Skaro
Skaro is a planet that features in Doctor Who.
Contents |
History
Skaro was a planet that was the twelfth inhabited world in its solar system where it came to develop two sentient forms of life with these being the Thals and the other being the Kaleds. (Episode: The Daleks)
It was said that the world once been full of ideas and art and invention before war had destroyed it all. (Episode: The Daleks)
Technology had devolved in this time. A Scientific Elite governed the Kaleds. By this phase of the war, biological and nuclear weapons had begun to cause mutations known as Mutos. (Episode: Genesis of the Daleks) The Thals also underwent many mutations as a result of the War, though they eventually reverted to a humanoid form similar to their original one. (Episode: The Daleks)
Davros was a Kaled child who grew up in the midst of the War. The Twelfth Doctor, accidentally landing in the middle of the War, once passed the young Davros his sonic screwdriver to speak to him across a minefield of handmines, not realising who he was going to grow up to be until the boy said his name. The Doctor reconsidered helping Davros get out of the minefield, and later, a future version of the Twelfth Doctor arrived on Skaro and pointed a gunstick at Davros in an attempt to save his friend in the only way he could. (Episode: The Magician's Apprentice) He then proceeded to destroy the handmines and save Davros to teach him the concept of mercy before taking him home. (Episode: The Witch's Familiar)
Technology had devolved in this time. A Scientific Elite governed the Kaleds. By this phase of the war, biological and nuclear weapons had begun to cause mutations known as Mutos. (Episode: Genesis of the Daleks) The Thals also underwent many mutations as a result of the War, though they eventually reverted to a humanoid form similar to their original one. (Episode: The Daleks)
The Fourth Doctor was transported to this time period by the Time Lords to prevent a possible future where the Daleks would rule the universe, was given the chance to destroy the first incubating Dalek embryos but feared that he had not the moral right to wipe an entire species of sentient lifeforms from history, never mind how infamous. The Doctor nevertheless played a part in entombing these early Daleks in their bunker, from which he hoped it would take them centuries to escape. The Daleks still survived and promised to re-emerge. (Episode: Genesis of the Daleks)
The Thals meanwhile believed that they were now of intellectual and physical perfection. They lived a simple pastoral and pacifist lifestyle on a high plateau that was spared the neutronic fallout, though their lifestyle was dependent on a great rainfall that came every four to five years. When the rain was two years overdue, the Thals left their plateau in search of new food sources. (Episode: The Daleks)
The Doctor's companion, Ian Chesterton, taught the Thals to use violence in self-defence, in order to protect themselves against the xenophobic Daleks who threatened them. The Daleks came to know, during this time, that they had adapted to become dependent on radiation. With levels subsiding and their lives threatened, the Daleks proposed to set off another neutron bomb. As this would take too long, the Daleks instead planned to release radiation from nuclear reactors into the atmosphere. A combined effort by the Doctor, his companions and the Thals resulted in the electricity supply for the city being cut off, leaving the Daleks immobile and powerless. The Doctor and his companions believed the Daleks had died to the last, and lamented that they had not found another, less bloody way to save the Thals. (Episode: The Daleks)
As part of his machinations, Davros sought to capture the stellar manipulator known as the Hand of Omega and use it to turn Skaro's sun into a source of unimaginable power. However, the Doctor reprogrammed the device to journey into the star and cause it to undergo a supernova thus seemingly destroying it. (Episode: Remembrance of the Daleks)
Overview
Skaro consisted of a single large continent that became the stage of the ongoing conflict between the Thals and the Kaleds. The continent was, however, divided in two by an immense mountain range. (Episode: Genesis of the Daleks)
Much of Skaro was a wasteland, devoid of all life after centuries of war. (Episode: Genesis of the Daleks) A jungle once grew near the Dalek City. Following an exchange of neutron bombs, the jungle was petrified. Radiation levels across most of the planet remained high. There were less irradiated plateaus where the Thals lived. (Episode: The Daleks)
Many cities and settlements existed on Skaro throughout its history, though the Thousand Year War made much of the planet's surface an inhospitable wilderness. The Darrien province and the Kaled Dome dated back to the Kaled/Thal occupation of the planet. (Episode: The Daleks)
Members
- Davros :
- Nyder :
- Temmosus :
Notes
- Skaro was created by Terry Nation and featured in the setting of the Doctor Who universe.
In other media
Films
Video games
- In Doctor Who: The Adventure Games, Skaro featured in the episode "City of the Daleks" where in the setting it was stated to had been removed by the Daleks from the Time War to prevent its destruction. A Dalek city that was named in the setting was Kaalann.
Novels
- In Doctor Who: Remembrance of the Daleks, Skaro appeared in the novelisation of the television episode that was published by Target Books. The Dalek city was called Mensvat Esc-Dalek which was said to be located in the Vekis Nar-Kangji (Plain of Swords).
Audio Books
- In I, Davros: Purity, Skaro appeared in the setting of the short story set in the Big Finnish audio book. The planet was said to had remained largely habitable despite ongoing warfare, which caused environmental poisoning and mutations. A young Kaled scientist named Davros undertook a mission into dangerous Thal territory, retrieving technology before returning to escalating political tensions, ultimately leading to his initial genetic experiments aimed at Kaled survival. Archaeological findings suggested that the two races of Kaleds and Thals had co-existed in at least one shared settlement in ages past. Two other humanoid races, the Tharons and the Dals, had existed on Skaro but both had fallen victim to a genocidal campgain by the Kaleds. Yarvell mused if this might indicate that more sentient races had existed on the planet at some point but had been lost to the many Skarosian wars.
Other
- In The Dalek Book, Skaro was referenced in the setting of the 1964 BBC Licensed comic strip. A map entitled "The Dalography of Skaro" showed the planet holding three continents named Dalazar, Darren and Davius. Dalazar was described as the most habitable part of Skaro, having a subtropical climate and being the location of the Dalek city. To the south-east was the Lake of Mutations and to the south the Drammankins mountain range, which stretches across the entire continent from the east to west coast. To the north-east Dalazar is joined to the continent of Darren by a land bridge. Darren was indicated to be the site of the neutron bomb explosion which transformed the Daleks from their humanoid form into mutants. The north and south regions are separated by the "Radiation Range" mountains. The third continent, Davius, was shown divided into east and west regions by the River of Whirling Waters, with the eastern region being identified as the home of the Thals. Five seas are shown; the Ocean of Ooze, Sea of Acid, Sea of Rust, Serpent Sea and the land-locked Bottomless Sea. Other major features are the Island of Moving Mountains and an island chain named the Forbidden Islands, both situated in the Ocean of Ooze, and the Island of Gushing Gold located in the Sea of Rust.
- In The Dalek Outer Space Book, Skaro was referenced in the setting of the 1966 BBC Licensed comic strip. It included an illustration entitled "The Strata of Skaro" which showed a sea called the Ocean of Death alongside the Islands of Mist which, from the description, was an alternative name for the Dalek Book's Forbidden Islands.
Appearances
- Doctor Who: "An Unearthly Child" (1963)
- Doctor Who: "The Daleks"
- Doctor Who: "The Witch's Familiar" (2015)
External Links
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