Skaro - History

History

Before the Daleks arose, Skaro was the home of a humanoid species with two races, the Kaleds (or Dals) and the Thals. The races went to war with each other, using nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons that eventually caused mutations which Kaled scientists recognized as being the end of their species in its (ideologically defined) "pure" form. In events shown in Genesis of the Daleks, the Kaled chief scientist Davros accelerated their mutations and placed the now mutated Kaleds in tank-like "Mark 3 travel machines". These cyborgs became the dreaded Daleks (an anagram of Kaleds).

The Daleks eventually drove the Thals from Skaro, only to find themselves ruling a devastated planet, with dead seas and a surface nearly devoid of life. However, even the ravaged Skaro remained rich in minerals, which the Daleks used to build massive armies to conquer and destroy other worlds, eventually building the interstellar Dalek Empire. Some time afterward, the Daleks abandoned Skaro, though the planet was later reoccupied by the Imperial Dalek faction, apparently at the behest of Davros.

Skaro's final appearance in the classic series (in the chronology of the Doctor Who universe) is in the story Remembrance of the Daleks, in which the Seventh Doctor tricked Davros and his "pure Imperial Daleks" into stealing the Hand of Omega. As per the Doctor's prediction, the Daleks attempted to use it on Skaro's sun in order to generate enough energy to recreate the Gallifreyan time travel experiments. However, the Doctor had already pre-programmed the Hand of Omega to turn their sun into a supernova, resulting in Skaro's being completely obliterated.

At the start of the 1996 Doctor Who television movie, the Master is put on trial on Skaro by the Daleks and exterminated. Presumably this took place in the relative past of Skaro's timeline before its destruction, as the Eighth Doctor does not comment on it.

Skaro did not appear in any of the Dalek-related stories made for the rebooted Doctor Who until the seventh series, although a group of Daleks called the Cult of Skaro appear in the second series episodes "Army of Ghosts" (briefly) and "Doomsday", and the third series episodes "Daleks in Manhattan" and "Evolution of the Daleks" — in the last of these the Cult threaten to turn Earth into "a new Skaro". In "Daleks in Manhattan", Daleks express apparent frustration at the continued prosperity of humanity compared to the current reduced circumstances of the Daleks after the Time War.

Skaro also features prominently in the first episode of the seventh series, "Asylum of the Daleks". It is shown as a wasted planet with a red atmosphere, an imposing Dalek statue, and acid rain pouring on its surface. This view is consistent with the look of the post-Time War Skaro in the video game City of the Daleks.

Doctor Who serials that take place on Skaro or feature Skaro prominently are The Daleks, The Evil of the Daleks, Genesis of the Daleks, Destiny of the Daleks and Remembrance of the Daleks. For Destiny of the Daleks exterior scenes meant to take place on Skaro were shot in Winspit quarry.