Here it is, part 2 of our Doctor Who series-The Doctor 101. Today’s post will outline some of the big bad monsters you will find in the Doctor Who series. I decided to do this post as a good old-fashioned top ten list. A couple of disclaimers before we start the list. First, this is my list, and I am by no means an authority on Doctor Who, so you may completely disagree with me, which is fine. Second, I am a recent newcomer to the series, so I am mostly familiar with the newer Doctors and their foes. I have tried to include some of the classics in here, but I admit that I am biased, so keep that in mind.
10. The Ice Warriors of Mars: Martians. You know, the little green guys that we all believe live on Mars? This is the Doctor Who version. The Ice Warriors. Their first appearance was in 1967, so they have been around for a while. But these aren’t the little green men. These are giant dangerous warriors. They take battle pretty seriously, and winning is the only option. They appeared most recently in and episode from series 7, entitled Cold War, and for the first time we got to see a glance of what these monsters look like under the armor. That disappointment is what landed these guys at the bottom of the list.
9. The Zygons: These big uglies appeared in one, count it, ONE story for Doctor Who, back in 1975 called Terror of the Zygons. Their planet has been destroyed and they need a new home, and hey, Earth looks pretty nice. Unfortunately, they would stick out like a sore thumb among humans. Or, they would, if they weren’t shape shifters. Of course the Doctor was able to foil their plans for world domination. That was all these guys contributed to Doctor Who, until they were brought back for the 50th anniversary special. In the special, they have learned a few more tricks, and in the end, you may be sitting next to a Zygon as we speak. More on the 50th later in the series.
8. The Sontarans: Let me sum these guys up like this: With the helmets and full suit of armor they look pretty big and tough and are nigh invincible (except for one spot on the back of the neck). Without the helmet and armor they look like giant talking potato heads who are almost as smart as spuds. These guys are formidable foes. They are clones and are bred for one purpose only: War. That is all they understand. But they don’t mean anything by it, it’s just their nature. In later seasons, the Doctor has begun palling around with one on occasion, and the li’l spud provides great comic relief. These guys appeared for the first time in 1973, and have been reappearing ever since.
7. Omega: Omega is not a race, but an individual. He was an ancient Time Lord who was behind the science that gave the Time Lords their powers. The science? It was basically creating supernovas. On his last outing to create the supernova that continues to power the Time Lords’ abilities to time travel, he was thought dead. In actuality, he was transported to the antimatter universe, and in 1973 he was back to seek revenge on the people who abandoned him. To stop his evil plan took all three Doctors. He had gone insane sitting all alone in his own universe. Any time it takes 3 doctors to stop someone, they can make the list.
6. The Great Intelligence: The Great Intelligence is a disembodied being who can control physical forms and bring them to life. His first appearance was in The Abominable Snowmen in 1967. He appeared again in 1968’s Web of Fear, and then that was it. I don’t know much about those appearances, but he showed up again in the Christmas Special The Snowmen in the middle of Series 7 with Matt Smith’s Doctor. He showed up again throughout the rest of the series, with his final appearance coming in The Name of the Doctor where his endgame plan was revealed. We will cover that episode later in greater detail.
5. The Silence: These guys were as scary as it gets. They looked like the typical gray alien, but they always had a suit on. They didn’t make a sound and had a knack for sneaking up on people. The worst part? Once you looked away from them you totally forgot they existed. It’s hard to stop an enemy that you can’t even remember is there? They came up with a way. The Doctor and his companions would keep tick marks for every one they saw to remind them that they had seen some. So, when you are at the cons and you see some people running around with a bunch of tick marks all up and down their arms and their faces, now you’ll know why.
4. The Master: The second Time Lord on our list. The Master seems like he was designed to be the opposite of the Doctor, his arch nemesis. The Joker to the Doctor’s Batman, the Lex Luthor to his Superman. He was the villain chosen to appear in the Doctor Who movie which came out in 1996 (TV Movie). It was meant to reboot the series. The reality is, he falls short, in my opinion, and although he reappeared during the 10th Doctor’s run and was somewhat formidable, he was never the main baddie. He gets a top 5 nod, but not much more.
3. The Cybermen: Another classic monster that has continued to appear again and again throughout the series. The Cybermen were like the Borg before the Borg were cool. They are machines that need organic lifeforms to survive. They come to a planet and begin assimilating all the life into their own collective. Well, not all the life. Sometimes the life form is not suitable, in that case “DELETE.”
2. The Weeping Angels: I may be biased on this one. They appeared for the first time in one of my favorite episodes of all time Blink. And they are creepy. They could be anywhere. Disguised as statues, this alien breed feeds off the energy created during time travel. If they touch you, you get sent back in time, never to return. You live out the rest of your life in another time. You’re safe, as long as you’re looking at them. If someone can see them, they can’t move. That’s why they are usually covering their eyes, so they don’t accidentally look at each other and be stuck forever. So, as long as you stare at them, you are safe. But if you look away, if you blink, they are fast and they will get you. So, Don’t blink.
1. The Daleks: There could be no doubt about who would be number one on the list. The Daleks are the original Doctor foe and the baddest. They are his arch nemesis. The Daleks and the Time Lords having been waring for eons in a series of wars called the Time Wars, and in the last great Time War, both species ended up destroying themselves and half the universe. But somehow, the Daleks keep popping up to take down the Doctor. He is their greatest foe and maybe the one being in the universe who the Daleks fear. When he enters the picture, the Daleks go running. They are the one group in all the Doctor’s travels that he seems to have zero compassion for. These two do not like each other. EXTERMINATE!
