Doctor Who concepts: Dalek duplicates – should they return?
By James Aggas
The Dalek duplicates have only appeared once in Doctor Who. But they’re an interesting concept that deserve to be explored further.
Over the many years that Doctor Who‘s been on the air, the show has been rich with a variety of key story ideas and concepts. Even when it comes to just Dalek mythology alone, the show is absolutely full of interesting ideas that could be explored in more detail.
One such concept that we’ve seen in the series is the Dalek duplicate. First seen in Resurrection of the Daleks, the duplicates were essentially exact copies of real people that the Daleks had captured. These copies not only looked the same, but they also retained some, if not most of the memories of the original person. Of course, these duplicates were also conditioned to obey the Daleks in all things.
Surprisingly, we’ve only seen the duplicates explored on television once, primarily with the character of Stien in Resurrection. Initially someone who appeared to help the Doctor, he instead helped the Daleks to capture him. Their goal was to extract all of the Doctor’s memories and send duplicates of not just him but also his two companions to Gallifrey, to assassinate the High Council of the Time Lords.
Stien was an interesting character, and despite being a Dalek copy, he eventually chose to fight back against the Daleks. (With more than a little help from the Doctor.) So while they’re programmed to obey the Daleks, they still have some spark of individuality, too.
Dalek Soul explored the concept of the Dalek duplicates in a very fresh and exciting way. Could the New Series do the same?
(Image credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.
Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)
Why they should come back
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A story that explored Dalek duplicates in the New Series could be an exciting one. It’s interesting that the duplicates have at least been mentioned in the New Series, specifically in Twelfth Doctor episode Into the Dalek. Towards the start of the episode, the Doctor is almost shot due to the mere risk that he’s a Dalek duplicate.
This element of paranoia could work very well for a new episode. Something set during the Dalek wars and focusing on a small group of people – one of whom is a Dalek duplicate, but we don’t know which one. This would allow for a different kind of story, one where the Daleks themselves aren’t seen much on-screen, but are still a major part of the plot. Dalek stories always work extremely well when they focus on how humanity reacts to their evil, and a story focusing on the duplicates could heavily focus on that.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, many Doctor Who stories in other media have featured Dalek duplicates. Sometimes, they’re a small part of the plot, but other stories have used them in a very original way. One of the best examples is with the Fifth Doctor audio story Dalek Soul, which explores the duplicates in a fresh and exciting way.
So there’s certainly fresh potential for the TV series to do the same, and take a completely fresh look at an interesting concept from the Classic Series.
Next. Not the Doctor you’re expecting – the greatest surprise ever?. dark
Do you think the Dalek duplicates should come back at some point? Do you think they worked well originally? What elements of Dalek mythology would you like to see explored in more detail? Let us know in the comments below.