Doctor Who: 10 Most Underrated Villains And Monsters

3. The Dregs - Orphan 55

Doctor Who Styggron
BBC Studios

Defending any part of Orphan 55 may seem like something of a fool's errand. This episode from the show's most recent series is almost universally hated by the fanbase and it's not totally undeserved. The guest characters are forgettable, the environmental message is as on the nose as it gets, and the story spends about fifty minutes going absolutely nowhere. But the ferocious Dregs are the one things in this episode that can be commented on positively.

The Thirteenth Doctor, Ryan, Yaz, and Graham are transported to a futuristic spa on a barren planet, populated by grotesque creatures known as 'Dregs'. After venturing out into the wasteland, they discover that they have actually been on a future Earth this whole time and that the Dregs are future humans, mutated by the catastrophic consequences of climate change.

This isn't an original concept but the sheer savagery of the Dregs is enough to make up for any creative shortcomings. Their beady eyes and sharp, protruding teeth strike a horrific image that's perfect for this kind of story and makes you feel as if the characters are genuinely in danger when the hunt begins.

There's no saving anything else in the story, though. Benni included.

In this post: 
Doctor Who
 
Posted On: 
Contributor

Owen Davies hasn't written a bio just yet, but if they had... it would appear here.