Doctor Who: 10 Great Villains Who Were Badly Wasted

6. The Smilers

Steven Moffat himself claims that 'The Beast Below' is his worst episode. Unfair, you might think - should you be one of the many who have despised the last two years of Doctor Who - but it is symptomatic of something Moffat would be widely criticised for later in his tenure. 'The Beast Below' doesn't answer all of the questions it raises, but more than that, it throws away a perfectly good villain with little explanation. The Smilers are those doll things in the booths; when their head turns around with an angry expression painted upon it, it's one of the creepiest moments in an otherwise fantastical series. It's even scarier when human heads pivot to reveal Smiler faces on the back; it's a truly dystopian nightmare ripe for scaring children with. Can anyone remember how the Doctor defeated the Smilers? Can anyone remember anything about them at all, other than the iconic shot of the head turning around? No? 'The Beast Below' had a lot on its plate, most of us agree on that; maybe it would've been a better episode if it focussed on this one villain, that had the potential to be terrifying.