History Creator / TerryNation

A British writer and producer (1930-1997), born in UsefulNotes/{{Wales}}.

Because of how character rights worked in BBC scriptwriters' contracts at the time, Nation maintained ownership of the Daleks himself, which he parlayed into a very successful run of annuals and comics during the "Dalekmania" of the Sixties. In later years, he barred Creator/TheBBC from publishing books about the Daleks that didn't have his story approval- the writer John Peel (not [[Creator/JohnPeel the DJ]]) was the only writer he allowed to novelise the Sixties Dalek serials (including the two actually written by Creator/DavidWhitaker), and the [[Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures Virgin New Adventures]] never did a Dalek novel at all (though they made some cameos). Even after his death, his estate maintains a tight hold on the Daleks and nearly scuttled the eponymous [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E6Dalek Dalek]] episode of the revived series. The frequent claim that the Nation estate mandate the Daleks are obliged to appear at least once every year is a myth, though. The actual ownership situation is slightly complicated, because while the Nation estate owns the ''concept'', the designer Raymond Cusick was a [=BBC=] staffer, so the Beeb owns the visual design. The two parties have a gentleman's agreement to "share custody", as it were, and neither can do anything with the Daleks without the approval of the other.

** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E5TheKeysOfMarinus The Keys of Marinus]]" (1966)

* CrapsackWorld[=/=]{{Dystopia}}: His science-fiction stories all take place in these sorts of worlds/universes/governments.

** Plagues and biological warfare. Most notably in ''Survivors'' but also used in many of his ''Doctor Who'' stories and at times in ''Series/BlakesSeven''.

He also wrote for many other series, including ''Series/HancocksHalfHour'', ''Series/OutOfTheUnknown'', ''Series/{{The Avengers|1960s}}'', ''Series/{{The Champions|1968}}'', ''Series/DepartmentS'', ''Series/ThePersuaders'', ''Series/TheSaint'', and ''Series/{{MacGyver|1985}}''.

He also wrote for many other series, including ''Series/HancocksHalfHour'', ''Series/TheAvengers1960s'', ''Series/TheChampions1968'', ''Series/DepartmentS'', ''Series/ThePersuaders'', ''Series/TheSaint'', and ''Series/{{MacGyver|1985}}''.

His most famous creation, though, was the Daleks. He came up with the concept and wrote the original Dalek story for ''Series/DoctorWho'', while [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Cusick Raymond Cusick]] devised the iconic design. Contributing in a huge way to the show's longevity, Nation was asked to write several other stories over the years (with his writing contributions spanning from the show's first season in 1963 to Recap/DoctorWhoS17E1DestinyOfTheDaleks, airing in 1979 to open Season 17) , all but two featuring the Daleks.

His most famous creation, though, was the Daleks. He came up with the concept and wrote the original Dalek story for ''Series/DoctorWho'', while [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Cusick Raymond Cusick]] devised the iconic design. Contributing in a huge way to the show's longevity, Nation was asked to write several other stories over the years (with his writing contributions spanning from the show's first season in 1963 to Recap/DestinyOfTheDaleks, airing in 1979 to open Season 17) , all but two featuring the Daleks.

His most famous creation, though, was the Daleks. He came up with the concept and wrote the original Dalek story for ''Series/DoctorWho'', while [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Cusick Raymond Cusick]] devised the iconic design. Contributing in a huge way to the show's longevity, Nation was asked to write several other stories over the years (with his writing contributions spanning from the show's first season in 1963 to [[Recap|DestinyOfTheDaleks "Destiny of the Daleks"]], airing in 1979 to open Season 17) , all but two featuring the Daleks.

His most famous creation, though, was the Daleks. He came up with the concept and wrote the original Dalek story for ''Series/DoctorWho'', while [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Cusick Raymond Cusick]] devised the iconic design. Contributing in a huge way to the show's longevity, Nation was asked to write several other stories over the years, all but two featuring the Daleks.

His most famous creation, though, was the Daleks. He came up with the concept and wrote the original Dalek story for ''Series/DoctorWho'', while [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Cusick Raymond Cusick]] devised the iconic design. Contributing in a huge way to the show's longevity, Nation was asked to write several other stories over the years, mostly featuring the Daleks. In later years, he barred Creator/TheBBC from publishing books about the Daleks that didn't have his story approval- the writer John Peel (not [[Creator/JohnPeel the DJ]]) was the only writer he allowed to novelise the Sixties Dalek serials (including the two actually written by Creator/DavidWhitaker). Even after his death, his estate maintains a tight hold on the Daleks and nearly scuttled the eponymous [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E6Dalek Dalek]] episode of the revived series. (The frequent claim that the Nation estate mandate the Daleks are obliged to appear at least once every year is a myth, though.)