List of Doctor Who universe creatures and aliens

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This is a list of fictional creatures and aliens from the universe of the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. This list only covers alien races and other fictional creatures and not specific characters, for individual characters, see the lists in the separate articles below:

• List of Doctor Who villains
• List of Doctor Who robots

A[edit]

Abzorbaloff[edit]

Abzorbaloffs are alien creatures first seen in "Love & Monsters" (2006), that can absorb any living thing into its body by touch and then digest the organism. The faces of its prey are visible on its body and are fully conscious of their surroundings. They are from the planet Clom, the twin planet of Raxacoricofallapatorius, the home planet of the Slitheen family. An Abzorbalovian disguised itself as "Victor Kennedy" and infiltrated L.I.N.D.A – a group of people trying to track down The Doctor – although it planned to absorb the Doctor's knowledge. But Elton Pope broke its cane, which was a limitation field that kept its absorbing abilities under control. Without the protecting field, the Abzorbaloff was absorbed into the Earth.

Adipose[edit]

The Adipose are aliens composed of living fat, featured in the episode "Partners in Crime" (2008). Their breeding world, Adipose 3, was lost, causing them to turn to "Miss Foster", or Matron Cofelia of the Five Straighten Classabindi Nursery Fleet, Intergalactic Class, to create a new generation. She formulated a drug that would cause human fat (adipose tissue) to morph by parthenogenesis into Adipose children. The process is generally harmless to the host beyond the loss of body fat; but in emergencies the process can be accelerated, converting the host's entire body, which is fatal to the host and produces ill and weak Adipose children.^[1] The Shadow Proclamation^[2] forbids seeding, or breeding aliens, on a level-5 planet such as Earth. Level 5 means pre-warp capabilities, as said in "Partners in Crime." According to the "Captain Jack's Monster Files" webcast about the Adipose, the children have been made wards of the Shadow Proclamation, implying that the Adipose First Family have been sentenced for their crimes.

In the parallel universe created in "Turn Left" (2008), the Adipose incident happened in America instead of the United Kingdom, as London was destroyed when the Titanic crashed into Buckingham Palace because of the absence of the Doctor ("Voyage of the Damned"). Over 60 million Americans (roughly 20% of the total population of the United States) were killed in this timeline as a result.

In "The Stolen Earth" and "Journey's End" (2008), it is revealed that the breeding planet, Adipose 3, was one of the 27 planets relocated to the Medusa Cascade by the New Dalek Empire. After their defeat, Adipose 3 and the other planets were returned to their original positions.

In "The End of Time" (2009–10), an Adipose is shown in a bar along with other aliens the Tenth Doctor had previously encountered.

Aggedor[edit]

Aggedor is the Sacred Royal Beast of the planet Peladon, first seen in "The Curse of Peladon" (1972). The real creature upon which the legend is based is a large, hairy beast with a single horn. Hunted to near extinction, one Aggedor beast roamed the tunnels below the citadel and, at one stage, was used to judge prisoners who were cast into a pit to face the Judgement of Aggedor. The creature returned in "The Monster of Peladon" (1974).

C[edit]

Carrionite[edit]

The Carrionites appear in "The Shakespeare Code" (2007), using the power of words and witchcraft to release their species from a prison. They reappeared, this time with the Sixth Doctor, in the audio drama The Carrionite Curse.

Catkind[edit]

The Catkind are felines in the future that have evolved into humanoids, first seen in "New Earth" (2006). They are capable of interbreeding with the humans of the future. The Catkind have hair-covered bodies, feline facial features and retractable claws. Their young resemble typical domestic kittens, with humanoid features emerging after ten months.^[3]

In "New Earth", a group of Catkind called the Sisters of Plenitude ran a hospital near the city of New New York. In "Gridlock" (2007), a Cat Person, Thomas Kincade Brannigan, has a human wife and a litter of kittens.

Chuldur[edit]

The Chuldur are a race of shape shifting bird-like aliens who appeared in the Fifteenth Doctor story "Rogue" (2024).

Not much is known about their background but the five featured in the episode spend their time killing people and then stealing their identities in order to role-play as them for entertainment. Their, ultimately unsuccessful, plan was to become people in high positions of power and lead the Earth into global conflict.

Cryons[edit]

Cryons are a species of alien first seen in "Attack of the Cybermen" (1985). Cryons appear to be an all female race (reproducing by parthenogenesis) who cannot exist at temperatures above zero degrees. They are tall, slim, pale and lean, with long fingers and fingernails and enlarged craniums covered with a whitish membrane. They move slowly and have echoing voices. The Cryons had advanced refrigeration technology, and lived peacefully in huge refrigerated cities until they came to the attention of the Cybermen who attempted to wipe out the Cryons in order to steal their refrigerated habitats. Unknown to the Cybermen some Cryons survived. They kept a secret base under Cyber-Control but it is unclear whether or not they survived Control's destruction.

Cyberman[edit]

The original Cybermen were a race of humanoids originating on Earth's twin planet Mondas, first seen in "The Tenth Planet" (1966). As they implanted more and more artificial parts into their bodies as a means of self-preservation, they became coldly logical and calculating, with emotion all but deleted from their minds. The Cybermen also have a rivalry with the Daleks.

In the two-part story "Rise of the Cybermen" and "The Age of Steel" of the second revived series (2006), the Cybermen originate on a parallel-universe version of Earth, where they were created by John Lumic, a genius obsessed with immortality. He forcibly 'upgraded' vast numbers of people in the parallel earth before a counter-revolution, initiated by the Tenth Doctor, started fighting back.

The Cyberman concept was created by Dr. Kit Pedler (the unofficial scientific advisor to the programme) and Gerry Davis in 1966. They have since been featured numerous times in their efforts to conquer and convert humanity to cyborgs like themselves.

The Cybermen have several variants, such as the Cybermat, small cybernetic creatures used by the Cybermen first seen in The Tomb of the Cybermen and the Cybershades, a sub-species of Cybermen, seen in the 2008 Christmas special, "The Next Doctor".

D[edit]

Dæmon[edit]

A race of humanoids from the planet Dæmos, seen in "The Dæmons" (1971). Their appearance is that of classic demons, because Earth's notion of demons derives from them. They are not exactly evil, but have a morality much different from humans, and have no qualms about doing humans harm.

Dalek[edit]

A war-like race of mutant creatures who live within mobile battle armor first appearing in "The Daleks" (1963-64), the second Doctor Who serial. They are life-long enemies of The Doctor, and he is the only being whom they fear. They are bent on destroying all life forms in the universe other than themselves. The creatures themselves resemble squid, with a single eye, exposed brain and many tentacles.

The Daleks have minions known as Dalek Puppets, living or dead creature that have been partially converted into a Dalek by Dalek Nanogenes. They first appeared in "Asylum of the Daleks" and later reappeared in "The Time of the Doctor."

Dominator[edit]

The Dominators are a race of aggressive warlords, first seen in "The Dominators" (1968).

Draconian[edit]

The Draconians (also called Dragons, a derogatory term) are a humanoid race encountered in the 26th century, seen in "Frontier in Space" (1973). They have tall, pointed heads with prominent brows, pointed ears, and patches of scaly skin. Common interstellar travel and attempts at colonization have brought them into frequent and occasionally hostile contact with humans, leading to a treaty establishing a frontier between the two empires. The Draconians are very intelligent, honorable, and at least as advanced as their human counterparts.

Drahvin[edit]

The Drahvin are a group of aggressive female aliens first seen in "Galaxy 4" (1965).

E[edit]

Eknodine[edit]

The Eknodine are a parasitic life form seen in "Amy's Choice" (2010).

Eternals[edit]

The Eternals are a race of cosmic beings first introduced in "Enlightenment" (1983).

An Eternal who called himself Striker explains to the Doctor that he and his people live outside of time, in the realm of eternity. They consider the mortal inhabitants of the universe to be "Ephemerals", including even the Time Lords of the planet Gallifrey. Striker seems completely unaware of the existence of the Time Lords before meeting the Doctor.

In the "Enlightenment" serial, the Doctor eventually realizes that the Eternals are powerful enough to manipulate matter, creating objects out of thin air; they also read minds effortlessly through telepathy. They lack imagination and creativity, indeed saying they were empty and lost without Ephemeral thought to entertain and challenge them, and thus were dependent on Ephemerals to keep them active and prevent them from withering away in boredom. Without Ephemerals, the Eternals have no purpose.

On one occasion, the Doctor manages to outwit an Eternal attempt to destroy a rival ship by throwing a planted explosive target off the ship, noting that the Eternals couldn't have accomplished that because they lacked the imagination to think of such an action. This dependence was not something they liked admitting to, however, and they made boasts several times of how they could manipulate the reality around them through sheer force of will. Despite this great power, they deferred to the Guardians of Time, specifically the White Guardian and the Black Guardian, who offered the Eternals "enlightenment" – complete knowledge of good and evil – if they won a cosmic race. The Eternals captured many Ephemerals to win the race for them, hence accidentally bringing about the attention of the Doctor who immediately saw them as a threat.

They have been mentioned in the new TV series that began in 2005. In the episode "Army of Ghosts," the Doctor mentioned the existence of a "nowhere place" that exists between parallel universes and alternate timelines, saying that his people called it the Void while "the Eternals called it the Howling."

In the later episode "The Shakespeare Code" (2007), the alien witches called Carrionites claimed that the Eternals banished them "into deep darkness" soon after the "dawn of the universe."

Two Eternals, Zellin and Rakaya, appear as the primary antagonists of "Can You Hear Me?" (2020).

F[edit]

Fendahl[edit]

The Fendahl are an alien species seen in "Image of the Fendahl" (1977). A race that never exceeds unlucky number 13; it is composed of one Golden Core and 12 Fendahleen. The Fendahl arose on the original fifth planet of our solar system, which they eventually wiped of all other life; so dangerous were they that the Time Lords moved the planet into a time loop. Somehow, though, the Fendahl managed to eject a skull, which passed through space (seriously harming life on Mars as it passed) to land on Earth, where its powers helped shape humanity, a new vessel for the Fendahl. Ages later, that skull was found by scientists, who believed it could grant them power; the attempt unfortunately backfired in the creation of a new Golden Core. The Core began creating Fendahleen, but one person committed suicide, preventing the Fendahl from reaching the quota. The Fourth Doctor blew up the house the Fendahl were in, and later tossed the skull that caused the trouble into a supernova.

Foamasi[edit]

The Foamasi are an intelligent, bipedal race of reptiles resembling humanoid chameleons, who appeared in "The Leisure Hive" (1980). The race's name is a near-anagram of the word "mafioso". The Foamasi fought and won a 20-minute nuclear war with the Argolin. They communicate by means of chirps and clicks, translated by an interpreting device held in the mouth. Although they became mostly a peaceful race from having learned the error of their ways from the devastating war, a renegade faction called the West Lodge exists and frequently attempts to revive hostilities between the two races.

After their victory, the Argolin's home planet of Argolis was officially owned by the Foamasi government. Two saboteurs from the West Lodge tried to force the Argolins to sell them the Leisure Hive, so they could use it as a new base. They were thwarted by a group of Foamasi, one claiming to be a member of the Foamasi government, who used a web-spewing gun to ensnare them and return them to their home planet. Some Foamasi disguise themselves as humanoids by fitting into skin-suits which are smaller than the Foamasi's own bodies.

Futurekind[edit]

A cannibalistic humanoid species, seen in "Utopia" (2007). With sharp teeth and warrior-like markings over their faces, the Futurekind are believed to be what humans will become at the end of the universe. They hunt weaker humans in large packs, and use fire torches as a way of intimidating their prey. They only encountered the Tenth Doctor and his companions, Martha Jones and Captain Jack Harkness, when the TARDIS inadvertently took them to the end of the universe.

The Flood[edit]

The Flood is a viral entity resembling water found on Mars, appearing in the special "The Waters of Mars" (2009). The Tenth Doctor speculates that they may have been imprisoned by the Ice Warriors within a glacier. The Mars base Bowie Base One utilizes the glacier for water, but when one of their water filters breaks the Flood begins to infect the personnel, transforming them into a zombie like state that can produce the infectious water, with unusual electrical activity in the brain and blackened teeth. As the Flood overrun the base with the intent of reaching Earth the Doctor decides he must leave, knowing that the base's destruction is a fixed point in time that can't be changed. He soon returns but the base's leader, Adelaide Brooke, activates the base's self destruct feature. Arrogantly breaking the laws of time, the Doctor manages to save the remaining crew not infected by the water and the Flood is destroyed with the base.

G[edit]

Gelth[edit]

The Gelth were blue gaseous life-forms that appeared in "The Unquiet Dead" (2005). They claimed to have lost their corporeal forms as a consequence of the Last Great Time War, though later actions by the Gelth put the truth of this statement in doubt. They arrived on Earth via the Spacetime Rift at an undertaker's house in Cardiff in 1869. Their forms could not be maintained in Earth's atmosphere without suspension in a gaseous medium, so they inhabited the gas pipes common to Victorian era households. Further, though, they also would take possession of recently deceased corpses. When possessing corpses, they look much like ordinary humans (provided that the corpse has yet to enter the autolytic stage of decomposition), with only two fundamental differences: their irises vanish or turn white, and blue veins are clearly visible on their ghastly pale skin. Gelth make an unearthly shrieking noise for an unknown reason, particularly when they've possessed someone.

Graske[edit]

The Graske are a mischievous race of diminutive aliens from the planet Griffoth that first appeared in the interactive Doctor Who mini-episode "Attack of the Graske" (2005). They transmat themselves through time and space to abduct individuals out of their own time and replace them with a Graske. Disguised Graske can be identified by a green glow that sometimes appears in their eyes.

A Graske named Krislok appears in The Sarah Jane Adventures stories "Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?" (2007) and "The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith" (2008). Originally a henchman and slave of the Trickster, who saved him from death, Krislok later gains his freedom. An unnamed Graske appears in The Proms mini-episode "Music of the Spheres" (2008), as does another at the Zaggit Zagoo space bar in "The End of Time" (2010). A similar species known as the Groske appeared in The Sarah Jane Adventures episode "Death of the Doctor".

All live-action depictions of a Graske have been played by Jimmy Vee.

Great Intelligence[edit]

The Great Intelligence is a creature with no physical form of its own, which first appeared in The Abominable Snowmen (1967). It later re-appeared in the serial The Web of Fear (1968)^[4][5] and did not re-appear until the episode "The Snowmen" (2012).^[6] The Intelligence later orchestrated events to force the Doctor to the planet of Trenzalore in "The Name of the Doctor" (2013) so that the Intelligence could access the Doctor's time stream and undo all of the Intelligence's past defeats. The Intelligence is thwarted by Clara Oswald, who jumps into the Doctor's time stream and splits into copies of herself, with each stopping the Intelligence's interference in the Doctor's timeline.^[7]

The Intelligence has several servants it uses to aid in its plans. The first are the Yeti, who appear in The Abominable Snowmen and The Web of Fear. Another Yeti later appeared in "The Five Doctors."^[8] The Yeti were an effort of the production team to find recurring antagonists to replace the Daleks, who at the time were written out of the series.^[9][10] The Snowmen appeared in "The Snowmen," where they were sentient snow that manifested when people thought about them. The Snowmen were defeated alongside the Intelligence.^[11] The Whisper Men were servants of the Intelligence who appeared in "The Name of the Doctor" (2013). Their hands can phase through a person's chest and stop their hearts at will. The Whisper Men capture the Doctor's friends the Paternoster Gang, forcing the Doctor to Trenzalore in order to face the Great Intelligence.^[11]

Guardians[edit]

The two powerful entities in charge of keeping balance in the universe, first seen in "The Ribos Operation" (1978). Neither may become directly involved in the affairs of the universe, but either may choose agents to do his bidding (the White Guardian chose the Doctor, while the Black Guardian chose the Shadow and Vislor Turlough).

Spin-off media has revealed that there are six Guardians overall; White, Black, Crystal, Red, Bronze and Gold, with the other four representing Dreams, Justice, Equilibrium and Life respectively. The novel Divided Loyalties identifies the Doctor's old foe the Celestial Toymaker as the Crystal Guardian of Dreams, but the other three have not explicitly appeared in any media yet.

H[edit]

Haemovore[edit]

Haemovores appeared in the Seventh Doctor story "The Curse of Fenric" (1989). Vampiric creatures that fed on blood, they were the 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 submachine 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 the Reverend Wainwright's faith in God; this repelling force can be called into will, the Doctor merely called the names of past companions as a medium.

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.

Fenric and his Haemovores return in the 2012 Big Finish Productions audio story, Gods and Monsters.

Hath[edit]

The Hath are aliens that appear in "The Doctor's Daughter" (2008). They appear as tall, roughly humanoid creatures with fish-like heads, who can breathe in air via the employment of apparatus fitted to their faces that incorporates a canister of green liquid. They are intelligent, emotional creatures – one formed a friendship with Martha Jones, and saved her life at the cost of its own. They seem sentient and while they do not speak a language intelligible to humans, the two races planned to colonize the planet Messaline together. However, they later turned on each other – before their eventual reconciliation, thanks to the Doctor's intervention.

Headless Monks[edit]

The Headless Monks are a religious order that can be converted from any humanoid species by the removal of the head, who first appeared in "A Good Man Goes to War" (2011). They wear hooded cloaks, giving the impression that they still have a head, however under the hood, the skin is tied into a tight knot where the head has been removed. Despite their name, most people are unaware of this literal description being true, because except under very special circumstances, one incurs a death penalty if they ever remove the hood of a monk. The monks have no detectable life signs, and are endowed with the ability to throw lightning from their hands. They were first mentioned in "The Time of Angels" (2010), but did not appear until "A Good Man Goes To War" in 2011.

Hoix[edit]

A Hoix features in the Torchwood episode "Exit Wounds" (2008); the first time its name has been mentioned on screen, having previously been seen in the Doctor Who episode "Love & Monsters" two years before. Owen distracts it by feeding it cigarettes stating that it "lives to eat". They are not very intelligent, being easily tricked by Owen into being vulnerable for a knock-out blow to the head; it has been seen animalistically chasing Rose and the Tenth Doctor in its first appearance. One appeared as a member of the Alliance to seal the Eleventh Doctor in the Pandorica in "The Pandorica Opens" (2010).

I[edit]

Ice Warrior[edit]

Ice Warriors are reptilian humanoids from Mars that first appeared in "The Ice Warriors" (1967).

J[edit]

Judoon[edit]

The Judoon are a galactic alien police resembling rhinoceroses, who recur throughout the series.^[12] They first appeared in "Smith and Jones" (2007), where they sought to capture an alien fugitive by transporting an Earth hospital onto the Moon.^[13] They later re-appeared in "The Stolen Earth" (2008) where they aid The Shadow Proclomation, an inter-galactic body of law,^[14][15] and later made cameo appearances in other episodes of the series.^[13] They also appeared in the series 3 Sarah Jane Adventures story, "Prisoner of the Judoon" (2009), where a Judoon captain is in pursuit of an escaped prisoner known as Androvax.^[16]

The Judoon are blunt in their applications of laws, with the Tenth Doctor describing the Judoon as "interplanetary thugs" due to their methods. The Judoon use energy weapons to incarcerate prisoners, and can breathe for some time in space due to their powerful lungs.^[13]

The Judoon appeared in the series 12 episode "Fugitive of the Judoon" (2020), where they attempt to find and arrest The Fugitive Doctor, who is hiding out in Gloucester.^[12] The Judoon captain in the episode is named Pol-Kon-Don, named after the Doctor Who fan Paul Condon, who passed away a year before the episode released.^[17] The Judoon re-appear in the finale episode "The Timeless Children" (2020) where their "cold case unit" appears and imprisons the Thirteenth Doctor at the end of the episode.^[18]

K[edit]

Kahler[edit]

The Kahler are a highly technologically advanced humanoid species encountered in "A Town Called Mercy" (2012). They have unique patterns on the left side of their faces to reflect their individuality. A Kahler doctor, Kahler-Jex, encountered the Eleventh Doctor, Amy Pond and Rory Williams in a small American frontier town known as Mercy, where it became apparent that he was responsible for the creation of a deadly Kahler cyborg, who was now hunting him down to execute Kahler-Jex for his crimes against the Kahler species. The Kahler race were created by Toby Whithouse.

Kinda[edit]

Kinda are a species of human-like people, first seen in "Kinda" in 1982. At first glance, one would assume they are similar to the caveman age humans. However, their necklaces seem similar to a double helix, implying they are smarter than they appear. They have legends of the Mara, and are warned not to dream alone to keep it away. The men of the Kinda are not allowed to speak, but if one does, a prophecy says all Kinda will. They have women similar to shamans, they speak almost fluently; when the elder dies, her spirit and knowledge enter her apprentice. A child in the Kinda tribe could have up to seven fathers, though this hasn't been elaborated on; although it could be one biological father and six stepfathers.

Kraal[edit]

The Fourth Doctor and Sarah oppose the Kraals in the 1975 serial "The Android Invasion", when the creatures attempt to take over the Earth using robot duplicates of key people in UNIT.

The Kraals reappear in a Big Finish story called The Oseidon Adventure, which was released in June 2012 as part of the Fourth Doctor Adventures.

Krafayis[edit]

The Krafayis appear in the episode "Vincent and the Doctor" (2010). It appears to be invisible to most people, however Vincent van Gogh can see it. It is suggested that this is because of his mental illness.

Krargs[edit]

Krargs appear in the unfinished serial "Shada" (1979/1980) and consequently in its later Big Finish/BBCi remake. They are artificial crystalline organisms with rudimentary mobility and understanding of simple commands, created and controlled by the main antagonist, Skagra, to aid in his plan to forcefully merge all of the minds in the Universe into a single omnipotent entity.

Krillitane[edit]

The Krillitanes are a race who take attributes from other races to change their appearance. In the episode "School Reunion" (2006), the Tenth Doctor states that he has encountered them before, but that due to their composite nature, they looked different, hence him not recognizing them. He also states that they gain their composite nature from consuming other beings.

Kroton[edit]

The Krotons are a crystalline species encountered in "The Krotons" (1968-69).

Krynoid[edit]

The Krynoids appeared in the Fourth Doctor story "The Seeds of Doom" (1976). 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 by 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.

The Krynoid are also featured in the Eighth Doctor audio story for Big Finish entitled Hothouse, where an environmentalist group uses samples from the original Krynoid to try and create hybrids that can be controlled by the human host and thus control Earth's fauna to cope with the environmental damage, only for their efforts to merely create a rapidly-growing Krynoid before the Doctor sets it on fire.

A Krynoid appears as one of the villains in the Eleventh Doctor short story collection Tales of Trenzalore, as one of the creatures attacking Trenzalore during the Doctor's defence of the planet ("The Time of the Doctor", 2013), the Doctor defeating the Krynoid by blasting it with rapidly-freezing water from a specially modified hose and then shattering it with the reverberations of the town bell.

M[edit]

Macra[edit]

The Macra first appear in the Second Doctor story "The Macra Terror" (1967). They are an intelligent, giant crab-like species from an unnamed planet colonised by humanity in the future. The Macra invade the control center of the colony and seize the levers of power without the colonists – including their Pilot – knowing what had happened. Thereafter the Macra only appear at night, when the humans are in their quarters, observing a curfew. They have strong hypnotic powers which alter human perception. They also have the ability to ensure messages are vocalised through electronic apparatus such as television or sensor speakers. Both these tools are used to keep the human colonists under control, believing they are blissfully happy. This provides a cover for the Macra to use the colonists as miners in a vast gas mine. The gas is deadly to the miners but vital to the Macra, enabling them to move more quickly and rejuvenating their abilities. The Second Doctor effects a revolution on the Macra planet and helps engineer an explosion in the control centre, destroying the Macra in charge.

The Macra are also featured in the 2007 episode "Gridlock", becoming the first one-off opponent of the Doctor in the classic series to appear in the revived series, with the Zygons reappearing in the Eleventh Doctor story, "The Day of the Doctor" (2013). In the episode, some Macra are found to be alive below New New York, a city of New Earth. They live in the thick fog of exhaust gases on the main motorway under the city, tracking the flying cars by their lights and snatching at them when they get too close. The Doctor says that the species is billions of years old and once developed a small empire as "the scourge of this galaxy", but the Macra beneath New New York must have devolved into nothing more than beasts.

Menoptra[edit]

The Menoptra appeared in the First Doctor story "The Web Planet" (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.

Minotaur[edit]

An alien Minotaur was kept in a prison that resembled an Earth hotel in "The God Complex" (2011). The "hotel" had never-ending corridors, and the Minotaur established itself as a God, feeding from the fears of the beings that find them trapped in the hotel. The Eleventh Doctor realised that actually, the Minotaur is feeding on the people's faith that something or someone will save them from their worst fears, and so temporarily encourages his companion Amy Pond to lose her faith in him, which eventually allows the Minotaur to die peacefully in the corridors of the hotel. The Doctor mentions that this alien species of Minotaur are cousins of the Nimon.

Monk[edit]

The Monks are an alien race of shapeshifting humanoids that can choose their appearance at will, first appearing in "Extremis" (2017). On Earth, they chose to resemble human corpses. The Monks study other planets through virtual simulations and take over by having someone in power consent to their rule out of love.

In "Extremis", the simulated version of the Twelfth Doctor eventually realized the truth and emailed a recording of the Monks' simulation to the real Twelfth Doctor through his sonic sunglasses, warning him of the coming invasion.

In "The Pyramid at the End of the World" (2017), the Monks showed the assembled world leaders a future where the Earth would be destroyed in one year by bacteria and offered to protect them as their rulers. The Doctor planned to stop the bacteria by blowing up the laboratory where it was found, but realized he could not escape the explosion due to his blindness. Unwilling to let her friend die, Bill Potts consented to the Monks' rule in return for the Doctor's eyesight, allowing him to escape.

In "The Lie of the Land" (2017), the Monks ruled over Earth for six months and kept the humans control by broadcasting a revised version of the planet's history that included the Monks from the beginning. Bill, the lynchpin through whom the fake history was broadcast, broke her psychic link with the Monks by broadcasting pure memories of her mother, causing the Monks to lose control over humanity and ultimately retreat from Earth.

Movellan[edit]

The Movellans, who made their first appearance in the Fourth Doctor serial "Destiny of the Daleks" (1979), are an android species originating from outside the galaxy. They were adversaries of the Daleks.

Movellans outwardly resemble physically attractive humans of various ethnicities and genders. All Movellan androids wear white, form-fitting uniforms and have silver hair braided in a dreadlock style. They are stronger and have more physical endurance than human beings. A major weakness of the Movellan design is an external power pack which each android carries on its belt. This can be removed with comparative ease, causing the android to completely shut down. Once removed the power pack circuitry can be reprogrammed so that the android will obey the orders of another being.

The Movellans are mentioned again in "Resurrection of the Daleks" (1984), where a virus of their invention was central to that story's plot. They also appear in "The Pilot" (2017), where they are seen fighting the Daleks.

Mentors[edit]

Mentors are amphibious capitalists who first appear in the serial "Vengeance on Varos" (1985).

Midnight Entity[edit]

The Midnight Entity is the conjectural name given to a mysterious being encountered by the Doctor in the episode "Midnight" (2008). The natural appearance of this organism is not directly known, only being referred to as a shadow, "something shifting. Like it was running". The creature was capable of possessing humans. First unable to move, it repeats what other people say, then begins saying what they are saying at the same time, then is capable of moving, taking over other people.

N[edit]

Nestene[edit]

The Nestenes are a race of amorphous aliens who can control all forms of plastic, first seen in "Spearhead from Space" (1970). The Nestenes can create humanoid plastic creatures called Autons. Since the Last Great Time War destroyed their food supply planets, the Nestenes have been seeking replacements.

Nimon[edit]

Black Minotaur-like beings with red eyes that go to other planets, posing as Gods, first seen in "The Horns of Nimon" (1979-80). However, they are nothing more than a parasitic race that bleed planets dry before moving on to new ones in a repeating cycle. They are cousins to the Minotaur species that the Eleventh Doctor encountered in "The God Complex" (2011). While one posed as a God, it acquired sacrifices to be used as batteries for powering their teleporter. However, the Doctor's arrival prevented more than two extra Nimons from arriving; the rest tried a last-resort plan by blowing up their now resource-deprived planet, killing them all.

Not-things[edit]

The Not-things, sometimes referred to as nobodies, are beings that existed within the emptiness outside the universe, encountered in "Wild Blue Yonder" (2023). Upon reaching the edge of the universe, they heard the sounds of hatred and war and were shaped by it, becoming malicious. They are able to copy other beings with incredible accuracy from their physical appearance to their memories as well while keeping a degree of flexibility allowing them to run faster or twist their bodies in unnatural ways. The Not-things mold copies by tapping into their subject's brain and converting heat in the air into mass to match their outer appearance. They can copy faster when the subject's brain is most active so they constantly scare their subjects, letting adrenaline and fear keep the brain active.

O[edit]

Ogri[edit]

The Ogri appeared in the Fourth Doctor story "The Stones of Blood" (1978).

The Ogri were a species of silicon-based creatures native to Ogros. They looked like large rocks, usually taller than a human but irregular in shape. They were large, slow and heavy, sometimes weighing as much as 3.5 tons, but they could take a lot of damage, both energy-based and physical. When they were awake, they would glow and make a loud rumbling noise. Like other silicon-based lifeforms, they broke down into grit when killed and also left silicon behind when they moved. They fed on various types of proteins which were common on Ogros. When on Earth, the Ogri had to rely on the globulin in blood, which they could absorb by touch. Ogri were not shown to communicate and did not show any signs of intelligence. Ogri had long lifespans, living for thousands of years. Cessair of Diplos took three Ogri from Ogros, which she used for protection and to impress the humans of Earth. These Ogri waited with the Nine Travellers until they were awoken by Cessair or her followers.

Augmented Ogri were used by the Galactic Federation as doormen.

At least one Ogri was discovered on Earth prior to 1983, and ended up in the care of Isaac Summerfield in Little Caldwell. It resided in the cemetery and was routinely fed blood to keep it docile. It was instrumental in saving Little Caldwell from the attention of NATO, by killing a rogue NATO commander responsible for a number of abductions (both alien and human).

Ogron[edit]

Ogrons are mercenaries employed by various parties to "do their dirty work" throughout the universe, first appearing in "Day of the Daleks" (1972). They strongly resemble Orcs or Uruk-hai from The Lord of the Rings, being large humanoids with thick gray skin, protruding brow ridges, and thick, tangled hair. They primarily employ stun weapons, and have been employed by both the Daleks and the Master on at least one occasion.^[19]

Ood[edit]

The Ood are an intelligent species first encountered in "The Impossible Planet" (2006).

Optera[edit]

The Optera appeared in the First Doctor story "The Web Planet" (1965). 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.

P[edit]

Plasmavore[edit]

Plasmavores are shape-changing aliens that live on haemoglobin, encountered in "Smith and Jones" (2007). They absorb blood from their victims, which in turn changes their own blood chemistry to that of the victim, allowing them to mimic other species when medically scanned. A Plasmavore was hiding from the Judoon in the Royal Hope Hospital on Earth, disguised as Florence Finnegan.

P'ting[edit]

The P'ting are small, apparently indestructible creatures encountered in "The Tsuranga Conundrum" (2018). The P'ting are not actively malicious, but have toxic skin and eat large amounts of inorganic material, making them hazardous due to being capable of eating spaceships.^[20] In the episode, the P'ting is let loose aboard the Tsuranga. The space station that the Tsuranga will dock at will destroy the ship if it detects the P'ting on board, but the Thirteenth Doctor is able to deduce that the P'ting is seeking out energy sources, and feeds it a fail-safe bomb from the ship's power source before jettisoning it into space.^[21] A P'ting later appears in "Revolution of the Daleks" (2021) where one is imprisoned in the same prison as the Thirteenth Doctor.^[22] The P'ting also appeared in online game Roblox as part of a collaboration between the game and Doctor Who.^[23]

The P'ting was created by writer Tim Price, who worked in the story room during series 11's development. The development team loved the "brilliant and unusual name for the alien."^[24]

Pyrovile[edit]

Pyroviles are alien creatures encountered in "The Fires of Pompeii" (2008).

Hailing from the planet Pyrovillia, these creatures had bodies made of rock that seemed to contain fire. Much taller than humans their heads resembled centurion helmets and they could be killed by contact with water. When their home planet vanished they fled a crash landed on earth reducing many of them to dust. They remained dormant beneath Vesuvius for centauries until an earthquake in Pompeii awoke them. They began to plan the conquest of earth using the city's soothsayers to their advantage. By having them inhale the dust of those destroyed in the crash the people of Pompeii began to turn to stone and would eventually become new Pyroviles. The Tenth Doctor learns of their plans to conquer Earth and boil the oceans and finds their lair in the heart of the volcano. But he learns that due to them using the volcano's power they are preventing the infamous eruption. Realizing that it was "Pompeii or the world" the Doctor and Donna reverse the machine triggering Vesuvius' eruption which destroys the Pyrovile.

Q[edit]

Queen Bat[edit]

Queen Bats are used in "The Caves of Androzani" (1984) to produce an anti-toxin for spectrox.

R[edit]

Racnoss[edit]

The Racnoss appeared in 2006 Christmas special, "The Runaway Bride".

The Racnoss are described by the Tenth Doctor as 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. Their race was wiped out by the Fledgling Empires, over 4.6 billion years ago. Although the Time Lords are not specified as being a part of the Empires, the Doctor acknowledges that his people unravelled their power source, Huon particles, and upon hearing the name of the Doctor's planet, Gallifrey, the Empress claims that they "murdered" the Racnoss. The Doctor and Donna Noble are shown witnessing nearly all of the survivors of the race escape 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. The Doctor notes that because the Huon particles ceased to exist, the surviving Racnoss are stuck in hibernation. The Empress is seen coming to Earth in her ship, the Webstar in this episode, seeking to use the Huon particles which had been recreated by the Torchwood Institute using the water of the River Thames as a means of reviving her "children" before feasting on the human population of Earth. The last Racnoss are presumed wiped out when the Doctor drains the waters of the Thames down the shaft leading to their ship; the Empress is killed when her own ship is destroyed by the British Army at the order of "Mr Saxon".^[25]

The Empress appears briefly in a flashback in "Turn Left" (2008). In the parallel universe created by Donna, she has still been defeated, but the Doctor, without Donna to stop him and ultimately save his life, is shown having drowned; a UNIT soldier speculates that he died "too fast for him to regenerate"; without his protection, the Earth is shown becoming a dystopia over the next few years.^[26]

The Racnoss also appear in the Doctor Who: Classic Doctors, New Monsters audio Empire of the Racnoss, which sees the Fifth Doctor being drawn into the war against the Racnoss in the distant past when a call for help during the war is picked up by a long-dormant program in the TARDIS, resulting in the Doctor being caught up in a political struggle between the Empress of the Racnoss and her traitorous old consort and her replacement consort.

Raxacoricofallapatorian[edit]

The Raxacoricofallapatorians first appeared in the Ninth Doctor episode "Aliens of London" (2005). They are native to the fictional planet of Raxacoricofallapatorius and may be grouped by extended family names which are sometimes used to refer to their species generically. They hatch from eggs and are composed of living calcium. Capital punishment is practised on the homeworld, which involves immersion of convicted criminals in acid that slowly dissolves them while still alive, which spectators then drink as a soup.

The Slitheen family were a ruthless criminal sect motivated by profit. After being convicted for their crimes on Raxacoricofallapatorius, they were exiled and threatened with execution if they returned.

The Blathereen family were sworn enemies of the Slitheen and infiltrated the prison on the planet Justicia.^[27] A pair of Blathereen appeared in The Gift (The Sarah Jane Adventures). This pair were created by the marriage of a member of both Slitheen and Blathereen families, and attempted to trick Sarah Jane Smith into accepting a gift of the Raxacoricofallapatorian plant Rakweed, which began to poison the Earth with deadly spores. The Slitheen-Blathereen had no interest in the Blathereen's law-abiding ways, and instead turned to the Slitheen's greed and need to make profit. After indulging on Rakweed, which was highly sensitive to sound, Mr Smith sounded an alarm which ultimately led to the Slitheen-Blathereen exploding.

Reaper[edit]

Reapers appeared in the Ninth Doctor episode "Father's Day" (2005). 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 creatures 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. The older the thing they devour the more it satisfies them.

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 Last Great Time War, there was no longer any agency that could repair time.

Rill[edit]

The Doctor encountered a Rill in "Galaxy 4" (1965). While their appearance was ugly to human eyes, the Rill was quite friendly.

Rutan[edit]

An alien species who have been at war with the Sontarans for millennia, the Rutans first appeared on screen in "Horror of Fang Rock" (1977). They appear as jellyfish-like glowing green spheres. Like the Zygons, Rutans can shapeshift at will. They are also vulnerable to certain sound frequencies. A Rutan appeared in "Horror of Fang Rock", where it attempted to invade the planet as a strategic outpost in their war with the Sontarans. The Rutans have since appeared in a variety of spin-off media, including books, audio dramas, and video games.

S[edit]

Sand Beast[edit]

The Sand Beasts are indigenous to the planet Dido, encountered in "The Rescue" (1965).

Saturnyn[edit]

Saturnyn are vampiric, lobster-like aliens that battled the Eleventh Doctor in 16th-century Venice in "The Vampires of Venice" (2010). Their appearance is fear-inducing due to many sharp protrusions and fangs. They were able to breathe underwater and had vampire-like qualities such as a vulnerability to sunlight, no reflections and a thirst for human blood. However, these are easily explainable; as "fish from space", they are used to living in the dark depths; anyone's mind cannot deal with conflicting information of a perception filter and a Saturnyn's true reflection; Rosanna and Francesco drank the blood of the girls attending the school so they could replace it with their own. Their leader, Signora Rosanna Calvierri used a perception filter to appear as a human woman, who started a school for girls; it was a guise for seeking victims to be transformed into mates for Francesco's brothers. They planned to flood Venice in an attempt to continue their civilization since their own planet Saturnyne was destroyed by cracks in the universe. When the Doctor foiled their plan, Rosanna committed suicide by allowing her brood to devour her. However, when the Doctor rewrote time in "The Big Bang" (2010) by preventing the cracks' existence, it is highly likely Saturnyne was not destroyed by the cracks and the Calvierri family did not end.

The Doctor, at least in his eleventh incarnation, considered his adventure battling the Saturnyns to be memorable. In "A Good Man Goes to War" (2011), he said his adventures were "running about, sexy, fish vampires, and blowing up stuff", and even asked Melody Pond if Amy told her about the "Vampires in Venice" during "Let's Kill Hitler" (2011).

Scarecrow[edit]

Scarecrows are straw-filled foot soldiers created by Son of Mine, encountered in "Human Nature" (2007). They were relentless and untiring, with rudimentary intelligence. Even after being cut down by machine-gun fire, they could be reanimated. In a perfect sense of irony, Son of Mine was frozen in time and dressed up as a scarecrow, to watch over England's fields.

Another type of scarecrow which came alive were set to appear in the unmade movie Doctor Who Meets Scratchman, which was later novelised by Tom Baker.

Sea Devil[edit]

Sea Devils were turtle-like humanoids who first appeared in "The Sea Devils" (1972). They lived in Earth's oceans millions of years before humans evolved. They believed that a small planet would crash into Earth, which instead became Earth's moon. Like the Silurians, they went into hibernation and wanted to take the planet back from humans when they awoke.

Sensorite[edit]

Sensorites were an alien species encountered in "The Sensorites" (1964).

Shakri[edit]

The Shakri are a species spoken of in Gallifreyan myths, encountered in "The Power of Three" (2012). They are said to be the "pest controllers of the universe". They attack any species that they believe will pose a threat to the universe, hence why they tried eliminating humanity in the 21st century, years before they could colonise space in the future. A hologram of a wrinkled humanoid in a black robe was seen on the Shakri ship; however, it is not known if this is actually what the Shakri look like. The Shakri consider seven an important number, given they used that amount of portals, ships, cube activation time, and for a countdown. They follow something known as "the Tally"; the Doctor has implied that the Shakri compare a species' failures and successes to decide whether or not they will be subjected to "pest control".

Shrivenzale[edit]

The Shrivenzale is an alien used as a guard dog in "The Ribos Operation" (1978).

The Silence[edit]

The Silence first appeared in "The Impossible Astronaut" (2011). Self-proclaimed "Sentinels of History", the Silence are genetically engineered members of the Papal Mainframe under the Academy of the Question. As they were originally created as confessional priests, Silents cannot be remembered unless they are being looked at, or if someone is wearing an eyedrive. In "The Time of the Doctor" (2013), with The Doctor's enemies converging on Trenzalore, the Papal Mainframe underwent a faith conversion into the Church of the Silence whose main belief is that "Silence will fall" to keep the Doctor from answering the oldest question in the universe "Doctor Who?" to avert a war caused by the Time Lords' return. However, a group of Silents under a splinter chapel led by Madam Kovarian wanted to completely avoid the Siege of Trenzalore by eliminating the Doctor: their attempts range from destroying reality in Series 5, which caused the events at Trenzalore, and using Melody Pond in an attempt to murder the Doctor in Series 6. The Silents still loyal to the Papal Mainframe remain and joined forces with the Doctor to fight back all the villains converging on Trenzalore.

Silurian[edit]

Silurians are a reptilian humanoid species first seen in "The Silurians" (1970).

Siren[edit]

The Siren appeared in "The Curse of the Black Spot" (2011). The Siren is a virtual doctor that was aboard a spaceship of an unknown alien race that crashed in a dimension parallel to the ocean the ship Fancy was sailing on in 1699. Thanks to "protein circuitry", she could appear before a species in a form that would be alluring to them for cooperation. To sedate her patients, the Siren could sing a beautiful vocal song. However, being nothing more than a program, the Siren had very little reasoning skills. The Siren turned red with demonic-looking face when faced with resistance and germs. When the ship she was doctor to crashed in a spatial rift where the Fancy had been becalmed (and the crew dead from a human disease), she impulsively started to take the injured of the ship, even if it was for a simple cut, showing a great lack of intelligence. Were it not for the Doctor's arrival, the Siren would eventually have reached shore and started trying to process anyone who was ill. Captain Henry Avery, Toby Avery and the crew of the Fancy took over the ship to give her someone to look after, and to see the universe.

Sisterhood of Karn[edit]

The Sisterhood of Karn first appeared in "The Brain of Morbius" (1976). They are a female religion situated on the planet Karn in charge of the Elixir of Eternal Life, made from the Eternal Flame. The Elixir has remarkable healing properties, such as aiding Time Lords undergoing difficult regenerations; the Fourth Doctor was given some after brain damage in a mental duel with Morbius.^[28] Other potions that the Sisterhood brew can allow Time Lords to choose what their next incarnation will be like; they range from age, weight, strength, emotion, sex and mindset. Seeing the person he had been for all his regenerations wasn't suited to combat the terror of the Time War, the Eighth Doctor choose a potion that would turn him into a Warrior.

They first appeared in the episode "The Brain of Morbius", where they had grown paranoid as a result of a past betrayal by Morbius. Since then, they had been using their mental powers to crash ships onto the planet's surface. The Eternal Flame became clogged by soot one year prior to the events of the episode, and the Sisterhood had been trying to fix it to no avail. The Doctor solves the problem, and the Sisterhood later aid him in stopping the revived Morbius. They later reappear in the 2013 mini-episode "The Night of the Doctor," where they revive a mortally wounded Eighth Doctor, and help him regenerate into his next incarnation. They make further appearances in "The Magician's Apprentice" and "Hell Bent." The Sisterhood further appears in several pieces of Doctor spin-off media, including the audio dramas Zagreus, Sisters of the Flame, and Vengeance of Morbius.

Skarasen[edit]

A creature brought to Earth by the Zygons that became the Loch Ness Monster, seen in "Terror of the Zygons" (1975).

Skithra[edit]

Skithras are an alien species encountered in "Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror" (2020).

Sky Fish[edit]

The Sky Fish are fish-like creatures seen in "A Christmas Carol" (2010). They are capable of swimming through the air using the electricity of the planet Ember's crystalline fog. They are attracted to music as it causes the crystals in the fog to resonate in a way that produces delta waves. They vary from small fish to fully grown sharks.

Slyther[edit]

The Slyther was a monster that served the Daleks, seen in "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.

Solonian[edit]

The Solonians are a race of humanoid creatures from the planet Solos, seen in "The Mutants" (1972). Their planet was colonized by the Overlords. The atmosphere contains a nitrogen isotope which causes the air to become toxic to humans in sunlight, although it has no effect on Solonians. Because Solos' environment changes drastically every 500 years, they must undergo major mutations periodically in order to survive.

Sontaran[edit]

A Sontaran first appeared as the antagonist in the Third Doctor serial "The Time Warrior" (1973–74). Commander Kaagh appears in Series 2 in the story "The Last Sontaran" after the destruction of his battle fleet as well as the death of the other Sontarans on board in the Doctor Who two-parter episodes "The Sontaran Strategem" and "The Poison Sky" (2008). He returns in "Enemy of the Bane", where he sides up with Mrs Wormwood, the recurring Bane. In the end, he sacrifices himself to foil her plans of the destruction of Earth. He makes a small appearance in "The Pandorica Opens" (2010). The Sontarans remain slightly miffed that they weren't allowed to fight in the Time War.

As seen with Strax, Sontarans can't tell the difference between men and women ("Two genders is a bit further than [they] can count"), and think polite terms such as Miss or Mister are military ranks.

Spiridon[edit]

The Spiridons featured in the serial "Planet of the Daleks" (1973). They are the dominant species of sentient humanoids on planet Spiridon in the Ninth System. They have developed a form of invisibility, capable of generating "anti-reflecting light waves". They become visible after death, having pale skin and a gaunt appearance. They wear heavy purple fur cloaks at night to protect themselves from the harsh nights of Spiridon. The Doctor returns to Spiridon in spin-off audio adventures Return of the Daleks and Brotherhood of the Daleks.

Star Whale[edit]

The Star Whale is a giant whale-like creature that appears in "The Beast Below" (2010). It's presumed to be the last of its kind, and is used to pilot the Starship UK, so as to save its citizens from the dangerous solar flares. The whale has the features of other animals such as an anglerfish's angler, an octopus's tentacles and a scorpion's tail, as well as having a bright pink hide with bioluminescent patches. It arrived on Earth as it heard the children of the United Kingdom crying, and was unable to bear the sound. Believing its arrival to be a one-in-a-million miracle, the people of Britain captured it and built their ship around it, torturing it via powerful electric pulses, administered directly into the opened pain center of the Whale's brain, in order to keep the ship flying. Over the years, they realised that they could not justify keeping the creature in agony, but feared that if they set it free, the ship and all those aboard would be destroyed as the creature fled, so they chose to instead forget, and fed those who protested to the beast. When the Doctor learnt of this, he decided to render the creature brain-dead, ending its suffering and saving the lives of all those on the ship, but Amy set it free, revealing that the whale had volunteered to help, and that contrary to the beliefs of the station's masters, that it would continue flying without the need to torture it. The creature's exact size is not specified, and it is only visible in its entirety towards the episode's ending.

Stenza[edit]

The Stenza are a warrior race who possess sub-zero body temperatures, first seen in "The Woman Who Fell to Earth" (2018). As physical contact with any part of them can cause death from sub-zero burns, Stenza require the use of specialised suits to be able to interact safely with other lifeforms. The Stenza maintain two traditions amongst their people – a ritualistic hunt to earn the right of leadership, in which a Stenza hunts a randomly selected quarry without the use of weapons or any form of aid; and collecting a tooth from a kill to later apply to their face. The Stenza are noted for conducting ethnic cleansing on planets they conquer, as revealed in "The Ghost Monument", using the conquered populace to create weapons for their use.

Stigorax[edit]

Stigorax is a species that appears similar to large, furry rats, first encountered in "The Happiness Patrol" (1988). They are carnivorous. The last of the Stigorax was adopted by Helen A, who named it Fifi and took care of it. Fifi was released into sewer pipes to chase and devour escaping criminals. Fifi was later fatally wounded by a collapsing pipe, managing to climb out just in time for Helen A to find it. Fifi's death showed Helen A that sadness could not be prevented.

Swampie[edit]

Swampies are green-skinned, green-haired natives of the third moon of Delta Magma, encountered in "The Power of Kroll" (1978). Other than their colour, they appear similar to humans. Swampies are intelligent but primitive, lacking technology. They worship a giant squid-like creature called Kroll. Throughout "The Power of Kroll", only male Swampies are seen.

The Swarm[edit]

The Swarm was seen in "Planet of the Dead" (2009). Also known by the Unified Intelligence-Taskforce (UNIT) as Stingrays, they are flying manta ray-like creatures, with metal exoskeletons that allow them to travel from planet to planet via wormholes. They consume everything on a planet, turning it into desert; and then swarm over the planet's surface, generating a wormhole which allows them to travel to the next planet.

The Stingrays are apparently arthropods, as they are exothermic, and possess an exoskeleton composed of metal that has been ingested then exuded to the exoskeleton. They are voracious feeders, eating both organic and inorganic materials ranging from flesh and bone to plant matter to metals and plastic. They also produce vast numbers of young and grow from birth to adult in under a year, as shown when the Tenth Doctor shows a year-old clip of San Helios before its Stingray infestation.

They travel to other planets through wormholes created in the fabric of Spacetime by circling a planet faster and faster, and as each swarm can contain billions of giant stingrays, they rip a hole in space. Their wormholes can transport the whole swarm an infinite distance through space.

Sycorax[edit]

The Sycorax first appeared in the debut Tenth Doctor story "The Christmas Invasion" (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 their blood control plan failed. They also appear to have a martial society, with traditions of honourable combat, yet they have no qualms about killing prisoners.

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. Furthermore, after the destruction of the Fire Trap, the Sycorax spread further through the galaxy, and like humans are one of three species that continually survive and adapt, even unto the End of the Universe.^[29]

The name Sycorax is used in William Shakespeare's play The Tempest. Shakespeare's Sycorax has died before the play begins; she is described as a witch who was the mother of the beast Caliban. The Shakespearean name is referenced in the third series episode "The Shakespeare Code" when the Doctor finds a horse's skull in The Globe's prop cupboard. He comments that it "Reminds [him] too much of the Sycorax". Shakespeare remarks he likes the sound of the word, obviously then going on to use it in The Tempest.

The Sycorax also make a brief appearance in "The Pandorica Opens" (2010) as part of The Alliance formed to trap the Doctor. Later, in "The Name of the Doctor" (2013), the Great Intelligence mentions them as one of those that left the Doctor blood-soaked. A Sycorax appears as a prisoner alongside the Doctor in "Revolution of the Daleks" (2021).

In issue #1 of the IDW published Doctor Who comic book, a Sycorax is collecting near-extinct species to use with shape-shifters for expensive hunts. The Sycorax race also make a return in the Tenth Doctor comic strip "The Widow's Curse", in Doctor Who Magazine #395. The DWM comic story is the first appearance of female Sycorax, who seem to operate separately from the males.

In the audio series Classic Doctors, New Monsters, the Seventh Doctor faces the Sycorax in the audio "Harvest of the Sycorax", where he has to stop their efforts to take control of a space station that contains blood samples taken from virtually the entire human race of the far future.

T[edit]

Taran Beast[edit]

Taran Beasts are the furry species seen in "The Androids of Tara" (1978).

Tenza[edit]

The Tenza are an alien species that has their young raised by other species, seen in the episode "Night Terrors" (2011). Put simply, "a Tenza's sole function is to fit in." They adapt perfectly to what their foster parents want, such as "George" becoming the son Claire was unable to give birth to. Tenzas have powerful psychic abilities such being able to create monsters with just their imagination, as well as mentally creating massive perception filters that alter their foster parents' memories.

Terileptil[edit]

The Terileptils appeared in the Fifth Doctor serial "The Visitation" (1982). 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 bejewelled androids. Criminal punishment in Terileptil society includes life imprisonment working in tinclavic mines on the planet Raaga, often with substandard 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 caused the Great Fire of London.

Tetrap[edit]

The Tetraps are a bat-like race from the planet Tetrapyriarbus, seen in the Seventh Doctor's debut story, "Time and the Rani" (1987). A pack of Tetraps was employed by the Rani to help defend her Giant Brain. The Rani armed a pack of Tetraps for this purpose and used them as general henchmen to terrorise the native Lakertyans.^[30]

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.

Thal[edit]

The Thals are a race of peaceful, blond humanoids first seen in "The Daleks" (1963-64) who, together with the Daleks, are natives of the planet Skaro. Once a warlike species, a nuclear conflict with the Daleks, which nearly wiped out all life on their home planet, led them to develop a pacifist, agrarian society.

Tharil[edit]

The Tharil are a humanoid race of lion-like creatures seen in "Warriors' Gate" (1981). Hailing from E-Space, their world is connected to a gateway between E-space and N-space. They are time-sensitive and are able to use their powers to traverse the universe. Thanks to this, they were able to enslave many people. However, their empire crumbled when the slaves rebelled, building robots that were able to overcome the Tharils. The tables were turned and the Tharils became the slaves, forcefully used by their captors to navigate through time and space. One Tharil brings the Fourth Doctor and his companions to the gate. When the Doctor learns of their history, he agrees they have suffered enough for their crimes, and helps free the Tharils on the slavers' ship. As the Doctor and Adric leave, Romana and K9 remain behind, to help the Tharils free slaves on other planets.

Time Beetle[edit]

The Time Beetle^[31] first appeared in "Turn Left" (2008). It is a member of the Trickster's Brigade, a group of aliens that serve the Trickster. The Time Beetle, similar to the Trickster himself, feeds on time energy and can cause a victim to change a decision they made in the past, thereby altering history. The change in history is usually very minor, affecting only the person the beetle attaches to, and the universe usually "compensates" for the discrepancy.

When the beetle attaches to Donna in "Turn Left", instead of compensating it creates a "great big parallel world" where Donna never meets the Doctor, resulting in disaster for Earth. The Doctor, Martha Jones, Sarah Jane Smith, and Torchwood staff Ianto Jones and Gwen Cooper were all killed, the city of London was completely destroyed when the Titanic crashes into Buckingham Palace, Captain Jack Harkness is taken to the Sontaran homeworld, and millions of people die from threats the Doctor would have otherwise prevented. Donna travels back in time to make her make the original decision that leads to her meeting the Doctor, killing the Beetle. According to both the Doctor and Donna, this universe ceased to exist.

Time Lord[edit]

The Time Lords are a race of humanoid aliens to which the Doctor, among other characters, belongs. Time Lords have the ability to regenerate when mortally wounded. This process creates for them an entirely new body and results in major changes in personality, but retains the Time Lord's memories and identity. It is suggested in "The Power of the Daleks" (1966) that some detectable feature is retained, as the Daleks are immediately able to recognize the Second Doctor, even though he has just regenerated. During "The Time of the Doctor" (2013), it was confirmed by the Eleventh Doctor that a Time-Lord, naturally, is only allowed 12 regenerations, resulting in 13 different incarnations. In the same episode, the Doctor saves Clara's life by sending her home to her own time, but in protest she clings to the TARDIS through the Time Vortex on its return. Upon arriving 300 years later, she finds a visibly aged Doctor, proving that Time Lords experience natural physical changes during each lifespan between regenerations. In the episode "A Good Man Goes to War" (2011), it is suggested this ability evolved due to the Time Lord race's long-term exposure to the untempered schism.

Time Lords exhibit various other superhuman abilities, including certain mental powers, and resistance to otherwise harmful effects such as extreme cold and radiation. They possess a binary vascular system (two hearts), and therefore a faster heart rate, as well as a cooler internal body temperature. The Doctor would later claim that Time Lords came before humans did in "The Beast Below" (2010).

The first Time Lord to appear other than the Doctor and his granddaughter Susan Foreman is the Monk, in the 1965 serial "The Time Meddler", however his race is nor confirmed. The term itself is not used until "The War Games" (1969), when the race as a whole is introduced.

As of the 2005 revival series, the Time Lords are essentially extinct, apart from the Doctor, as they have been destroyed by him during the Time War. However, "The Day of the Doctor" (2013) shows that this was a ruse; the Time Lords are still alive in pocket universe, where all of the Doctors put them to save them from destruction.

Time Zombies[edit]

Creatures that appeared in "Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS" (2013). They are echoes of the possible future selves that the Doctor, Clara, Trickey and Gregor would have become from being exposed to the Eye of Harmony too long; they were burnt by it as their cells liquified. It appeared that they lacked most of their former intelligence, along with the ability to speak. However, each may have been driven by a particular motive – the Doctor wanted the part of the Arch Rec back from Gregor, Clara could have wanted revenge on the Van Baalens for being the cause of all the trouble, and Gregor and Tricky would want revenge for being mutated into a monster. Each could be identitified, although not as easily with the Doctor and Clara, because of how they changed; the Doctor is stuck holding his head, and the Van Baalens are stuck to each other.

Unlike the other time echoes, they could touch the present world, and killed Bram Van Baalen. They end up trapping their past selves in the Eye of Harmony's room by accident, setting up the existence of the Time Zombies. The Doctor realised how to avert the future, killing all but Clara's echo by knocking them off the rail. However, the Van Baalens couldn't avoid their fate. The Doctor eventually prevented the existence of these things by resetting time, preventing the TARDIS from being damaged and salvaged by the Van Baalen Brothers.

Tivolian[edit]

The Tivolians appeared in "The God Complex" (2011). They are a cowardly rodent-faced race that live on Tivoli, the most invaded planet in the galaxy. As a result, they have designed their cities to be comfortable for invading armies and their national anthem is "Glory To <Insert Name Here>". They are known for surrendering as soon as possible, and actually enjoy being conquered. As a result of the natives' cowardly attitudes, the planet Tivoli has lasted longer than any of the greater civilizations. They do not assert their own opinions often, just wishing to be ordered around or enslaved, as seen in the case of Gibbis and Albar Prentis. The Twelfth Doctor says that Tivolians wouldn't say "Boo" to a goose—they'd be more likely to give the goose their car keys and bank account information. Among the list of those who ruled the Tivolians are the Fisher King and the "glorious Arcateenians”.

Toclafane[edit]

The Toclafane are the last remnants of humanity from the year 100 trillion, first seen in "The Sound of Drums" (2007). Originally intending to travel to Utopia, the last refuge of a dying universe, they find nothing but "the dark and the cold" of space. Losing the last shred of hope they had, they turned on themselves, cannibalising their own bodies to create a new cyborg race. As part of this process they regress into little more than children with shared memories. The name Toclafane is given to them by The Master, who takes it from the Gallifreyan equivalent of the bogeyman.

The Toclafane's cyborg forms possess energy devices capable of killing and disintegrating targets. They are equipped with numerous retractable blades. The first four to be seen also exhibit apparent teleportation or cloaking abilities, not displayed by others of their race. All that remains of their bodies are barely recognisable human faces wired into basketball-sized mechanical spheres.

In "The Sound of Drums" and "Last of the Time Lords" (2007), the Master rescues four Toclafane from the end of the universe prior to an eventual Big Freeze, using them to fake a first contact situation in order to draw the world's leaders into one place for easy capture. He then uses a "paradox machine" to allow the future of the human race to slaughter many in the present, in short bringing the six billion humans that are alive in the year 100 trillion to return in the form of the Toclafane. The paradox machine creates a temporal paradox, allowing them to kill their ancestors without damaging themselves, and thus establish the Master's rule over Earth. After subduing Earth, the Master aims to establish a new Time Lord empire with himself as the leader and the Toclafane as his people and ground troops. This plan is foiled when the paradox machine is destroyed, causing time to rewind and trapping the Toclafane back at the end of the universe. Once the Master loses control of Earth, the false name Tocalafane is discarded for a more generic "spheres".

The Toclafane feature on the cover of the New Series Adventures novel, The Story of Martha, which chronicles Martha Jones's adventures during The Year That Never Was.

Torajii[edit]

A sentient star featured in the episode "42" (2007). The crew of a cargo ship uses a sun scoop on Torajii to refuel their ship, unaware that it is actually a living organism. Torajii then uses the stolen matter to possess and kill the crew until the fuel is returned. Once the sun scoop is dumped, it allows the ship to fly away.

Tractator[edit]

Tractators are giant insects with incredible power over gravity, seen in "Frontios" (1984).

Trakenite[edit]

Trakenites are a humanoid species with great intelligence, seen in "The Keeper of Traken" (1981). They live on the peaceful planet of Traken, which is part of the Traken Union. A Keeper is chosen to guard the Source once the life of the current one draws close to ending. Their planet would petrify anything evil that would arrive, until the Keeper's life began waning and thus the petrification would weaken. During "Logopolis" (1981), the Master caused the destruction of the Traken Union and its people by unleashing entropy back into the universe, leaving Nyssa (as far as she or anyone knew) the sole Trakenite in existence.

Trion[edit]

Trions are a humanoid species first seen in "Mawdryn Undead" (1983). A civil war broke out on the planet, and those on the wrong side were banished to different planets, Turlough ended up on Earth, while the rest of his family ended up on a volcanic planet. The descendants of the original exiles came to believe the mark of exile meant those who had it were chosen by their god, Mulkur, to lead them. After several years past, the exile was lifted from those banished from the planet, allowing them back home.

Tritovore[edit]

Tritovores are humanoid fly creatures that appeared in "Planet of the Dead" (2009). They trade with other civilisations for their excrement. They communicate with clicks that the TARDIS did not translate because it was not on the same planet as the Tenth Doctor and Lady Christina de Souza. The Doctor speaks with them through their own language while they understand The Doctor through a one-way telepathic translating communication device.

Tythonian[edit]

Tythonians are enormous creatures seen in "The Creature from the Pit" (1979).

U[edit]

Urbankan[edit]

Urbankans are green-skinned humanoids encountered in "Four to Doomsday" (1982).

Usurian[edit]

The Usurians from the planet Usurius are a species that abandoned military conquest in favour of economic conquest, encountered in "The Sun Makers" (1977). They enslaved humanity after their engineers made Mars suitable for human habitation, humans having depleted the Earth's resources. Once humanity had depleted Mars's resources as well, the Usurians engineered Pluto so that humans could inhabit it. They created six artificial "Suns" around it and installed the Collector to oversee the collection of taxes from their human workforce. They intended to abandon Pluto and leave humanity to become extinct once the humans had exhausted its resources, there being no economically viable planet to relocate humanity to once more. The humans on Pluto revolted against the Collector and seized control of Pluto. The revolutionaries intended to relocate to Earth as the Doctor assured them it would have regenerated in their absence.

The Usurians have knowledge of the Time Lords, graded as "Grade 3" in their "latest market survey", considering Gallifrey to be of low commercial value. Usurians can adopt a humanoid form but in their natural state they resemble seaweed. Shock can force them to revert to their natural form. According to the Doctor, Usurians are listed in a "flora and fauna" of the universe written by a Professor Thripthead under poisonous fungi.

Uvodni[edit]

The Uvodni is a bug-like race, first introduced in "Warriors of Kudlak" (2007). General Kudlak served in his race's military until injuries forced him to retire. In order to gain more troops for his race's continuing war effort, Kudlak was dispatched to Earth. He seized control of the Combat 3000 laser game franchise, which he secretly used to find human children with strong combat skills. These children were teleported to Kudlak's orbiting spaceship and dispatched to fight in his race's war. Kudlak took orders from a battle computer that used the image of a female of his race as an avatar, which he referred to as "Mistress". An error left the computer unable to comprehend the concept of the war ending, so it withheld from Kudlak an announcement of peace from his emperor for over a decade. When this fact was revealed, by intervention of Luke Smith's computer hacking, Kudlak destroyed the computer. He then dedicated his life to finding and returning the already dispatched human children, hoping to gain inner peace by doing so.

Uxariean[edit]

Uxarieans are creatures from the planet Uxarieus, seen in "Colony in Space" (1971).

V[edit]

Vardan[edit]

The Vardans are first encountered in "The Invasion of Time" (1978).

Varga Plant[edit]

The Varga Plants appeared in the First Doctor episode "Mission to the Unknown" and the serial "The Daleks' Master Plan" (1965–66), which were essentially a prologue and main epic respectively. 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 themself. This grisly fate befell astronauts Jeff Garvey and Gordon Lowery, and their commander, Marc Cory, was forced to kill them.

Vashta Nerada[edit]

Vashta Nerada (literally: the shadows that melt the flesh) are first encountered in "Silence in the Library" (2008). They are microscopic swarm creatures which, when present in a high enough concentration, are indistinguishable from shadows, and use this to their advantage in approaching and attacking prey. They are described as the "piranhas of the air", able to strip their victims to the bone in an instant in high enough densities. The Tenth Doctor says that almost every planet in the universe has some, including Earth, and claims that they can be seen as the specks of dust visible in bright light. He states they are the reason most sentient creatures have an instinctual fear of the dark. On most planets, however, Vashta Nerada exist in relatively low concentrations, feeding primarily on carrion, with attacks on people being comparatively rare. In the episode "Silence in the Library", an unusually high concentration of Vashta Nerada had completely overrun the 51st-century "Library", resulting in the apparent death of everyone inside at the time.

Vashta Nerada normally live in forested areas, and reproduce by means of microscopic spores which can lie dormant in wood pulp. In the episode "Forest of the Dead", this is revealed to be the reason for their unusual prevalence in The Library, as it is made known that the books and The Library itself was constructed of wood from the Vashta Nerada's native forest feeding grounds. Individually, Vashta Nerada are non-sentient, but if a large enough concentration come together, they can form a group mind of human-level intelligence capable of communication.

The fourth episode of Doctor Who: The Adventure Games, "Shadows of the Vashta Nerada", features them as the leading villain when a temporal rift draws a swam of Vashta Nerada to an underwater base that is being visited by the Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond.

The Vashta Nerada appear in the second volume of the Big Finish Productions audio Classic Doctors, New Monsters; "Night of the Vashta Nerada" sees the Fourth Doctor visiting a theme park that has unleashed the local Vashta Nerada after the planet's forests were torn down to allow the park to be constructed, and "Day of the Vashta Nerada" pits the Eighth Doctor against genetically-altered Vashta Nerada that have been created as a new weapon in the Time War.

Venom Grub[edit]

The Venom Grub is a living weapon used by the Zarbi in The Web Planet (1965).

Vervoid[edit]

Vervoids are artificially created plant-based humanoids that appear in "Terror of the Vervoids" (1986). They possess problem-solving intelligence and the power of speech; they were intended to perform tasks usually carried out by robots, but for a fraction of the cost. Unfortunately they instead decided to eradicate all of 'animalkind'. Vervoids had about the size and strength of humans, but were covered in leaves which provided them with energy through photosynthesis. They possessed thorns so poisonous they could kill a human on contact, and could produce copious amounts of methane-based swamp gas.

Vespiform[edit]

Vespiform are an insectoid species resembling giant wasps, encountered in "The Unicorn and the Wasp" (2008). They were born en masse in hives in the Silfrax Galaxy. Each possesses the ability to morph into other species. It also has the ability to breed with other species, including humans, to produce offspring.

Vespiform have a telepathic connection to objects called firestones, which contains part of their mind. Like Earth's wasps, the Vespiform are vulnerable to water. A Vespiform-human hybrid can live a normal life as a human until a burst of intense emotion awakens its alien biology. When the Vespiform morphs into another species it emits a purple light.

In "The Unicorn and the Wasp", a Vespiform appears and goes on a killing spree in the style of Agatha Christie's murder mystery books. Eventually it turns out the reason for Vespiform's killings was due to his firestone in the possession of Lady Eddison, who was thinking about Christie's novels. Furthermore, the Vespiform is revealed to be Lady Eddison's illegitimate son: Reverend Golightly. In the end, trying to get the firestone back, the Vespiform dies chasing after the item when Donna Noble throws it into a lake.

Vogan[edit]

Vogans were encountered in "Revenge of the Cybermen" (1975). Vogans are the native population of the planet Voga, which was made entirely of gold. The Cybermen sought to destroy their planet, to hinder the organics' ability to combat them in the Cyber Wars.

Voord[edit]

The Voord are a race of amphibious humanoids introduced in the First Doctor serial "The Keys of Marinus" (1964).

W[edit]

Weeping Angel[edit]

The Weeping Angels first appeared in "Blink" (2007).

Wirrn[edit]

The Wirrn are an insectoid race that made their debut in "The Ark in Space" (1975).

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 human settlers. They are slightly larger than humans, 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 living hosts; the larvae emerge to consume the host, absorbing its memories and knowledge. A Wirrn larva is a green slug-like creature, varying in size from a few inches to 1 or 2 metres across. It can "infect" another organism through contact with a substance it excretes, mutating them into an adult Wirrn and connecting their consciousness to the 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. The Wirrn intended to use the sleepers as a food source and claim the empty Earth for their own, as both a means of survival and an act of revenge against the human race for taking their former territories. In the course of their plan, Noah, leader of Nerva, was infected and converted to their kind. However, Noah still retained "more than a vestige of human spirit", probably thanks to the encouragements of the Doctor, 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. Big Finish used them in the audio stories Wirrn Dawn with the Eighth Doctor and Wirrn Isle with the Sixth. A dead Wirrn appears briefly in television story The Stones of Blood.

Wrarth Warrior[edit]

The Wrarth Warriors are a police force who appear in "The Star Beast" and the original comic upon which the episode is based. They seek to hunt down and capture the villainous Meep.^[32] At the end of the episode, the Wrarth capture the Meep and take him into custody.^[33] Actor Robert Strange portrayed one of the lead Wrarth, known as Sergeant Zogroth. The Wrarth actors used wore stilts in order to depict the Wrarth's height, and worked with Doctor Who creature movement director Paul Kasey in order to determine the Wrarth's "physicality" in the episode.^[34]

X[edit]

Xeraphin[edit]

The Xeraphin were an ancient species encountered by the Fifth Doctor in the story "Time-Flight" (1982). 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.

Xeron[edit]

The Xerons are the humanoid species encountered in "The Space Museum" (1965).

Xylok[edit]

Xyloks are a crystalline race that crashed into Earth as a meteorite about 60 million years ago, encountered in "The Lost Boy" (2007). Consequently, the Xyloks that survived the crash were trapped beneath the surface of the Earth, regrowing over thousands of millennia.

After the eruption of mount Krakatoa in 1883, one of the Xyloks was found in the post-volcanic aftermath. It was eventually passed to Sarah Jane Smith by a geologist friend when she was researching volcanic activity, 18 months prior to the events of "The Lost Boy". During her studies of the crystalline structure, she found that it could use her laptop to communicate. The Xylok agreed to help Sarah Jane protect Earth, and was integrated into the supercomputer Mr Smith, built by Sarah Jane under the instruction of the Xylok. Unbeknownst to Sarah Jane, this was a plot, in anticipation that it would one day be able to release the imprisoned Xylok race. Sarah Jane and her companions were able to thwart its intentions; as a result, Mr Smith was reprogrammed and became a benefit to the human race once again.

Z[edit]

Zarbi[edit]

The Zarbi appeared in "The Web Planet" (1965), 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 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 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.

Zocci[edit]

The Zocci are a diminutive race of red spiked aliens. "Voyage of the Damned" (2007) featured a Zocci named Bannakaffalatta. His species was first named in "The End of Time" (2009-10), where a species resembling the Zocci, known as the Vinvocci, appeared.

Zolfa-Thuran[edit]

A race of intelligent cacti from the planet Zolfa-Thura. Meglos, from the episode of the same name, was the last surviving member of the species.

Zygon[edit]

The Zygons are shape-shifting aliens first encountered in "Terror of the Zygons" (1975).

See also[edit]

• List of Doctor Who villains
• List of Doctor Who robots

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• The Bumper Book of Doctor Who Monsters, Villains & Alien Species
• Children of the Earth BBC Torchwood site
• "Every Doctor Who villain since 1963". The Guardian. 16 July 2010.