List of Doctor Who monsters and aliens
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a list of monsters and aliens from the television series Doctor Who. Not all creatures or characters listed here are evil or villainous. The list includes some beings which are not extraterrestrial, but are nonetheless non-human. Some villains and robots from the series might also be considered monsters or aliens, but they are listed in separate articles.
Contents: Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
[edit] A
[edit] Aggedor
- Main articles: The Curse of Peladon, The Monster of Peladon
[edit] Alpha Centauri
- Main articles: The Curse of Peladon, The Monster of Peladon
[edit] Alzarian
- Main article: Full Circle
- See also: Adric
[edit] Androgum
[edit] Anethan
[edit] Anti-Man
[edit] Arcturus
[edit] Argolin
| Doctor Who race | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Argolin | |
| Type | Humanoid |
| Affiliated with | The Foamasi |
| Homeworld | Argolis |
| First appearance | The Leisure Hive |
The Argolin, who appeared in the Fourth Doctor story The Leisure Hive (1980) by David Fisher, are the inhabitants of Argolis. In 2250, the Argolin, led by Theron, fought and lost a 20-minute nuclear war with the Foamasi. As a result of this war, the Argolin became sterile. They were also quite long-lived, but when they neared the end of their life they aged and declined very rapidly. The Argolin who survived the war put aside their race's traditional warlike ways and remade Argolis as "the first of the leisure planets", catering to tourists from many worlds. They built a "Leisure Hive" dedicated to relaxation and cross-cultural understanding; due to radioactive fallout from the war, the Argolin planned to live in the Hive for at least three centuries. Argolis continued to struggle financially, and by 2290 faced possible bankruptcy. A rogue faction of Foamasi known as the West Lodge attempted to purchase the entire planet to use as a criminal base, sabotaging recreation facilities in order to encourage the Argolin to sell. The criminal nature of the offer was exposed by a Foamasi agent, aided by the Fourth Doctor and Romana.
Since the Argolin were sterile, they attempted to renew their race using cloning and tachyonics, but only one of the clones, Pangol, survived to adulthood. Pangol was mentally unstable and obsessed with the Argolin's former warrior culture. He attempted to create an army of tachyonic duplicates of himself, but was unsuccessful and was eventually restored to infancy through the same tachyonic technology that had created him.
In appearance, Argolin are humanoids with yellowish skin. Their heads are covered with what appears to be elaborately coiffed hair, but may not be (since when Pangol is reduced to infancy he retains the distinctive Argolin hairstyle). Their heads are capped with small domes covered in beads, which fall off when the Argolin become sick or die.
[edit] Aridian
- Main article: The Chase
[edit] Axon
[edit] Auton
- See also: Spearhead from Space, Terror of the Autons, Rose, Love & Monsters
[edit] B
[edit] Bandril
[edit] Bannerman
[edit] Brain of Morphoton
[edit] C
[edit] Carrionite
[edit] Castrovalvan
[edit] Chameleon
[edit] Cheetah Person
- Main article: Survival
[edit] Chelonian
| Doctor Who race | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Chelonians | |
| Type | Cybernetic humanoid tortoise |
| Affiliated with | None |
| Homeworld | Chelonia |
| First appearance | The Highest Science |
The Chelonians are a race of cybernetic humanoid tortoises who have appeared in various spin-off novels. The first appearance of the Chelonians was in the Seventh Doctor Virgin New Adventures novel The Highest Science by Gareth Roberts. They returned in Zamper and also featured in the Fourth Doctor missing adventure The Well-Mannered War; as well as in the short stories The Hungry Bomb and Fegovy, both by Gareth Roberts and published in the Doctor Who Magazine Yearbook 1995 and the anthology Decalog 3: Consequences, respectively.
The Chelonians are a war-like race from the planet Chelonia. They are hermaphroditic and lay eggs. Some of their cybernetic enhancements include X-ray vision and improved hearing. Chelonians consider humans to be parasites and often try to eliminate them. There is a pacifistic faction, however, and at some point following the Doctor's recorded encounters with them, this took control and the society began devoting its energies towards flower arrangement.
[edit] Chimeron
[edit] Chronovore
[edit] Chula
- Main articles: The Empty Child, The Doctor Dances
[edit] Cryon
[edit] Cyberman
[edit] D
[edit] Dalek
[edit] Delta Magnan
[edit] Demon
Demons have appeared in Doctor Who several times. Originally in Third Doctor serial The Dæmons in which they were specifically aliens from the planet Dæmos who had come to Earth in the distant past and ingrained their existence as myth, with "demon" Azal summoned at the Master's will.
In 2006, both the Tenth Doctor series of Doctor Who and spin-off Torchwood expanded upon a notion of actual malicious supernatural entities existing in the Doctor Who universe. The Impossible Planet introduced the Beast, a Satan-like demon remaining from the universe before our own, sealed away in planet Krop Tor by the "Disciples of Light". Later, Torchwood episode End of Days, the mysterious Bilis Manger frees "Abaddon, son of the great Beast" from within the Rift, where he like the Beast had been imprisoned since "before time". Earlier in the first series of Torchwood, demonic supernatural entities referred to be humans as "fairies" were established in Small Worlds as a non-alien presence on Earth since before mankind came to exist
[edit] Didonian
- Main article: The Rescue
[edit] Dominator
[edit] Draconian
- Main article: Draconian
- See also: Frontier in Space
[edit] Dragon
[edit] Drahvin
[edit] Drashig
[edit] Dulcian
[edit] E
[edit] Elder
[edit] Eternal
- Main article: Enlightenment
[edit] Exxilon
[edit] F
[edit] Face of Boe
- See also: The End of the World, New Earth, Gridlock
[edit] Fish Person
[edit] Flesh
[edit] Foamasi
| Doctor Who race | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Foamasi | |
| Type | Reptilian biped |
| Affiliated with | The Argolin |
| Homeworld | Unknown |
| First appearance | The Leisure Hive |
The Foamasi are an intelligent, bipedal race of reptiles who appeared in the 1980 Fourth Doctor story, The Leisure Hive by David Fisher. The race's name is a near-anagram of the word "mafioso". The Foamasi fought and won a 20-minute nuclear war with their sworn enemies, the Argolin. They communicate by means of chirps and clicks, this being made understandable by means of a tiny interpreting device held in the mouth. Although they are mostly a peaceful race (having learned the error of their ways from the devastating war) a renegade faction called the West Lodge exists, and frequently attempts to arouse hostilities between the two races.
Since their victory, the Argolin's home planet of Argolis has been officially owned by the Foamasi government. However, the Foamasi are the only ones who would want it as, being reptiles, they can safely walk on the radioactive surface of the planet. Two saboteurs from the West Lodge (disguised as the Argolin agent Brock and his lawyer Klout) arrive to try to force the Argolins to sell the Leasure Hive to them, so they can use it as a new base for their insidious plans. However they are thwarted when a group of Foamasi, one claiming to be a member of the Foamasi government, use a web-spewing gun to ensnare them and return them back to their unnamed home planet to face justice. Some Foamasi disguise themselves as humanoids by fitting into skin-suits which are smaller than the Foamasi's own bodies. This discrepancy is not explained (although the Slitheen family used a compression field to fit inside smaller skins, compared to their own body size).
A Foamasi assassin appears in the Eighth Doctor Adventures novel Placebo Effect by Gary Russell. In this novel, it is explained that the Foamasi can fit into disguises smaller than their bodies because their bones are hollow and collapsible.
[edit] Forest of Cheem
| Doctor Who race | |
|---|---|
| Forest of Cheem | |
| Type | Bipedal arboreal |
| Affiliated with | None |
| Homeworld | Unknown |
| First appearance | The End of the World |
The Forest of Cheem are an intelligent, bipedal, arboreal species that claim to be direct descendants of the tropical rainforest. Members of the Forest of Cheem appear in the Ninth Doctor episode, The End of the World by Russell T. Davies. According to the Ninth Doctor, they are of huge financial importance due to their land holdings and forests on various planets; and they have "roots" everywhere. They have a noble bearing and exhibit a respect for all forms of life. The group of Trees seen on Platform One was led by Jabe Ceth Ceth Jafe (named in Doctor Who: Monsters and Villains), and also included Coffa and Lute.
They neither respect nor understand technology, referring to computers as "metal minds" or "metal machines". They were also aware of the Time Lords and their fate in the Time War. The Doctor Who Annual 2006 classifies them as one of the higher species who were aware of the course of the war and its history-changing effects and also states that they were mortified by the bloodshed.
Coffa and Lute appear again in the comic strip story "Reunion of Fear" in Doctor Who - Battles in Time #6.
[edit] G
[edit] Garm
- Main article: Terminus
[edit] Gastropod
The gastropods were a race of slugs who kidnapped two maths geniuses to pilot their planet into a sun, creating an explosion that will scatter their eggs across the universe.
[edit] Gaztak
[edit] Gel Guard
[edit] Gelth
| Doctor Who race | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Gelth | |
| Type | Gaseous lifeform |
| Affiliated with | None |
| Homeworld | Unknown |
| First appearance | The Unquiet Dead |
The Gelth appeared in the Ninth Doctor episode The Unquiet Dead, written by Mark Gatiss. They were the first new race of alien villains that the Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler encountered in the 2005 series. They were also the first element of the new series that attracted attention for being "too scary". Following complaints (many of which were made by Mediawatch UK), the BBC stated that in future, episodes of that nature would be forewarned by a statement of "may not be suitable for under 8s".
The Gelth were intelligent gaseous lifeforms, blue and spectral in nature, who claimed to have lost their corporeal forms as a consequence of the Time War. They arrived on Earth via the spacetime rift at an undertaker's house in 1869 Cardiff and proceeded to take possession of recently-deceased corpses. Their forms could not be maintained for long in Earth's atmosphere and they required a gaseous medium to sustain them — gas from decomposing bodies or coal gas in the gas pipes common to Victorian era households.
Claiming to be on the verge of extinction, the Gelth convinced the Doctor to aid their entrance into our plane of existence via Gwyneth, the undertaker's servant girl who had developed psychic powers due to growing up near the rift. The Gelth proved instead to number in the billions and intended to take the Earth by force and murder its population to provide vessels for themselves. Ultimately, the Gelth were thwarted when Gwyneth sacrificed herself, blowing up the building and sealing the rift. Whether all the Gelth that had entered our world perished as well is unclear.
The scar left by the sealing of the rift continued to emit radiation into the 21st century. It appeared in the episode Boom Town when the TARDIS was parked on top of it to refuel. The Rift features in the spin-off series Torchwood, in which it continues to serve as a bridge between Earth and other worlds, through which aliens and other associated debris come through.
[edit] Giant Maggot
[edit] Giant Spider of Metebelis Three
[edit] Gond
[edit] Graske
[edit] Great Vampire
[edit] Guardian
- Main articles: White Guardian, Black Guardian
[edit] H
[edit] Haemovore
| Doctor Who race | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Haemovore | |
| Type | Decayed humanoid |
| Affiliated with | Fenric |
| Homeworld | Earth |
| First appearance | The Curse of Fenric |
Haemovores appeared in the Seventh Doctor story The Curse of Fenric (1989) by Ian Briggs. Vampiric creatures that fed on blood, they were the end result of human evolution in a possible far future, caused by millennia of pollution. As part of his final game against the Doctor, the entity known as Fenric transported the most powerful Haemovore (called the "Ancient One") through time to Viking Age Northumbria. There it waited, trapped beneath the North Sea for centuries, occasionally drawing victims into the water and transforming them into Haemovores.
Soon after the transformation, victims appeared much as they did in life, except for elongated fingernails and a corpse-like pallor. Later they became deformed blue-grey humanoids covered in octopus-like suckers. The Ancient One was the least human in appearance; in its own time, it was the last living thing on Earth.
During World War II, Fenric released the Ancient One. Fenric's plan was that the Ancient One was to release the toxin which would pollute the world and thus create its own future.
The Haemovores had the ability to hypnotically paralyse their victims so they could feed and drain them of blood. Not all of their victims were turned into Haemovores, although the selection process was never explained. The Haemovores were impervious to most forms of attack, surviving being shot at close range by a sub-machine gun at one point. They could be destroyed in the traditional vampire-killing fashion of driving a stake through their chests. They could also be repelled by their victim's faith, which formed a psychic barrier, like the Doctor's faith in his companions, Ace's faith in the Doctor, Captain Sorin's faith in the Communist Revolution, and even the Reverend Wainwright's failing faith in God.
Ultimately, the Seventh Doctor convinced the Ancient One to turn against Fenric, and it released the toxin within a sealed chamber, destroying itself and Fenric's host. Whether this means that the future the Ancient One came from was averted is not clear, although the Doctor seemed to think so.
[edit] Horda
[edit] I
[edit] Ice Warrior
[edit] Isolus
- Main article: Fear Her
[edit] J
[edit] Jack Straw
- Main articles: Human Nature/The Family of Blood
[edit] Jacondan
[edit] Jagaroth
| Doctor Who race | |
|---|---|
 Scaroth, the last of the Jagaroth |
|
| Jagaroth | |
| Type | Monocular biped |
| Affiliated with | Unknown |
| Homeworld | Unknown |
| First appearance | City of Death |
The Jagaroth are an ancient and extinct race of aliens introduced in the Fourth Doctor serial City of Death. The Doctor remarked that the Jagaroth were “a vicious, callous, warlike race whom the universe won't miss.” The story reveals that life on earth moved from being amino acids in a primordial soup to functioning cells because a Jagaroth space ship exploded on earth 400 million years ago.
The sole surviving Jagaroth, Scaroth, manipulated human civilization to advance the species technologically, in an effort to eventually create a time machine which he could use to prevent the initial explosion.
[edit] Judoon
| Doctor Who race | |
|---|---|
 A Judoon leader without helmet (foreground) and subordinates with helmets (background) |
|
| Judoon | |
| Type | Humanoid |
| First appearance | Smith and Jones |
The Judoon are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mercenary police featured in the episode "Smith and Jones". They are humanoid in form, have heads that look like that of an Earth rhinoceros, and wear black, bulky armour.
They serve the role of galactic police. Brutal in their application of the law, they are logical in their battle tactics, but not very clever. They have no jurisdiction on Earth, and no authority to deal with human crime, so when a fugitive alien hides out in an Earth hospital they remove the building to the moon in order to exercise their search warrant. The Judoon carry laser guns (not unlike those of the Sontarans) which can disintegrate Slab slave constructs as easily as humans. In the hospital the Leader is the only one to take his helmet off.
The Judoon are simliar to the Vogons from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in terms of mannerism and personality, although they have a similar justice code to the Judges in the Judge Dredd comic book series. They also bear resemblance in appearance and military nature to the space traveling race the Umpani of the classic Wizardry series of games by SirTech.
During the episode, the Doctor demonstrates considerable knowledge of their intelligence and methods, and says that, whilst their behaviour is, on the surface, that of a military police force, they are "interplanetary thugs". Whilst there is no evidence that the Doctor has ever encountered the Judoon before, these comments indicate that he is obviously aware of their existence.
[edit] Policing Methods
In the episode "Smith and Jones", the Doctor says Judoon are available to hire, on a contract basis, to track down, capture and carry out sentence on any wanted person. In that episode, the Judoon, pursuing a lifeform outside their jurisdiction (e.g. a hospital in a no-go area), use an H2O scoop to send it to a neutral area (e.g. a nearby moon) enclosing it in a force field. The field maintains any atmosphere present at the time of removal, although no replenishment is provided.
If a crime is commited during the interim of their investigation, they sentence the individual on the spot (typically with execution, vaporising the offender).
They use a scanner, on the same device they use to sample languages (see below), to scan individuals to identify their target, although they use a rather loose policy of "process of elimination" rather than outright identifying their target (e.g. if they are pursuing an individual that is not human, that is all they look for - hence the Doctor was at risk even though he was not their intended quarry). This led the Doctor to comment on several occasions that although they are extremely logical, the Judoon are, essentially, "thick".
[edit] Physical Charateristics
The Judoon bear some resemblance to the Sontarans in their physical appearance[citation needed] and devotion to duty,[citation needed] and display certain moral standings in their work;[citation needed] they do not harm individuals that they are not pursuing (see above for the exceptions to the rule), and offer compensation on the odd occasion they make a mistake.
To be able to understand and to be understood, they need to sample the language of a lifeform using a pen-like device, which is then inserted into a circular port of the armour on their chest; the language is then assimilated, and they become able to use it freely. Their own language is heard before the Judoon Leader activates the translator device, the written form of which is visible on a compensation card handed to Martha when they realize they falsely identified her as non-Human.
[edit] K
[edit] Kaled
[edit] Karfelon
[edit] Kastrian
[edit] Kinda
- Main article: Kinda
[edit] Kraal
[edit] Krillitane
| Doctor Who race | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Krillitane | |
| Type | Composite race |
| Affiliated with | None |
| Homeworld | Unknown |
| First appearance | School Reunion |
The Krillitanes are an alien race that first appeared in the 2006 episode School Reunion. They had infiltrated the Deffry Vale comprehensive school on present day Earth, increasing the intelligence of the pupils with Krillitane oil. Using the children as part of a giant computer programme, they hoped to crack the secrets of the Skasis Paradigm, the Universal Theory that would give them control over the basic forces of the universe and turn them into gods. Their scheme was foiled by the Tenth Doctor and his companions, though not before they attempted to ask the Doctor to join them in remaking the universe. This ruse failed as miserably as the main plot of the Krillitanes.
The Krillitanes are a composite race who pick and choose physical traits they find useful from the species they conquer, incorporating them into their own bodies. When the Doctor last encountered them they looked like humans with very long necks, but by the time of School Reunion, they possessed a bat-like form which they obtained from the conquest of Bessan ten generations prior. However, they were able to maintain a morphic illusion of human form, which could be discarded if needed.
A side effect of their rapid evolution made the very oil they were using to enhance the intelligence of Deffry Vale's children toxic to their own systems, reacting with them like an acid. As bat creatures, they sleep in a way similar to Earth bats, hanging from a ceiling with wings covering their bodies. Like Earth bats, they are sensitive to loud noises, as demonstrated when they were temporarily disabled by the school's fire alarm. They are also carnivorous and have no qualms in devouring other sentient lifeforms for food.
The bat-like Krillitanes bear some resemblance to the Malevilus, powerful aliens who established a Roman Empire on a parallel Earth that eventually conquered the galaxy, from the Doctor Who Weekly comic strip story Doctor Who and the Iron Legion (DWW #1-#8).
[edit] Kroll
[edit] Kroton
- See also: Kroton (Cyberman)
[edit] Krynoid
| Doctor Who race | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Krynoids | |
| Type | Enormous plant with telepathic/telekinetic powers |
| Affiliated with | Its hosts |
| Homeworld | Unknown volcanic world |
| First appearance | The Seeds of Doom |
The Krynoids appeared in the 1976 Fourth Doctor story The Seeds of Doom by Robert Banks Stewart. They are a highly dangerous, sentient form of plant life which are renowned amongst galactic botanists. They spread via seed pods which travel in pairs and are violently hurled through space by frequent volcanic eruptions on their unnamed home planet. The pods when opened are attracted to flesh and are able to infect and mingle their DNA with that of the host, taking over their body and slowly transforming them into a Krynoid. The species can also exert a form of telepathic control over other plant life in the surrounding area, making it suddenly dangerous and deadly to animal-kind. In the later stages of development the Krynoid can also control the vocal cords of its victims and can make itself telepathically sympathetic to humans. Fully grown Krynoids are many meters high and can then release hordes of seed pairs for further colonisation.
Two pods arrived on Earth at the South Pole during the prehistoric Pleistocene era and remained dormant in Antarctica until discovered at the end of the twentieth century. One of them hatched after being exposed to ultra-violet light, and took control of a nearby human scientist. The Fourth Doctor intervened in the nick of time and ensured the Krynoid was destroyed in a bomb, but the second pod was stolen and taken to the home of millionaire botanist Harrison Chase in England. Chase ensured the germination of the second pod, which overtook his scientific adviser Arnold Keeler, and transformed its subject over time into a virtually full-sized Krynoid. Unable to destroy the creature by other means – and with the danger of a seed release imminent from the massive plant – the Doctor orchestrated an RAF bombing raid to destroy the creature before it could germinate.
[edit] L
[edit] Lakertyan
[edit] Logopolitan
[edit] Lurman
- Main article: Carnival of Monsters
[edit] M
[edit] Macra
| Doctor Who race | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Macra | |
| Type | Giant crustaceans |
| Affiliated with | None |
| Homeworld | Earth Colony World |
| First appearance | The Macra Terror |
The Macra appeared in the 1967 Second Doctor story The Macra Terror by Ian Stuart Black and they are an intelligent, giant crab-like species from an unnamed planet colonised by humanity in the future. In appearance, they resemble giant vast, lumbering crustaceans with extended eyes on stalks and formidable, enormous claws. The Macra invaded the control centre of the colony and seized the levers of power without the colonists - including their Pilot - knowing what had happened. Thereafter the Macra only appeared at night, after the humans were in their quarters respecting a curfew. Lacking vocal cords, they presumably communicate by some form of telepathy and have strong hypnotic powers which can alter human perception and affect the brain. They also have the ability to ensure messages are vocalised through electronic apparatus such as television or sensor speakers. Both these tools were used to keep the human colonists suppressed and subjected on the Macra planet. The humans instead believed they were blissfully happy. This provided a cover for the Macra to use the colonists as miners in a vast gas mine. The gas produced was deadly to the miners but vital to the Macra, enabling them to move more quickly and rejuvenating their abilities. The Second Doctor effected a revolution on the Macra planet and helped an engineer an explosion in the control centre, destroying the Macra in charge and presumably dooming the species.
David Tennant has indicated that a monster from the Troughton Era will return in the 2007 series. It is theorized by some fans that it will be the Macra, and that they will appear in the episode Utopia[citation needed].
[edit] Mandragora Helix
[edit] Mandrel
[edit] Marshman
- Main article: Full Circle
[edit] Marshspider
- Main article: Full Circle
[edit] Megara
[edit] Megropolis
[edit] Menoptra
| Doctor Who race | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Menoptra | |
| Type | Bipedal insects |
| Affiliated with | Zarbi, Optera |
| Homeworld | Vortis |
| First appearance | The Web Planet |
The Menoptra (spelled Menoptera in the novelisation of the serial) appeared in the First Doctor story The Web Planet, by Bill Strutton (1965). They are an intelligent, bipedal insectoid species from the planet Vortis. In appearance, they resemble a cross between giant butterflies and bees, with each Menoptra possessing four large wings. They have yellow and black stripes around their bodies and appear to be around six feet tall, but do not seem to have typical insect body parts (such as mandibles or an abdomen).
Peaceful and kindly by nature, the Menoptra move in a unique, stylised way and their vocal inflections are stilted. They were very welcoming of the First Doctor, Ian, Barbara, and Vicki; but showed an animosity towards their fellow insectoids, the Zarbi, as well as an abhorrence for the Animus, a hostile alien intelligence that had taken over the originally passive Zarbi and almost all of Vortis. Once it was clear that the Doctor was willing to help them defeat the Animus, they were only too glad to assist in any way they could.
The assumption is that once the Animus was defeated, the Menoptra, Zarbi and the rest of the inhabitants of Vortis were able to live together in peace.
[edit] Mentiad
[edit] Mentor
| Doctor Who race | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Mentors | |
| Type | Amphibian |
| Affiliated with | Galatron Mining Corporation |
| Homeworld | Thoros Beta |
| First appearance | Vengeance on Varos |
The Mentors are an amphibious race native to the planet Thoros Beta. They have two arms but no lower limbs, and speak to other species through a translation device worn around their necks. The most notable of the Mentors is Sil, whom the Sixth Doctor and Peri encountered first on the planet Varos in Vengeance on Varos, and then again on Thoros Beta in Mindwarp. Both stories were written by Philip Martin. Other Mentors include Lord Kiv (portrayed by Christopher Ryan), their leader. Typical Mentor business practice includes arms dealing and slave trading. They are somewhat like the Ferengi, in that all they care about is profit.
[edit] Minyan
- Main article: Underworld
[edit] Mire Beast
- Main article: The Chase
[edit] Mogarian
[edit] Monoid
- Main article: The Ark
[edit] Morestran
[edit] Morlox
[edit] Morok
[edit] Moxx of Balhoon
- Main article: The End of the World
[edit] Myrka
[edit] N
[edit] Naglon
- Main article: The Paradise of Death
[edit] Navarino
[edit] Nestene
- See also: Spearhead from Space, Terror of the Autons, Rose
[edit] New Human
[edit] Nimon
[edit] O
[edit] Ogri
[edit] Ogron
- See also: Day of the Daleks, Frontier in Space
[edit] Ood
| Doctor Who race | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Ood | |
| Type | Squid faced humanoids |
| Affiliated with | Humans, Legion of the Beast |
| Homeworld | Unknown |
| First appearance | The Impossible Planet |
The Ood are a humanoid species with coleoid tentacles on the lower portions of their faces. In the distant future, the Ood are a slave race to humanity, performing menial tasks, and it is claimed that every human has an Ood servant. The Ood offer themselves for servitude willingly, having no goals of their own except to be given orders and to serve. It is also claimed that they cannot look after themselves, and if they do not receive orders, they simply die. However, mention is made of a group called the "Friends of the Ood" who are apparently lobbying for Ood freedom.
The Ood require a translator device, a small sphere connected to their "mouths" by a tube, to facilitate speech between them and humans. There appears to be no gender differentiation among the Ood, and they say they require no names or titles as they are "one", but they do have designations such as "Ood 1 Alpha 1". The Ood are empaths, sharing among themselves a low-level telepathic communication field, rated at "Basic 5" (with "Basic 30" being the equivalent of screaming and "Basic 100" meaning brain death).
When encountered by the Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler in The Impossible Planet, a large number of Ood accompanied a human-led expeditionary force on the planet Krop Tor, orbiting a black hole. The empathic nature of the Ood seemed to make them susceptible to psychic possession by the Beast, who formed the Ood on the base into his "Legion". While possessed, the Ood 'zapped' and killed two human security guards by throwing their translation spheres at them.
The Ood were defeated when Danny Bartok, the expedition member in charge of them, broadcast a telepathic flare which reduced their field to "Basic Zero", creating a "brainstorm" which caused them to collapse. However, the telepathic field began to reassert itself after a time. When Krop Tor was sucked into the black hole, the Doctor was unable to save any of the Ood on the base, who had been freed of the Beast's control, and all of them perished.
[edit] Optera
| Doctor Who race | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Optera | |
| Type | multipedal insects |
| Affiliated with | Zarbi, Menoptra |
| Homeworld | Vortis |
| First appearance | The Web Planet |
The Optera appeared in the First Doctor story, The Web Planet by Bill Strutton. These caterpillar-like creatures were once Menoptra, but they elected to instead burrow under the ground and abandon the world of light and flight above. It is implied that they may have been driven there by the malevolent Animus.
They have larger eyes than their Menoptra brethren, and have no wings. However, they have numerous arms and appear to "hop" in a stylised way (although whether or not they actually have legs is unclear). They speak with inflection different to that of their bee-like cousins, but their speech is a strange dialect of the language of the "upper world" and words and phrases they have coined for themselves (for example, when they refer to how they plan to dig a hole in a wall they say, "We shall make a mouth in it.")
At the story's end, the Animus is defeated and the Optera are persuaded to return to the surface, where they look forward to their children learning the joys of flight; implying that once back on the surface the Optera will redevelop wings. It is assumed that all of species indigenous to Vortis are now living peacefully together.
[edit] Osirian
[edit] P
[edit] Pakhar
The Pakhar are an alien race from the planet Pakha, resembling metre-high hamsters. They were introduced in Gary Russell's Virgin New Adventures novel Legacy. The Pakhar are generally a peaceful, if rather excitable, race, and Pakha is a centre of tourism and trade for the Galactic Federation. A planetary survey describes the planet and its people as "in every sense of the word, nice", although individual Pakhar have been known to become criminals. The pollen of Earth flowers has a hallucinogenic effect on them, sometimes causing them to become violent.
The main Pakhar to appear in the book is Ker'a'nol, a reporter for GFTV, nicknamed Keri. She is possibly based on Australian Doctor Who novelist Kate Orman (described as "a fiery Pakhar" in the aknowledgments). In her second appearance, in Happy Endings by Paul Cornell, the similarity of the name "Keri Pakhar" to Kerry Packer (another Australian) is noted.
The Pakhar (including Keri) have also been featured in the Big Finish audios Buried Treasures, Bang-Bang-a-Boom!, The Goddess Quandary and The Crystal of Cantus.
[edit] Pel
- Main articles: The Curse of Peladon, The Monster of Peladon
[edit] Plasmavore
- Main article: Smith and Jones
[edit] Primord
- Main article: Inferno
[edit] Proamon
[edit] Q
[edit] R
[edit] Racnoss
| Doctor Who race | |
|---|---|
| Racnoss | |
| Type | Humanoid arachnids |
| Affiliated with | Racnoss Empire |
| Homeworld | Racnoss (presumably) |
| First appearance | The Runaway Bride |
The Racnoss appeared in the Tenth Doctor story, The Runaway Bride in 2006.
The Racnoss were an ancient race of aliens from the Dark Times of the universe. Half-humanoid, half-arachnid in appearance, they were an invasion force who consumed everything on the planets they conquered (they were always insatiably hungry, even at the moment of birth). Their race was wiped out by the Fledgeling Empires, including (and judging by the Empress's anger and fear at the mention of Gallifrey, in particular) the ancestors of the Time Lords, over 4.6 billion years ago. Nearly all of the survivors of the race escaped in their ship to where the Earth would later form, serving in place of a planetesimal as its core, hibernating for billions of years, with the exception of their Empress. She would later come to Earth in her ship, the Webstar, seeking to use the Huon particles which had been recreated by the Torchwood Institute as a means of resurrecting her "children" before feasting on the human population of Earth.
[edit] Raxacoricofallapatorian
- See also: Aliens of London, World War Three, Boom Town, Attack of the Graske'
[edit] Reaper
| Doctor Who race | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Reapers | |
| Type | Extradimensional flying reptiles |
| Affiliated with | None |
| Homeworld | None (Outside of time and space) |
| First appearance | Father's Day |
Reapers appeared in the Ninth Doctor episode Father's Day, written by Paul Cornell. Although not named on screen, they were referred to as "Reapers" in the publicity material for the episode. The production team based their design on the Grim Reaper, with their tails shaped like scythes.
Reapers are multi-limbed, flying reptiles similar to pterosaurs, with a large wingspan, sharp teeth both in the form of a beak and a secondary mouth in their torsos, coupled with a rapacious attitude. The Reapers are apparently extradimensional, materialising and dematerialising out of the spacetime vortex. They are attracted to temporal paradoxes that damage time, like bacteria swarming around a wound. They then proceed to "sterilise" the wound by consuming everyone in sight.
Once in this dimension, however, they can be blocked by material barriers. The older the barriers, the more effective they are, but even the oldest of barriers cannot stop them forever. Paradoxes can also allow them to directly materialise at the spot of the paradox. If the timeline is restored, they vanish, with their actions reversed as if they had never happened.
In Father's Day, the Doctor explained that when the Time Lords were still around, there were laws to prevent the spread of paradoxes and that such paradoxes could be repaired. This implies that the Reapers are a natural phenomenon whose manifestation could be prevented if the paradox was resolved quickly. However, with the elimination of the other Time Lords in the Time War, there was no longer any agency that could repair time.
The Reapers are reminiscent of the Vortisaurs of the Big Finish Productions audio plays, the Hunters of the Virgin New Adventures novel The Pit by Neil Penswick, and the depiction of the Chronovores (first featured in The Time Monster) in Cornell's own novel No Future.
[edit] Refusian
- Main article: The Ark
[edit] Rill
[edit] Rutan Host
- See also: Horror of Fang Rock
[edit] S
[edit] Sand Beast
Vicki's pet in "The Rescue" is vegetarian but Barbara kills it when she believes it is a threat.
[edit] Savage
[edit] Sea Devil
- See also: The Sea Devils, Warriors of the Deep
[edit] Seaweed Creature
[edit] Selachian
The Selachians were created and used exclusively by Steve Lyons in two Second Doctor novels, The Murder Game and The Final Sanction. They had an aquatic respiratory system, highly developed linguistic skills, and spacefaring technology. They were a mercantile race not naturally given to xenophobia. However, centuries of being the objects of sport hunting made them wary of at least some races who breathe air. This gradually emphasized their latent aggression, revealing a deadly form of siege mentality. In time, they began to take decisions on the basis of what would allow them to defend through strength. For this reason, they eventually came to attack humans — a race with whom they had traditionally enjoyed a mutually beneficial trading relationship — because they saw a human colony on Terra Alpha as a potential threat.
[edit] Sensorite
[edit] Shalka
- Main article: Scream of the Shalka
[edit] Shrivenzale
[edit] Silurian
- Main article: Silurian
- See also: Doctor Who and the Silurians, Warriors of the Deep
[edit] Sisterhood of Karn
[edit] Sisters of Plenitude
The Sisters of Plenitude are evolved cats that have become humanoid. They worked in the New Earth Hospital and, driven to desperation at their ineffective methods of disease treament, bred living humans that they tested on to find cures for ever more deadly diseases. The Sisters appeared in the 2006 episode New Earth. At the conclusion the Sisters were arrested for testing and experimenting on humans.
[edit] Skonnan
[edit] Slitheen
- See also: Aliens of London, World War Three, Boom Town, Attack of the Graske
[edit] Slyther
The Slyther was a monster that served the Daleks. It was seen in Episodes Four and Five of The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964), guarding the Dalek mines in Bedfordshire. After the Slyther attacked a small group of humans, killing Ashton, Ian hit it with a rock, causing it to fall down a pit to its death.
[edit] Solonian
[edit] Sontaran
[edit] Spiridon
The Spiridons featured in the serial Planet of the Daleks. They were the dominant species of sentient humanoids on planet Spiridon in the Ninth System. They had developed a form of invisibility but became visible after death. They had been subjugated, to be used as experimental subjects and slaves, by the Daleks who were attempting to discover the secret of the Spiridons' invisibility and reproduce it for their own use. Some of the Spiridons, including one called Wester, resisted. They wore furs to keep themselves warm. The Doctor returns to Spiridon in Return of the Daleks.
[edit] Stigorax
[edit] Swampie
[edit] Sycorax
| Doctor Who race | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Sycorax | |
| Type | Humanoid |
| Affiliated with | Unknown |
| Homeworld | Fire Trap (JX82 system) |
| First appearance | The Christmas Invasion |
The Sycorax first appeared in the debut Tenth Doctor story The Christmas Invasion in 2005.
The Sycorax appear to be skinless humanoids wearing mantles of bone, usually keeping their features concealed under helmets. They are proficient in the use of weapons like swords and whips, the latter which can deliver an energy discharge that disintegrates the flesh of its target. Their language is called Sycoraxic. The Sycorax also appear to have technology that is either disguised or treated as magic, referring to "curses" and the Doctor's regenerative abilities as "witchcraft". The Sycorax leader referred to an "armada" that they could use to take Earth by force if the blood control failed. They also appear to have a martial society, with traditions of honourable combat.
According to a write-up by Russell T. Davies on the BBC website, the Sycorax (whose individual lifespan is over 400 years) originated on an asteroid in the distant JX82 system, known as the Fire Trap. They were uplifted when a spaceship crashed on their asteroid and the Sycorax Leader enslaved the survivors, forcing the aliens to teach them about their technology. The asteroid was then retrofitted into the first of many spaceships, which the Sycorax then used to raid other planets, becoming feared interstellar scavengers. Their armada is permanently in orbit around the Jewel of Staa Crafell.
In The Doctor Who Files books, the name of the Sycorax homeworld is given as "Sycorax". It is unclear if this is another name for the Fire Trap. Like all Doctor Who spin-off media, its canonicity in relation to the television series is unclear.
The name Sycorax is from William Shakespeare's play The Tempest, a witch who was the mother of the beast Caliban. It is also the name of one of the moons of Uranus, all of which are named after Shakespearean characters.
According to the BBC website, the Sycorax facial structure was inspired by the skull of a horse
[edit] T
[edit] Taran beast
[edit] Terileptil
| Doctor Who race | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Terileptil | |
| Type | Reptilian humanoid |
| Affiliated with | Galactic Federation? |
| Homeworld | Terileptus |
| First appearance | The Visitation |
The Terileptils appeared in the Fifth Doctor serial The Visitation by Eric Saward. They are a reptilian humanoid species, they cannot survive long without breathing soliton gas, which is highly combustible when combined with oxygen. As an advanced society, they enjoy a heightened appreciation of both aesthetics and warfare, and have been known to employ bejeweled androids. Criminal punishment in Terileptil society includes life imprisonment working in tinclavic mines on the planet Raaga, often with sub-standard medical care.
In 1666, a group of Terileptil prison escapees hidden near London attempted to use a genetically enhanced version of the Black Plague to destroy humanity. The destruction of their lab in Pudding Lane - with a little help from the Doctor - causes the Great Fire of London.
The Terileptils destroyed the Sonic Screwdriver which did not appear again until the Doctor Who TV Movie and it is now used regularly in the new series.
According to the Virgin Missing Adventures novel The Dark Path by David A. McIntee, by the 34th century, their homeworld Terileptus is a member of the Galactic Federation, and a noted builder of starships. A Terileptil also appears as the chief engineer on a Federation starship. The planet is destroyed during the events described in the novel; however, as with all spin-off media, the canonicity of this information is uncertain.
[edit] Terradonian
- Main article: Full Circle
[edit] Tetrap
| Doctor Who race | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Tetrap | |
| Type | Bat-like humanoids |
| Affiliated with | The Rani |
| Homeworld | Tetrapyriarbus |
| First appearance | Time and the Rani |
The Tetraps are a bat-like race from the planet Tetrapyriarbus. A pack of Tetraps was employed by the Rani to help defend her Giant Brain in the Seventh Doctor's debut story, Time and the Rani (1987) by Pip and Jane Baker. The Rani armed a pack of Tetraps for this purpose and used them as general henchmen to terrorise the native Lakertyans.
Tetraps have four eyes, one on each side of their head, giving them all-round vision, and put this to good use in stalking fugitives. Like bats, they sleep by hanging upside-down in a cavern. They feed off a dark red-coloured sludge that the Lakertyan leader releases down a chute into a trough.
Tetraps possess limited intelligence, but they soon realise that the Rani's plans would have them all killed on Lakertya. This is confirmed when their leader, Urak, hears of her plans and she later leaves him to guard over her laboratory rather than take him with her in her TARDIS, thus condemning him to death. Urak and the enraged Tetraps capture the Rani in her ship and take her back to their home planet, to force her to help solve their natural resource shortages.
[edit] Thal
- Main article: Thal
- See also: The Daleks, Planet of the Daleks, Genesis of the Daleks
[edit] Tharil
[edit] Tigellan
[edit] Time Lord
[edit] Tractator
[edit] Trakenite
- See also: Nyssa of Traken
[edit] Trion
- See also: Vislor Turlough
[edit] Tythonian
[edit] U
[edit] Urbankan
[edit] Usurian
[edit] V
[edit] Validium
[edit] Vampire
- Main article: Vampire
- See also: State of Decay
[edit] Vanir
- Main article: Terminus
[edit] Vardan
[edit] Varga plant
| Doctor Who race | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Varga Plants | |
| Type | Animal/Plant hybrid |
| Affiliated with | Daleks |
| Homeworld | Skaro |
| First appearance | Mission to the Unknown |
The Varga plants (sometimes Vaarga) appeared in the First Doctor serials Mission to the Unknown and The Daleks' Master Plan, which were essentially a prologue and a main epic. They were created by Terry Nation.
Varga Plants grew naturally on the Daleks' homeworld, Skaro, and when the Daleks set up a base on the planet Kembel they brought some Varga plants with them to act as sentries in the jungle surrounding their base. They were suited to this as they could move around freely by dragging themselves along with their roots.
Varga plants resemble cacti; they are covered in fur and thorns. Anyone pricked by a Varga thorn will be consumed by the urge to kill, while simultaneously becoming a Varga plant themselves.
This grisly fate happened to astronauts Jeff Garvey and Gordon Lowery, and their commander, Marc Cory, was forced to kill them.
The plants later made an appearance in the Big Finish audio I, Davros: Purity. In this, it was revealed that the Varga plants were one of the oldest species on Skaro, but for most of their history had been immobile. Since the start of the Kaled-Thal war however, exposure to radiation and chemical weapons had caused them to rapidly evolve into a much deadlier form, capable of self-locomotion. It was this discovery that caused Davros to become interested in genetically engineering creatures in order to create weapons of war.
[edit] Varosian
[edit] Venom Grub
[edit] Vervoid
[edit] Virus
[edit] Vogan
[edit] Voord
[edit] Vortisaur
- Main article: Storm Warning
[edit] W
[edit] Waterhive
The Waterhive is the description given to an unnamed alien race from the New Series Adventures novel The Feast of the Drowned. They are composed of water (much like the Gelth are gaseous) and can take over the body of a drowned being. The body is thus preserved, although the eyes of their host will become "pearly", forcing glasses to be worn. They infiltrated the high ranks of the Navy in order to send sailors and their loved ones to their watery graves.
[edit] Werewolf
- Main article: Werewolf
- See also: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, Tooth and Claw
[edit] Wirrn
| Doctor Who race | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Wirrn | |
| Type | Bipedal insectoid |
| Affiliated with | Noah |
| Homeworld | "Andromeda" |
| First appearance | The Ark in Space |
The Wirrn are an insectoid race that made their debut in the 1975 Fourth Doctor story, The Ark in Space. The name is sometimes spelled Wirrrn, which is a spelling originating from the novelisation of the story.
The Wirrn claim to have originated from Andromeda (whether they meant the galaxy, the constellation, or even a planet named "Andromeda" is unclear), but were driven into space by space settlers. They are dark green and wasp-like in appearance and live mostly in space, although their breeding colonies are terrestrial. Their bodies are a self-contained system, their lungs being able to recycle waste carbon dioxide and only needing to touch down occasionally on planetary bodies for food and oxygen. The Wirrn's life cycle involves laying their eggs in human hosts, the larvae emerging to consume the host and absorbing their memories and knowledge. A Wirrn larva is like a green slug-like creature, sometimes a few inches across, and sometimes 1 or 2 meters. A grown Wirrn can also "infect" another person through contact with a substance it excretes, mutating them into another Wirrn and connected to their hive mind.
In The Ark in Space, the Wirrn found Space Station Nerva in orbit around an Earth devastated centuries before by solar flares. The survivors had lain in suspended animation waiting for the planet to recover but had overslept by several millennia. They intended to use the sleepers as a food source and claim the empty Earth for their own, infecting Nerva's leader, Noah. However, Noah's human side reasserted itself and led the Wirrn into Nerva's transport ship even though he knew it was rigged to explode. It did so, ending the Wirrn threat.
The Wirrn have also appeared in the Eighth Doctor Adventures novel Placebo Effect by Gary Russell, and in the audio play Wirrn: Race Memory, produced by BBV. A dead Wirrn appears briefly in The Stones of Blood.
[edit] Wolfweed
[edit] X
[edit] Xeraphin
| Doctor Who race | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Xeraphin | |
| Type | Gestalt humanoid |
| Affiliated with | The Master |
| Homeworld | Xeriphas |
| First appearance | Time-Flight |
The Xeraphin were an ancient species encountered by the Fifth Doctor in the story Time-Flight by Peter Grimwade. Originating from the planet Xeriphas, they possessed immense psychokinetic and scientific powers. The Doctor believed the race to have been wiped out during the crossfire during the Vardon/Kosnax war. Instead, the entire race fled to Earth in an escaping spacecraft. The ship crashed near present day Heathrow some 140 million years ago. When the Xeraphin emerged they built a Citadel to mark their new home but the Xeraphin were so plagued with radiation that they abandoned their original humanoid bodies and transformed into a single bioplasmic gestalt intelligence within a sarcophagus at the heart of the Citadel.
The arrival of the Master coincided with their emergence from the gestalt state when the radiation effects had subsided, and his influence caused the emergence of a split personality of good and evil, each side competing for their tremendous power while yearning to become a proper species once again. The Master, who was stranded on Earth at the time too, succeeded in capturing the Xeraphin as a new power source for his TARDIS. However, the Doctor's intervention meant his nemesis' TARDIS was sent to Xeriphas where events became out of his control.
Before fleeing Xeriphas and the Xeraphin, the Master took with him Kamelion, a Xeraphin war weapon with advanced shape-changing abilities dependent on the will of its controller. Kamelion was freed from the Master and joined the Doctor's TARDIS crew in The King's Demons.
[edit] Xeron
[edit] Y
[edit] Z
[edit] Zarbi
| Doctor Who race | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Zarbi | |
| Type | Insectoid |
| Affiliated with | Animus |
| Homeworld | Vortis |
| First appearance | The Web Planet |
The Zarbi appeared in the 1965 First Doctor story, The Web Planet written by Bill Strutton and are an (ant-like) insectoid species, with some characteristics associated with beetles, from the planet Vortis, which were controlled by the power of the Animus. They are roughly eight feet long, and the Menoptra claim, perhaps a little callously, that they are "little more than cattle".
They possess little intelligence but were not at all aggressive until the Animus arrived. They were enslaved to the alien consciousness and considered the butterfly-like Menoptra (with which they once lived peacefully) their mortal enemies. Only they could control the woodlouse-like venom grubs (also known as larvae guns).
They returned to their normal ways after the Animus was defeated by the First Doctor, Ian Chesterton, Barbara Wright and Vicki. It is presumed that the various species on Vortis are now living peacefully together.
[edit] Zolfa-Thuran
[edit] Zygon
- See also: Terror of the Zygons
