Terry Nation

Last updated 09 January 2020

Production Credits	expand all 5 roles
Writer: The Daleks; The Keys of Marinus; The Dalek Invasion of Earth; The Chase; Mission to the Unknown; The Daleks' Master Plan; The Curse Of The Daleks[Stage]; Planet of the Daleks; Death to the Daleks; Genesis of the Daleks; The Android Invasion; Destiny of the Daleks; The Curse of the Daleks[BF]; The Second Doctor Boxset[BF]	59 credits in 14 entries
Special Credit: as Based on the BBC Television Serial: Dr Who and the Daleks[Aaru] \| as Dalek Creator: Doctor Who and the Daleks in Seven Keys To Doomsday[Stage]	2 credits in 2 entries
Original Creator: The Magician's Apprentice / The Witch's Familiar \| as Daleks Created By: The Pilot \| as Daleks created by: Day of the Daleks; Bad Wolf / The Parting of the Ways; Army of Ghosts / Doomsday; Daleks in Manhattan / Evolution of the Daleks; The Stolen Earth / Journey's End; The Waters of Mars; Victory of the Daleks; The Pandorica Opens / The Big Bang; The Wedding of River Song; Asylum of the Daleks; The Day of The Doctor; The Time of the Doctor; Into the Dalek; The Magician's Apprentice / The Witch's Familiar; Hell Bent; Resolution; Twice Upon A Time(uncredited); The Daleks' Master Plan(uncredited); The Power of the Daleks(uncredited); The Evil of the Daleks(uncredited); Frontier In Space(uncredited) \| as Daleks originally created By: Dalek \| as Daleks originated by: Day of the Daleks	47 credits in 25 entries
Acknowlegment: as With thanks to: Doctor Who: Earth Conquest[Factual]	1 credit in 1 entry
Created by: Revolution of the Daleks \| as Daleks created by:* Once, Upon Time; The Vanquishers; Eve Of The Daleks; The Power of the Doctor*	5 credits in 5 entries

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Terence Joseph Nation

Born: Friday 8th August 1930
Died: Sunday 9th March 1997 (age: 66)

Terry Nation was a Welsh novelist and screenwriter best known for creating the Daleks for Doctor Who and the BBC series Survivors and Blake's 7.

Nation was born in Cardiff in Wales. He initially worked in comedy working for Associated London Scripts alongside Johnny Speight and John Junkin. He wrote for scores of British comedians including Terry Scott, Eric Sykes, Harry Worth and Frankie Howerd. His big break came in 1962 when he was commissioned to write material for the comedian Tony Hancock, initially for Hancock's new ATV television series and later for his stage show.

Nation accompanied Hancock as his chief screenwriter on tour in 1963, but Hancock continually fell back onto his old material and failed to use Nation's scripts. The two quarrelled and Nation was fired. At the same time nation was approached by Doctor Who script Editor David Whitaker to contribute to the new science-fiction series. Whitaker had been impressed with a script Nation had written for the science fiction anthology series Out of this World for ABC. Nation took up the offer, writing the second Doctor Who serial - The Daleks which saw the introduction of the creatures that would become the show's most popular monsters

Nation went on to contribute several further scripts to Doctor Who. Various Dalek spin-off material appeared, including a comic strip in TV Century 21 and annuals.

He also contributed episodes to such shows as The Avengers, The Baron, The Persuaders!, The Champions, Department S, and The Saint. In the late 1960s Nation attempted to launch the Daleks as a series in their own right in the United States, but this was not successful.

In the early 1970s the BBC commissioned him to create a new science fiction drama series. Survivors was a post-apocalyptic tale of the few remaining humans, the population having been devastated by a plague. The show was well received, but Nation's vision for it conflicted with that of producer Terence Dudley and the other two seasons were produced without his involvement.

His next BBC creation, Blake's 7, was more successful. The show told the story of a group of criminals and political prisoners on the run from the sinister Federation in a stolen alien space ship of unknown origins. It ran for four seasons from 1978 to 1981. Nation wrote the entire first season of the series. His input decreased over the run, the overall direction eventually being controlled by script editor Chris Boucher, with Nation not writing at all for the fourth and final season.

In 1980 Nation moved to Los Angeles, California where he developed programme ideas and worked for various studios. Little of his work in this time was as successful as his original period in the United Kingdom. He contributed to the American TV series MacGyver, in addition to television series such as A Masterpiece of Murder and A Fine Romance.

Nation died from emphysema in Los Angeles on 9 March 1997.