Dalek

The Daleks are a fictional race of cyborgs in the British television series Doctor Who. They are the mutated remains of the Kaled people of the planet Skaro, who travel around in robotic bodies. They bear a suspicious resemblance to overgrown pepper shakers, with a single mechanical eye stalk, a gun stalk, and a device for manipulation: a sort of sink plunger or in some episodes a mechanical claw.

Their catchphrase was "EXTERMINATE!", and due to their gliding motion they were notoriously unable to tackle stairs: this made them scary, yet easily overcome. An often-copied cartoon shows a flight of stairs with a sign saying "To Earth" at the top; at the foot of the stairs a Dalek says "Well, that ****s up the invasion plans".

The scriptwriter who devised them, Terry Nation, stated that he was inspired by watching ballet dancers in long dresses glide as if on wheels; and that the name came from a volume of a dictionary or encyclopedia who spine read "Dal - Lek". It's been claimed by rabid fans of Doctor Who that no such volume has existed.

The Daleks were first introduced in December 1963 in an episode of Doctor Who called variously, "The Daleks", "The Dead Planet" or "The Mutants". They immediately became a hit, and were featured in many subsequent episodes.

Two movies starring Peter Cushing spun off from Doctor Who featured them as the main villains: "Doctor Who and the Daleks", and "Daleks -- Invasion Earth 2150 AD". In addition to this, their popularity has extended to books and stage shows.

Over the twenty-six seasons of the series, the Daleks underwent a number of revisions and elaborations. In the definitive episode "Genesis of the Daleks," aired in 1975, the creator of the Daleks was revealed to be the Kaled chief scientist Davros. Although Davros appeared to have been killed by his own creations at the end of the episode, he survived their attack in suspended animation and was later recovered from the ruins of Skaro by the Daleks seeking his help to enhance their design. Davros' continuing influence eventually led to a schism among the Daleks, with one faction following Davros' leadership (the "Renegade" Daleks) and another faction rejecting their creator to instead follow the Supreme Dalek (the "Imperial" Daleks).

Davros made his last appearance in the Doctor Who TV serial "Remembrance of the Daleks" simply as a head.