really. (RAVON is standing behind him, looking not pleased at all.) NYDER: It is not of Thal manufacture. DOCTOR (OOV.): Well, naturally not. DOCTOR: My friend and I are not from your planet. NYDER (OOV.): Aliens? HARRY: Humans. (Looking at the DOCTOR.) Well, I am anyway. NYDER: I've heard Davros say there is no intelligent life on other planets. So either he is wrong or you are lying. DOCTOR (OOV.): We are not lying... NYDER: And Davros is never wrong about anything. DOCTOR: Well, he must be exceptional. Even I am occasionally wrong about some things. Who is this Davros? NYDER: Our greatest scientist. He's in charge of all research at the bunker. RAVON: They could be Mutos, Nyder. Intelligent Mutos who've developed a technology. DOCTOR (OOV.): Tell me... what exactly are Mutos? NYDER: Mutos are the scarred relics of ourselves. Monsters created by the chemical weapons used in the first century of this war. They were banished into the wastelands where they live and... scavenge like animals. DOCTOR: In other words, genetically wounded. NYDER: We must keep the Kaled race pure. Imperfects are rejected. Some of them survive out there. DOCTOR: That's a very harsh policy. HARRY: It's horrible. NYDER: Your views are not important. (To RAVON.) General Ravon, I'll take these two back to the bunker for interrogation by the special unit. RAVON (OOV.): They're the army's prisoners. NYDER: Then you will release them to me. The special unit will get more out of them than your crude methods ever would. RAVON: Very well, if you insist. NYDER: I do insist, General. (NYDER picks up a list and hands it out to RAVON.) NYDER: And I have a list of requirements here. All these items are to be sent to the bunker immediately. RAVON: I can't spare this equipment. These spare parts alone would take more than half my supply. NYDER: You'll notice the requisition is countersigned by Davros himself. If you would like to take the matter up with him... RAVON: I'm expected to fight a war without equipment. Very well, I'll have these things out to the bunker by dawn. NYDER: By midnight, General. The order specifies midnight. RAVON: By midnight. NYDER: Good. (They salute.) NYDER: (To the soldiers.) Bring the prisoners. [SCENE_BREAK] 16. EXT. (The night is falling. SARAH is walking outside and hears something behind her. She starts running. Several Mutos are following her.) [SCENE_BREAK] 17. EXT. NEAR A RUIN. (SARAH runs up to a ruin. She peeps through a hole in the wall and sees an old and crippled man in a mobile chair. An assistant is setting shooting pictures of soldiers with a circle on them, along one of the walls.) GHARMAN: Ready, Davros. DAVROS: Observe the test closely, my friend. This will be a moment that will live in history. (DAVROS reaches a level on the panel of his chair and pushes it. On one corner of the ruin there is a Dalek.) DAVROS (OOV.): Halt. Turn right. Halt. (The Dalek obeys and turns then halts.) DAVROS: Now... exterminate. (The Dalek destroys all the targets with its weapon.) DAVROS: Perfect. The weaponry is perfect. Now we can begin.
Genesis of the Daleks - part 1