Editing Terry Nation (section)

==Life and career==
===Early years===
Born in [[Llandaff]], Cardiff, Wales,<ref name="BBC plaque">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-25006969|title=Doctor Who: Daleks' creator Terry Nation has blue plaque at Cardiff home|publisher=BBC News|date=20 November 2013|access-date=26 June 2015}}</ref> Nation initially worked in comedy, entering the industry in 1955 after a (possibly apocryphal) incident in which [[Spike Milligan]] bought a sketch that he had written because he thought that Nation appeared hungry.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kasterborous.com/2014/02/archive-interview-terry-nation/ |title=Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews / Dalek Creator Terry Nation Chats in Archive Fanzine Interview! |website=Kasterborous.com |access-date=10 September 2016|url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304054531/http://www.kasterborous.com/2014/02/archive-interview-terry-nation/ |archive-date=4 March 2016 }}</ref> 

During the 1950s, Nation worked with [[John Junkin]] and [[Johnny Speight]] for the writers' agency [[Associated London Scripts]],<ref name="screenonline.org.uk"/> where he collaborated on hundreds of radio plays for comedians such as [[Terry Scott]], [[Eric Sykes]], [[Harry Worth (actor, born 1917)|Harry Worth]] and [[Frankie Howerd]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-terry-nation-1272606.html|title = Obituary: Terry Nation|website = [[Independent.co.uk]]|date = 23 October 2011}}</ref>

His career break came in 1962, when he was commissioned to write material for [[Tony Hancock]]{{Spaced ndash}}first for Hancock's unsuccessful series for [[Associated Television]] broadcast on [[ITV (network)|ITV]] in 1963, and then his stage show.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SFE: Nation, Terry |url=https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/nation_terry |access-date=2024-05-08 |website=sf-encyclopedia.com}}</ref> Although Nation accompanied Hancock as his chief screenwriter on tour in 1963, Hancock would regularly neglect Nation's scripts in favour of recycling his old material. Following an argument over this, Hancock either sacked Nation, or Nation resigned (it is unclear which).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-09-27 |title=The Sunday Post: Galton and Simpson |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/genome/entries/dd618307-3b22-41f4-bf22-6405584abf5b |access-date=2024-05-08 |website=BBC |language=en}}</ref>

===''Doctor Who''===
Prior to his association with Hancock, Nation had declined an offer from scriptwriter [[David Whitaker (screenwriter)|David Whitaker]] to write for a new science-fiction programme that was entering production at the [[BBC]]; Whitaker had been impressed by a script that Nation had written for the [[ABC Weekend TV|ABC]] anthology series ''[[Out of This World (UK TV series)|Out of this World]]''. Now unemployed, and with a young family to support, Nation contacted Whitaker and accepted the offer, writing the second ''[[Doctor Who]]'' serial, ''[[The Daleks]]'' (also known as ''The Mutants''<ref name="bbc.co.uk">{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/3PlvjrTLc2sf8gnSTHZSY7T/terry-nation |title=BBC Two – An Adventure in Space and Time – Terry Nation |publisher=BBC |date=1 January 1970 |access-date=10 September 2016}}</ref> and ''The Dead Planet''). The serial introduced the [[Dalek|eponymous extraterrestrial villains]] that would quickly become the series' most popular and enduring monsters, and resulted in a major merchandising success<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-terry-nation-1272606.html|title = Obituary: Terry Nation|website = [[Independent.co.uk]]|date = 13 March 1997}}</ref> for Nation and the BBC.

Nation contributed further scripts to ''Doctor Who''. In 1965, he and [[Dennis Spooner]] co-wrote the 12-part serial ''[[The Daleks' Master Plan]]'', after which Nation, who still held the copyright to the Daleks,<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lewis|first1=Paul|author-link1=Paul Lewis (journalist)|title=Publisher's daleks claim exterminated|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/apr/16/bbc.medialaw|access-date=2 February 2015|work=The Guardian|date=16 April 2008}}</ref> attempted to launch a Dalek [[Spin-off (media)|spin-off]] TV series in the United States. Various other Dalek tie-in material appeared, including comic strips in the children's weekly ''[[TV Century 21]]'' and annuals; such material was frequently credited to Nation, even when written by others. Over the next few years, appearances by the Daleks in ''Doctor Who'' became less frequent and were written by other authors (Whitaker wrote ''[[The Power of the Daleks]]'' (1966) and ''[[The Evil of the Daleks]]'' (1967), and [[Louis Marks]] wrote ''[[Day of the Daleks]]'' (1972)).

In 1973, following an eight-year absence from the series, Nation returned to writing for the Daleks on ''Doctor Who'' with the [[Third Doctor]] serial ''[[Planet of the Daleks]]''. In 1998, readers of ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' voted Nation's 1975 serial ''[[Genesis of the Daleks]]'' the greatest ''Doctor Who'' story of all time.<ref>{{cite news | url= https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2013/may/23/genesis-of-the-daleks-doctor-who | title= Genesis of the Daleks: Doctor Who classic episode #7 | work=The Guardian| location=London | first=Dan | last=Martin | date=23 May 2013 | access-date=26 June 2015}}</ref> In the story, Nation introduced the character of [[Davros]], the creator of the Daleks, who went on to appear in further storylines.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/norfolk/content/articles/2006/11/10/film_terry_molloy_i_davros_feature.shtml | title= Terry Molloy: I, Davros | publisher=BBC | access-date=26 June 2015}}</ref> Nation also wrote two non-Dalek scripts for ''Doctor Who'', ''[[The Keys of Marinus]]'' in 1964, which introduced the [[Voord]], and ''[[The Android Invasion]]'' in 1975, which introduced the [[List of Doctor Who universe creatures and aliens (H–P)#Kraal|Kraals]].<ref name="bbc.co.uk"/> Nation's final script for ''Doctor Who'' was ''[[Destiny of the Daleks]]'', broadcast in 1979.<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.radiotimes.com/news/2011-02-06/destiny-of-the-daleks/ | title= Destiny of the Daleks ★★★ | work=Radio Times | first=Mark | last=Braxton | access-date=5 January 2020}}</ref>

His work on ''Doctor Who'' was the subject of the documentary ''Terror Nation'', a special feature on the BBC DVD release of ''Destiny of the Daleks''.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.denofgeek.com/dvd-bluray/7470/doctor-who-destiny-of-the-daleks-dvd-review | title= Doctor Who: Destiny of the Daleks DVD review | work=Den of Geek | first=Simon | last=Brew | date=6 December 2007 | access-date=26 June 2015}}</ref>

===''Out of the Unknown''===
Nation's first work on the science-fiction anthology series ''[[Out of the Unknown]]'' was scripting an adaptation of [[Ray Bradbury]]'s short story ''The Fox and the Forest'' in 1965 for the show's debut series. It was about a 21st-century couple taking a forbidden trip to Mexico in 1938, only to be followed by enforcers from the future. It is one of only two episodes from the first series to be considered [[Lost television broadcast|lost]], with only two photographs and the end titles known to exist.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bould |first=Mark |date=2015-03-24 |title=Out of the Unknown: 'The Fox and the Forest' BBC2 22 November 1965 |url=https://markbould.com/2015/03/24/out-of-the-unknown-the-fox-and-the-forest-bbc2-22-november-1965/ |access-date=2024-05-08 |website=Mark Bould |language=en}}</ref>

In 1969, when the show began to be produced in colour, Nation granted permission for the Daleks to be used in the series three episode ''Get Off My Cloud'', based on the story by [[Peter Phillips (author)|Peter Phillips]] about a bed-bound science-fiction author who finds himself within one of his own fantasies after a mental breakdown. This would be the first time the Daleks had been shown in colour on television, although they had previously appeared in colour in the [[Dr. Who (Dalek films)|Peter Cushing films]]. Only production stills and low-quality audio extracts survive.

===''Survivors'' and ''Blake's 7''===
Having returned to writing for ''Doctor Who'', the BBC commissioned Nation to create a new science-fiction drama series. First broadcast in 1975, ''[[Survivors (1975 TV series)|Survivors]]'' is the [[post-apocalyptic]] story of the last humans on Earth after the world's population has been devastated by plague. Although the series was well received, Nation's creative vision conflicted with that of producer [[Terence Dudley]],<ref name="screenonline.org.uk"/> and the final two series were produced without Nation's involvement.

Meanwhile, screenwriter [[Brian Clemens]] claimed that he had related the concept for ''Survivors'' to Nation in the late 1960s while they were working together on the final series of ''[[The Avengers (TV series)|The Avengers]]'', with Clemens claiming to have registered the ''Survivors'' concept with the [[Writers' Guild of Great Britain]] in 1965; Nation denied the allegations. Although the case was ultimately brought before the [[High Court of Justice|High Court]], both sides withdrew from the proceedings after their [[legal costs]] mounted.<ref>Bignell, Jonathan and O'Day, Andrew: ''Terry Nation'', p.&nbsp;21, [[Manchester University Press]], 2004; {{ISBN|978-0-71906-547-7}}.</ref>

The production of Nation's next BBC creation, ''[[Blake's 7]]'', experienced fewer problems. This series follows a group of criminals and [[political prisoner]]s who are on the run from the evil "Terran Federation", piloting a stolen spaceship of unknown origin. ''Blake's 7'' ran for four series from 1978 to 1981.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/classic/blakes7/intro.shtml|title=BBC – Cult – Classic TV – Blake's 7|publisher=BBC}}</ref> Although Nation scripted the whole of the first series of ''Blake's 7'', his creative influence subsequently declined<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/nation_terry|title=Media : Nation, Terry : SFE : Science Fiction Encyclopedia|website=sf-encyclopedia.com}}</ref> in the following two series despite writing some key episodes, as [[script editor]] [[Chris Boucher (writer)|Chris Boucher]] exerted a greater influence on those seasons. Nation didn't write any episodes in the fourth series of ''Blake's 7''. In the 1980s, Nation attempted, without success, to secure funding for a fifth series of ''Blake's 7''.

During the 1970s, Nation wrote a children's novel for his daughter Rebecca (after whom he named the character of Rebec in the 1973 ''Doctor Who'' serial ''[[Planet of the Daleks]]'') titled ''Rebecca's World: Journey to the Forbidden Planet'', as well as a novel based on ''Survivors''.<ref>Tarrant, Graham [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-terry-nation-1272606.html "Obituary: Terry Nation"], ''[[The Independent]]'', 13 March 1997.</ref><ref>[[Dennis Barker|Barker, Dennis]]. "Obituary: Terry Nation &ndash; The Man who Invented the Daleks". ''[[The Guardian]]'', 13 March 1997.</ref>

===United States===
In 1980, Nation moved to [[Los Angeles]], where he developed programme ideas and worked for various production studios. Little of his work from this time was as successful as that of his earlier period in Britain.<ref name="auto"/> He wrote scripts for the hit TV series ''[[MacGyver (1985 TV series)|MacGyver]]'' (1985) and ''[[A Fine Romance (1989 TV series)|A Fine Romance]]'' (1989).<ref name="imdb">{{IMDb name|0622334}}</ref>