Terry Nation facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Terry Nation
Born	Terence Joseph Nation (1930-08-08)8 August 1930 Cardiff, Wales
Died	9 March 1997(1997-03-09) (aged 66) Los Angeles, California, US
Occupation	Screenwriter novelist
Genre	Science fiction comedy horror
Years active	1955–1997
Spouse	Kate Nation
Children	2

Terence Joseph Nation (born August 8, 1930 – died March 9, 1997) was a writer from Wales. He was very famous for his work on British science fiction TV shows. He created the scary Daleks and their inventor Davros for the popular series Doctor Who. He also created other well-loved shows like Survivors and Blake's 7.

Terry Nation first became known as a comedy writer. Later, he wrote many exciting drama shows. He worked on popular British series in the 1960s and 1970s, such as The Avengers and The Saint. When he wrote The Daleks for Doctor Who in 1963, the Daleks quickly made the show very popular. He later created Davros in Genesis of the Daleks (1975). His shows Survivors and Blake's 7 are still considered "cult TV classics" today.

Life and Career

Early Years

Terry Nation was born in Llandaff, a part of Cardiff, Wales. He started his career writing comedy in 1955. A famous story says that comedian Spike Milligan bought a sketch Nation wrote because he thought Nation looked hungry.

In the 1950s, Nation worked with other writers like John Junkin and Johnny Speight. They wrote many radio plays for comedians such as Terry Scott and Frankie Howerd.

His big break came in 1962 when he was asked to write for comedian Tony Hancock. Nation traveled with Hancock as his main writer in 1963. However, Hancock often used his old jokes instead of Nation's new scripts. After an argument, they stopped working together.

The Doctor Who Years

Before working with Hancock, Terry Nation was offered a job to write for a new science fiction show called Doctor Who. He had turned it down at first. But after leaving Hancock, and needing to support his young family, Nation contacted the show's scriptwriter, David Whitaker, and accepted the offer.

He wrote the second Doctor Who story, called The Daleks (also known as The Mutants). This story introduced the Daleks, who are alien villains. They quickly became the most famous monsters in Doctor Who and helped the show become a huge success. The Daleks also led to lots of toys and other products being sold.

Nation wrote more scripts for Doctor Who. In 1965, he helped write a long 12-part story called The Daleks' Master Plan. Terry Nation owned the rights to the Daleks. He tried to make a separate Dalek TV show in the United States. Many Dalek comics and books were made, often saying Nation wrote them, even if others did. Over time, the Daleks appeared less often in Doctor Who and other writers created their stories.

In 1973, after eight years away, Nation returned to write for the Daleks in Doctor Who. His 1975 story, Genesis of the Daleks, was voted the best Doctor Who story ever by fans. In this story, Nation created Davros, who is the evil scientist who made the Daleks. Davros became another important character in the show. Nation also wrote two Doctor Who stories that didn't feature the Daleks: The Keys of Marinus (1964) and The Android Invasion (1975). His last Doctor Who script was Destiny of the Daleks in 1979.

Out of the Unknown

Terry Nation also worked on a science fiction show called Out of the Unknown. In 1965, he wrote a story based on Ray Bradbury's short story The Fox and the Forest. This episode was about a couple from the future who travel back in time.

In 1969, Nation allowed the Daleks to appear in an episode of Out of the Unknown called Get Off My Cloud. This was the first time the Daleks were shown in color on TV.

Survivors and Blake's 7

After his return to Doctor Who, the BBC asked Terry Nation to create a new science fiction drama. This show was called Survivors, and it started in 1975. It tells the story of the last people on Earth after a terrible plague has wiped out most of the world. The show was popular, but Nation had different ideas from the producer, so he was not involved in the last two seasons.

There was a disagreement about who first thought of the idea for Survivors. Another writer, Brian Clemens, said he told Nation the idea years earlier. Nation said this was not true. They went to court, but both sides stopped the case because it was costing too much money.

Nation's next BBC show, Blake's 7, had fewer problems. This series is about a group of criminals and political prisoners who are running away from an evil government called the "Terran Federation." They fly a stolen spaceship. Blake's 7 ran for four seasons from 1978 to 1981. Nation wrote all of the first season. He wrote a children's novel for his daughter Rebecca, called Rebecca's World: Journey to the Forbidden Planet. He also wrote a novel based on Survivors.

United States

In 1980, Terry Nation moved to Los Angeles in the United States. He worked on new TV show ideas and wrote for different studios. However, his work during this time was not as successful as his earlier shows in Britain. He wrote scripts for TV series like MacGyver (1985).

Death

Terry Nation died in Los Angeles on March 9, 1997, when he was 66 years old. Before he died, he was working with actor Paul Darrow to try and bring Blake's 7 back to TV.

Writing Credits

Awards and Nominations

In 2013, a special blue plaque was put on the house in Cardiff where Terry Nation was born. This plaque honors important people and places.

See also

In Spanish: Terry Nation para niños