Terry Nation (1930 – 97) was born on this day (8 August) 86 years ago.
Born and raised in Cardiff, the current home of Doctor Who, Nation initially worked in comedy and collaborated with greats such as Eric Sykes, Frankie Howard and Tony Hancock. His first break in drama came when he was offered the chance to write a script for Doctor Who, even before the first episode of the show had broadcast. The adventure he wrote established many of the major myths that would enrich the Doctor’s travels for decades – Skaro, Thals and perhaps his most famous creation, the Daleks.
Nation went on to write for many popular series of the 60s including The Saint, Department S and The Champions whilst continuing to contribute scripts for Doctor Who. In 1975 he created the fascinating character of Davros, inventor of the Daleks who recently returned to plague the universe in The Magician’s Apprentice/The Witch’s Familiar.
Nation also created the well-remembered 1970s series, The Survivors and the iconic sci-fi show, Blake’s Seven.
In 1980 he moved to California where he worked with a number of studios developing programme ideas... although he still found time to write for the global phenomenon that was MacGyver!
Terry Nation died from emphysema in Los Angeles in March, 1997 and you can read more about his extraordinary life and career over at the Who’s Who section of An Adventure in Space and Time.
