Doctor Who: Series Eleven’s big problem – where are the good monsters?

The monsters have been a big part of Doctor Who for a long time. After all, most fans love a great monster. So where are they this series?

There’s been a lot to enjoy about Series Eleven of Doctor Who so far. The Thirteenth Doctor had been given a decent introduction with The Woman Who Fell to Earth. The new TARDIS team has been an incredibly strong one overall. (Especially Graham, who’s rapidly emerging to be a clear fan favorite.) Both Rosa and Demons of the Punjab have emerged as great historical episodes.

But there has been one recurring problem this series. And the longer that it’s gone on, the clearer that problem has become. Specifically, it’s the lack of effective monsters.

Oh, we’ve had some monsters. We’ve had “Tim Shaw” of the Stenza. We’ve also had giant spiders and the Pting, and most recently the Thijarians.

But none of these have come across as strong, memorable enemies. Some of these have been through deliberate choices. The Thijarians being good, for example, actually made sense for the kind of story that Vinay Patel was aiming for with Demons of the Punjab.

But others have been through a lack of strong writing. Tzim-Sha was ok, but he lacked the depth or frightening power of some of the classic monsters.

A big reason why Blink was such an incredibly successful episode was because of how strong its monster was. So why haven’t we had such a monster even half as good in Series Eleven yet?

(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC.

Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)

No monsters, new or old

And that’s another problem. Chris Chibnall insisted that we would see no old monsters this series. Which would be fine, if any of the new ones had been effective. But we’ve had no genuine foe that’s truly stood out so far. And that’s a problem for the series.

If you need proof of that, ask someone what their favorite story is. Many (not all, or even most, but many) fans of the New Series will say Blink. Regardless of whether they think that Moffat handled the Weeping Angels well later or not, there are so many fans that still love their original story.

More from Winter is Coming

• For All Mankind finally gives us information in Episode 405, “Goldilocks”
• Watch a stunning VFX breakdown of The Wheel of Time season 2
• Of course Steve Toussaint (Corlys Velaryon) thinks Eve Best (Rhaenys Targaryen) should rule Westeros
• Confirmed: The Last of Us season 2 will air in 2025
• Final season of Star Trek: Discovery will have “a lot of action, a lot of adventure, a lot of fun”

It’s not just because of the Angels themselves – Carey Mulligan gives a great performance as Sally in the story, just before she started to really make it big in movies – but the Angels are certainly a large part of why that story works.

Admittedly, not every great episode needs an effective monster. Especially when you look at the historicals. Not just the ones this series, but in the First Doctor’s era, too. In many of his stories, the only monsters that would show up would be the human ones.

But then again, that’s another problem – even the human villains have been weak. In Rosa, we had a very bland character who was just doing what he was doing because he was racist, and in the very next episode, we had a very one-dimensional parody of Donald Trump.

So Chibnall choosing not to use previously established monsters when he’s not busy making great new ones of his own is a huge flaw for his first series. The monsters – alien or human – have been a big part of Doctor Who almost since its very beginning. I hope we get at least one decent monster story this series, and the new writers can show off what they can really do.

Do you agree that we need more great monsters this series? What’s your favorites Doctor Who monster? Let us know in the comments below.