Doctor Who: 10 Greatest Villains From The Moffat Era So Far
7. The Great Intelligence (Series 7)
Speaking of the Great Intelligence, he too deserves a place on this list. He's a disembodied entity from who knows when who menaced the Second Doctor before returning in the current era to challenge the Eleventh. While there was an issue with his apparent motivation of revenge conflicting with his classic series characterisation, the GI is still a rather formidable antagonist indeed. Lets start with what he did over the course of Series 7. He almost took over Victorian London with snowmen, he stole peoples minds (including Claras) and controlled a modern-day workforce in modern day London, and then he kidnapped the Paternoster Gang (almost killing Jenny in the process), took them to Trenzalore and used them to force the Doctor to open his grave. Which he then used to turn every single one of the Doctors victories into defeats. Quite a busy time of it, really. Hes presented on screen as menacing and formidable, helped by a strong vocal performance from Ian McKellen, then a powerful physical one by Richard E. Grant. Even his helpers manage to be creepy, with the sinister Whispermen and fanged Snowmen unleashing some visual chills to boot. Like Signora Cavalierri, hes also quite the three-dimensional character. Theres a sense that he feels genuine affection for Miss Kizlet and Doctor Simeon, despite bringing out the worst in them and causing Miss Kizlet to regress into childhood at the end of The Bells of Saint John. Theres also a sense that his plan to destroy the Doctor via jumping into the Time Lords timeline isnt just for revenge, but a way for an eternal being to find some peace by destroying itself. That theres so much threat on the surface - and still so much going on underneath that - makes the Intelligence a villain to rewatch again and again so you notice something new each time.
