Terry Nation


Biography

A Welsh-born novelist and screenwriter, Terry Nation is best known as the creator of the Daleks--villains from the hugely popular science fiction series "Doctor Who." He began his career in the 1950s writing comedy scripts for British radio performers such as Eric Sykes, Frankie Howerd, and Harry Worth. His first break came as a writer for "Hancock," Tony Hancock's series and his stage s...

Biography

A Welsh-born novelist and screenwriter, Terry Nation is best known as the creator of the Daleks--villains from the hugely popular science fiction series "Doctor Who." He began his career in the 1950s writing comedy scripts for British radio performers such as Eric Sykes, Frankie Howerd, and Harry Worth. His first break came as a writer for "Hancock," Tony Hancock's series and his stage show. After a falling out with Hancock he began focusing on science fiction and wrote the serial "Doctor Who and the Daleks," introducing the menacing creatures that would make the series, and Nation himself, immensely popular. He wrote about 70 scripts for the show between 1963 and 1979, reaching nearly unprecedented celebrity for a screenwriter in the process. The mutant-like Daleks would eventually enter the British public's consciousness to such an extent that Nation would never be able to replicate such notoriety. During this period he also wrote for the spy series "The Saint" and was a writer/producer on the comedic adventure show "The Persuaders!" starring Tony Curtis and Roger Moore. Besides his work on "Doctor Who" Nation created two popular sci-fi series in the 1970s--the darkly apocalyptic vision of the future"Survivors" and the intergalactic adventure drama "Blake's 7." He moved to Los Angeles in the 80s to develop ideas for American television, but achieved little success, writing only a single TV movie and several episodes of the show "MacGyver" before succumbing to emphysema.

Life Events

Videos

Movie Clip

Dr. Who And The Daleks (1966) -- (Movie Clip) In Electro Kinetic Theory At home in England, sister Susan (Roberta Tovey) and Peter Cushing (title character) receive new boyfriend Ian (Roy Castle) while waiting on Barbara (Jennie Linden), in the meantime showing him the Tardis time machine, in the 1966 non-canon Doctor Who feature, Dr. Who And The Daleks.
Dr. Who And The Daleks (1966) -- (Movie Clip) Must Be The Altitude On the unknown planet, Peter Cushing (title character), with granddaughters Susan (Roberta Tovey) and Barbara (Jennie Linden) and boyfriend Ian (Roy Castle) approach the apparently unpopulated city in search of mercury to fix the time machine, in Dr. Who And The Daleks, 1966.
Dr. Who And The Daleks (1966) -- (Movie Clip) They Called You Monsters The iffy robot Daleks who are holding her family have sent Susan (Roberta Tovey) out into the alien planet to find the Thals, who have the anti-radiation drug they need, meeting Alydon (Barrie Ingham) back at her grand-dad’s time machine, in Dr. Who And The Daleks, 1966.
Daleks' Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. -- (Movie Clip) Motorized Dustbins Resistance leaders Dortmun (Godfrey Quigley) Wyler (Andrew Keir) and David (Ray Brooks) try to console Louise and Susan (Jill Curzon, Roberta Tovey), who worry about captured uncle/grandfather Dr. Who (Peter Cushing) and Tom (Bernard Cribbins), in Daleks' Invasion Earth:2150 A.D., 1967.
Daleks' Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. -- (Movie Clip) Smash And Grab Opening scene, constable Tom (Bernard Cribbins) gets coshed, then stumbles into an alarm box that isn't, meeting Dr. Who (Peter Cushing, his second film in the role), niece Louise (Jill Curzon) and granddaughter Susan (Roberta Tovey), in Daleks' Invasion Earth:2150 A.D., 1967.

Bibliography