Daleks

The Daleks are the most recurring villains of the long-running British sci-fi series Doctor Who. They are originally an alien race of squid-like superorganisms from planet Skaro, modifying in robotic tank-like mahines called "Mark III Travel Machines", invented by their creator, Davros. Their main objective is to reign supreme over the universe and destroy every other species, seeing the Doctor as "The Oncoming Storm" or their mortal enemy.

The Daleks were created by the late Terry Nation and designed by the late Raymond Cusick. They have become a very famous icon for Doctor Who, mainly for their catchphrase "EXTERMINATE!" Introduced in the 1963 Doctor Who serial "The Daleks", they remain the most frequent and dangerous of the Doctor's foes. 

In "Resurrection of the Daleks", "Revelation of the Daleks" and "Remembrance of the Daleks", they were voiced by the late Royce Mills. Since their return in the show's revival, they were voiced by Nicolas Briggs.

Personality

It is rare for Daleks to have any distinguishing personality, and the typical Dalek is best defined by its utter ruthlessness, cruelty, deceptiveness and above all else, obsession with racial purity. The mindset of all "true" Daleks is that all other races in the universe are inferior, worthy only of mass extermination or enslavement. The Daleks have become responsible for the extinction of thousands of races, as well as the destruction of countless worlds and civilizations. They are so deadly that even the virtually omnipotent Time Lords feared them, and rightly so: A clash between the two races exploded into the impossibly violent, ongoing conflict known as the Time War, which brought the Time Lords to the brink of extinction. The Daleks' obsession with genetic and ideological purity even extends to their own race: Daleks with even minor biological differences are exterminated, and the same fate befalls those who question the orders of a superior. This has resulted in several civil wars in the Daleks' past, but they have always come back stronger than ever.

Despite sometimes appearing to be seemingly mindless robots, within the mechanical armor is a mutated monster - the true form of the Dalek - that is as cunning as it is violent. Daleks frequently fool other races into forming alliances with them to further the Daleks' ends, but quickly turn on their "allies" as soon as said ends were achieved and they have outlived their usefulness. 

Other Appearances

The LEGO Batman Movie

The Daleks appear in The LEGO Batman Movie as supporting antagonists in a LEGO version of their Paradigm form which was first seen in the 2010 episode "Victory of the Daleks". They appear in The Phantom Zone with the other non-Batman villains (this is because the LEGO Movie universe is divided into different realms based on different franchises and themes with Doctor Who being one of them) and ally themselves with The Joker to help him get revenge on Batman for not seeing him as his greatest enemy and blow up Gotham. But ultimately his plan fails and the Daleks are sent back to The Phantom Zone (presumably for all eternity). Nicholas Briggs voices them in the film.

Variants

Ironside Daleks

"All hail the new Daleks!"

―The Ironsides after creating the New Daleks.

The Ironside Daleks are villains that appear in Doctor Who, in the episode "Victory of the Daleks". The Ironside Daleks were standard Dalek drones. They had themselves painted khaki-green with the Union Flag in place of their recognition code as part of their plot. They sometimes had covers put over their blinkers to better hide from opposing forces while undercover.

The "Ironside Dalek" was a ruse created by three surviving Daleks of the New Dalek Empire. It was designed to lure the Eleventh Doctor to them, trick him into delivering a testimony to identify him as Daleks and enable them to activate the Progenitor. The Project was a complete success, and the New Dalek Paradigm was the outcome.

During World War II, British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, believed that the Ironsides would be the weapons that would win him the war, erroneously believing that they were designed by Dr. Edwin Bracewell (who was actually a Dalek creation himself.)

Trivia

• According to one of the show's writers Terry Nation, the Daleks were deliberately modeled after elements of Nazi ideology: viewing themselves as the superior life form and enact a relentless crusade to destroy all life they consider inferior.
• The Funnybot from South Park is modeled after the Daleks.
• The Daleks along with the Cybermen, Weeping Angels, The Master, and Sontarans are the most popular Doctor Who villains due to being used more than the other villains. In fact, The Daleks are the most popular Doctor Who villains as they appeared in many more media.
• The Daleks also make an appearance in Looney Tunes: Back In Action, where they are released by Marvin the Martian in order of Mr. Chairman to cause chaos in Area 52.
• Some Daleks, disguised as police officers, briefly appear in The Simpsons episode "Holidays of Future Past" where they chase a woman at "The BennyHilton".
• The late comedian, Dave Allen, on his show Dave Allen At Large, had an opening skit wherein a British vicar was surprised by a Dalek disguised as a fixture in his church.
• Despite their iconic and long-running status in the show some fans of Doctor Who have grown tired of Daleks due to what they see as over-exposure, which diminishes their threat and often resigns them to "mook" style enemies.
• One of the many actors to play the Daleks was John Scott Martin who also played the Nucleus Of The Swarm and a member of Crimson Permanent Assurance.
• Their bodies served as a body design for Brain from the Teen Titans animated series.
• In Shaun the Sheep Farmageddon the sheep disguised themselves as Daleks in order to enter the fair.