A Decade in the Making: The Ultimate Look at The Daleks’ Master Plan

After more than ten years of exhaustive research and writing, I am thrilled to share the first look at the cover for my upcoming monograph on The Daleks’ Master Plan. This project has been a monumental archival undertaking, involving access to hundreds of documents, including internal memos, personal letters, and private interviews, to piece together the most comprehensive account of this epic production to date.

The book examines events both on-screen and behind the camera, reviewing draft, rehearsal, and camera scripts to provide new insights and information. It even details some of the shocks regarding the heavy toll the production took on those involved, including the series’ star, William Hartnell.

Altogether, the monograph provides in-depth coverage of 21 Doctor Who episodes, encompassing the one-off trailer episode Mission to the Unknown, the 12-part epic, and a comparative chapter on the classic Patrick Troughton Cyberman adventure The Invasion.

 Beyond the production history, the book features an extensive comparative analysis of the Daleks’ varied origins across television, comic strips, and short stories, tracing the evolution of the species as a symbol of universal malevolence. 

Furthermore, the book includes an extensive look at The Destroyers, the pilot for Terry Nation’s proposed Dalek spin-off series, revealing the grander ambitions for the pepper-pot terrors beyond the main show.

The journey is brought to life with both black-and-white and colour illustrations throughout by professional artist Tim Keable. As I move into the final stages of writing, I wanted to share this cover to mark the home stretch. With the recent discovery of missing episodes from this story, there has never been a better time to revisit the Master Plan. 

Please keep a close eye on this page for further updates as we head toward an August 2026 release. 

Past Master Plan!

With two more episodes of The Daleks' Master Plan recovered, we can now view five segments of this twelve-part epic. It is the ideal moment to revisit Magic Bullet’s 2001 review and see how our previous analysis fares against the newly restored visuals.

Mavic Chen Sings!

Shock wave goes through fandom as it's revealed that Devil's Planet, the newly discovered missing episode of The Daleks' Master Plan, has a musical number!

Daleks Returned

Two missing episodes of The Daleks' Master Plan have been found and returned to the BBC.

Episode 1 ('The Nightmare Begins') and Episode 3 ('Devil's Planet') are officially BACK. 

A Reminder for New Customers!

Buy a complete set of Faction Paradox and Kaldor City CDs, and you will also receive two autographs (Brian Croucher and Gabriel Woolf), plus a CD of the full cast adventure Daleks: The Mechanical Planet, and ten Doctor Who/Blake's 7 art cards.  

 Download and discover our collection of free Blake's 7 audios here:

 

Prelude
I, Travis
Gothic
Travis: The Final Line
You Fly, You Die
Scars

Premature Burial

The Next Life

Prodigal Sun

 

Also: 

 

Blake's 7 comic strips: Counterattack and Electronic Dream

 

Dalek audio play: Report from an Unknown Planet

Kaldor City Rewind

Here are three previously unpublished photos of Jasmine Breaks, who played reporter Zala Vance in the Kaldor City audio series.

 

 Jasmine is well remembered by Doctor Who fans for her part in Remembrance of the Daleks as the spooky little girl.

Ideological Parallels

Many years ago, Alan Stevens asked actor Michael Wisher why, in Genesis of the Daleks, he had based Davros' voice on Bertrand Russell?

Michael Wisher revealed that he had always found the intellectual to be a deeply troubling figure. Behind the façade of a renowned philosopher and champion of peace, Russell had endorsed a "moral" duty to launch a first-strike nuclear attack on the USSR, condemning millions to a horrific death. This staggering hypocrisy was compounded when Russell abruptly shifted his stance to advocate for nuclear disarmament once the Soviets acquired the bomb.

Wisher drew a parallel between Russell's ideology and that of Davros. In Genesis of the Daleks, Davros advocates for the first-strike principle, providing the Thals with the means to nuclear bomb the Kaleds, thereby ending a thousand-year conflict. Davros' ultimate goal is to create the Daleks, a cyborg species designed to exterminate aggressors and maintain peace through fear.

The disturbing similarity between Russell's and Davros' ideologies exposes the dark underbelly of utilitarianism, where the ends justify the means and morality is sacrificed at the altar of cold logic. Wisher's insight strips away the philosopher’s veneer of pacifism, revealing a legacy defined by the same contradictions that birthed the Daleks.