Daleks Are Go For New Dr Who Series
Source
BBC News
6 August 2004
After much negotiation and many a hard fought battle between the BBC and the Estate of the late Terry Nation have finally come to an agreement that both side can live with in regards to the use of the most famous villains of Dr Who 'The Daleks'.
So the evil of the Daleks looks set to endure and will now thanks to the BBC and the Estate of the late Terry Nation who created the Doctors most famous villains, the Daleks will bring Dalekmania to a whole new generation of fans. The main bone of contention in the battle between the BBC and Terry Nation's estate was about the BBC wanting to update and the estate of the late Terry Nation wanting some input as to how the late writer's creation would be updated. During the initial 28 year run of DR Who Terry Nation was always extremely protective of his creation, and appearances by the Daleks in the DR Who series became a rare occurrence in later years due to the fact that Terry Nation did not want his creations to be used on a whim.
"I am absolutely delighted that the Terry Nation estate and the BBC have been able to reach agreement on terms for the use of the Daleks in the new Doctor Who series," said Tim Hancock, agent for the Terry Nation estate.
"We look forward to working closely with the production team in the forthcoming months."
Talks between the BBC and the late writer's estate have been an ongoing process since the official announcement of the new series was made. The majority of the argument was to do with Terry Nations Estate wanting a certain degree of creative control and looking to collaborate with the BBC about what changes are made to the Daleks in order to update them for a new audience, but the BBC stated that an agreement could not be made and stated that they had already created an alternative villain.
Nations estate accused the BBC of trying to "ruin the brand of the Daleks" by attempting to gain control of the image. However Doctor Who fans are delighted that both sides have managed to settle the argument and come to an agreement.
"We are absolutely delighted that the Daleks will be back," said Antony Wainer, spokesman for the Doctor Who Appreciation Society (DWAS).
"Doctor Who without Daleks would be like Morecambe without Wise or Wimbledon without strawberries."
Although the society is pleased that the new Dr Who Series will not be without the Daleks, they would like to see the series moved on so that it is entertaining to a new generation of fans as well as the older generation.
"As much as we like the Cybermen and other characters, we want them to create new baddies and new stories.
"As long as the premise is the same, with Doctor Who as a Time Lord who can regenerate, it can change. Beyond that central character it has been completely different over the years," added Mr Wainer.
The new series of Doctor who is being produced by Russell T. Davies who is best known for his work on 'Our Friends In the North' and 'Queer As Folk', and it will star Christopher Eccleston as 'The Doctor' and former Teenage Pop Singer Billie Piper as the Doctors feisty assistant 'Rose Tyler' in regards to story lines little is known at present, production is at present underway and the show is being filmed on location in Cardiff in Wales.
The new series is expected to Premier in early 2005 as part of the BBC's
Saturday evening line up.