Beep the Meep is a

fictional alien An extraterrestrial or alien is any extraterrestrial life Extraterrestrial life, colloquially referred to as alien life, is life that may occur outside Earth and which did not originate on Earth. No extraterrestrial life has yet been conclusi ...

appearing in various material from the long-running British

science fiction television Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...

series ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

''. Beep originated as a comic strip character in the pages of ''

Doctor Who Magazine ''Doctor Who Magazine'' (abbreviated as ''DWM'') is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Launched in 1979 as ''Doctor Who Weekly'', the magazine became a monthly publication the followi ...

'', and later appeared in audio dramas produced by

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on cult science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'', the ...

. The cute and cuddly appearance of Beep the Meep — a round, furry biped with large, expressive eyes and long ears — belies his true nature as a malevolent, homicidal would-be conqueror and dictator. The character will make his first appearance in live-action in the show's upcoming 60th anniversary specials in 2023.

Overview

Beep first appeared in the 1980 comic strip ''Doctor Who and the Star Beast'', written by

Pat Mills Patrick Eamon Mills (born 1949) is an English comics writer and editor who, along with John Wagner, revitalised British boys comics in the 1970s, and has remained a leading light in British comics ever since. He has been called "the godfather o ...

and

John Wagner John Wagner (born 1949) is an American-born British comics writer. Alongside Pat Mills, he helped revitalise British comics in the 1970s, and continues to be active in the British comics industry, occasionally also working in American comics. ...

and drawn by

Dave Gibbons David Chester Gibbons (born 14 April 1949) is an English comics artist, writer and sometimes letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries ''Watchmen'' and the Superman story "For the Man ...

, which ran in issues #19-#26 of ''Doctor Who Weekly''. In the story, Beep is the leader of the Meeps, an advanced and peaceful race who lived in harmony and happiness until

radiation In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium. This includes: * ''electromagnetic radiation'', such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visi ...

from their planet's orbit passing by a Black Sun mutated them into an aggressive, expansionist species who began to mercilessly conquer and subjugate other planets. After the Wrarth Warriors, a genetically engineered insectoid race acting as interstellar law enforcers, destroyed the Meep armada, Beep's ship fled and was shot down over

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

where it crash landed in the English city of Blackcastle. Beep sought refuge with two schoolchildren, using his fuzzy appearance to masquerade as a hapless, harmless creature being hunted by the ruthless Wrarth. It was in this guise that he encountered the

Fourth Doctor The Fourth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Tom Baker. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from the ...

, who protected him from the Wrarth until Beep's true nature was revealed to him. Beep used

hypnosis Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychologica ...

to coerce humans to help repair his spaceship, deciding to take off in a hyper-space jump, even though this would destroy Blackpool. However, the Doctor then aided the Wrarth in apprehending Beep, and he was taken away to face justice. One of the schoolchildren who found Beep,

Sharon Davies Sharon Davies is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'', played by Jessica Muschamp. She made her first appearance on 29 July 1988. Sharon is the younger sister of Bronwyn Davies (Rachel Friend). During her time in '' ...

, would join the Fourth Doctor as a companion in the comic strip. After a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...

in ''Doctor Who Magazine'' #173's ''Party Animals'' (1991), Beep reappeared as a villain fifteen years later in ''The Star Beast II'' (published in the 1996 ''Doctor Who Magazine Yearbook'') where he was released on

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

and sought revenge, but the Fourth Doctor used black star energy to trap him inside the children's movie ''For the Love of

Lassie Lassie is a fictional female Rough Collie dog and is featured in a short story by Eric Knight that was later expanded to a full-length novel called ''Lassie Come-Home''. Knight's portrayal of Lassie bears some features in common with another fic ...

''. In ''Doctor Who Magazine'' #283's ''TV Action!'' (1999), Beep travelled to the 1979 of a parallel world where the Doctor was the subject of a television programme titled ''Doctor Who''. Beep tried to take over the

BBC Television Centre Television Centre (TVC) is a building complex in White City, London, White City, West London, that was the headquarters of BBC Television between 1960 and 2013. After a refurbishment, the complex reopened in 2017 with three studios in use for ...

, planning to broadcast black star radiation into households across Britain in an attempt to turn everyone as evil as himself. However, he mistook the actor

Tom Baker Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is well known for his portrayal of the Fourth Doctor, fourth incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Wh ...

for his hated nemesis and, while distracted, was defeated by the

Eighth Doctor The Eighth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Paul McGann. The character was introduced in the 1996 TV film ''Doctor Who'', a back-door pilo ...

, his companion

Izzy Izzy is a common nickname for the given names Israel,Isaac, Isambard, Isidor, Isidore, Isidora, Isabel, Isobel, Isabelle, Isabella, Isaiah, Ishmael, Izzet, Isarn, Ismail, Isra, Izebel, Izmara, Isobelle, Isaura or Isam (عصام). Izzy, Izzie, ...

and many other television personalities. A hallucinatory Beep appeared in the Eighth Doctor strip ''A Life of Matter and Death'' (DWM #250). Beep left the realm of the comic strip in an

audio play Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine t ...

produced by

, ''

The Ratings War ''The Sixth Doctor Adventures'' is a Big Finish Productions audio play series based on the television series ''Doctor Who''. It sees the return of Colin Baker reprising his role as the Sixth Doctor. History In 1999, beginning with the story ''T ...

'', which was on a promotional CD given away with DWM #313. In the play,

Toby Longworth Toby Longworth is a British actor who has appeared on film, radio and television. He is originally from Somerset, where he attended King Edward's School, Bath. He has worked most often as a voice actor, however, notably in several science-fictio ...

provided the voice for Beep, who went up against the

Sixth Doctor The Sixth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Colin Baker. Although his televisual time on the series was comparatively brief and turbulent, Ba ...

, voiced by

Colin Baker Colin Baker (born 8 June 1943) is an English actor who played Paul Merroney in the BBC drama series '' The Brothers'' from 1974 to 1976 and the sixth incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series '' Doctor ...

. There, Beep tried much the same ploy as he did in ''TV Action!'', except this time he produced a children's programme called ''Beep and Friends'' to effect a conquest by guile rather than by force. He was once again defeated by the Doctor and handed back to the Wrarth. In March 2019, Big Finish released The Comic Strip Adaptations Volume 1 audio book, one of the stories being Doctor Who and the Star Beast. Beep is voiced by Bethan Dixon Bate. In December 2022, it was revealed that the 60th anniversary specials to air in 2023 would feature Beep and Wrarth Warriors.

List of appearances

Comics

*''Doctor Who and the Star Beast'' (''Doctor Who Weekly'' #19-#26) *''Party Animals'' (''Doctor Who Magazine'' #173) *''The Star Beast II'' (''Doctor Who Magazine Yearbook'': 1996) *''TV Action!'' (''Doctor Who Magazine'' #283)

Audio plays

*''

'' *''The Comic Strip Adaptations Volume 1'' (adaptation of ''The Star Beast'')

Television

* ''Doctor Who'' (2023 specials) (''upcoming'')

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beep The Meep Comics characters introduced in 1980 Doctor Who aliens Doctor Who audio characters Doctor Who comic strip characters Fictional dictators