Damnit writers, the Daleks are supposed to be racist, not you!

You’re telling me the thing I thought was a handkerchief on his head this whole time was supposed to be a turban?

Honestly, I'd just have a sketch about a Dalek living the life of a normal person, because the juxtaposition of a Dalek in, say, a boring office job, is hilarious. Like just picture the ultimate death machine having to make small talk with colleagues during lunch break - the jokes write themselves.

what's even sadder about this is it was the last time Dalek 2's skirt saw on-screen use before it was removed from the pool of TV props. Dalek 7-2 was probably the most iconic 70's Dalek, from playing the gold Dalek leader in Day to the prop that shot down Davros in genesis

I've actually never noticed this, I couldn't really understand what the characters said, and I always the white thing on the Dalek's head was just gray hair to signify the Dalek was old. But I now realize how _foolish_ I was!

If I were to do a Dalek sketch, I would have it be a mockumentary about a Dalek living a normal earth live completely in character. Maybe he could have a human roommate.

I’m Pakistani and honestly I just didn’t find the video funny. I had no idea why the daleks had to be Pakistani like the turban isn’t even like a turban. I don’t get it.

easiest Dalek Bumps W ever

What ive heard is the concept of adding the race elememt was to mock how people would describe migrants as "alien. Though i do agree that they kinda fumbled the point

As a Latino American Doctor Who fan, I have no idea back when seeing it on the early years of KZfaq the Dalek is explicitly coded as Pakistani and thought it’s wearing a blonde wig rather than a Turban. I guess it’s more obvious if you’re in Britain and have some knowledge about the nation’s immigration history compared to being American with the knowledge of its immigration history.

Bro was too racist for the Daleks

I think a good dalek sketch would be an office setting

I entirely agree with you. The sketch would actually have been funnier without the racism which, even if it weren’t offensive, simply gets in the way. I’ve heard that Milligan’s mental health was in decline at the time, although even if this might excuse lapses in his own judgement, one imagines there must have been any number of other people involved in the process between writing and broadcast who could have stepped in. Clearly the BBC was a somewhat different institution in those days… On a small technical point, though, India and Pakistan - despite clear cultural and religious divisions across the region -were not two separate countries until 29 years after Spike Milligan was born.

My boss at work is of Pakistani descent and eats curry every day. 😅

People used to be able to joke.

I discovered this sketch in high school, and the "put him in the curry" line fucking killed me.

I think a video on dalek props being used in the infamous "BBC Christmas tapes" is worth doing They were internal tapes of bloopers and sketches the BBC staff working on Xmas day would put together for thier own amusement. It's very 70s "Lad" humour. I recall one sketch with a dalek saying Bollocks and then him getting off with the tapping machine, voiced by Roy Skelton. One in the 90s parodying director general John Birt as davros, he was depicted in the press as a croaked voiced dalek destroying the BBC. That's a decent little sketch. Also the origin of clip of other bloopers like Tom Baker drinking with Romana and swearing at K9

I've seen a couple of mute clips of this skit, I had no idea it was supposed to be a "Pakistani" Dalek

A sketch were the metaltron doesn't kill itself but when it says "I was freedom" we hard cut to it spinning in a field with ice cream in it's plunger while happy together by the turtles plays.

I love your videos and how you often speak with such enthusiasm but to be honest hearing you be so sarcastic and savage was also fun!

I’m not going to act like I’m some expert on Dalek comedy, but I believe what makes the Daleks funny in comedy sketches is making them do ordinary things but they keep their behaviour and characterisation on point. I don’t know If I explained this well so I’ll use an example, look at Big Fat anniversary Quiz. That show had a Dalek cameo in an episode, and it knew how to use the Dalek, as they basically told Nick Briggs ‘just have fun’. Nick kept the Dalek in character even when he said things a Dalek wouldn’t say, which is what makes it funny. It’s the juxtaposition of hearing the most terrifying hate filled alien scream things like “Angry birds!” , and still doing it completely in character with its same shrill voice that makes Daleks funny. This could’ve just been a Dalek living an ordinary life, but like you said it feels like they just ran out of ideas part way through and just said “Make it racist”

I am glad you said what you said, I won’t lie, this sketch was my introduction to Spike Milligan and I loved it, but you are 100% right, it is offensive and derogatory and it has aged like milk. From all I’ve managed to find about Spike Milligan through ancillary media like docos is that he genuinely thought well of non-British cultures. BUT, and this is a colossal BUT, that doesn’t change the fact that he still loved playing to stereotypes and making jokes about race, watch his appearance on the Muppet Show, it is SO MUCH WORSE. And even if we make the assumption that every joke about race he made was in good faith, that doesn’t stop the audience taking it in bad faith and seeing his humour as validation of their own prejudices. That’s the core thing that supporters of poorly aged humour fail to acknowledge or understand. I think like a lot of comics, it’s likely that either it never occurred to him or he couldn’t acknowledge that something absurd he created could have negative consequences. Especially given that he had no respect for authority, he would not want to be held accountable for that. Let’s hope we can take this sketch as a lesson of what not to do in the future.

You know, I always thought the Dalek had a towel on it's head, implying he'd just gotten out of the shower or something... It does suck that some aspects of Doctor Who are tainted by attitudes of the time. Famously, "Talons of Weng-Chiang" is a pretty good story, but the stereotypes do bring it down. Without the title, you'd never know what the Dalek was supposed to represent. I hate to say that knowing the full context does taint my enjoyment of the sketch.

OH MY GOD! For the longest time I thought the turban was a wig, and the Dalek was supposed to be a grandmother of sorts. I thought the whole curry bit was just some random gag. No idea this was racist! Thanks for the clarification though.

You can also hear that they added a slight south asian accent to the Dalek. tbh I found the sketch more funny at the time (which for me was in the 00s when my dad showed me it) for the physical comedy and the absurdity of putting your grandmother in a curry, these days though I do find the stereotyping painful to watch.

Can you do a video on dalek cameos in non doctor who media

A question for dalek bumps question time. what are some of the best big finish audios that have the 11th doctor.

Pls cover the postman pat movie dalek cameo

I've heard before that this was Spike's response to the even more racist newspapers referring to Pakistani immigrants as "aliens" and "invaders" (the portrayal is still disgusting by today's standards though)

I think this skit is absolutely hilarious, and is bar none the funniest Dalek skit of all times. I also think that the racism here is totally unnecessary for the comedy to work, should've never been planted here in the first place and with each rewatch I grow a little bit more disgusted with it. For me, the comedic pacing of this skit is perfect, the performances of the actress, operator and voice actor was excellent, the domestic setting juxtaposed against the chaotic escalation and implication that that this is the norm for their lives makes the comedy explode to life. When I watched this as a child, I wasn't aware of the stereotypes, and I only felt that those elements just felt off, while now being aware of the racism as a teenager, all it does it scours an otherwise perfect skit.

Just thought of a sketch It's pretty simple really A Dalek Soap Opera based on Coronation Street called "Daleknation Street" and it's basically Humanisrd Daleks living mundane lives with alot of humour in a Stteek in Skaro, most of these Daleks have retired from fighting and are now raising their families in Daleknation Street.

Oh god this was hard to watch. Kinda curious to see how you react to TV Offal's Gay Daleks, your deadpan sarcasm and critique made me laugh a lot more than the actual sketch did. Spike could be funny at times but this dropped the ball so hard.

I saw this sketch when I was first getting to know the Daleks and Doctor Who itself as an 8 or 9 year old in 2007/08, and as much as I love Spike Milligan (look no further than the Muppet Show), it just didn't land for me. I think my favourite non-DW appearance of the Daleks is from Looney Tunes: Back In Action, even though they didn't do or say much it was still so cool to see Daleks alongside Marvin the Martian, The Man From Planet X and the Metaluna Mutant from This Island Earth

Totally agree. He had a great premise already, the racist element was totally unnecessary.

I am actually crying with laughter that people are getting mad at dalek pronouns of all things.

Honestly i still find the skit funny.

That was a original 70s dalek from a comedy show

Was that a clip from the doctor who anime fan trailer? Lovely to see that

Honestly I do see the slightest sliver of "a product of it's time" having merit. Sadly my dad (a guy stuck in the 70's) found this kinda crap hilarious. Just the product of a time where the morals weren't as refined as nowadays, as many will say of us in the future no doubt. What rung true back the definitely doesn't today and I'd argue that's just because we know better now. Ughh but it cant be denied, the racist element is so clearly tacked on in this sketch. I personally do believe that cultural and ethnic comedy can be done right without it being derogatory. This kinda stuff though? it's the total opposite. I think the funniest part about the sketch is the sheer irony of a Dalek being used to depict not a racist (which is practically their whole deal) but as a racist stereotype. Like... how did no one see how ironic that is??

I’ve always wondered how this got past Terry Nation/Terry Nation Estate who, I thought, were very much against giving permission for anything that made fun of the Daleks or made them look stupid. Which this sketch certainly does!

I remember watching this on KZfaq years ago as a kid I thought the Dalek just had a shower and he just had a towel on his head lol

I wanna know what you think of Joe vevers

In terms of ethics with Dalek comedy, this is the worst, but worst comedy thing with a Dalek I would say the 2005 film “I was Abducted by the Daleks” Fails both as a type of film in its genre and even calling it a parody of Doctor Who or sci-fi, it’s got nothing to offer

As a kid, I loved it. Knowing the full concept…yeah 😬 It was the 70s but yeah, it’s defo aged like milk.

Joke idea but the Cyberman Call Center by Ashens

I took it as a hanky cap until you said. Bit like Alf Garnet wore

My two cents on the matter is that most YT uploads of the sketch miss out the caption that apparently preceded it: “A normal mixed-race working class family” or something of that nature. In the 1970s, there was plenty of racism flying around and the British saw migrants, particularly anyone from predominantly non-white countries such as Pakistan, as “alien”, something that in this sketch I believe Milligan is lampooning - nothing really says “alien” more than an actual alien like a dalek. That point doesn’t really come across though and so the Pakistani jokes cross the line into bad taste. Doctor Who itself does reference a similar thing in Remembrance of the Daleks with the white supremacy gang that appears and, happily, get steamrolled. As a kid, the race elements went over my head and I was more interested in the physical comedy of the dalek being so practically unsuitable for a human household. Just putting a dalek in a normal human situation is funny enough, rather than trying to lampoon racial attitudes of the time simultaneously. Rewatching it as an adult, it’s difficult to ignore the race element of the sketch and how you could remove it and the sketch could still work virtually unaltered. I’m much more a fan of physical and “alternative” comedy, the sort Rik Mayall was famous for, than this sort of thing: Mayall and his contemporaries essentially sought to do away with the racism and “mother-in-law” jokes that had been prevalent prior to the 80s (as here). Spike Milligan apparently wasn’t such a big fan of Mayall, perhaps because of the differences in what they thought others would find funny; he called him the “arsehole of British comedy” for “finding nose-picking and farting funny”. At least passing gas is unlikely to stigmatise a minority even if you are trying to lampoon a common attitude of the time.

I did some funny stuff with my Daleks, but kept the story flowing. I had one glide around the corner only to be blasted off camera and fly back into the wall. Physical comedy while the story flows around it.

There was a lot more of this than what I thought, but that's probably because Thirty Years and More Than Thirty Years In The TARDIS didn't explain the background of the sketch or anything else, I bet Dalek63-88 would.

Yeah looking at it now this sketch has aged like milk , also the dalek exterminating FX are very poorly done I can under them not having a budget to add laser FX but they don't even add a laser or zapping sound effect to imply the dalek is firing it's gun, also funny how the kid dalek is black and silver just like the dalek supreme from Remembrance of the daleks .

As a fan of both Doctor Who and Looney Tunes, I'd love to see you do a video on the Dalek's appearance in Back in Action!

Hey dalek bumps did you know that dalek cameo in robot chicken

I will lurk here like an entombed Genesis Dalek for 50 years to see what critical comments the people of 2074 make about this current era of 2024. "They were always throwing the first stone."

I never knew this about this scene.😱 I always thought it was a towel. I thought the Dalek got out of the shower

It’s a shame that Milligan took such a great idea for a dalek sketch and used it to be a punch down racist. Must have had a bit of the Dalek factor in him.

I remember seeing this in a funny dalek moments video, and thought nothing of it. Now I see the truth, and it is not good.

I enjoy the sketch but the racism wasn't needed, I don't think it was made to offend people but came across offensive.

I actually remember back in school, when I was first getting into Dr Who, I did make a Dalek comedy comic series as part of a club I was part of. It was more of a back and forth 4-panel setup between Daleks stationed on a mostly desolate Desert world. Each had their own distinct personality though, but it was very basic. It was essentially Straight-man Dalek interacts with Dumbass Dalek, there were also a few others like the Senior officer Daleks and an Imperial Dalek spy among their ranks but he was still in his Imperial casing and everyone was either too bored to care, and the punchline was pretty much always just Extermination of whoever was the wrong-doer. I was only about 11-12 when I made these and they're pretty much lost media now 20 years later, but I have been curious about reviving the concept with a more mature perspective

This is probably the most triggered I’ve ever seen you get. But fair enough the jokes in that sketch were just uncalled for

I remember watching this clip on youtube many years ago as a small kid, so long in fact that I hadn't even learn to speak English as a second language proper. I just thought that the turban was a lump of soap foam and the joke was that it came out of the bath or something? As you say, it's really crude. Then again, if I did know a bit more of English at the time, I still wouldn't had get that this was suppose to represent a specific ethnic group because of how basic the portrayal is.

PUT HIM IN THE CURRY

i thought the turban was a wig?????

The Gay Daleks would be a fun one to hear your thoughts on. Witnessing your ability to rip into lazy bigotry humour gives me faith that you could do much the same to a series of sketches where the punchline is just Daleks spunking on each other and being creepy, offensive caricatures of gay people.

While I agree with everything you said about the sketch I feel like some of the comments you highlighted from the pronoun video weren't that bad, don't get me wrong, some of them absolutely were bad but i think stuff like " daleks have no concept of gender", "I don't think daleks care TBH, and "daleks are woke??" are just jokes that aren't really trying to devalue pronouns or insult the video.

Brilliant points!

Tbh I think spike Milligan was just obsessed with making racist jokes and voices he made 2 shows 'curry and chips' and 'the melting pot' which were thankfully seen as racist even at the time. Maybe he just thought it was an easy joke he could get away with to pad out the sketch?

Y’know, up until watching this video, I never knew the racist aspect of this sketch. Never once knew the dalek was supposed to be from Pakistan, and never knew that was supposed to be a turban on its head. In fact up until a few minutes ago I always just assumed it was some type of foam or shaving cream with how it jiggled about. It always confounded me as to why the dalek had shaving cream of all things on its head given its was supposed to have been coming back from work, but I never thought to look further into it.

Just checking out some of the comments first off why watch a video it's obvious you're going to agree with and second off I don't think telling bumps not to make anymore videos like this is going to stop him. Is him calling out this lazy sketch really a step too far?

0:54 YOOOO I remember that fanmade anime mockup thing! God, that takes me right back. Weird to think that was... what, 13 years ago now? God we're getting old. Additional, I have to say it genuinely was just a thing of its time. Same thing applies to Talons of Weng Chiang, it was just... literally how it was back in the 1970s. Viewing it in the present day is uncomfortable af yes, modern audience doubley so. Same way we sorta saw the rise of Anti-SJWs and the birth of "go woke get broke" types in the mid-2010s. I find it funny personally because I guess I still have that slightly faded away edgy sense of humour from said 2010s era, but I do agree in that it is objectively racist. Okay ramble over, there's my two thoughts.

Wait, That Was A Turban? I Thought That was A Wig Or Soup

@0:55 I know that clip! Actually a cracking thing to watch.

I thought it was Just cake, what a disgrace human

Yeah, the funniest parts of the sketch have nothing to do with the fact that the Dalek is supposed to be Pakistani. Remove those, and the funny bits would still be funny. According to some of the other comments, though, making the Dalek Pakistani **may** have been a failed attempt to make fun of racist newspapers at the time? But then I’ve found sources claiming that Spike Milligan actually was racist? But he was also bipolar, and IDK enough about that condition to be comfortable making a judgement on him (though it doesn’t excuse or justify anything racist that he did say or do). But, yeah, at the end of the day, the whole ‘Pakistani’ part of the sketch is just unfunny and drags the whole thing down, no matter the intentions.

I've only seen a part of this, and honestly thought that was supposed to be a towel. Shame.

Thought that was a old woman wig

There are Pakistanis who actually found this funny. Comedy is subjective. If you dont like it, don't watch it.

If you muted the whole sketch, made it B&W and put "Death to the Daleks" music over it you could make it slightly better - Say it's the Daleks trying to invade Earth in the 1920s and stumbling into a silent movie set; malfunctions cause one to shrink

This sketch is ancient, getting angry over it is a waste of energy.

I think it was more a request from the producers than Spike himself, seeing this was the same period that equally questionable shows like it aint half hot mum, and shows with bernard manning were commissioned. Remove the references to the dalek being pakistani, take off the disrecspectful example of a turban, and switch curry to soup, and you're sorted

What an awful terrible no good comedy sketch. Should've used the bombs from destiny of the daleks instead. What a missed opportunity,

Curry Would Jim come to the dairy room

My idea for a comedy sketch for daleks: an Alternate cult of skaro esque group comes to earth in present day to subvert humanity by pitting them against each other and influencing hyper-capitalist ideas. It would parody modern society, the military industrial complex and pit countries against each other by transplanting the daleks notion of superiority (racism, classism, etc) in humans. The punch line is that the daleks land and realise they don’t have to do anything, noting that the humans are already destroying each other. With one dalek turning to another and mentioning that they could extract human hatred to make the daleks even more hateful. Could be black comedy.

The thing is. Its such a small and nearly noticeable detail. That there really isnt an issue with it. Its an obscure sketch from the 70s. A very different time in the world. I cant actually imagine someone legitimately complaining about it as if it were an actual racist issue. Its a dalek for christ sake.

That was suppose to be a turban?

I think the best way to approach this racially insensitive Dalek Sketch… is to make it the joke. A followup. In which a Dalek is “Cancelled” for a racist sketch they did in the 70s. Firstly, the idea that a Genocidal Wheelie Bin would be subject to our human notions of political correctness, is funny. Secondly, it can be a piss take on outdated sketches, and jokes, and comedians. The Dalek refuses to make any introspection whatsoever. There’s a difference between making an insensitive skit “in a different time” and making an insensitive skit in a different time, but also acknowledging that it was probably a bad idea. So you have a Dalek acting defensive, echoing comedians who refuse to even acknowledge that it shouldn’t fly these days, before spouting buzzwords, complaining that our modern notions of sensitivity is “woke” and then exterminating Philip Schofield, all while trying to spin it that it’s being attacked. We can’t change the past. But we can make fun of the past in the present.

Great video mate, love the thrown shade at John Cleese lol! As a kid i loved this sketch, the delivery of the dalek's VA and the wife frantically trying to keep everything tidy and organised was hilarious. As i grew older and properly learned the racist context behind the mockery, its became more and more painful to revisit. A dalek in an otherwise suburban environment would be hilarious, the pointless racial element just brings it down so much, and those who defend it only go to divide us more. We owe it to everyone to create more impactful humor that doesn't just rely on these lazy, centuries old stereotypes.

Funny tho

So you're saying Pakistani Daleks don't exist? That's Racist 😂 *"Put him in The Curry"*

It’s comedy, it’s supposed to push the boundaries

It was a different era. Realistically it's an unnecessary addition to the sketch yes but it's not really the take away, Ive seen this sketch several times since i was a kid and didn't even realise it was a turban I just thought it was some debrie from when he burst through the door. 😂

It is a cultural artifact of its time. We can learn a lot from it, if we stop clutching our imaginary pearls and virtue signalling. Milligan was equating the alien with immigrants. Satirising the perceived inability for racial integration to work. Enoch Powell and his infamous speech were still fresh in the memory. Comedy is not there to make you comfortable. Satire is by its nature transgressive. We got the point at the time. Context is everything.

Ouch. I mean I could kinda get the physical comedy and that was funny but a racist element just kind of ruins and just leaves the bad taste in my mouth. Daleks are supposed to be xenophobic, but the writers are not supposed to be. Would’ve funny if he had a multi ethnic family. It would’ve been absolutely hilarious comedy because these multi ethnic people are being around xenophobic Dalek. Like an alien Archie if you will…

I enjoyed this skit and I liked that video. Not every dalek fan can enjoy one’s company but I for one. Enjoy this. Maybe this isn’t the best for everyone and maybe you should just keep it to yourself.

Genuinely thought it was soap, ngl I used to love it as a kid/centering little git, now I find it really.... Ugh... God I wish I didn't laugh, it could have been brilliant but the whole 'Pakistani' aspect ruins it, not surprised though us Brits have always been cruel to the Pakistanis.

Womp womp

Based

Snow flake getting butt hurt is always funny af 😂😂😂😂

Nah shitting on Spike Milligan is an automatic L mate

"It was the '70s" Yeah, it was. It wasn't funny then, still isn't now.

Racism is discriminating against all members of race based on unfounded prejudice. This is a (weak) stereotype of the race in question, it is not racism. If I say the French all have silly moustaches and smell of Garlic it's not racism. If I refuse to employ a French person because he has a 'silly moustache' and will probably smell of garlic, that *is* racism. Learn the difference!