The Yeti are controlled by the Great Intelligence through control spheres. These are depicted as capable of seeking out inactive Yeti, emitting a series of whistle-like beeps whilst doing so. ''The Web of Fear'' shows the characters experimenting upon one of the spheres and eventually able to control the Yeti it is stored within by using a short-range remote control.
Snowmen
In "
The Snowmen
"The Snowmen" is an episode of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', first broadcast on Christmas Day 2012 on BBC One. It is the eighth ''Doctor Who'' Christmas special since the show's 2005 revival and the first to be ...
", the Great Intelligence's first appearance in the internal chronology of the series, the Great Intelligence in the form of psychic snowflakes – animated snowmen across Victorian London to fight for it. In the course of the episode, it also reanimates and takes control of a woman who died by freezing to death in a pond, and later still possesses the brain-dead body of its aide Dr. Walter Simeon (
Richard E. Grant) after he was bitten by a Memory Worm that wipes out all his memories.
Spoonheads
The Spoonheads are robots used by the Great Intelligence's operatives in "
The Bells of Saint John
"The Bells of Saint John" is the sixth episode of the seventh series of the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. It premiered in the United Kingdom on 30 March 2013 on BBC One; the episode was the first of the second ha ...
" to harvest human minds for him to feast upon. They are also referred to as "Servers" by Miss Kizlet (
Celia Imrie
Celia Diana Savile Imrie (born 15 July 1952) is an English actress and author. She was described in 2003 as one of the most successful British actresses of recent decades. She is best known for her film roles, including the '' Bridget Jones'' f ...
) and as walking Wi-Fi base stations by the
Eleventh Doctor
The Eleventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. He is played by Matt Smith in three series as well as five specials. As with previous incarnations of the Doct ...
(
Matt Smith
Matthew Robert Smith (born 28 October 1982) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor in the BBC series '' Doctor Who'' (2010–2013), Daemon Targaryen in the HBO series '' House of the Dr ...
). They have a spoon-shaped head through which they absorb a person's soul, and are able to disguise themselves as figures from the target's subconscious.
Steven Moffat
Steven William Moffat (; born 18 November 1961) is a Scottish television writer, television producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work as showrunner, writer and executive producer of the science fiction television series ''Doct ...
said that he wrote "The Bells of Saint John" as an "action rollercoaster", with the Spoonhead robots devised in contrast to other monsters he had created such as the
Weeping Angels
The Weeping Angels are a race of predatory creatures from the long-running science fiction series ''Doctor Who''. They were introduced in the 2007 episode "Blink (Doctor Who), Blink", making repeat appearances in later episodes. They also appear ...
and
Silence
Silence is the absence of ambient audible sound, the emission of sounds of such low intensity that they do not draw attention to themselves, or the state of having ceased to produce sounds; this latter sense can be extended to apply to the c ...
with a focus on scares. He has also said that the Spoonheads are not a critique on contemporary obsessions with technology and that the Wi-Fi concept was more of an invasion method new to ''Doctor Who''.
Whisper Men
In "
The Name of the Doctor
"The Name of the Doctor" is the thirteenth and final episode of the seventh series of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 18 May 2013. It was written by Steven Moffat and directed ...
", the Great Intelligence is assisted by the Whisper Men, invulnerable manifestations that whisper in rhymes. They appear as Victorian gentlemen, with no facial features other than mouths with sharp teeth. The Great Intelligence is able to physically manifest in place of any of the individual Whisper Men, taking the form of his last human host, Walter Simeon (
Richard E. Grant). Their whispers are implied to be prophetic, when chasing the Doctor on Trenzalore, whispering rhymes such as: "the man who lies will lie no more, when this man lies at Trenzalore," and "This man must fall as all men must, the fate of all is always dust." The rhymes often cryptically refer to past or future events that the Whisper Men had no obvious way of having knowing about.
Reception
Critic Graham Sleight commented in an analysis of ''Doctor Who'' monsters that the use of Yeti robots by the Great Intelligence was uninteresting as they provided merely a physical and voiceless threat. Some reviewers have seen this as a strength, with Nick Page feeling that the Yeti being controlled by the Great Intelligence gave them greater menace, arguing that because "the Great Intelligence... always turned off their power when it was not required", this creates suspense when the characters interacted with a dormant Yeti.
Ian McKellen's performance of the Great Intelligence's voice for its return in the 2012 Christmas Special was generally well received. Patrick Mulkern, writing for ''
Radio Times'', said "hats off to Steven Moffat" for reintroducing the character and described the casting of Ian McKellen as "a coup" and "wizardly". The character was seen by some reviewers as being underdeveloped, with Kyle Anderson of the
Nerdist
Nerdist Industries, LLC is part of the digital division of Legendary Entertainment. Nerdist Industries was founded as a sole podcast (The Nerdist Podcast) created by Chris Hardwick but later spread to include a network of podcasts, a premium conte ...
feeling that although McKellen and
Richard E. Grant, who portrayed its human minion Dr Simeon, were excellent casting choices the Great Intelligence's plan was "the least fleshed out part of the script". Matt Risley's review on IGN similarly praised the acting of McKellen and Grant, but felt the story was "stuffed with ideas" and the Great Intelligence's return was overshadowed by the "fully formed and utterly unpredictable" performance of
Jenna-Louise Coleman
Jenna-Louise Coleman (born 27 April 1986), known professionally as Jenna Coleman, is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Jasmine Thomas in the soap opera ''Emmerdale'', Clara Oswald in the science-fiction series '' Doctor Who'', ...
as
Clara Oswald
Clara Oswald is a fictional character in the British science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. She was created by series producer Steven Moffat and portrayed by Jenna Coleman. Clara was introduced in the Doc ...
.
The character's appearance, portrayed by Richard E Grant, in "
The Bells of Saint John
"The Bells of Saint John" is the sixth episode of the seventh series of the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. It premiered in the United Kingdom on 30 March 2013 on BBC One; the episode was the first of the second ha ...
", was perceived as establishing the Great Intelligence as a prominent antagonist for
Series 7 Series 7 may refer to:
*The seventh season of any of many shows or series; see and
*Series 7 exam, officially the General Securities Representative Exam, the most comprehensive financial securities exam offered by the FINRA
*'' Series 7: The Conte ...
. Simon Brew felt that the Great Intelligence's appearance was "very welcome" and compared the character's use to that of
Moriarty in Steven Moffat's series
''Sherlock''. Mark Snow described the Great Intelligence in his review as a "
Big Bad
Big Bad (abbreviated to BB or BBEG for ''big bad evil guy'') is a term to describe a major recurring adversary, usually the chief villain or antagonist in a particular broadcast season, originally used by the ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' televi ...
" and felt that the character's involvement tied nicely into the Spoonhead plot. Neela Debnath of ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'', despite feeling that the episode was a "rehash" of elements of "
Blink" and ''Sherlock'', commented that it appeared to be establishing the groundwork for a battle between the Doctor and Great Intelligence.
List of appearances
Television
*''
The Abominable Snowmen
''The Abominable Snowmen'' is the mostly missing second serial of the fifth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which originally aired in six weekly parts from 30 September to 4 November 1967.
In this seri ...
''
*''
The Web of Fear
''The Web of Fear'' is the partly missing fifth serial of the fifth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 3 February to 9 March 1968.
The serial is set on the ...
''
*"
The Snowmen
"The Snowmen" is an episode of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', first broadcast on Christmas Day 2012 on BBC One. It is the eighth ''Doctor Who'' Christmas special since the show's 2005 revival and the first to be ...
"
*"
The Bells of Saint John
"The Bells of Saint John" is the sixth episode of the seventh series of the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. It premiered in the United Kingdom on 30 March 2013 on BBC One; the episode was the first of the second ha ...
"
*"
The Name of the Doctor
"The Name of the Doctor" is the thirteenth and final episode of the seventh series of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 18 May 2013. It was written by Steven Moffat and directed ...
"
Comics
*''Yonder...the Yeti'' (''Doctor Who Weekly'' #31-34)
Direct-to-video
*''
Downtime
The term downtime is used to refer to periods when a system is unavailable.
The unavailability is the proportion of a time-span that a system is unavailable or offline.
This is usually a result of the system failing to function because of an u ...
''
Novels
*''
All-Consuming Fire
''All-Consuming Fire'' is a novel written by Andy Lane and the 27th entry in the ''Virgin New Adventures'', a series based on the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. The novel is a crossover with Arthur Co ...
''
*''
Millennial Rites
''Millennial Rites'' is an original novel written by Craig Hinton and based on the long-running British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. It features the Sixth Doctor and Mel.
Plot
The Doctor and Mel land in London, 1999, to c ...
''
*''
Business Unusual
The ''Past Doctor Adventures'' (sometimes known by the abbreviation ''PDA'' or ''PDAs'') were a series of spin-off novels based on the long running BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and published under the BBC Books imprin ...
''
*''
The Quantum Archangel
''The Quantum Archangel'' is a BBC Books original novel written by Craig Hinton and based on the long-running British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. It features the Sixth Doctor and Mel, the Master, and an appearance by an a ...
''
*''
Divided Loyalties Divided Loyalties may refer to:
* ''Divided Loyalties'' (film), a 1990 Canadian television film
*" Divided Loyalties", a 1995 episode of the science fiction television series ''Babylon 5''
* ''Divided Loyalties'' (novel), a 1999 novel in the Do ...
''
See also
*
Yeti (Doctor Who)
The Yeti are fictional robots from the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. They were originally created by Henry Lincoln and Mervyn Haisman, and first appeared in the 1967 serial ''The Abominable Snowmen'', ...
Notes
External links
The Great Intelligenceat the official BBC ''Doctor Who'' website
*
{{Doctor Who villains
Recurring characters in Doctor Who
Television characters introduced in 1967
Fictional parasites and parasitoids
Fictional telepaths
Doctor Who aliens
Fictional telekinetics