10 Times Doctor Who Wasted Great Villains

10. The Whisper Men

The Whisper Men were a group of featureless human-like beings that appeared to serve the Great Intelligence. After kidnapping The Doctor's friends, they forced the Eleventh Doctor to travel to Trenzalore – the planet that lies as The Doctor’s final grave.

While the Whisper Men looked amazing and sent chills down your spine every time they said one of their sinister rhymes or hissing, they didn’t actually do a lot in The Name of The Doctor. Having creatures as scary as them, it was expected that they would have a bigger role, especially after bringing The Doctor to his own grave. However, they were only there for pure plot convenience and tension between The Doctor and the other characters surrounding him.

The biggest plot point they had in the episode was forcing The Doctor to say his own name in order to be able to open his own grave. As The Doctor panics, explaining why he cannot say his name, the Whisper Men threaten him by stopping the hearts of Clara, Strax, Vastra and Jenny until he says his name. However, in a little disappointing plot twist, it was a psychic echo of River Song who said his name, causing the doors to open.