10 Deadliest Alien Prisons In Doctor Who

Locking away the most dangerous inmates in the universe - including the Doctor.

By Eden Luke McIntyre /

Sometimes, the most dangerous criminals and infamous villains the Doctor faces can't be allowed to roam free. However, most of the time within the Whoniverse, the prisons they're locked up in are just as deadly.

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From creepy maze-like hotels to forgotten Time Lord prisons, these secure facilities aim to keep the worst of the worst from terrorising the universe, but you wouldn't want to find yourself locked up there!

It wouldn't be uncommon, as some of these facilities hold prisoners who really shouldn't be there. Even the Doctor has been arrested and thrown into these high-tech complexes alongside unforgettable mortal enemies and unsuspecting allies.

2021's New Year's Day Special, Revolution of the Daleks, saw the Doctor behind bars again - serving a life sentence with no hope of escape. That is until Captain Jack Harkness' intervention. This wouldn't be the first time that the Doctor's companions have sprung a jailbreak, and some of the following entries include daring and near-impossible rescue attempts.

This list aims to unlock some of Doctor Who's most intriguing, mysterious and impregnable prison ships and space-jails and reveal which despicable criminals or innocent inmates have served time there.

Looking at both the Classic and Modern series, these are the 10 Deadliest Alien Prisons in Doctor Who.

10. Stormcage Containment Facility

A high-security prison situated on a stormy planetoid, Stormcage is most famous for attempting to house River Song in the 52nd Century.

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Mentioned during series five and first appearing in 2010's The Pandorica Opens, this secure site was well-known for containing some of the universe's dangerous criminals - including the Doctor's wife, and his convicted murderer.

In reality, River Song's imprisonment was by choice - to trick the Silence into truly believing she had killed the Doctor at Lake Silencio. During her stay there, she would often escape the prison, either by tricking the guards with her hallucinogenic lipstick or being broken out by the Eleventh Doctor in the TARDIS. On occasion, River would actually break back *into* the prison - her guards unaware that she had even left.

Eventually pardoned for the Doctor's murder when he deleted himself from all records, River Song left Stormcage and became a professor at the Luna University.

By the 79th Century, Stormcage was still regarded by the Thirteenth Doctor as one of the most impregnable prisons in the universe, but also one with the deadliest inmates.

Fitted with a neural restrictor which removed his ability to inflict harm, mass-murdering space-racist Krasko was released prior to the events of 2020's Rosa with a vendetta. Returning to 1955 from the 79th Century to mess with time, the Doctor noted that there was only one place she could send Krasko back to: Stormcage.

Intergalactic Travel Advice: Take breakfast at the usual time.

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