Terry Nation (August 8, 1930 – March 9, 1997) was a British television screenwriter and is probably best known for creating the villainous Daleks for the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who. He also created his own science-fiction shows, Survivors and Blake's 7. August 8 is the 220th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (221st in leap years), with 145 days remaining. ... 1930 (MCMXXX) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... March 9 is the 68th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (69th in Leap years). ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Screenwriters, scenarists or script writers, are authors who write the screenplays from which movies and television programs are made. ... The Daleks (pronounced DAH-lecks; IPA: ) are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... A broadcast of the long-running and popular British science-fiction series Doctor Who. ... Doctor Who is a long-running British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC about a mysterious time-travelling adventurer known only as The Doctor, who explores time and space with his companions, fighting evil. ... Not to be confused with Survivor. ... Blakes 7 was a BBC science fiction television series created by Terry Nation that ran four seasons from January 2, 1978 to December 21, 1981. ...

Born in Cardiff, Wales, Nation initially worked in comedy, finding a way into the industry in 1955 after a — possibly apocryphal — incident when Spike Milligan bought a sketch he had written because he thought Nation looked hungry. His big break came in the early 1960s when he was commissioned to write material for the hugely popular stand-up comic Tony Hancock, initially for Hancock's new television series and then later for his stage show. Cardiff (English: Welsh: ) is the capital of Wales in the United Kingdom and its largest city. ... Motto: (Welsh for Wales for ever) Anthem: Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau Capital Cardiff Largest city Cardiff Official language(s) English, Welsh Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Rhodri Morgan AM Unification    - by Gruffudd ap Llywelyn 1056  Area    - Total 20,779 km² (3rd... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Terence Alan Milligan, KBE (16 April 1918–27 February 2002), known as Spike Milligan, was a writer, artist, musician, humanitarian and comedian. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ... Biography published in 1978 (1983 paperback reprint shown) Anthony John Hancock, best known as Tony Hancock (May 12, 1924 – June 24, 1968) was a major figure in British television and radio comedy in the 1950s and 1960s. ...

Nation accompanied Hancock as his chief scriptwriter on tour in 1963, but Hancock continually fell back onto his old material and didn't use Nation's scripts. The two rowed and Nation was fired. Before this he had turned down an approach from David Whitaker to contribute to a new science-fiction series that the BBC was setting up, Whitaker having been impressed with a script Nation had written for the sci-fi anthology series Out of this World for ABC. Now jobless and with a young family to support, Nation contacted Whitaker and took up the offer, writing the Doctor Who serial "The Daleks" (aka "The Mutants"). The serial introduced the eponymous creatures that would become the show's most popular monsters, and was responsible for the BBC's first merchandising boom. Today, the Nation estate jointly owns the copyright to the likeness and characters of the Daleks with the BBC. 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ... David Whitaker (1928 - February 4, 1980) helped create the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and served as the series first script editor. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, invariably known as the BBC (and also informally known as the Beeb or Auntie) is the largest public broadcasting corporation in the world. ... ABC logo, 1960s ABC Television or ABC Weekend TV was the British Independent Television (ITV) (commercial television) contractor on Saturdays and Sundays in the Midlands and North of England between 1956 and 1968. ... This is a list of Doctor Who television serials. ... Barbara is threatened a malevolent robotic probe The Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in 7 weekly parts from December 21, 1963 to February 1, 1964. ...

Such is the popularity of the Daleks that Nation is to this day frequently credited as the creator of Doctor Who, including a famous mistake in an edition of Trivial Pursuit. The series was actually created by committee, but BBC Head of Drama Sydney Newman is regarded as being the nearest to a creator. Trivial Pursuit is a board game where progress is determined by a players ability to answer general knowledge or popular culture questions. ... Sydney Cecil Newman OC (April 1, 1917—October 30, 1997) was a Canadian film and television producer, best remembered for the pioneering work he undertook in British television drama from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. ...

Nation suddenly found himself a telefantasy writer at the centre of a media frenzy, and went on to contribute several further scripts to Doctor Who. He also worked for the more financially rewarding commercial television companies, contributing episodes to such shows as The Avengers, The Baron, The Persuaders!, The Champions, and The Saint. Doctor Who is a long-running British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC about a mysterious time-travelling adventurer known only as The Doctor, who explores time and space with his companions, fighting evil. ... The Avengers is a British 1960s television series featuring secret agents in a fantasy 1960s Britain. ... The Baron was a British television series, made in 1966 and produced by ITC Entertainment. ... The Persuaders! is a British television series, which first aired in 1970 and 1971 in Britains ITV and on the ABC Network in the United States. ... Alexandra Bastedo, Stuart Damon, and William Gaunt as The Champions. ... The Saint was a long-running British action adventure television series, made by ITC Entertainment, that aired on ITV stations between 1962 and 1969, and on American television as a syndicated show (1962-1967) and on NBC (1967-69). ...

In the early 1970s, after a long absence, Nation returned to writing Dalek serials for Doctor Who, and this renewed contact led to a BBC commission for him to create a new sci-fi drama series. First broadcast in 1975, 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. 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Not to be confused with Survivor. ... Terence Dudley was a television director of many years standing who directed many programmes for the BBC. In 1980 he began an association with Doctor Who when he directed Meglos for John Nathan-Turner. ...

His next BBC sci-fi creation, Blake's 7, was even more successful. The show told the story of a rag-tag group of criminals on the run from the sinister Terran Federation in a stolen alien space ship of unknown origins. It ran for four seasons from 1978 to 1981, earning a huge following in the United Kingdom. Nation wrote the entire first season of the show. His input decreased as time went on, the overall direction eventually being controlled by script editor Chris Boucher, with Nation not writing at all for the fourth and final season. After its conclusion, however, he attempted unsuccessfully to find funding for a fifth season later in the 1980s. Shortly before his death he was working with star Paul Darrow on another revival attempt. Blakes 7 was a BBC science fiction television series created by Terry Nation that ran four seasons from January 2, 1978 to December 21, 1981. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Chris Boucher Chris Boucher (born 1943) is a British television writer, best known for his frequent contributions to two genres, science-fiction and crime dramas. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Paul Darrow (born May 2, 1941) is a British character actor best known for his portrayal of Kerr Avon in the BBC science fiction television series Blakes 7. ...

In the late 1960s Nation attempted to launch the Daleks as a series in their own right in the United States. Although his attempts were unsuccessful, he did find himself increasingly working in that country and eventually moved there. Probably his most remembered work for American television was as a contributor to the series MacGyver. He was still living in Los Angeles, California, United States when he died from emphysema in 1997. The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ... MacGyver is an American adventure television series about a laid-back, extremely resourceful ex-secret agent, played by Richard Dean Anderson. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Nation did little work outside of television, although in 1976 he did pen a children's novel for his daughter Rebecca: Rebecca's World: Journey to the Forbidden Planet. He did like to poke fun at his own success on occasion, once describing himself to an interviewer as "a hack". 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... A hack writer is a writer for hire, paid to express others thoughts or opinions in felicitous verbiage, often in the form of political pamphlets. ...

References

• Tarrant, Graham. Obituary: Terry Nation. "The Independent". Thursday March 13 1997 (page 18).
• Barker, Dennis. Obituary: Terry Nation – The man who invented the Daleks. "The Guardian". Thursday March 13 1997 (page 17).

The Independent is a British compact newspaper published by Tony OReillys Independent News & Media. ... March 13 is the 72nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (73rd in leap years). ... The Guardian is a British newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. ...

External links

• Terry Nation at the Internet Movie Database
• Who's Doctor Who
• Terry Nation at the Museum of Broadcast Communications
• Photo