10 Best One-Off Villains Classic Doctor Who Villains

Commonly referred to as 'The Faceless Ones' - the title of their sole 1967 appearance - these shapeshifters proved worthy adversaries to the Second Doctor and friends.

Following a catastrophe on their homeworld which left them disfigured, the Chameleons sought to steal the identities of other lifeforms. Claiming to be one of the most intelligent races in the universe, these shapeshifters travelled to Earth to abduct humans for experiments, and for their survival.

Establishing the budget travel company 'Chameleon Tours' at Gatwick Airport as a front, the Chameleons were slowly abducting young tourists onto their space station to steal their identities for themselves.

By the time the Doctor arrived in the middle of their operation, they claimed to have already kidnapped fifty-thousand people. Luckily, the Doctor used his diplomacy to help rescue the abducted humans. He promised the Chameleons that he could find them a new way of survival on another planet if they left Earth alone.

The Doctor has faced many shapeshifters such as the Zygons and the Rutans, but the Chameleons were the originals. Cunning, coordinated, and almost successful in stealing enough identities to repopulate their world, the Chameleons could have easily been a long-running threat for the Doctor.

With much of their only televised appearance lost due to BBC tape-wiping, these body-snatching aliens can instead be seen capturing humans in the recent animated version of The Faceless Ones.