10 Best One-Off Villains Classic Doctor Who Villains
2. Scaroth
Featured in Douglas Adams' excellent City of Death, Scaroth was the last of the Jagaroth. Concocting a bizarre scheme to sell fake Mona Lisas to fund his experiments, this villain is remembered for his plan just as much as his unique appearance.
Crash-landing in prehistoric Earth, Scaroth was involved in a warp explosion which splintered twelve versions of him throughout history. Communicating telepathically with his other selves, Scaroth aided in advancing humanity throughout his various incarnations so that the technology to build a time machine would be available to him.
However, in order to complete his mission, Scaroth needed money.
Scaroth's incarnation in 1505, Captain Tancredi, persuaded Leonardo Da Vinci to paint multiple copies of the Mona Lisa. Storing them, they were retrieved in the present by his twelfth incarnation, Count Scarlioni, who was famous for procuring rare artwork.
Planning to steal the Mona Lisa from the Louvre, Scarlioni's intention was to sell the various copies to separate buyers and make a fortune.
On holiday in Paris, the Fourth Doctor and Romana uncovered Scaroth's plot. Using the TARDIS, the Doctor travelled back to the 16th Century and wrote 'This is a fake' across the duplicate paintings, disrupting Scarlioni's scheme in the present.
Upon the threat of destroying Paris, Romana helped Scaroth finish his time machine and sent him back to the moment of his explosion in prehistoric times. However, the time machine only allowed Scaroth to return to his past for two minutes, and this wasn't enough time for him to change history.
Returning to the present, one of Scarlioni's henchmen saw Scaroth's true Jagaroth form and destroyed the creature and his machine.
Due to both the story being universally loved for its ingenius Douglas Adams script, and for Scarlioni's portrayal by actor Julian Glover, this villain has secured his place as one of Classic Who's best.