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Power Of The Daleks end credits voice over?

posted 8 years ago by Dr Wily
12 replies | jump to latest

According to the production notes booklet in the R2 DVD release of The Power Of The Daleks, there was a voice over in the end credits of one episode, Episode Two, I believe, where Terry Nation was given an acknowledgement as creator of the Daleks. I've heard several reconstructions, the Tom Baker and Anneke Wills narrated versions, and the BBC DVD soundtracks but I cannot recall ever having heard such a voice over on any episode.

Did I miss something?

[–] Chris12955 8 years ago

This is the first I have heard of a voice over during the end credits for one of those episodes.

[–] Dr Wily 8 years ago

If you have the R2 DVD of Power, check out the booklet of production notes. If I am recalling what I read correctly, it was stated there. I believe for Episode Two. However, my copy of the DVD is currently wrapped up for a Christmas gift under the tree, so I can't check right now. I already opened it up to perform a read test on the discs to make sure they were playable. While I had it opened, I read the booklet.

Maybe I read it wrong. Maybe it wasn't a voice over, just a credit in the end credits to Terry Nation. I do know that on the DVD, the end credits for at least one episode had such a credit. I went ahead and sneak peeked at the contents and watched disc 1 with the default audio track. That was a good read test. :)

[–] Chris12955 8 years ago

I have to wait until next year for my Region One disc. I suspect you read it wrong, or they credited things weird. The only thing I can think of with episode two, is the Dalek continuing talking as the credits start. I think there was an "your servant" in the very beginning of the credits. It is not really a voice over, since the Dalek is still on screen.

[–] Dr Wily 8 years ago

Supposedly there was a voice over credit one other time in the end credits of another Dalek story. I think it was Day Of The Daleks. They had failed to credit Terry Nation for creating the Daleks on a story he didn't write. Again, only going by memory on that one, too.

I'll get access to my R2 import before I get the R1 DVD, so I can check on Christmas Day. I'm a bit worried about Amazon.com's release date for the R1 DVD. They had originally said it was being released on January 31st. Now, they have no release date, just saying "This title has not yet been released."

[–] Chris12955 8 years ago

It currently says January 31 on Amazon. They must have had a temporary hiccup in the listing when you saw that. I've seen Amazon wobble on release dates before like that. I think someone just fills in the field wrong as they add to it when these things happen.

[–] Dr Wily 8 years ago

Yeah, what happened, as I later discovered, is there is no longer a release date on the item page for Power. But, if you do a search for Power Of The Daleks, the entry for the R1 DVD that shows up says on the search results page it's due for release January 31st. Now, WHY the date isn't on the item page itself, I can't say.

[–] Dr Wily 8 years ago

I don't know if the R1 disc will contain the same productions note booklet as the R2 DVD. But, now that I've opened my Christmas gift, I found where I read that there was a voice over during the end credits.

On the back cover of the production notes booklet is a credits list for all episodes. For Daleks created by Terry Nation, there's an asterisk note that says voice over credit on Episode Two. So, that's where I got that information from. However, I don't recall ever hearing this voice over on any reconstruction, including the DVD animation.

[–] Chris12955 8 years ago

I suspect it is as I said earlier, the Dalek continuing to speak over the beginning of the credits. Why they would mention it, I can't say. By any chance, is it Peter Hawkins or Gerald Taylor that is the person credited?

[–] Dr Wily 8 years ago

No person is credited. Just a voice over credit given to Terry Nation that most likely would have said "Daleks created by Terry Nation." Probably just someone in the audio editing department or some standby continuity narrator.

[–] Chris12955 8 years ago

That has to be it, someone goofed and said Terry Nation did voice work, and not creating the Daleks. Of course Raymond Cusick designed the look of the Daleks, but they never say that.

[–] Dr Wily 8 years ago

Yeah, Nation gets the majority of the credit for the Daleks, but there were others. Cusick, as you said, designed the Daleks. And I think they were called Shawcraft, they produced the final physical form based on Cusick's design. David Graham and Peter Hawkins deserve some of the credit for providing the distinctive voice, along with whoever it would have been in what would eventually become the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, if it wasn't already called that in 1963. They would have ring modulated the voices, adding to the distinctiveness. Lastly, the actors in the cases must be given some credit for providing "life" on the set.

It seems that BBC policy at the time was to grant co-licensing rights to writers' creations. Hence how Nation could make so much money off of his creations. Since he didn't write Power, he wouldn't get a writing credit and had to get a Daleks Created By credit. I believe on Day Of The Daleks, there's a similar credit given to Nation in the closing titles. On the BBC animation of Power, they put the credit to Nation directly in the newly created titles for the closing animation.

[–] Chris12955 8 years ago

Primarily Raymond Cusick deserves credit for the Daleks, since it was his design. Terry Nation's script simply said they glide across the floor, have no proprer arms and legs, and have one eye stalk instead of eyes. A good starting point, but Cusick did most of the work. Shawcraft Models does deserve credit for bringing Cusick's vision to life, as the BBC workshop couldn't pull it off then.

The choice of voice modulation came from someone in production who remembered a robot he did in a radio play. I can't remember who it was offhand. Him and Cusick deserve most of the credit for what we have come to know as the Daleks today.

in what would eventually become the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, if it wasn't already called that in 1963.

It was called the Radiophoinic Workshop from it's inception in 1958, to it's end in 1998.

It seems that BBC policy at the time was to grant co-licensing rights to writers' creations.

That is still their policy. Whenever the Judoon, Slitheen, or Ood show up, Russel T. Davies gets the same kind of credit.