Beloved Enemy came about because somebody on the forums wanted an alternative universe role reversal – good Daleks roaming the universe trying to defeat an evil Doctor. That sounded a stupid idea to me, completely against all that Doctor Who stands for. But the possibility of a ‘good’ Dalek was worth exploring.

The basis of the idea comes from the 1985 film, Enemy Mine, in which a Human space fighter pilot and his ‘alien’ enemy have to work together when both crash land on a planet. There are variations on the theme, of course. I remember reading a story when I was at school about a Japanese and a British soldier on a pacific island in WWII, with much the same initial suspicion, then mutual co-operation and then finally, friendship.

But The Doctor and a Dalek! That was harder to imagine. They have been enemies for so long, the very idea was difficult to imagine. Unless, he was forced to confront the idea. The two little girls, Vicki and Sukie, with their innocent view of the universe, provided the means by which The Doctor could consider the possibility of a Dalek that wouldn’t kill. The image of them standing on its rim, holding onto its weapons, and being lifted to safety, worked itself onto the page from there. Then The Doctor’s suspicion, fear, the children insisting that it was his friend.

The Sand Fire creatures actually come from the shape of my original broadband internet hub, which was shaped something like a crab or a stingray. The two lights that showed it was operating even looked something like eyes at the front. When the thing actually broke down I kept it and painted it a sand colour and kept it with my Doctor Who action figures. It was easy to imagine one that was capable of enveloping the whole TARDIS.

But the idea of The Doctor slowly coming to terms with the Dalek, understanding its point of view, considering its feelings, is, I think, a unique idea. In the 2006 series The Doctor did find a sort of affinity with the mutated Human-Dalek Sec, but not quite in this way.

But the kind, considerate Dalek was almost predestined to die. The Doctor could not have left it on the planet, alone. And it did have nowhere else to go. The idea of it as a fifth column in the Dalek fleet was a brave one, but probably wouldn’t have worked. Instead, the Dalek is a brave, self-sacrificing creature that buys the freedom and safety of its friends with its own life. And only then, when it is dead, does The Doctor really call it a ‘he’ as the children had done all along.

The title, Beloved Enemy, incidentally, comes from a much older film, from 1937, in which Hollywood beauty of the day Merle Oberon is a British ambassador’s daughter who falls in love with the Irish Rebel her own government want to see killed. Again, understanding between opposites is the theme, though in a different way. But the title seemed to lend itself to this story. 

http://imdb.com/title/tt0089092/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enemy_Mine_%28film%29

http://imdb.com/title/tt0027345/