10 Best One-Off Villains Classic Doctor Who Villains

8. Meglos

Tom Baker Meglos Fourth Doctor
BBC Studios

A villainous, telepathic cactus, Meglos battled the Fourth Doctor and Romana in the eponymous serial from 1980.

In this complex adventure, Meglos was the last of the Zolpha-Thurans - cactus-like aliens with the ability to take on the appearance of humanoids.

Meanwhile, the protectors of an all-powerful energy source known as the Dodecahedron had called the Doctor for help. Travelling to the planet Tigella, where several factions were fighting over the Dodecahedron, the Doctor and Romana were trapped in a time loop by Meglos.

Aware of the Doctor's legendary status and that the people of Tigella were counting on his aid, Meglos stole the Doctor's form and used it to seek out the Dodecahedron.

Securing the power source, Meglos returned to its homeworld of Zolpha-Thura. However, the real Doctor intervened and reprogrammed the Dodecahedron - destroying the planet and Meglos along with it.

Succeeding in using the Doctor's face to manipulate others and use his status as an asset during his evil plan, Meglos was a highly intelligent and instantly recognisable one-off adversary of the Fourth Doctor.

The episode also awarded some iconic moments with a green, spiky Tom Baker who provided an excellent, villainous performance as Meglos in the Doctor's form.

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Eden Luke McIntyre is a Scottish writer, editor and script consultant, with an MA in TV Fiction Writing. He writes content for TV, radio, stage, and online, and was appointed as a BBC Writers Room Scottish Voice in early 2020. Eden can usually be found rambling about Doctor Who, The Beatles, and obscure things that no one cares about.