After the Daleks made a comeback in the New Year’s special, the Jodie Whittaker era of Doctor Who will reintroduce another familiar foe in season 12. Back in May, the BBC revealed that the Thirteenth Doctor will be facing off against the rhino-headed Judoon when she returns to our screens next year.
The Judoon don’t have as long a history as the Daleks or the Cybermen, but they are over a decade old, having debuted on the show back in 2007 opposite David Tennant’s Doctor. So, how does their creator, former showrunner Russell T. Davies, feel about his monsters being brought back so long after his tenure has finished?
Well, RadioTimes.com caught up with Davies recently, who explained that he always enjoys it when his monsters return as he gets to know in advance – plus, he gets a small fee.
“It’s marvellous, because I know about these things before the public because I own the copyright of them, so they have to phone me up and say, ‘Can we bring them back?’ As if I’m going to say no. And I also get a little bit of money for it, which is very nice – not much, it’s the BBC. But I knew that about six months ago.”
As for how he found about the Judoon’s role in season 12, Davies revealed that current showrunner Chris Chibnall pitched him about using them directly, which was unusual.
“Normally lawyers would do it, but [current showrunner Chris Chibnall] just sent me an email directly, saying, ‘Oi, could we have the Judoon please?’ And I said. ‘Of course you can.’”
In regards to why he thinks Chibnall chose to bring the Judoon back of all the creatures in the Whoniverse, Davies reflected on how he’s proud of how very Doctor Who-y the villains are.
“I do love [the Judoon], out of everything I’ve created. There’s something very gloriously daft about them, they wouldn’t fit into Star Trek, they wouldn’t fit into Stargate, and that’s a very good sign of a Doctor Who monster, when they won’t fit into any other show. So I love them, really.”
Apart from the, as Davies says, “daft” fun of having alien stormtroopers with rhino faces, there’s also the conceptual side of the Judoon that makes them perhaps more interesting than your typical invading extraterrestrials. They’re actually the galaxy’s police force, though their love of brute force usually pits them against the Time Lord. Going by set photos, it looks like the Judoon have landed on Earth for some reason, which the Doctor isn’t happy about.
Doctor Who season 12 is expected to arrive in early 2020, though rumors are pointing to a possible winter special beforehand. As always, watch this space for more.