Doctor Who Makes One Dalek Ship As Powerful As The Death Star

Doctor Who has revealed one single Dalek ship is as powerful as the Death Star. The Daleks are the most fearsome race in Doctor Who, genetically engineered beings who know only hatred. They are driven by cultural xenophobia, what Patrick Troughton’s Second Doctor described in an understated manner as a “dislike of the unlike.” Their only goal is to demonstrate themselves to be the supreme beings in the universe – by destroying anything and everything that would oppose them.

A single Dalek is a terrifying threat. In the story “Dalek,” Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor discovered what he believed was the sole survivor of the Time War. “What’s the nearest town,” the Doctor asked Henry Van Statten. Salt Lake City, with a population of one million, he was told. “All dead,” he insisted. “If the Dalek gets out, it’ll murder every living creature. That’s all it needs.” The BBC has recently launched a Doctor Who animated spinoff series, Daleks!, which features a lot more than just one Dalek – it sees an army of the creatures caught up in a war against an entity outside time and space. And it has revealed just how dangerous the Daleks really are.

The second episode of Daleks! has just released on YouTube, and it demonstrates the sheer power of a single Dalek ship. In “The Sentinel of the Fifth Galaxy,” the Daleks seek reinforcement from an army they had kept hidden in the Fifth Galaxy, backup to be brought out of cryogenic suspension should they ever be needed. Unfortunately the entity they are battling has an existence outside of time, and it successfully reprograms the army in an attempt to cause a Dalek civil war. The Daleks retreat, destroying the planet and their army. Incredibly, “The Sentinel of the Fifth Galaxy” reveals a single Dalek ship has weapons powerful enough to destroy an entire world with one shot. Every Dalek vessel is essentially a Death Star, but without a convenient thermal exhaust port.

The Daleks are a military race, dedicated to conquest, sworn to destruction. But the second episode of Daleks! gives a sense of the sheer scale of their firepower, revealing that a single Dalek ship is powerful enough to annihilate an entire planet and its population. Little wonder the Time Lords believed there would come a day when they really were the greatest power in the entire universe, their potential for destruction unrivalled.

This revelation also makes Gallifrey’s last stand against the Dalek army in the Doctor Who episode “The Day of the Doctor” all the more impressive. The Dalek army swarmed over Gallifrey in the final battle of the Time War, raining fire down upon the planetary shields. Those shields were holding under a bombardment like nothing else seen in history, because any one of the shots would have been able to crack Gallifrey like an egg. Little wonder all the Time Lords could do was cower before the attack.

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Thomas Bacon
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Tom Bacon is one of Screen Rant’s staff writers, as well as a Peer Mentor for new writers and a member of the Care Team, offering support and a listening ear to members of the Comics group. A lifelong fan of major franchises including Star Wars, Doctor Who, and Marvel, Tom is delighted his childhood is back – and this time it’s cool. You can find him on Twitter @TomABacon.

A graduate of Edge Hill University, Tom remains strongly connected with his alma mater as a volunteer chaplain. He’s heavily involved with his local church, and anyone who checks him out on Twitter will swiftly learn he’s into British politics too.

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