Skaro

Skaro is a fictional planet in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was created by the writer Terry Nation as the home planet of the Daleks.
In The Daleks (1963-64), Skaro is described as being the twelfth planet from its sun, and in Genesis of the Daleks (1975) it is stated that Skaro is situated in the "Seventh Galaxy". It is portrayed as having various moons: Flidor, Falkus and Omega Mysterium, with Falkus being presented as an artificial construct created by the Daleks as a last refuge. Falkus and Omega Mysterium are also referenced in the Big Finish Productions I, Davros audio dramas I, Davros: Innocence (2006) and I, Davros: Purity (2006). In Destiny of the Daleks (1979) the Movellans refer to Skaro as D-5-Gamma-Z-Alpha.
Geography
The BBC-licensed (1964) includes a map entitled "The Dalography of Skaro" on which three continents are shown; Dalazar, Darren and Davius. Dalazar is described as the most habitable part of Skaro, having a subtropical climate and being the location of the Dalek city. To the south-east is the Lake of Mutations and to the south the Drammankins mountain range, which stretches across the entire continent from the east to west coast. To the north-east Dalazar is joined to the continent of Darren by a land bridge. Darren is indicated to be the site of the neutron bomb explosion which transformed the Daleks from their humanoid form into mutants. The north and south regions are separated by the "Radiation Range" mountains. The third continent, Davius, is shown divided into east and west regions by the "River of Whirling Waters", with the eastern region being identified as the home of the Thals. Five seas are shown; the Ocean of Ooze, Sea of Acid, Sea of Rust, Serpent Sea and the land-locked Bottomless Sea. Other major features are the Island of Moving Mountains and an island chain named the Forbidden Islands, both situated in the Ocean of Ooze, and the Island of Gushing Gold located in the Sea of Rust.
The BBC-Licensed (1966) confirms some of these details in a cutaway illustration entitled "The Strata of Skaro". A sea called The Ocean of Death is added, together with the Islands of Mist which, from the description, is an alternative name for the Dalek Book's Forbidden Islands. Further information is added by the 1977 Dalek Annual article "The Dark Side of Skaro", which mentions the Crystal Continent, Serpent Island and a feature called The Rocks, consisting of stone needles projecting thousands of feet high out of the sea and populated by gigantic flying creatures. Other areas listed are a prison colony, a region populated by the mutated descendants of prisoners used in early Dalek neutron weapon tests and The Swamp Lands, described as possibly being a vast, living organism that engulfs and feeds upon anything coming near its surface.
The novelisation of (1990) states that the Dalek city is called Mensvat Esc-Dalek and is located in the Vekis Nar-Kangji (Plain of Swords). In the computer game Doctor Who Adventure Game "City of the Daleks" (2010) the Dalek city is named Kaalann.
Flora and fauna
In most media, Skaro is portrayed as a nuclear wasteland and almost entirely devoid of plant life, with only a petrified forest located close to the Dalek city. Several exceptions are mentioned, however. Varga plants, resembling large, motile cacti studded with poisonous thorns, are seen in Mission to the Unknown (1965). Native to Skaro, they have been deliberately mutated by the Daleks to act as sentries and deter other life forms from interfering with their activities. An individual poisoned by the thorns develops an urge to kill and eventually transforms into another Varga plant.
Only a few examples of Skaro's native wildlife have been seen. In The Daleks, a small, dead reptilian creature with long teeth, a pointed snout and pliable metal skin is discovered, the First Doctor surmising that its body is held together by a magnetic field. This is later identified by a Thal as a "Magnedon". A multi-tentacled creature with two luminous eyes is also shown inhabiting the Lake of Mutations. A large, aggressive, tentacled animal called a "Slyther" appears in The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964). It is described as the Black Dalek's "pet" and is used to patrol the Dalek mine workings. Giant land-based clams, capable of crushing bone, are seen in Genesis of the Daleks (1975). They are described as being the discarded results of Davros' genetic experiments.
Yellow and black beetles and "rock leopards" are mentioned in the novelisation of . and refers to two other species, the Tharons and the Dals, as both being extinct due to Kaled genocide by the time of the Kaled-Thal war.
In Destiny of the Daleks (1979), set many centuries after the events of Genesis of the Daleks, the Daleks return to an abandoned and still radioactive Skaro to retrieve their creator, Davros.
Skaro's final appearance in the classic series is in the story Remembrance of the Daleks (1988), in which the Seventh Doctor tricks Davros and his Imperial Daleks into using a Time Lord device called the Hand of Omega on Skaro's sun to recreate the Gallifreyan time travel experiments. The Doctor sabotages the device, however, causing their sun to turn into a supernova which completely obliterates the planet.
An image of Skaro is shown briefly at the start of the , the narrative indicating that it is the site of a trial of the Master. No reference to the destruction of the planet is made.
In the revived Doctor Who series, Skaro is referenced by the introduction of the Cult of Skaro in "Doomsday" (2006) and "Daleks in Manhattan" (2007), where the character Dalek Caan states that the planet is "gone... destroyed in a great war". Later, in the episode "Asylum of the Daleks" (2012), the Eleventh Doctor is lured to Skaro briefly. The planet is depicted as having been abandoned once again and is shown with a stormy, rain-swept red sky, the landscape filled with derelict structures and skyscrapers.
Skaro appears in "" and "The Witch's Familiar" (2015), where Davros is shown first as an adolescent lost on a desert battlefield, and then having returned to the planet many years later to die with his "children", the Daleks. The planet has been made invisible and, when questioned by the Doctor, Davros states that the Daleks have rebuilt it.
The Dalek Outer Space Book (1967) contains a chart entitled "The Evolution of Skaro" which traces the development of the planet from its creation, through various geological periods, to the advent of the Daleks.
Other appearances
Skaro is the setting for the feature film Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965), starring Peter Cushing. Although it is not named in the film, it is retroactively identified in its sequel, Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (1966).
Skaro appears in the Big Finish Doctor Who audio stories The Mutant Phase (2000) and Davros (2003), and features prominently in the I, Davros spin-off series (2006), which focuses on Davros' life and the events that led to his creating the Daleks.
Skaro makes an appearance in the Doctor Who: The Adventure Games episode "City of the Daleks". In the narrative the Daleks remove Skaro from the Time War, preventing its destruction. The Eleventh Doctor thwarts the Dalek's plan, negating the planet's survival and restoring the proper timeline.
Skaro appears in Daleks!, a five part animated series launched by the BBC on its YouTube channel in November 2020 as part of its multi-platform story, Time Lord Victorious!.
Exterior filming locations
For Genesis of the Daleks exterior scenes supposedly taking place on Skaro were shot at Betchworth Quarry, Surrey and for Destiny of the Daleks at Winspit Quarry, Dorset. In "" and "The Witch's Familiar", exterior scenes set on Skaro were filmed in Tenerife.

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