Doctor Who: 5 key questions from Genesis of the Daleks

Genesis of the Daleks is a story that answers many questions about the Daleks’ origins, but it also raises many more. Here are the five biggest ones, and which Big Finish stories answer them.

(Photo by Anwar Hussein/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

From the definitive to the speculative, we look at five major questions raised by one of the greatest Doctor Who stories ever, Genesis of the Daleks. More importantly, we look at the many Big Finish stories that answer those questions.

One of the reasons why Genesis of the Daleks stands out as one of Doctor Who‘s greatest stories is that it presents a world with a lot of depth. While we had seen Skaro several times on-screen already, Genesis explored a world that had been torn apart by war – a war where each side was as ruthless and desperate as the other.

We were also presented with many rich and interesting characters – not least of which was Davros, the creator of the Daleks, and given plenty of details as to both how and why the Daleks were created in the first place. In short, it’s a story that answers many questions regarding the Daleks’ origins.

But while it answers several major questions of the series, at the same time, it also raises new ones. Questions like how did Davros rise to power, or what made the Time Lords desperate enough to want to change history?

At the same time, there are several intriguing questions the story raises that are purely speculative. What if the Doctor hadn’t been sent back in time to avert the Daleks’ creation? What if Davros didn’t invent the Daleks, but someone else did?

None of these questions have been explored in-depth on-screen. But, unsurprisingly, they have been answered by Big Finish. Today, we look at five of Genesis of the Daleks‘s biggest questions, and how they were answered across Big Finish’s many audios. Starting with a question that the Doctor himself raised in the original story…

What if Davros had created the Doctor’s hypothetical virus?

There’s a brilliant exchange between the Doctor and Davros in Genesis of the Daleks. It’s a moment so great, it was quoted in Discworld Noir (which is possibly one of the most underrated adventure games ever made).

The exact moment is the Doctor questioning Davros what he would do if he created a particularly lethal virus in his laboratory. One that would destroy all other forms of life.

When the Doctor asks this question, it’s purely hypothetical. One designed to see exactly how dangerous Davros really is. How far would he go in his quest for power and dominance?

Of course, what the Doctor doesn’t realize (at this point) is that Davros is exactly the kind of mad scientist that would hear the suggestion of a devastating virus and think to himself: “Do you know what? That sounds like a great idea!”

And that’s essentially what happens in Terror Firma. When he meets with the Eighth Doctor, Davros reveals that he’s created the very virus that the Doctor suggested. But Davros doesn’t want to use it. No, he wants the Doctor to use it instead. He wants his old enemy to make a far worse choice than just wiping out the Daleks, as he came close to in Genesis.

And the worst thing is that the Doctor comes close to making that choice. Over the course of the story, Davros pushes the Doctor closer and closer to the edge of wiping out everything. It’s an extremely dark moment, one that sums up Davros all too well.

The very origins of Davros are explored in the excellent prequel series I, Davros.

Image courtesy Big Finish Productions

How did Davros rise to power?

This question was partially explored in the Sixth Doctor audio Davros. But it’s the audio prequel series I, Davros that really answers this question in depth.

Beginning when he was just a child, the series explores exactly what made Davros the monster that we all know him to be. Was he simply born evil? Was he a product of his environment? Or was it through the choices that he’d made? Perhaps the truth is a mix of all three.

One particularly fascinating aspect of I, Davros is his home life. We get to find out what his family was like. Particularly his mother, Calcula, a rather ambitious woman who loves her son just a little too much. Over the course of the series, we find out exactly where Davros got his distinct streak of ruthlessness and ambition from.

We also find out exactly what lead him to create the Daleks. Over the course of I, Davros, we see him become obsessed with both mutation and evolution. More importantly, he also becomes obsessed with both survival and winning the war. He believes that a focus in one area will help in the other. Naturally, we all know where this obsession leads to…

The final episode of the series, Guilt, provides an extremely satisfying conclusion that leads almost directly into Genesis of the Daleks. At least, from the Kaleds’ perspectives. But what of the Time Lords…?

What made the Time Lords want to destroy the Daleks?

This is a key question that Genesis of the Daleks only partially explains. When the Fourth Doctor arrives on Skaro, he meets an unnamed Time Lord that claims to foresee a time when the Daleks will become the most dominant life form in the universe.

Now, that sounds like a decent reason why you’d want to stop such a ruthless and destructive race. Still, to try and avert the Daleks’ creation entirely is definitely extreme, even by the Time Lords’ standards. So what lead them to make that choice? Is it really out of fear of how dangerous the Daleks will become? Or was it for another reason entirely?

That question gets answered in the spin-off series Gallifrey. Not when the series begins, or even during its first series. But during series six – a series that was meant to wrap up Gallifrey for good – the Daleks try to invade Gallifrey. Finding a backway in, things become so desperate that one of the major characters takes desperate action. An action that involves sending the Doctor back to the moment of the Daleks’ creation and destroy them at their very beginnings. But is it worth it?

The way this moment is handled is pretty nicely done. Since this series is aimed at fans of the Classic Series – and since Genesis of the Daleks is arguably one of the most popular stories – the creators of this box set knew that fans would know what was going on. What’s particularly interesting is that it even reveals who the Time Lord was who spoke to the Doctor at the start of Genesis.

So Gallifrey reveals exactly why the Time Lords – or rather, one Time Lord – wanted to change history in a radical way. But what if that hadn’t happened? What if the Doctor had never been sent back in time? Oddly enough, that question gets answered too…

Set in a different universe, Masters of War explored what would have happened if the Doctor had met Davros under very different circumstances…

(Photo: Doctor Who: Unbound – Masters of War.. Image Courtesy Big Finish Productions)

What if the Time Lords hadn’t tried to destroy the Daleks?

Back in 2003, Big Finish released a series of audios called Doctor Who Unbound, which explored “what if?” stories with brand new Doctors. One of them, Sympathy for the Devil, introduced David Warner as an alternative third incarnation of the Doctor. He arrives on Earth to begin his long exile, but decades after he was supposed to be there. Essentially, he was unable to help UNIT during so many alien invasions, leading to a very different Earth in the process.

Since this story establishes a very different timeline from the beginning, it’s unsurprising that they wanted to play around with it. So, five years later, they released Masters of War – a story that presents an alternative meeting between the Doctor and Davros.

What’s particularly fascinating about this story is that, from Skaro’s point of view, it’s set long after Genesis of the Daleks originally took place. In fact, this story is resolved in such a way that it makes it clear that Genesis of the Daleks – or at least, the Doctor’s role in the story – could never happen at all. On top of that, the Daleks never become as much of a threat as they were destined to be. So the Time Lords don’t send the Doctor back in time and the Time War never happens. Sounds good, right?

Well, no, not quite. The Time War doesn’t happen, at least…but that doesn’t stop another war from happening in its place. When we meet David Warner’s Doctor again in The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield: The Unbound Universe, we discover a universe utterly devastated by another war altogether. As a result, there’s not much of it left, and in fact, the Doctor’s somehow become “ruler of the universe” by default – a position that he really doesn’t want.

At the end of Ruler of the Universe, the Doctor believes he’s left his own universe in good hands with the Master. However – as revealed by the next question we answer – that might not have been the case after all…

There’s a Big Finish box set that explores what would’ve happened if the Master had created the Daleks. And it’s rather brilliant.

(Photo credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

What if the Master had created the Daleks?

Last but not least, we have a question that, while interesting, you never expected to be answered, even by Big Finish. Specifically: what if Doctor Who‘s greatest monsters had been created by the show’s other biggest villain?

This is something that’s perfect for Big Finish to explore. It’s such a huge question to ask that there’s no chance that the TV series would answer it. But Big Finish can. And – using the setting of the Time War – they definitely did…

More from Winter is Coming

Starring Derek Jacobi in the titular role, The War Master: Anti-Genesis sees our favorite Time Lord villain travel back to before the Daleks’ creation. Unleashing his most audacious scheme yet, he ensures Davros’s death and takes his place as the creator of the Daleks.

Anti-Genesis is a fascinating story. It allows us to experience a fresh take on the world of Genesis of the Daleks, and gives us a very different spin on some of the events we know.

On top of that, the Master damages Dalek history in such a way that the Daleks actually need help – from another Master entirely! Brought in as the only survivor of the Unbound Universe, the Unbound Master’s given the challenging task of having to stop his alternative self by any means necessary. But can he do it?

Along with a constantly changing history, we also get to find out what happens when the Master actually wins. When he finally gets to take over the universe and become Master of all. However, he might not find it quite as satisfying as he expects…

Next. Davros – Why his design is truly iconic. dark

So these were our biggest questions regarding Genesis of the Daleks that have been explored by Big Finish. Was your biggest question answered? If not, what major questions do you have regarding the original iconic story? Let us know in the comments below.

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Doctor Who: 5 key questions from Genesis of the Daleks (that Big Finish answers)

By James Aggas | Oct 5, 2020