As much as I'd love to spend the whole of 2013 reminiscing about Doctor Who's high points while airbrushing out the less impressive stuff, the programme does have some moments that really don't exemplify the spirit and quality that we know it for. And it would be a shame to overlook those lesser moments. Because let's be honest, finding fault with things (even things we love) is a big part of being British. The poor quality aspects of Doctor Who have as much right to be looked back on and scrutinised as the good stuff. And thanks to its shoestring budget, its 1980s decline, and some less than excellent ideas in the Revived Series, there's a fair bit of material to look back on and fondly mock. So as (the rather belated) part nine of my monthly countdown to Doctor Who's Fiftieth Anniversary, we're taking a look at back at some of the programme's missteps when it came to villains and monsters...
10. The Slyther - The Dalek Invasion Of Earth (1964)
Rubbishing 1960s Who for its special effects isn't really fair but when you compare the Slyther to everything else in The Dalek Invasion Of Earth, it looks like crap. It's exactly the kind of schlocky bug-eyed monster that Doctor Who tried to avoid from the outset and has a hugely disappointing role in the story. Indigenous to the planet Skaro, the Slyther we see is a pet of the Dalek Supreme and is used to guard a Bedfordshire mine on Dalek-occupied Earth at night like an attack dog. It attacks a group of humans led by the Doctor's companion Ian and is quickly defeated after Ian hits it with rock and it falls down a mineshaft to its death. Originally it was supposed to look like a black jellyfish and be largely offscreen but instead, its role became more pronounced and we saw it in all of its non-glory. Until it fell to its death about a minute later. It looked incredibly dodgy even by the standards of 60s Who and lacked any kind of substance. Why a Dalek or some more Robomen weren't used instead has never really been explained.