Speculating on Series 8’s “Big Bad”

Guest contributor Liam Catterson takes a look at some potential candidates.

We have a long time before we discover who will be the main threat for Peter Capaldi’s first full series of Doctor Who, but we can at least speculate in the meantime. So I present my list here for your consideration. Note: I am not going to debate what scenarios because there is a universe of possibilities and I can tell Moffat has something amazing already cooked up in his cunning mind.

The Master

Many people were expecting Benedict Cumberbatch to play the Master in Matt Smith’s era, but as we know it didn’t happen. This is one of the more likely picks because the Master is the one villain, paralleled to races like the Daleks and the Cybermen, who will keep emerging in the show no matter what. Despite Steven Moffat’s previous claims, I believe we’ve seen the last of the Master as played by John Simm. As much as I admire Simm in the role, I think a change is needed. I felt The End of Time was an appropriate end to his incarnation. The Master essentially saved the Doctor in his last onscreen appearance. Would it make sense for Simm’s Master to have beef with the Doctor again? No, not to me, but we’ll see what happens…

The Weeping Angels

Arguably Moffat’s greatest creation, though I can acknowledge that ever since Blink they have been played out somewhat. The Angels Take Manhattan saw minor progress to their role in the Whoniverse. From what has been said about Capaldi’s Doctor, we’re anticipating a fierce Doctor, so does that mean emotions will get the better of the Doctor if he were to encounter the Angels once more? Probably, probably not… This is not Matt Smith’s incarnation any more and there was little reaction from him at Christmas. If the reports about the format of Doctor Who next series are true, we should have a two parter for the finale and a two parter might play out well for the Angels if they are to be the finale enemy. However, two things need to be kept in mind. One, don’t make it a mess like The Time of Angels/Flesh of Stone and please don’t leave any plotholes such as how did the Statue of Liberty move without anyone noticing? Or how did the Angel that took Amy and Rory get dealt with? We need a story on the quality of Blink. I think the Angels against Clara and Twelve would be very remarkable.

The Rani

I think I can speak for the Whoniverse when I say that a lot of fans would like to see the return of the Rani. It’s a move that could bring the devotion of classic fans. Now Moffat has spoken about this in the past and stated that most would not know about the Rani’s history if he brought her back. But that being said, he brought back the Great Intelligence and not many people would know it over the Rani, so this could be more a factor of Moffat just not wanting to bring back the character. Now granted, the Rani has met the Doctor a few times on-screen, so did other villains that were brought back in the new series, but if the Rani is back there has got to be some quality added in her character and not just a female version of the Master. Something more distinct…

The Daleks

Come on! How can I not have the Daleks on this list? They are just bound to appear in next series. Whether it’s episode two as rumoured or the finale, they will come back like a cold. The Daleks are the Doctor’s deadliest and oldest enemies and if you don’t know that, you’re not really a Whovian. Now the Daleks are not my ideal choice for a return, I will admit that, but it’s almost always rumoured they will be in the finale of every series. They have only not appeared in the finale of Series 3 and Series 7, so since the revival they have been in five finales (I am not counting any specials by the way). It’s quite possible, and the chemistry between the Daleks and Capaldi’s Doctor will be very interesting. Again with the Rani and the Angels, this would need to be something interesting, not a typical Dalek plot…

Omega

Ahh, I love hearing about the frequent rumours of Omega returning in the big event episodes. The Pandorica Opens, A Good Man Goes to War, The Day of the Doctor and so on. It just marvellous to hear, but Omega is comparable to the Rani in the sense that Omega didn’t have too much on-screen activity so Moffat would possibly pull the ‘not much awareness on the character’ card. We saw Rassilon return, but Omega coming back would just be a dream. Omega will return one day because I am sure Moffat or whoever runs Doctor Who in the future will eventually submit to the fans. I think if they keep the reliability of what Omega had in the classic series into the new that will gratify a lot of people.

The Cybermen

Another old enemy of the Doctor that will be destined to clash with Capaldi at some time in the future. My problem is if Capaldi’s Series 8 finale enemy ends up being the Cybermen, there is the probability they will end up being the same as the Daleks in that they are being overused. They were in the penultimate episode of Series 7 and briefly in The Time of the Doctor, so to end series 8 with the Cybermen could be too soon. Combine it with the fact that a lot of people didn’t have a good impression on the last couple of Cybermen stories. If anything, it’s imperative their next story works on their quality as a monster. They need to upgrade into a character the Whoniverse can esteem once more.

A new enemy?

In Series 6 Moffat produced the Silence as the main enemy and with Series 8 he could perhaps do the same. The Silence became a smash hit and Moffat is a genius at making monsters come to life. A new enemy needs to generate something special, the fear factor, the looks (And I am not talking dashing), the hostility, an enemy that pushes the Doctor to his limits would be cool, but it needs to stand out. So I can’t comment much on this apart from the requirements this monster would need…

Conclusion

I am sure Capaldi will play the Doctor in the finales well and I am sure whatever faces his Doctor will offer a grand battle. We’ll perhaps find out via the spoilers over the months ahead but until then we can only speculate. This is Liam Catterson hoping that you appreciated this list of potential enemies for Capaldi’s Series 8 finale enemy. You can make your comments on who you would like to see face Capaldi’s Doctor below. Thanks for reading.