The most famous monster in Doctor Who history is featured in the next Doctor Who: The Legacy novella, “Revolution of the Daleks” by Adam Perks. Because this is a Legacy story, don’t expect a traditional Dalek story told in a traditional way, however. Executive editor Andie Frankham and the author give a few of their thoughts on Daleks and this upcoming story. For instance, this is the fourth season of Doctor Who: The Legacy, why did Andie decide to commission this story now? He replies, ‘Because I am not a huge fan of the Daleks. My favourite "monster" in Doctor Who has always been the Cybermen, and I wanted to give them more exposure, since they tended to have a bad time of it on TV - and they were as weak as sh*t! Oh, sorry, not here to babble about Cybermen, am I?’ Pausing, Andie continues, ‘Daleks. Well, season three came along, and since I'd got the Cybermen to take centre stage in season two, I figured it was time to have a Dalek story. Naturally, being The Legacy, the Daleks of this universe had to be different from the Daleks we are familiar with. So I commissioned Christoph Lopez to write a Legacy alternative to "Genesis of the Daleks". I would love to say what the end result was going to be, but by doing that I would spoil some of the major revelations about "Revolution". Alas, Christoph vanished and so did the Dalek story. Then came along season four, and I ask Adam (straight away, as memory serves) to write a Dalek story - a sort of follow up to the "Genesis" idea. Being a time travel series, we can still tell the "Genesis" story in season five. Maybe.’ Adam has a different view of Daleks altogether when asked if he is a fan. ‘Dammit yeah! Who isn't?’ he answers with obvious enthusiasm. ‘Some of my favourite Who stories are Dalek stories. And both the “Dalek Empire” series are fantastic. Having said that though, I do think there is a real risk that when a writer does the Daleks they take it as a cue to have the biggest bangs possible, which isn't always a good idea. I'm sure everyone can think of one or two stories which fell victim to this desire. One of the reasons “Jubilee” was so good was that it was a near complete break with this, and I think it has led the way in trying to find new and interesting things to do with the Daleks. Which is why I think I tried to make Revolution as different as possible from any other Dalek stories I can think of.’ As for the story itself, how long has he been working on it? Adam replies, ‘Since September 2002. The idea as it could be recognised now only came into my head in August 2003 following a conversation with a friend where we realised we were both reading the same book. He suggested doing something similar for the Daleks, which I had been thinking of doing anyway, and so in September, a year after I first started thinking, I started writing. Episode 3 was done by December, but then I became extremely busy with other commitments, and so Episode 4 had to wait until now. I think the story will be about ten times better for it, to be honest, as I have a new perspective on the whole thing.’ Andie is very excited about “Revolution” and says about it, ‘I love it! I try not to single out one of the writers from the other since writers' egos tend to be precious things, and it's never nice to have favourites - especially if you want them to write for you again! But Adam holds a special place in my heart since he's been "working" for me longer than any one else, and he has such potential. This potential has seriously been borne out by "Revolution of the Daleks". Can I really say this? What the heck. I'm inclined to think that it's one of the best stories in the whole of The Legacy. There's something very intense, and I think, personal about it. I have a sneaky suspicion that the debates contained within are very personal for Adam, being a religious sort of bloke.’ Andie might have a favourite part of the story, but he’s reluctant to answer that question. ‘My favourite parts? Well, can't be too specific for fear of spoiling the story. The best thing I can say is, I was on the edge of my seat at the end of episode three - and still am, since I haven't read episode four yet.’ Adam doesn’t get very specific either, but his opinions on his story are very strong, too. ‘I think it is the best thing I've ever written, but it's also completely different to anything else I've written. It's convinced me to write like this more often, though... only quicker. My favourite parts are scene 23 (because when I was reading that I completely forgot it was me who wrote it) and the whole of episode 4, where it all comes together. The most difficult bits to write were the episode openings for episodes 2, 3 and 4. It took me a long time to get those to my satisfaction.’ The Doctor meets the Daleks. At last. In the upcoming story “Revolution of the Daleks”. Surely, it’s a story definitely not to be missed. Teaser As the Doctor approached the area where it had been, his eyes searched for it keenly, hungrily, in the darkness. He nearly missed it anyway. It suddenly loomed from the shadows without actually moving, appearing no less than a meter away from him. This close it was definitely a Dalek. Image by Andie Frankham