Doctor Who
Object

Davros' Office Sideboard

The sideboard stands in Davros' office, its surface cluttered with tools and weapons amid the tense standoff. Sarah scans it and spots a Dalek gun, then proposes firing its energy beam to obliterate the magnetic tape. The Doctor nods approval as Nyder unlocks the safe, Harry watches warily, and Bettan urges haste outside, making the sideboard a key discovery point in their frantic bid for survival.
4 appearances

Purpose

Storage surface for tools and weapons

Significance

Holds the Dalek gun Sarah identifies to destroy the tape of the Doctor's confessions, enabling the group's sabotage of Davros' plans and shifting momentum toward escape before Bettan's demolition charges detonate the bunker.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

4 moments
S12E16 · Genesis of the Daleks Part 6
The Doctor’s Calculated Betrayal: Erasing Davros’ Legacy at a Cost

The sideboard in Davros’ office is cluttered with tools and weapons, including the Dalek gun. Sarah scans it and spots the gun, proposing its use to destroy the tape. The Doctor approves, and the sideboard becomes a key discovery point in their frantic bid for survival. Its presence underscores the office’s dual role as both a tactical hub and a site of desperation, where weapons meant for oppression are repurposed for resistance.

Before: Cluttered with tools and weapons, including the Dalek gun, a symbol of Davros’ militarized control.
After: The Dalek gun is removed and used for sabotage, leaving the sideboard as a testament to the group’s resourcefulness in the face of collapse.
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S12E16 · Genesis of the Daleks Part 6
The Doctor’s Calculated Reassurance and the Cost of Hope

The sideboard in Davros' office serves as a practical location for the Dalek gun, which Sarah spots and suggests using to destroy the tape. Its cluttered surface—filled with tools and weapons—reflects the Kaleds' militarized environment and the desperation of their situation. The sideboard's role is functional, providing the means for the Doctor's sabotage, but it also underscores the Kaleds' own contribution to their downfall. The object's presence is a reminder of the war's brutality and the Doctor's resourcefulness in turning the enemy's resources against them.

Before: Cluttered with tools and weapons, including the Dalek gun. Sarah scans it and identifies the gun as a viable tool for destroying the tape.
After: The Dalek gun is removed from the sideboard and used by the Doctor. The sideboard remains in the office, now devoid of its most critical weapon, symbolizing the Kaleds' diminishing control over their own fate.
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S12E16 · Genesis of the Daleks Part 6
The Doctor’s Vanishing Hope: A Paradox of Loss and Consequence

The sideboard in Davros’ office is a cluttered surface of tools and weapons, including the Dalek gun that Sarah spots and suggests using to destroy the tape. Its role in the event is functional: it provides the means for the Doctor’s sabotage. The sideboard’s presence underscores the Kaleds’ militarized environment, where even mundane surfaces are laden with instruments of control and destruction. Sarah’s discovery of the gun here is a moment of practical ingenuity, turning the Kaleds’ own resources against them.

Before: A surface cluttered with tools and weapons, including the Dalek gun. It is a functional space in Davros’ office, reflecting the Kaleds’ utilitarian approach to power.
After: The Dalek gun is removed from the sideboard and used to destroy the tape. The sideboard itself remains, but its contents are now depleted, symbolizing the unraveling of Kaled control.
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S12E16 · Genesis of the Daleks Part 6
The Doctor’s False Victory and Sarah’s Urgent Warning

The sideboard in Davros' office serves as a surface where Sarah spots the Dalek gun, which becomes the tool for destroying the genetic data tape. Its presence is incidental but critical, as it provides the means for the Doctor to sabotage Davros' plans. The sideboard's cluttered surface reflects the chaos of the moment, where every object could play a role in their survival or downfall.

Before: Cluttered with tools and weapons, including the Dalek gun, in Davros' office.
After: The Dalek gun is removed from the sideboard and used to destroy the tape, leaving the surface slightly less cluttered but the room in a state of heightened tension.
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