10 Best One-Time Only Doctor Who Villains
2. The Dream Lord (Amy's Choice)
As with the Celestial Toymaker, the Dream Lord doesn't pose a physical threat to the Doctor, but that doesn't matter one lick: he's so deliciously manipulative and sinister that he's able to absolutely batter the mighty, ancient Time Lord with a few sharp jabs and some twisty-turny meddling with the boundaries between dream and reality.
Series 5's Amy's Choice is one of the most underrated episodes of the Matt Smith era, and by extension, the Dream Lord is one of its most underrated villains. Played with gleeful snarkiness by the unassuming Toby Jones, the master schemer tears through Amy, Rory and the Doctor like they're made of paper, delivering some amazingly sharp dialogue with a constant and infectious feeling that he's loving every second.
He's a pure joy to watch, and the only downside here is that we'll never get to see him return in the exact same way.
Jones' Dream Lord was a dark reflection of Smith's Doctor, meaning that future Dream Lords would have to be dark reflections of future (or current) Doctors. Still, wouldn't it be awesome if we got to see other Dream Lords? The ones that would manifest to oppose other Doctors? It could be a villain that pops up once per regeneration, played by a different actor each time. Make it happen, BBC.