Before we pick on the show too badly, let's point out that they had a legitimate villainess right in the first season (Kala in Keys Of Marinus). So the show was, at least, able to show women as more than just helpless victims. They, too, could be conniving manipulators advancing their own evil agendas. This was not an exclusively male trait. As the show moved along, we saw other villainesses appear along the way: Maaga the Drahvin, Kaftan from Tomb of the Cybermen, Madeline Issigri in The Space Pirates - to name a few. There is still a greater abundance of male villains, but strong female characters of a dubious moral persuasion do crop up quite regularly.
Here's where we must point a finger at both the New and Classic Series: when it comes to recurring villainesses - the count is woefully low. While male baddies have been brought back on any number of occasions (for God's sake - even Lytton got two stories!) - this is hardly the case for women. In New Who - we've had only three "bad gals" make a return. Which, after nine seasons, is pretty bad statistics. Classic Who is even more embarrassing. In the Twenty-Six years that it was on our screens, only one - that's right, one - female baddie ever came back to fight the Doctor again.
Just for fun, I decided to watch all the Who stories that involved a recurring female baddie (it didn't take long). Using my over-analytical eye, I noticed a few patterns. Certain consistent traits that existed in all or most of them. Let's look at a few:
THE ACTUAL VILLAINESSES:
Before we start listing the traits, let's look at who the actual recurring villainesses are. Statistics concerning this essay will be, in some ways, almost misleading. I will use terms like 50% or 75% but that will really only represent 2 or 3 characters. Again, the lack of recurring evil females is almost embarrassing.
Classic Who:
The Rani
New Who:
The Lady Cassandra
Madam Kovarian
Missy
SPECIAL NOTE: If I counted evil women who had fought the Doctor in an unseen adventure, this number would increase slightly (particularly in the Seventh Doctor era). But it seems like a bit of a cheat to do that. Already, I feel like I'm cheating a bit with Missy since she was a male up until this current incarnation. So I'd rather not mess with the study even more. The main stipulation was that the villainess had to be seen in, at least, two televised stories. Previous clashes that are only referred to but not actually witnessed in a transmitted episode just don't count.
MINOR TRAITS
These are traits that, at least, 50% of the villainesses had.
SHE NEEDS TO BE A TIME LORD
It's fairly obvious who we're talking about, here. Both the Rani and Missy hail from Gallifrey and probably, even, studied at the Academy at the same time the Doctor did. But it does say something about the sexism behind some of the writing. There are all kinds of male characters who come back who are just normal guys. But for a female to make a return appearance, she frequently has to come from the same race as the Doctor. She needs to be more special than just a normal human being.
SHE NEEDS TO HAVE CAMEOS
I liked this trait. Because it meant that the villainess was, technically, in more than just two stories. Although she wasn't in the other stories long, it was still nice to see Missy and Madame Kovarian popping up every few episodes throughout series Six and Eight. It was a very nice touch that built up our expectations for the character and made us all the more intrigued with her.
SHE IS DISPASSIONATE IN WHAT SHE DOES
Of the two villainesses that are like this, the Rani is the best example. It's frequently cited in both her stories that she is coldly logical and devoid of all emotions. We do see brief moments of rage or a perverse enjoyment for some act of cruelty. But, for the most part, the description is accurate. Much of the same can be said for Madame Kovarian. She is dedicated to her cause more than she is gleeful about being mean. With both of these villainesses, it's about work rather than pleasure. This does mean that we do see both Missy and the Lady Cassandra taking lots of relish in what they do. But, when we consider the percentage of recurring male villains that are so quietly methodical (probably only around 20%), it seems that returning female baddies are more prone to undertaking their agendas with detachment rather than getting sadistic about the whole thing.
MAJOR TRAITS:
These traits are seen in, at least, 75% of the villainesses
SHE'S NOT ALL THAT BAD
By my definition, a good baddie is totally out for themselves and just wants to rule over all others. And, of course, they never repent. But if we look at our four evil females, three of them have quite a few redeeming qualities. Madame Kovarian is more like Professor Stahlman from Inferno. Not so much an evil person as someone who believes they're doing good but is going about it in the wrong way. She believes the Doctor must be killed before he reaches Trenzalore. It's for the good of the Universe. So she's more altruistic than she is, downright, rotten. In both her stories, thus far, Missy has done some terrible things. She kills with little or no reservation. But she's, easily, the worst incarnation of the Master when it comes to being self-serving. After building an army that could overtake the Universe, she hands it over to the Doctor. When we see her again in Magician's Apprentice/Witch's Familiar, she's actually trying to save the Doctor. Hardly the acts of a true villain, really. She's almost a good guy. And then there's the Lady Cassandra: her villainy stems from the fact that she is trying to become immortal and will harm whoever she needs to in order to accomplish it. But, in her final moments, she accepts her death and provides New Earth with a very heartfelt ending as she redeems herself, slightly. The only villainess that stays true to herself is the Rani. We never see her relent in her selfish ambitions. The other three seem to fluctuate in their resolve to always pursue the Darker Path.
SHE IS EXQUISITELY CRUEL TO THE FEMALE COMPANION
Yes, baddies all try to hurt female companions from time to time. It's part of being an effective antagonist in Doctor Who. But villainesses will often go out of their way to make life hell for women who travel with the Doctor. It's almost as if they're jealous of the attention she gets from the Doctor and must make them pay for it. Madame Kovarian is probably the best for this. She traps Amy in an iron lung for several long months without her even knowing it and then steals her child from her. Lady Cassandra isn't much nicer to Rose, though. In her first story, she is furious that Rose claims to be the last surviving human. She throws her into a room and has her spiders deactivate the sun filter. In New Earth, she possesses her body for most of the episode. Witch's Familiar is just one long torture session for poor 'ole Clara. Missy trusses her up, handcuffs her so she can be menaced by a Dalek, tosses her down a hole and almost tricks the Doctor into killing her. The only villainess that isn't too incredibly cruel to a female companion is the Rani. Although some might say her impersonation of Mel is the most horrible thing anyone has ever done.
UNIVERSAL TRAITS:
And, finally, we have traits that all villainesses possess.
SHE NEEDS A RECURRING GIMMICK AND/OR GADGET
The Rani seems to demonstrate this one the most obviously. In both stories that she's in, we see her employing the art of disguise and creating some sort of weird, over-contrived minefield. That's her shtick. Her "signature", if you will. The Lady Cassandra has to use her robot spiders and is, of course, obsessed with plastic surgery.. Madame Kovarian likes flesh avatars and always has the sinister eyepatch. Missy has the cell phonish contraption that shoots lazers and loves for people to say or do something pleasant before she has to kill them. This is something we see a lot in recurring male baddies, too. It's the kind of thing that every returning villain needs. But the villainesses seem to lean on their gimmicks more heavily. There are stories, for instance, where Ainley's Master doesn't get out the tissue compressor (Survival) and Davros doesn't really seem to have any kind of recurring shtick (perhaps the Daleks are his shtick?). So this trait isn't entirely necessary for the boys - but it's there in heavy doses for the girls.
Those are just a few things I observed about recurring villainesses in Who. It is a fun little study to undertake. You may want to try it, yourself, since there are only eight stories that you really need to watch.
ANOTHER SPECIAL NOTE: It is interesting that fandom, sometimes, likes to accuse Moffat of being sexist. His era actually has the highest concentration of recurring female villains. It's only two, of course. But it's still better than any other period of the show.
Here's where we must point a finger at both the New and Classic Series: when it comes to recurring villainesses - the count is woefully low. While male baddies have been brought back on any number of occasions (for God's sake - even Lytton got two stories!) - this is hardly the case for women. In New Who - we've had only three "bad gals" make a return. Which, after nine seasons, is pretty bad statistics. Classic Who is even more embarrassing. In the Twenty-Six years that it was on our screens, only one - that's right, one - female baddie ever came back to fight the Doctor again.
Just for fun, I decided to watch all the Who stories that involved a recurring female baddie (it didn't take long). Using my over-analytical eye, I noticed a few patterns. Certain consistent traits that existed in all or most of them. Let's look at a few:
THE ACTUAL VILLAINESSES:
Before we start listing the traits, let's look at who the actual recurring villainesses are. Statistics concerning this essay will be, in some ways, almost misleading. I will use terms like 50% or 75% but that will really only represent 2 or 3 characters. Again, the lack of recurring evil females is almost embarrassing.
Classic Who:
The Rani
New Who:
The Lady Cassandra
Madam Kovarian
Missy
SPECIAL NOTE: If I counted evil women who had fought the Doctor in an unseen adventure, this number would increase slightly (particularly in the Seventh Doctor era). But it seems like a bit of a cheat to do that. Already, I feel like I'm cheating a bit with Missy since she was a male up until this current incarnation. So I'd rather not mess with the study even more. The main stipulation was that the villainess had to be seen in, at least, two televised stories. Previous clashes that are only referred to but not actually witnessed in a transmitted episode just don't count.
MINOR TRAITS
These are traits that, at least, 50% of the villainesses had.
SHE NEEDS TO BE A TIME LORD
It's fairly obvious who we're talking about, here. Both the Rani and Missy hail from Gallifrey and probably, even, studied at the Academy at the same time the Doctor did. But it does say something about the sexism behind some of the writing. There are all kinds of male characters who come back who are just normal guys. But for a female to make a return appearance, she frequently has to come from the same race as the Doctor. She needs to be more special than just a normal human being.
SHE NEEDS TO HAVE CAMEOS
I liked this trait. Because it meant that the villainess was, technically, in more than just two stories. Although she wasn't in the other stories long, it was still nice to see Missy and Madame Kovarian popping up every few episodes throughout series Six and Eight. It was a very nice touch that built up our expectations for the character and made us all the more intrigued with her.
SHE IS DISPASSIONATE IN WHAT SHE DOES
Of the two villainesses that are like this, the Rani is the best example. It's frequently cited in both her stories that she is coldly logical and devoid of all emotions. We do see brief moments of rage or a perverse enjoyment for some act of cruelty. But, for the most part, the description is accurate. Much of the same can be said for Madame Kovarian. She is dedicated to her cause more than she is gleeful about being mean. With both of these villainesses, it's about work rather than pleasure. This does mean that we do see both Missy and the Lady Cassandra taking lots of relish in what they do. But, when we consider the percentage of recurring male villains that are so quietly methodical (probably only around 20%), it seems that returning female baddies are more prone to undertaking their agendas with detachment rather than getting sadistic about the whole thing.
MAJOR TRAITS:
These traits are seen in, at least, 75% of the villainesses
SHE'S NOT ALL THAT BAD
By my definition, a good baddie is totally out for themselves and just wants to rule over all others. And, of course, they never repent. But if we look at our four evil females, three of them have quite a few redeeming qualities. Madame Kovarian is more like Professor Stahlman from Inferno. Not so much an evil person as someone who believes they're doing good but is going about it in the wrong way. She believes the Doctor must be killed before he reaches Trenzalore. It's for the good of the Universe. So she's more altruistic than she is, downright, rotten. In both her stories, thus far, Missy has done some terrible things. She kills with little or no reservation. But she's, easily, the worst incarnation of the Master when it comes to being self-serving. After building an army that could overtake the Universe, she hands it over to the Doctor. When we see her again in Magician's Apprentice/Witch's Familiar, she's actually trying to save the Doctor. Hardly the acts of a true villain, really. She's almost a good guy. And then there's the Lady Cassandra: her villainy stems from the fact that she is trying to become immortal and will harm whoever she needs to in order to accomplish it. But, in her final moments, she accepts her death and provides New Earth with a very heartfelt ending as she redeems herself, slightly. The only villainess that stays true to herself is the Rani. We never see her relent in her selfish ambitions. The other three seem to fluctuate in their resolve to always pursue the Darker Path.
SHE IS EXQUISITELY CRUEL TO THE FEMALE COMPANION
Yes, baddies all try to hurt female companions from time to time. It's part of being an effective antagonist in Doctor Who. But villainesses will often go out of their way to make life hell for women who travel with the Doctor. It's almost as if they're jealous of the attention she gets from the Doctor and must make them pay for it. Madame Kovarian is probably the best for this. She traps Amy in an iron lung for several long months without her even knowing it and then steals her child from her. Lady Cassandra isn't much nicer to Rose, though. In her first story, she is furious that Rose claims to be the last surviving human. She throws her into a room and has her spiders deactivate the sun filter. In New Earth, she possesses her body for most of the episode. Witch's Familiar is just one long torture session for poor 'ole Clara. Missy trusses her up, handcuffs her so she can be menaced by a Dalek, tosses her down a hole and almost tricks the Doctor into killing her. The only villainess that isn't too incredibly cruel to a female companion is the Rani. Although some might say her impersonation of Mel is the most horrible thing anyone has ever done.
UNIVERSAL TRAITS:
And, finally, we have traits that all villainesses possess.
SHE NEEDS A RECURRING GIMMICK AND/OR GADGET
The Rani seems to demonstrate this one the most obviously. In both stories that she's in, we see her employing the art of disguise and creating some sort of weird, over-contrived minefield. That's her shtick. Her "signature", if you will. The Lady Cassandra has to use her robot spiders and is, of course, obsessed with plastic surgery.. Madame Kovarian likes flesh avatars and always has the sinister eyepatch. Missy has the cell phonish contraption that shoots lazers and loves for people to say or do something pleasant before she has to kill them. This is something we see a lot in recurring male baddies, too. It's the kind of thing that every returning villain needs. But the villainesses seem to lean on their gimmicks more heavily. There are stories, for instance, where Ainley's Master doesn't get out the tissue compressor (Survival) and Davros doesn't really seem to have any kind of recurring shtick (perhaps the Daleks are his shtick?). So this trait isn't entirely necessary for the boys - but it's there in heavy doses for the girls.
Those are just a few things I observed about recurring villainesses in Who. It is a fun little study to undertake. You may want to try it, yourself, since there are only eight stories that you really need to watch.
ANOTHER SPECIAL NOTE: It is interesting that fandom, sometimes, likes to accuse Moffat of being sexist. His era actually has the highest concentration of recurring female villains. It's only two, of course. But it's still better than any other period of the show.
Of all the female villains, The Rani is my favorite, especially when the late Kate O'Mara portrayed her. NO ONE could put both the Doctor AND the Master in their places better than her!
ReplyDeleteI quite liked the Rani, too. Would love to see her come back in the New Series. Could be a very interesting dynamic between her and Missy.
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