Red Dalek - Dalek Supreme

Dalek Supreme

In Planet of the Daleks (1973) the Dalek Supreme, a member of the Dalek Supreme Council, is despatched to the planet Spiridon. It is tasked with overseeing experiments into invisibility, the production of a plague designed to exterminate all organic life and the deployment of a 10,000 strong Dalek invasion force.

The variant was based on a prop owned by screenwriter Terry Nation which had been used in the second Doctor Who film. The neck bin mesh, struts and neck rings were removed, the latter items being replaced by new rings having a flat, recessed edge detailed with small rivets rather than the usual bevel. Lilac dome lights shaped like upturned jam jars were fitted, together with an eyeball resembling a flashlight which lit up when it spoke. It was painted in gloss black with yellow-gold hemispheres, slats, neck rings and dome. It is uncertain who carried out the conversion work, although the painting of the prop was undertaken by the BBC Visual Effects Department under the direction of Clifford Culley.

The ruthlessness of the Dalek Supreme is demonstrated in the story when it destroys the Dalek leader of the Spiridon task force for failing to meet its mission objectives.