The just completed fifth series of “Doctor Who” brought back the Daleks, the Cybermen and the Silurians. And rumors abound the the Yeti (last seen in a cameo in “The Five Doctors”) could be on tap for Christmas.
And while some fans (including this one) argue that the Valeyard made an appearance this season in “Amy’s Choice,” there was one classic series villain that almost made a comeback in series five, but didn’t.
The villain–the cactus creature Meglos.
For those of you who don’t know, Meglos was a Zolfan Thuran featured in a four-part story starring Tom Baker from season 18 called “Meglos.” The cactus creature took over the body of a human being and then was able to shape shift into other forms, including the fourth Doctor, in an attempt to steal a valuable energy source from a neighboring world. Of course, the creature was bent on universal domination and the Doctor put a stop to it.
The four-part story isn’t exactly one of the most fondly remembered stories of the era, though it’s not necessarily a terrible story. It’s just the weakest link of a solid season of “Doctor Who.”
And it’s fondly remembered by at least one–writer Gareth Roberts.
Roberts said that he seriously considered having Meglos return for his episode, “The Lodger.”
“I’d been joking about ‘Meglos 2’ for years,” Roberts said, “but when I sat down to write the first draft [of ‘The Lodger’] it suddenly seemed right.”
The writer also revealed that: “Meglos survived in my script for quite a long while—but then we saw the Vinvocci in ‘The End of Time,’ and as the rest of the story was more comedic, we decided the ‘villain’ had to be as scary as possible.”
If you’re a new series fan and are curious to see “Meglos” now, good luck to you. The story isn’t out on DVD and it was one of the last stories to hit VHS. Copies of it are rare and can fetch a fairly substantial price asking price on e-Bay or Amazon.
How was it the Valeyard in Amy’s Choice? The Dream Lord character in Amy’s Choice was well-explained. Similarly, the Valeyard was well explained in Trial of a Time Lord. And, while similar in a few superficial ways, those explanations in their respective episodes PROVE they are totally different entities.
Rob: That won’t stop debate, trust me.
Rob…the Valeyard was a distillation of the dark side of the Doctor taken from between his 12th and 13th regenerations. The Dream Lord is part of the Doctor’s dark side…
It’s not a huge leap to think the two could be one and the same.
I have a feeling Moffat will bring the character back….
“…rumors abound the the Yeti (last seen in a cameo in “The Five Doctors”) could be on tap for Christmas.”
This makes the little kid in me go, “Squeee!” I just hope they’re back in the Underground, so a new generation of little kids will be scared out of their minds every time they go down into the Tube, just like I was. 😉
Hickerson: I hope so. The actor who played him practically stole the episode out from under it’s stars. 🙂