10. The Ood Were Always Clearly Sympathetic
The Creature You Know: Along with the Weeping Angels, the Ood are one of the few recurring monsters in Nu-Who that fans have really embraced. Reappearing as an increasingly important presence throughout David Tennants tenure, they became somewhat of a spiritual guide to the Doctor. What makes them work, however, isnt their ability to exposition dump, but to be both sympathetic and terrifying at the same time; their exterior brain makes them incredibly easy for nefarious beings to control.
The Early Design You Dont: The evolution of the Ood from drone villain to sympathetic victim felt in the show like lazy writing, with all appearances after that first Beast controlled escapade feeling forced to make them like victims. However, the early design of the creature clearly shows that was always the intention. With round, hollow looking eyes, as opposed to the red, green or white slits we got in the final version, the concept drawing creates the feeling of sadness. Of course, while that was certainly an undercurrent, their first appearance in The Impossible Planet set out to make them scary; in this guise, even if it was carrying a ball of death Id be in moral conundrum of whether to run or to embrace it and whisper its going to be OK in its ear.