Trivia / Doctor Who S21 E4 "Resurrection of the Daleks"

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• Actor-Inspired Element: It was Rodney Bewes' idea to give Stein a stutter.
• Author's Saving Throw: In response on how his costume and lack of voice modulation from his last appearance, Davros was given a new look when Terry Molloy was cast. Not only he was given a new mask prosthetic that fits the actor, but was given back the voice modulation.
• Cast the Runner-Up: Leslie Grantham was considered for Lytton. He was offered a choice between Kiston and Galloway and chose the role of Kiston because it had more screen-time. Del Henney was also considered before being cast as Col. Archer. Terry Molloy was also considered before taking over as Davros.
• Contractual Immortality: Davros was supposed to be Killed Off for Real in this story. However, Terry Nation objected.
• Creator Backlash:
  • Eric Saward didn’t like how the story turned out, later saying that it should’ve focused solely on Davros and the virus, rather than be polluted with subplots and a high body-count.
  • Director Matthew Robinson felt the story was convoluted and had too many twists, plus conflicts with Nathan-Turner.
• Edited for Syndication: This was originally a four part story of 25 minute episodes, but due to The BBC's coverage of the 1984 Winter Olympics, it was re-edited into two 45 minute episodes. Reruns used the original four episode format.
  • This resulted in an oddity for US fans for a while. In a repeat of what happened to episode one of "The Brain of Morbius" several years before, an episode of this story was released for syndication without the sound effects and music mix. Since the episode in question this time was episode two, some US audiences for this story got 45 minutes of mostly silent acting.
• Enforced Method Acting: Tegan's departure was shot last and both Peter Davison and Janet Fielding were visibly upset.
• Method Acting: Janet Fielding walked around the sets kicking scenery to get herself in the mood for Tegan's leaving scene.
• Money, Dear Boy: As with most of his other work post-The Likely Lads, Rodney Bewes took the role of Stien mostly just to pay his bills, as his Likely Lads co-star James Bolam was refusing to allow the BBC to broadcast re-runs of that series due to a royalties dispute. In his later years, Bewes joked that the royalties he got from this story (and the Likely Lads movie, whose rights Bolam had less control over) were mostly what kept food on his table until Bolam eventually relented and allowed for repeats and VHS releases of the show.
• No Adaptations Allowed: The third of four classic Doctor Who serials not to receive a Target novelisation; this was because Terry Nation would have taken a share of the money for the rights of the Daleks, and Eric Saward was dissatisfied by the reduced payment. There were two aborted attempts to get an official novelisation made (one by Virgin Books in the nineties, and one as an audiobook circa 2012) before BBC Books finally published one, written by Saward himself, in 2019.
• The Other Darrin: Terry Molloy takes over as Davros. Once again, Michael Wisher was unable to reprise his role due to a theatrical commitment. Molloy would continue to play Davros for the rest of his appearances in the classic series, and became his main voice actor when the character returned in the Big Finish audios.
• Production Nickname: Davros's new mask, sculpted by Stan Mitchell, was nicknamed "Ena Sharples" by the production team due to its perceived similarity to the legendary Coronation Street character.
• Self-Adaptation: Eric Saward wrote the serial's belated novelization in 2019.
• Stunt Casting: Rodney Bewes, a comic actor best known for The Likely Lads, as brainwashed Dalek agent Stien, was classic John Nathan-Turner stunt casting.
• Uncredited Role: Because the serial was produced as four 25-minute episodes but aired as two 45-minute ones, the credits for the broadcast versions of Part One and Part Two simply carry over the credits for the original first and third parts. Since Les Grantham doesn't show up as Kinston until the original second part, the credits for the 45-minute Part One omit him.
• What Could Have Been:
  • The Dalek Emperor appeared in early drafts, but was refused use by Terry Nation.
  • This was originally supposed to be the last story of Season 20, then called The Return, but union action prevented it from being filmed back then. The original incarnation of the story would have been helmed by "Earthshock" director Peter Grimwade, but he fell out with producer John Nathan-Turner in the interim (although he would write the following story, "Planet of Fire"), leading to his being replaced by Matthew Robinson for the finished product.
  • Ben Cross and Peter Firth were considered for Colonel Archer.
  • Patrick Stewart and David Warner were on the short-lists for Colonel Archer and Lytton.
  • Honor Blackman, Judi Dench, Joanna Lumley, Kate O'Mara, Jacqueline Pearce and Penelope Wilton were considered for Styles.
  • Miriam Margolyes was offered the role of Professor Sarah Laird.
  • Steven Berkoff, BRIAN BLESSED, Timothy Dalton, Paul Darrow, John Rhys-Davies, Martin Jarvis and Michael Jayston were considered for Lytton.
  • Jim Broadbent was considered for Trooper.
• Word of God: Russell T Davies said in the Doctor Who Annual 2006 suggested that the events of this episode (such as the Dalek Supreme’s assassination attempt) were the beginnings of the Last Great Time War from the revival series.
• Working Title: The Return, Warhead, and The Resurrection.

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