Who Can Save Us?
The Doctor: “There are some corners of the universe which have bred the most terrible things. Things that act against everything we believe in. They must be fought!“
Doctor Who “The Moonbase” (Season 4, Episode 6)
Doctor Who is a show of infinite possibilities. Stories can happen anywhere and anywhen. But possibilities come with risks. Many threats exist in the universe, from rampant AI and alien menaces to people tampering with technology that they don’t understand.
These Doctor Who monsters have kept fans hiding behind the couch for decades. So which are the best of the worst? Lets find out.
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#5 Sontarans
Strax: “I hope someday to meet you in the glory of battle, where I will crush the life from your worthless human form. Try and get some rest.”
“A Good Man Goes to War” (Season 32, Episode 7)
Three things are certain in life: death, taxes, and sci-fi universes having at least one warrior race. So what sets the Sontarans apart from Klingons?
Sontarans are a race of cloned soldiers hailing from Sontar. They love war in all its forms and will accept any challenge. Sontarans have been at war with a species called The Rutans for 50,000 years and still find time for other campaigns.
Sontarans have force fields and a variety of weapons. Their weakness is a vent on the back of their neck, but they appreciate it because that prevents them from retreating. Sontarans are polite, mixing death threats with sin, cere compliments. Some Sontarans are dorks who pick battlefields for personal reasons like wanting to ride a horse or experience a Glasgowian bar fight.
#4 Doctor Who Monster: Weeping Angels
The Doctor: Don’t blink. Don’t even blink. Blink and you’re dead! They are fast, faster than you could ever believe. Don’t turn your back, don’t look away, and don’t blink. Good luck.”
“Blink” (Season 29, Episode 10)
Doctor Who was revived in 2005 after a sixteen year hiatus. The show had good stories, but needed to prove that they weren’t just coasting on old aliens. These terrifying monsters sufficed.
The Weeping Angels are winged humanoids so ancient that even The Doctor doesn’t know their origin. An Angel’s touch send victims to the past to feed on the energy from their potential future. The victim then lives out their lifespan and dies shortly after they were first touched. This sounds like a merciful way of killing, but even sated Angels toy with their victims.
Weeping Angels are quantum-locked, meaning they freeze into stone when observed. They use super speed to rush victims when they’re unwatched. They can’t control their power and cover their faces with their hands to avoid trapping each other, which makes it look like the Angels are weeping. All images depicting a Weeping Angel create a new one.
The scariest thing about Weeping Angels is that there are several scenes where they aren’t observed, but still don’t move. Then you realize that you are observing them, your TV is showing them, and that which contains the image of an Angel becomes an Angel.
#3 The Master
The Master: “I am The Master and you will obey me.”
“Terror of the Autons” (Season 8, Episode 1)
The Doctor’s most powerful arch-nemesis is only one person instead of an entire species, but in a league by themself.
The Master is a renegade Time Lord with a mad-on for The Doctor. They can travel through time, hypnotize weak-willed humans, and kill for sport. The Master’s favorite toy is their Tissue Compression Eliminator, which kills victims by shrinking them into action figures. They also have a Laser Screwdriver to mock The Doctor’s Sonic Screwdriver.
The Master is able to Regenerate, taking a new appearance and personality when fatally wounded. Roger Delgado’s Master is time-traveling Professor Moriarty. Anthony Ainly’s Master wanted immortality. John Simm played a childish troll , and Michelle Gomez as The Mistress sought reconciliation with The Doctor. The Master’s legacy continues with Sacha Dhawan’s Joker-esque portrayal.
#2 Doctor Who Monster: The Cybermen
Cyber Leader: “This broadcast is for humankind. Cybermen now occupy every landmass on this planet. But you need not fear. Cybermen will remove fear. Cybermen will remove sex, and class, and colour, and creed. You will become identical. You will become like us.”
“Doomsday” (Season 28, Episode 13)
How far would you go to survive? Perhaps there aren’t enough resources to go around or a disaster has altered the climate. There is only one way to endure. You will survive, at the cost of all that makes you human. Upgrading is compulsory. Or as the American cousins of this Doctor Who monster say, resistance is futile.
Cybermen were first created on Mondas. The planet’s biosphere had been damaged, leading the Mondasians to graft cybernetic parts to their bodies. They soon replaced everything but their brains with machinery and were reborn as Cybermen. They set out to conquer the universe and assimilate every species.
A variant of The Cybermen was created in a parallel universe. A brilliant CEO of Cybus Corp. created them so he could live forever. The Cybus Cybermen (Cybusmen?) overthrew him and spread further. They transplant brains and add an emotional inhibitor to keep the new Cyberman obedient and non-suicidal.
Both iterations of The Cyberman have lasers and an electronic attack. Their greatest strength is Upgrading, where they become resistant to an attack until they are immune. The Cybermen believe that their actions are beneficial and will save living beings, regardless of whether they want to be saved. Cybermen are an element of the universe that recurs when a humanoid species uses technology to escape a cataclysm.
#1 Doctor Who Monster: The Daleks
Cyber Leader: “Daleks, be warned. You have committed an act of war against the Cybermen.”
“Doomsday” (Season 28, Episode 13)
Dalek: “THIS IS NOT WAR. THIS IS PEST CON-TROL!”
Doctor Who was intended as edutainment with murderous Neanderthals, corrupt soldiers, and other historic threats, not bug-eyed aliens. That changed the first time these pissed off pepper pots rolled out and screamed “EX-TER-MIN-ATE!”
War raged on the planet Skarro. The pacifist Thals fought for survival against the Nazi-like Kaleds. A disfigured Kaled scientist named Davros created a master race to kill both sides and conquer the universe. A race of Kaled mutants were taught to hate everything except themselves and to drive man-sized tanks called Daleks.
The Daleks massacred the Kaleds and most of the Thals. The Doctor seemingly destroyed them, but they survived and swore vengeance. Daleks view The Doctor as the only thing stopping them from exterminating all lesser life and have hunted them throughout time.
The Time Lords feared the Daleks and sent The Doctor back in time to retcon them from history. They couldn’t bring themself to do so and spared the Daleks. The assassination attempt sparked The Last Great Time War when Daleks and Time Lords fought each other across history. The Doctor reluctantly and ineffectively committed genocide on both species to end the war.
Dalek tanks are equipped with a deadly laser. A supercomputer aims their shots so that they rarely miss. Daleks also have powerful force fields, but are vulnerable to melee attacks that target their eye stalk. Daleks hate all other life forms, but have occasionally complimented The Doctor’s hatred for them, saying that The Doctor would make a good Dalek.
Which Doctor Who Monster do you think is the best? Tell us in the comments.
Image: James Pardon/BBC Studios/BBC America
Jared Bounacos has written for Movie Rewind since 2016.
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