It’s Time For A New Finale Threat

Guest contributor Harry Smith on why it’s time to move on from the Daleks, Cybermen & Master.

Can I first put as a disclaimer to this piece that I haven’t really written anything like this before so, you know, go gentle on me. Secondly, I am an avid fan of Doctor Who who loves the show for how brilliant it is, so this article is not a complaint, more a suggestion, or something I’d like to see happen in the future. Right then, without further ado, away we go…

The Constant Reuse of Fan Favorites

After the end of the most recent brilliant series, something occurred to me. In the nine series aired so far, almost all the finales have contained foes from the classics including the likes of the Daleks, Cybermen, and the Master. Each time they have been the main threat, or one of the threats the Doctor has had to face in the last episode(s) of the series. To date, only the Series 6 finale has not contained an enemy from pre-2005, instead pitting the Silence and Madame Kovarian against the Doctor and co. I feel the biggest reason for this is because everyone loves the fan favorites coming back to take on the Doctor (and most likely fail), but perhaps now is the time to change that?

The Daleks have appeared in five end of series episodes and two specials. Now I love the killer pepper pots as much as the next Whovian, but I don’t think it would hurt if they didn’t appear in Series 10. They worked fantastically well in the first series bringing back the most iconic monster in the show’s history. The showdown in Series 2 with the Cybermen was a fanboy/girl’s dream, and stealing Earth was pretty nifty. But since then their appearances in final episodes have felt more like forced inclusions. The Pandorica Opens / The Big Bang has been acclaimed as one of the best two parters of New Who, but with the large amount of monsters in it already, I felt like the Daleks maybe could have sat that one out and given another monster the chance to take the place of the Teletubby mini-tanks. Plus, I never really thought it was in the nature of a Dalek to team up, but that is getting way off course…

In the most recent finale, Hell Bent, a Dalek appeared caught in the Matrix after the Cloister Wars. Its appearance again felt a bit forced, especially with a lot of references to the history of Doctor Who within the episode already. Now I know what some of you are probably thinking: “They were there to show how dangerous the Matrix is.” Then why did they show two more trapped monsters? They didn’t have to show the Dalek. I’m pretty sure the trapped Angels and Cybermen would have got the point across alone. The main reason I fear unnecessary appearances, especially for the Daleks, is because I really don’t want people to get totally sick of them because that would be a bummer. They are probably still in my top 5 favorite Doctor Who enemies and I would hate to hear a massive groan from the fandom every time they appear in future.

The next example I can think of featuring most heavily is the Cybermen, arguably only second to the Daleks in terms of their iconic status. I saw a statistic that they had featured in every 12th episode of Doctor Who from Series 5 onwards which instantly made me have to research and clarify. And the statistic wasn’t wrong, they have! The thing with the Cybermen is that they have only been the big threat in two of them, when they had beef with the Daleks in Series 2, and then in Series 8 (which you could technically say they weren’t the main foe as Missy had pretty firm control of them). Their inclusion in the Series 5 and 9 finales were not really needed for the same reason as the Daleks: they didn’t add much at all. Okay, the Cyberman head attacking Amy was pretty amusing and scary simultaneously, and the zombie-like nature of the rogue Cyberman was clever. But my advice for using the Cybermen in future is to either go hard with them, or go home. Basically use them as the main monsters, or don’t use them at all.

Finally, the arch nemesis supreme (If I don’t say that she’ll scratch my eyes out) the King/Queen Sheba that is the Master/Missy. I have a lot less of a qualm with this particular character as they have been renewed and regenerated into more or less a new character each time, but there is still things to be said about it though. The Master (John Simm) has appeared in one finale and one special (or two if you count both parts as such), while the Missy (Michelle Gomez) incarnation has been in one finale, where she was incredibly well used. The thing I am worried about, which is different to a whole species of monster, is that the Master is only one person and I fear that there is only so much the character can do before becoming too predictable. If used too much in a short amount of time, the only way the character can be seen as interesting and refreshed is another regeneration and I really like Michelle Gomez’s incarnation right now, so please leave her alone for at least another 2 seasons.

How About the New Who Kids on the Block?

So what’s the solution? I would love it if maybe a New Who monster (Besides the Silence, who have already had their turn) instead got a more prominent use in a series finale. There have been a lot of great enemies for the Doctor created since 2005 and I have no doubt that there are many that have the potential to be brought back as amazing finale threats. The Weeping Angels would be a great example often considered as modern classics, or what about an adapted version of a Raxacoricofallapatorian (you know, the Slitheen)? More recently there’s the Fisher King, or going back a little maybe even the Beast from ‘The Impossible Planet’ making a reappearance as the big bad. It certainly is an option and I have no doubt that Mr Moffat would be able to pull it off.

Or What About an Entirely New Threat?

What I’m on about in this section has already been done, and quite spectacularly I must add. The Silence, the monster that you forget when you look away and have some sweet electricity abilities, were introduced way back right at the start of the Matt Smith’s run. The big setup started in Series 5 when Prisoner Zero mentioned them, then throughout they were name dropped until their first appearance in the first episode of Series 6. They were again mentioned throughout the series before their big moment in ‘The Wedding of River Song’ showing just how brilliant they are as the big bads. They did of course appear in Matt Smith’s final episode to finish off ‘the cracks in time’ arc, which they were also fantastic in. So if it has been done before, it can surely been done again? Series 10 can introduce a brand new villain in the first episode and name drop them subtly throughout the series before hitting us in the finale with their plan and so on and so forth (come on, I’m not the showrunner).

Conclusion

Basically, I’m not saying I hate to see a returning villain ever again – I’d still love an appearance in the finale for something like the Rani, or Omega, or the Mara, or even the venus fly traps big brother the Krynoid. But I feel that maybe give ‘The Big 3’ (the Master, Daleks and Cybermen) a rest from the last episodes of Series 10 (But honestly I still love the show that much that if they do appear I won’t mind too much). What do you think, readers?