Designing the Daleks | Doctor Who

[@ZoahLord]

Famously, Jon Pertwee on 1993's "Good Morning" (A BBC day-time show) proposed to the hosts that Ray Cusick should be considered the right answer to the question "Who created the Daleks?"

[@JoshSnares]

Oh yes! I forgot about that - Pertwee gets it!!

[@fadikhoory5350]

What not Anthony Coburn?

[@lucasdolding6924]

@@fadikhoory5350 He had nothing to do with the Daleks lol

[@Interference22]

I have the vaguest memory of that clip being featured in More Than Thirty Years in the TARDIS, along with an interview with Ray. God, that VHS was a gold mine to young fans in the 90s.

[@hopebgood]

I was playing Trivial Pursuit with a load of mates and one question was "Who created Doctor Who?" and the answer on the card said Terry Nation. Arrghhh!!!

[@GREATRJ1]

The Dalek's would certainly not be what they are nor be as popular if it wasn't from that genius design. The fact it strayed away from the average "man in the rubber suit" made it so iconic back then and so iconic now. With the incredible writing from Nation and the masterclass build from Cusick I think we can all say from the bottom of our hearts, thank you.

[@TempusWare]

Great video! It reminds me of the situation with the creators of Batman, Bob Kane and Bill Finger. I wonder if one day Cusick will get his permanent co-creator credit like Finger.

[@JoshSnares]

Good comparison!

[@Padovanm125]

I think it’s more of a Jack Kirby/ Stan Lee/ Steve Ditko situation rather than Kane and Finger. Finger did basically everything while Kane got rich. Regardless, it’s depressing as hell that Cusick doesn’t get more than lip-service.

[@KatzePiano]

I love Raymond Cusick so much. He's known as Grumpy Granddad in my circle due to his interview on the extras for The Keys of Marinus, with his post-credits declaration that no, he's not proud of anything in the serial. You mentioning his grumpy comments about the modern show made me laugh because he's exactly the same about the old show! Anyway, it has always seemed so unfair to me that Terry Nation gets all of the credit for creating the Daleks when their iconic look is hugely down to Raymond Cusick. Thank you for making a video highlighting his work!

[@cybermatstrikes7557]

yeah always felt Raymond Cusick got a raw deal. Nation should have made sure he got some of the movie money.

[@cyrusq5999]

Terry Nation came across as a greedy opportunist. When commissioned, his Dalek scripts were lazy rehashes, that needed a lot of re-writing, from what I’ve seen of the documentaries and featurettes. I actually prefer his other creations: the Kraals to the Daleks - although, Davros, (Wisher) is still his masterpiece.

[@just_a_carl]

What a great shout-out to a wonderful designer! Thank you Josh!

[@akshaytrayner1960]

Without Raymond cusick we wouldn’t have the iconic design that other designers would improve

[@craigwilliams6734]

Improve? In fact, any changes have destroyed the brilliant original design

[@coopercane500]

I love the idea of crediting designers with writers as creators. It should work just like comic books. One person as the writer creating the character's personality and one artist illustrating their look and feel.

[@cbw06]

5:05 "this effect requires GPU acceleration" My headcanon now includes Daleks having full gaming PCs inside their casings

[@JoshSnares]

😅😅😅

[@barneyrubble1964]

I'm going to protect my Dad's legacy. It was his idea to put a tricycle into the Daleks which he did for Dalek Invasion, the wider base was to hide the Wheels. Subsequently the castor wheels came back and you can see in later stories how this (IMHO) a retrograde step as this required the operator to walk and sometimes you can see the operator's feet! Ironically this video includes some of the Daleks Dad designed for Invasion, with the dish on the back and the wider base which came back when Doctor Who was re-launched in 2005.

[@Technobabylon]

I'd always wondered whether the wider base was a budget thing, or a functional thing!

[@hopebgood]

I've always considered Ray Cusick's actual design of the Dalek to be the most important part of their success and maybe the vocalization, but Terry Nation stiffed him properly when it came to the financial aspect.

[@DokkaChapman]

It's interesting that Nation had such a choke hold on the Daleks considering he didn't really give much of a toss about them initially.

[@JoshSnares]

When they started making money he changed his tune hahaha

[@mpittard21]

@@JoshSnares like all writers. THey write SO much stuff that they often forget what they had written years ago. Like Robert Holmes (probably one of the best writers Who ever had) submitted the Krotons story 3-4 times before it was even properly looked at.

[@mpittard21]

also most people know the story by now of Terrance Dicks actually pushing back on nation for keep on writing with the same plots and paths for the Daleks. Terry was going 'through the motions'. When challenged to do something new, Terry came up with Genesis.. so Im glad he was challenged by Dicks.

[@Penfolduk001]

To be fair, a lot of writers and authors can become trapped by the success of the creations they're not personally bothered about. One of the greatest examples being Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes. He ended up hating the character so much he killed him off. Only to resurrect him when his other writing didn't do so well financially.

[@TroyUlysses]

This is another Lee / Ditko and Kane / Finger scenario. The idea is the inception, but the design is the creation. Such a shame the artists contributions are always forgotten. Another great video, Josh. 📺 ❤

[@armana1404]

I positively love this channel. The production and editing are excellent. And the videos are always so well researched. It’s an amazing gift to Doctor Who fans.

[@tomrees4857]

It's always a good morning when it's another Josh Snares Vid :)

[@JoshSnares]

Thank you!

[@PilotFlight2Mars]

Oh bro, you've out done yourself with the production.

[@averyeml]

Ridley Scott’s tangential connection to Doctor Who forever sits as one of my favorite random fun facts to throw out to new/moderate Who fans who are just starting to breach into the classic stuff.

[@timthememer2785]

Fantastic video as always! Tbh for all that people go 'imagine if Ridley Scott had designed the Daleks', they should probably acknowledge more that Cusick did a good enough job to make something so iconic that it rivals any of Scott's work.

[@princecharon]

Well, I certainly agree with Cusick on the 'coral' style of console room, and I'm largely with him on the new series Daleks... though I do like the Bronze Daleks better than the New Paradigm Daleks or the later Scout Daleks.

[@dickiegreenleaf750]

I really do love this channel. Thank you, Josh Snares!

[@whatsup4825]

Josh, I am yet again making the declaration that you’re brilliant and that you make Doctor Who fandom a much better place. Much love from the UK!✨✨✨

[@ThatRandomFastingGuy]

I second this.

[@StephenCole1916]

Great video as always! Love the pepperpot joke, had me rolling.

[@reallysmallfrisby]

YES good take. It's a shame he's not credited in the main show as being the designer for the Daleks, but I suppose they think it would have meant he'd/his estate would be entitled to ask or sue for more money, as would any other crew members who's work was owned by the BBC due to being employed by them. Also the Terry Nation estate might not agree for them to use the Daleks if they gave Raymond Cusick an official credit. Copyright laws are truly fucked right now.

[@eveningtsar]

Can't help thinking Cusick would remember things a bit more fondly if he'd gotten a bigger slice of the pie!

[@ianclark934]

Josh you are simply the best Doctor Who content creator. Another excellent video!

[@frizzlewho91]

I love them pepper pots 😊.

[@jezt42]

Like everything in life, it should be about doing the right thing. Raymond Cusick deserved a slice of that “pie”. Thank you for uploading this. 🙂👍

[@AtelierGod]

Budget + limitations + creativity = Success.

[@DannyDangerOz]

I heard a slightly different version of that meeting with Nation about the movies. The version I heard was that Nation said something to the effect of, "I'll look after you," and then was never heard from again.

[@Mr007reviews]

Always such quality context, we're so spoilt!

[@ksay7649]

excellent as always, thanks

[@ashleytuchin7693]

I'm so glad you that you made this video. Bill Finger eventually received credit as the co-creator of Batman, so hopefully the same thing will happen for Ray and the Daleks one day.

[@diggingattycho7908]

I would give most of the credit to Cusick, even though Nation is credited with the idea of the Daleks. Writing is a very easy process, how hard is it to type a word. But for the designer one word could cost thousands of hours, and millions to realize. Which displays Cusick's skills, in creating one of the most iconic villains in science fiction. Pretty much for nothing. Is a master stroke. But I feel a great deal for him, he must have a spirt of iron. To see his design all over the place, and not even receive an ounce of credit.

[@ShadowTreasurer]

Doctor Who novelist David McIntee suggested that Scott's viewing of Ark In Space may have influenced Scott's later direction of Alien.

[@jeffhall9761]

Well done Josh, thoroughly enjoyed this video.

[@tonyp3824]

Great video- thanks, Josh.

[@macra_]

Informative as always Josh! You're videos are so great!

[@ladydelorean]

That intro music tho! You're a cutie Josh 🥰

[@ShadowTreasurer]

Ray Cusick said that while Terry Nation went from rags to riches, Cusick had went from rags to rags.

[@markc5111]

Awesome video Josh. I always look forward to learning something to about a Legend ❤❤

[@m.sharif_3d]

'LOVE this video! Great work, Josh!

[@craigwilliams6734]

The Daleks first appeared on the 21st December in 1963. I love them 😜

[@markyjns]

White Dial for me, tried it on a few times now and definitely going to be getting one. It’ll be my first Speedy, the traditional black dial has never appealed, though the FOIS does look awesome too.

[@Technobabylon]

Oh hey, my mother had the Dalek costume when she was a kid. The lower half was essentially shower-curtain material

[@Kryojenix]

Cool vision and sound on this video. I was going to make the GPU acceleration comment but I see it's been said... Ray's right about the rivets. Doesn't sound very "bonded polycarbonate" does it? (I think the armour would be depleted dalekanium alloy anyway, I presume dalekanium is a very heavy element with natural nuclear decay...) The vertical strips along the shoulder are also supposed to be solar panels, I'm surprised no one has made them look like it. And I'm surprised no one returned the "discs on their backs" in a more embedded form.

[@nighttimevideo]

5:03 Not a bad concept to reuse for a future Dalek design...

[@kevin10001]

It similar to asking who created Batman cause the actual right answer is bob Kane and bill finger just like terry nation created the concept Raymond cusick came up with the actual look of the daleks like bob created the concept and the original designs bill got Batman into a workable character

[@ShadowTreasurer]

To credit both Terry Nation and Ray Cusick for creating the Daleks is akin to crediting both Bob Kane and Bill Finger in creating Batman.

[@timecontroller8800]

An unsung hero of doctor who production wonderful work Josh and could we see a dalek design ranking video? (Preferably in the style of your companion tier list)

[@golden_gloo]

I know Raymond Cusick created the Daleks and everything but the Time War Daleks aren't meant to be the most sleekest, futuristic sci-fi design but the design that stooped down to the level it was after compromise and compromise opting for functionality during the time war to finally end up in Van Statten's basement.

[@markbelsom3174]

For me Raymond Cusick is the true creator of the Daleks, should've got far more credit than he got.

[@ireallydidntwanttomakeanac575]

*This effect requires GPU acceleration.* Fantastic video highlighting the creative Ray Cusick. Terry's "take the money and fly like a thief" axiom definitely explains Planet of the Daleks then (bite me, Planet fans).

[@JoshSnares]

Planet of the Daleks could use some GPU acceleration, let me tell you that!!

[@ulrickennedy4920]

Tony Hancock invented the Daleks, Terry Nation stole the idea. The name Dalek is just the word for Alien in another language that escapes me. I imagine War of the Worlds was an inspiration of sorts to either Hancock or Nation.

[@tubewatanabe]

Without Cusick's Dalek design, the should wouldn't have just had it's 60th anniversary. If you disagree, just keep the scripts the same, the voices the same, but replace the Dalek prop with the Kroton costume. Yeah. Absolutely criminal he wasn't properly credited and compensated properly.

[@benflay6038]

Bill Roberts head of shawcraft sat down on a stool and was drawn around being big chap as well as pointing out grp being better can be cast and the lights in hemis be to expensive it was bill who found a broken camera he put in one dalek eye so can open close and found having eye stalk 2 parts could be lit, it was bill who used the angle iron for fender and created the claw before sucker was deemed safer so yeah ray cussik but with bill roberts he came back for chase created the mesh slats not liking the dish for power .....nation was a chancer

[@Foebane72]

Cusack? My dad insists that Tony Hancock, of Hancock's Half Hour, designed the Daleks!

[@JoshSnares]

Well, he didn’t 😅

[@phillipschwoerke8374]

Great Video!

[@swanseamale47]

I still prefer the first version. Maybe its an age thing, but I find the simpler design more scary.

[@akshaytrayner1960]

Great vid

[@LFrench]

you wrote this whole video just to get that davros line in there didnt you

[@CARSAIGFILMS]

Brilliant!

[@5SSS]

They should bring back that emotion light feature for the new show, I'd be up for it

[@cbw06]

I mean considering Davros engineered them to be creatures of rage we'd be seeing a lot of bright red Daleks!

[@Lumibear.]

One has to wonder at what point it was abandoned as it’s the only good reason I can fathom as for why the fibreglass skirt domes were originally inserted through holes cut out of the base

[@drew_wadd]

Fantastic video Josh! It boggles the mind to think of Ridley Scott on Who though!

[@DoctorJohnSmith9]

Blown away, the production of this video is amazing, from the opening theme, the background music, the graphics and animation, everything! Fabulous content, Josh, love it!! ❤

[@sg-zd8eb]

They burst onto our screens in two ways: a Dalek sucker stick operated by a stagehand was shown at the end of The Dead Planet, and three full Dalek props were debuted a week later. The transmission dates were December 21 and 28 1963.

[@stevedickson5853]

That Stagehand waving the sucker about made Barbara wet her knickers lol

[@JoshSnares]

Yeah, I'm an idiot. My ridiculous logic was "most of the story screen in 1964" - no idea why I thought that counted! Haha

[@mlegeydo]

idk why but this video made me emotional. because like. it's the Daleks! THE Daleks, you know! and btw, Josh, the editing is so good! great video

[@davidrenwickjunior]

Well done Josh. Another great video ❤❤ I remember watching some of those interviews with Raymond on the VHS Daleks the early years & More than 30 years in the Tardis when they were released 30 years ago (showing my age now 😂🤣) It’s a shame for Raymond he didn’t get the recognition or credit for his work, same treatment as Delia Derbyshire and the theme tune where Ron Grainer got the royalties and she got nothing, but for what it’s worth, they’re both legends amongst the fans. Another under appreciated contributor to the show I feel is Mark Ayres. Apart from the music he made for the show during the McCoy era, he’s done extensive work in the Radiophonic Workshop archiving sounds and music from Delia’s era to the present, restoring and cleaning up soundtracks etc for release. He arranged the music for the Curse of Fatal Death, but the music I like best was his incidental music for More Than 30 Years in the Tardis which I consider to be the classic era equivalent to Murray Golds track All The Strange Strange Creatures, with a rocked up version for the Manopticon trailer. He even did the James Bond style Doctor Who theme for the Jon Pertwee segment 15 minutes into MT30YITT. I’d love to hear a fuller or extended version of that, considering all the fan made themes I’m surprised nobody has tackled that one yet! Once again, fantastic work Josh.

[@ThatRandomFastingGuy]

Josh, legit, how are always the best DW Content creator!? You constantly out do yourself. I love the work you put in for your audience. Thank you for everything. Especially the Nyssa Meme 😂

[@brewster_4]

True fans know it was actually Yarvelling who created the Daleks.

[@markwardel6751]

Exactly

[@minicle426]

1:52 After copying everything from David Maloney.

[@marcse7en]

The Daleks first appeared in Doctor Who in 1963. I agree with Raymond Cusick! ... The design of the New Series is NOT to my taste either!

[@GhostPurple69]

josh snavros

[@JoeSiegler]

0:20 - I would add a third. “The guy with the long scarf”.

[@JoshSnares]

Yeah that was in the script eventually but just was too long for an opening! Haha

[@saxonost7]

December 1963 I think..the second story.

[@JoshSnares]

21 December 1963 until 1 Feb 1964

[@blackwoodrichmore4531]

Great documentary, Josh! I gleaned a couple of snippets of info that I hadn't seen anywhere else before. And I thought I knew everything there was to know on the subject. Well done old chap! 🕵🏻‍♂️

[@stevenmcnicoll5060]

Brilliant, Josh. Delighted to see you give the great Raymond Cusick his due. Nation could at times by all accounts be a bit of a lazy hack. Cusick said Nation's scripts often had in the stage directions: THEY ENTER A WHITE FEATURELESS ROOM. Cusick once asked him for more detail. "Oh you'll come up with something." was Nation's response. Excellent work as always Josh. Well researched and entertaining. Thank you.

[@verdiguy]

A terrific tribute to Raymond and his massive contribution to the show and all for a budget of 500 Pounds. Awesome production values on the video Josh and a nice way to start my Sunday.

[@smithpm81]

great video Josh, well done

[@markwardel6751]

I'm one of the Dalekmania generation of kids and I agree with Cusick about the bronze Dalek design which is kind of 'steam punk' old fashioned compared to the sleek and spacey originals ...bored to death with the bronze colour too which has now been flogged to death. Great video with some interesting snippets of new info!

[@michaelvalentine8723]

This is a whole Jack Kirby situation.

[@themirrorsofmymind]

Ha! I totally agree with his assessment of the Tardis interior design shown in this video! The KZbin channel TheMindRobber did an updated version of the Tardis interior years ago and it's still one of (if not ) the very best versions I've seen!

[@jsnap1]

I hope the Australian dalek gets another appearance in this video

[@speakgeekstudio1867]

Another great video! It’s a shame that Cusick didn’t get properly compensated or recognized for his work. It’s amazing that after 60 years, the Dalek design has remained more or less the same. I’m curious if the BBC owned the rights to the design and if Terry Nation had to pay them to use it in non-BBC productions.

[@paulosborne6517]

OK, Terry Nation wrote the Daleks into being, but although a writer might think "three bums, glowing tentacles, and a monocle", it is the designer who has to turn those written cues into a coherent, original and exciting visual design that is practical too. Without Cusick, the Daleks may well have sank the show, rather than stamped it into the history of sci-fi as one of the all-time greats. I love Cusick's early design with the smooth sides, and single arm - it looks like a Habitat / Conran lamp... and mid-century interior design / architecture will always be cool, but Cusick aced the unusual / inhuman aesthetic with the final Dalek design we saw on screen. I don't think the plunger was a bad hand design. Why would an alien race conform to a system of switches and controls requiring fingers? The Daleks machinery was operated by domes and dials - which fits the plunger perfectly. It also allowed subsequent stories to feature special-purpose Daleks by simply swapping out the plunger for a scoop, compass, pyro-flame, claw... Which then paved the way for interchangeable weapons come the Pertwee era. Frankly, Cusick should be credited as highly as anyone involved in conceiving or producing Doctor Who - for many [esp in the 1960's] Doctor Who was The Daleks first and foremost... and that set a high bar for all other baddies. I wonder what Cusick thought to the 'Genesis' Daleks in 1975? For me, that moment when the Mark III Travel Machine enters Davros' lab for the first time - brutal, 'panzer grey', electric-blue eye stalk baffles... was totally iconic / landmark. I felt [at the time] as I'm sure 60's kids did when they first saw the sleek silver Daleks in the 1960's. It was a historic moment, that the audience was a part of. As was the first scene with Davros too. To take an established apex Doctor Who 'monster' and top that apex with an even more shocking and memorable 'creator' was a huge risk and a great achievement. The Dalek aesthetic is born out in Davros' own travel machine, but the withered, tanned, blind face of Davros and the clawed hand were pure horror. I hope Cusick felt that his Daleks were well served by their Genesis restyle and by Davros himself.

[@alexfletcher5192]

I think illuminated skirt lights might have pushed them into disco territory. Which might appeal to some but I think we can all imagine where that might have gone in the 1970s. Planet of the Daleks is already like being trapped at a Glam Rock party.

[@fadikhoory5350]

I think Verity Lambert said that the budget allows for imagination hence sink plungers. You know how RTD says 'x is of its time, yes it was nice, but its 2024' well, imagine if he changed the design of the Daleks because it was a budget issue of the time.

[@alexfletcher5192]

I also had reservations about the 'new' look of the Daleks, but it's strange how badly fandom reacted to a smoother look in 2010. I know there were a lot of people keen that they looked solid and not cheap. But if you're keeping the plunger (for the most part) you might as well go back to jam-jar headlights. I also think it's interesting how, if you look at cars right now, some classic design elements are coming back. People don't mind a bit of personality.

[@mythghost]

Great video. A lot of new things were learned. I do have a question though in “an adventure in space and time” someone designs the iconic TARDIS console literally by throwing junk together around the shop. Who is this man?

[@DrWhoFanJ]

Peter Brachacki.

[@GreatHealer.]

Cusick deserved more, but I belive long term fans of the show know and respect the truth.

[@thecelestialtoygazer7816]

No because he was so right with the new series Daleks

[@GhostPurple69]

i've always noticed a queer parallel between the dalek design and some of the earlier illustrations of the flatwoods monster, e.g. the cover of frank c feschino's book, "the braxton county monster."

[@GhostPurple69]

of course, the more-familiar flatwoods silhouette more closely resembles a vervoid... 🌺

[@emperordalek102]

yep terry nation and raymond are the true gods of all daleks.

[@jsnap1]

Nope no beer Dalek 0/10 😅

[@JoshSnares]

Omg forgot about the beer Dalek haha