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Doctor Who: When humans are the monsters

By James Aggas

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In some Doctor Who stories, the “monsters” of the story are the humans rather than the aliens. But how often is this story used? And should it be used more in the future?

When reviewing Planet of the Ood, it was easy to see something key about this story. That for once in Doctor Who, the slavers aren’t an alien race. Instead, it’s the humans who are enslaving the aliens.

This is a story common across a great deal of science-fiction. A very notable example is the 2009 film Avatar. In the cases of both Avatar and Planet, it was very black and white that humans were committing terrible acts. The native alien species, on the other hand, are the clear victims.

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Interestingly, this hasn’t been a common storyline in Doctor Who. Certainly, not quite as much to such a black and white extent. Even while the Ood were killing humans, it was due to the strong control of the hive mind. And the Ood had suffered for a very long time.

Another clear example of humans being the clear villains of the piece is Warrior’s Gate. Once again, the humans are slavers, exploiting and using pain to control the Tharils as pilots for their ships.

However, it was also highlighted that the Tharils were far from innocent. Unlike the Ood, they had a history of having their own empire. And they once had slaves of their own. Then again, this was all in the distant past to them, but it was interesting seeing an alien race like the Tharils as more complex than just victims.

Different perspectives

With many of Chris Chibnall’s stories, he’s focused on humans and other races against each other for unusual reasons. In Tenth Doctor episode 42, a living sun was killing the crew of a ship, but only because the captain had used chunks of it for a fuel source. However, for killing innocent lives that had nothing to do with the captain’s choice, the sun was still far from sympathetic.

The Eleventh Doctor two-part story The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood was less black and white. The humans came across a group of Silurians, who had ruled the planet before them. Some Silurians wanted the humans wiped out, but many more wanted peaceful coexistence. However, due to mistakes made and some that were far too trigger-happy, that didn’t work out.

It has to be said that, while these episodes somewhat presented a less typical humans versus monsters story, the original Silurian appearance, Doctor Who and the Silurians, was even more complex. It was clear that people on both sides wanted the other wiped out. Even the Brigadier, a regular character and friend to the Doctor, was responsible for wiping them out.

How to do it right

Should this type of storyline return for Series Eleven? Only if it’s done right. While The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People worked in some ways, it was far too obvious. Especially when someone actually asks, “Who are the real monsters?”  It was almost like it was trying too hard to point out how complex and interesting it was.

The key way of handling this storyline properly is by not drawing attention to it. Planet of the Ood may have been black and white in its presentation, but it also worked nicely.

While not every Doctor Who episode should feature humans as the ruthless villains of the piece, it’s still a storyline that can really stand out for all the right reasons. An occasional episode would certainly be interesting to watch.

Next: Should the Classic and New Series share the same logo?

What do you think? Should more episodes feature humans as the monsters of the story? Are there particular favorites episodes that include such a storyline? Leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments below.

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