A World of Demons The Villains of Doctor Who

“One may tolerate a world of demons for the sake of an angel”—Jean-Antoninette (“Reinette”) Poisson, aka Madame de Pompadour, “The Girl in the Fireplace”

What a world of demons Doctor Who has presented us with over the past seven decades: from Daleks and Cybermen to Weeping Angels and the Silence, the greatest villains of the Who-niverse have achieved an iconic status all their own, cementing themselves in the minds of millions of viewers (why else would Parker Brothers have devised a version of Monopoly after them?). If, as the Seventh Doctor once said, "You can always judge a man by the quality of his enemies,” the Doctor is great indeed, rescuing the universe time and again from some of the most formidable and terrifying villains in science fiction history. Now, for the first time, an entire anthology of essays is dedicated to deconstructing this gallery of blackguards. Who are the greatest Who villains of all time? Why are they so frightening? And—apologies to Shakespeare—what do they tell us about the villainy of our own fears?

Barnaby Edwards is a British actor, writer, director, and artist. He is known as a performer for the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who, in the role of a Dalek operator. He has also written, directed, produced, or performed in over 80 Big Finish Doctor Who audio stories. David Bushman is a longtime television curator at The Paley Center for Media and an adjunct professor of media at colleges in the New York area. He is the author of Twin Peaks FAQ: All That’s Left to Know About a Town Both Wonderful and Strange (2016), Buffy the Vampire Slayer FAQ: All That’s Left to Know About Sunnydale’s Slayer of Vampires, Demons, and Other Forces of Darkness (2017), and Conversations with Mark Frost (2020).