I'm trying to think of a clever title, but nothing comes to mind.

Stamp + card

Close-up of stamp and mark

The Dalek Stamp was one of three Millennium Stamps issued by the Royal Mail in 1999—the other two depicted Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of Queen, and football (soccer) star Bobby Moore. Photographer Lord Snowdon (aka Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1^st Earl of Snowdon) photographed the vile pepperpot for the stamp. Mine was a Royal Mail-issued collectible, which also features an image of the TARDIS in flight and the facsimile signature of Tom Baker, who played the Fourth Doctor on TV from 1974-1981.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE DALEKS:

The oldest and vilest of the Doctor’s enemies on “Doctor Who,” the Daleks are the birthchild of writer Terry Nation and designer Raymond Cusick.

“They are legless,” Nation wrote, “moving on a round base. A lens on a flexible shaft acts as an eye. Arms with mechanical grips for hands.” With that description, Mr. Cusick went to work. His designs originally looked taller and more upright until he realized that the performers inside the costumes would have to work for many hours in a stiflingly hot prop. Cusick changed his design to reflect a man sitting inside the machine, not standing upright inside it.

With that final major revision, the Dalek went from “generic sci-fi monster” to “triumph of design.” It’s successful because there’s no indication of the performer inside. Around its neck, there’s a section where you might normally see a person’s eyes, but it’s completely obscured by black gauze. Other sci-fi robots walk around on two legs, such as Robby from “Forbidden Planet,” but the Dalek casings were flat to the ground, making the operator’s feet totally invisible. 

Ever since they appeared on “Doctor Who” fifty years ago, the overall “look” of these metal marauders has remained mostly consistent, give or take subtle embellishments and modifications here and there. That the Royal Mail chose them to help usher in a new century is a testament to their uniqueness.

 

  

June 9, 1999: The Rolling Stones play at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London

(Now recently seen at the United Center, if I'm not sorely mistaken)

June 9, 2000: Soldier who allegedly killed 16 Afghans engaged in financial fraud