The showcase alien villain from the series two episode Love & Monsters, theres no love for the Absorbaloff, one of the most tragic missteps in Doctor Who history. Its not the fault of the production design. Created as the result of a Blue Peter competition, nine-year-old William Grantham originally intended the creature to be huge about the size of a bus, in fact, which would have precluded casting middle-aged comedian Peter Kay to run about in terrible make-up and what appears to be a loincloth. No, its the writing Love & Monsters was one of the episodes that was written around the absence of the Doctor, like the far superior Blink and Turn Left. Without the main character anchoring the show, the story has to be clever and engaging, and this wasnt that. Left bored by the story, the bodysnatching Absorbaloff, with his ridiculous name and, yes, Peter Kay dancing around in his pants, was the thing everyone remembered: the howling mistake everyone pointed at. Loathed by everyone whos ever watched the episode, the Absorbaloff would only ever appear once, and once was more than enough.
Professional writer, punk werewolf and nesting place for starfish. Obsessed with squid, spirals and story. I publish short weird fiction online at desincarne.com, and tweet nonsense under the name Jack The Bodiless. You can follow me all you like, just don't touch my stuff.
