5 Classic Villains To Bring Back in the Capaldi Era

Guest contributor Karim Zidan suggests five candidates to face Capaldi’s Doctor.

It is time to look ahead at the wondrous possibilities that accompany the new Doctor, Peter Capaldi. Apart from a potentially darker tint to the program, this could be a fantastic time to introduce new enemies to complement Capaldi. With celebrated villains such as the Daleks and the Cybermen dominating Doctor Who storylines for the better part of the past five decades, sometimes it is easy for Whovians to forget the exhaustive variety of evil that has graced the show throughout its history. So many in fact that a great deal of them never made the cut in the revamped version of the show. The 2005 reboot has seen the revival of some classic villains such as the Silurians, the Ice Warriors, the Zygons and the Master. Apart from that, new horrors such as the Silence and the Weeping Angels have since left their mark on the new generation of Doctor Who fans but with the anticipation of the new era, there is always room for a few more additions to the list.

Here are a few possible choices that could be considered for the upcoming seasons:

The Celestial Toymaker

Undoubtedly one of the lesser-known villains to grace the show, the Celestial Toymaker tormented the First Doctor and his companions Dodo and Steven in the 24th serial of the show back in 1966. The Alien Intelligence appeared to be the keeper of a strange realm designed completely from his own imagination, where he traps unwilling victims and forces them into a wide range of games that would prove fatal if they lost. Considering his ability to conjure up worlds by simply imagining them, he was certainly a powerful adversary, even for the Doctor.

The Toymaker’s intentions are not easily understood in the serial. While it is clear he is interested in acquiring new possessions in the Doctor and his companions, his game does not appear to one driven by an evil mastermind obsessed with universal domination. In fact, he is shown to be bored with his eternal existence and yearning for a worthy intellectual adversary. The fact that he allows the Doctor to leave if he wins the game shows that his intentions are competitively driven more than diabolical.

The character of the Toymaker was due for a return to the show 20 seasons later, when he was written into the ‘The Nightmare Fair’. Sadly, shortly thereafter, the show was put on hiatus and when it was brought back, the story was shelved in favour of season-long arc ‘The Trial of a Time Lord’. Now 47 years later, it is still never too late for a comeback.

Sutekh the Destroyer

During the historic era of Fourth Doctor Tom Baker, the show took on a gothic horror feel and one of its earliest villains was based on a God in Egyptian mythology.

Sutekh the Destroyer had shattered his home planet and soon left a path of destruction across the galaxy until he was partially stopped by his brother Horus and 740 other Osirians, who imprisoned him in the eye of Horus in another dimension. They were unable to eliminate his existence, but they did manage to condemn him to an eternity trapped in the Black Pyramid.

Sutekh’s immense power was on display throughout the ‘Pyramids of Mars’ serial, where he was easily able to possess humans to do his bidding. His powers of telekinesis even extended to the Doctor himself, as he controlled him with ease and forced him to relocate the TARDIS on Mars. In this particular case, the Doctor was forced to outwit Sutekh when he was on his was to freedom but was never able to destroy the god-like creature.

The return of Sutekh could be a fantastic affair, as he is undoubtedly one of the top monsters yet to make a return to the show. His power makes him more than a viable threat the to the Doctor and that could prove to be useful in the upcoming seasons. Gabriel Woolf, who played the booming voice of Sutekh, was also cast in the role of The Beast in ‘The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit’ and could possibly be brought back to reprise this role after 38 years.

The Rani

Can we really ever have enough renegade Time Lords? Hard to imagine that will ever be the case so it may be time to bring back the Rani for several storylines. Unlike the Master, the Rani was more of an evil scientist, with the calculating and inquisitive mind of an intellectual on the hunt for knowledge. Sadly, her efforts were directed towards immoral activity, which made her an enemy of Gallifrey and eventually brought about her exile.

The Time Lady was mostly interested in her research and how she could go about altering the biochemistry of her subjects but has no issues in conspiring with the Master to attempt to dispose of the meddling Doctor. Her interactions with the two Time Lords are refreshing as it is rare that we get a Time Lady’s perspective on matters. She appears to be more mature than her male counterparts and frequently mentions that the long-lasting rivalry between the Doctor and the Master was a childish affair.

Another interesting aspect of the Rani is her magnificent TARDIS. Viewers get a glimpse of it in ‘The Mark of the Rani’, which showed a more sophisticated model with a dark theme in the interior. This provides yet another opportunity to add something new to the show, as viewers of the revamped show are yet to see another TARDIS in action.

Sil

He is certainly not the most intimidating of the Doctor Who collage of monsters, but it is hard to deny his strong impact on the show during the run of the Sixth Doctor. Sil, a representative of the Galatron Mining Corporation makes his first appearance on the show in ‘Vengeance on Varos’, where the sluggish villain is attempting to negotiate a deal with the President of Varos for its unique resource, Zeiton-7. Unlike his more fearsome counterparts, Sil’s villainous traits are reflected in his bargaining ability and thirst for violence and death, instead of his personal ability to inflict any damage himself. He seems to enjoy watching human suffering, as is evident on Varos, when he attempts to negotiate the price of Zeiton down to painfully low number.

In “Trial of a Time Lord”, it appeared that Sil had met his doom after being trampled by King Yrcanos but that was never confirmed after it was discovered that the evidence presented in the trial had been altered. This could provide a perfect opportunity for the return of the corporate villain in later seasons, as his vile appearance and fiendish laugh could make for some entertaining television viewing. The actor who originally portrayed Sil, Nabil Shaban, is still alive and could possibly be available to reprise the role, which would add to the spectacle.

The Great Vampires

The Great Vampires waged war for five centuries against the Time Lords, and while the latter eventually succeeded in ending the war, they had suffered catastrophic casualties in the process. These vampires do not differ much from regular vampires except in appearance and in their extraordinary ability to drain a planet’s population of its blood. What makes these creatures particularly dangerous is that the only known way to kill them is to drive a stake through the vampire’s heart using a starship.

The Vampires only appeared once in the show, in a fourth Doctor serial titled ‘State of Decay’ and it was merely a single Vampire who was left at the time. While it was eventually destroyed, stranger things have happened on the show and bringing back the Great Vampires could open up quite a few possibilities for storylines, particularly if we are to see the Time Lords return in the near future.