| abstract | - The Doctor's non-humanoid adversaries caught on immediately with the British public, as was obvious from the serial's ratings. A significant improvement over An Unearthly Child, The Daleks cemented Doctor Who's position on the 1964 BBC1 schedule. The serial was writer Terry Nation's first for the programme. Its reception led to his recommissioning for The Keys of Marinus later in the season, as well as the return of the Daleks every season until Season 5. It also was the proximate cause for Nation's financial success, since his agent had cunningly negotiated Nation's co-ownership of the Daleks. The ramifications of this deal on the history of Doctor Who are difficult to overstate. Indeed, though agents are usually unknown and uncredited workers, this deal was known to have been negotiated by future British television legend and studio boss Beryl Vertue — mother of Sue Vertue, and mother-in-law of Steven Moffat. Besides Nation, other production personnel made their debuts with this story, including directors Christopher Barry and Richard Martin, designer Raymond Cusick, prolific costumer Daphne Dare, and future director Michael Ferguson. The Daleks was also the source material for both a theatrical film and an American comic book called Dr. Who and the Daleks. Both were the first time Doctor Who had appeared in those media. The Daleks was the basis for the first attempt to take Doctor Who to the United States market.
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