Posted in: BBC, Disney+, TV | Tagged: doctor who, steven moffat

Doctor Who: Steven Moffat on Villengard Becoming a Series "Big Bad"

Doctor Who has had a "big bad" lurking in the background for twenty years. Villengard creator Steven Moffat on its accidental emergence.

There are many big bads in Doctor Who: the Daleks, the Cybermen, the Sontarans, even the Time Lords themselves, and many more, but one that has lurked in the background for twenty years has been the intergalactic arms manufacturer and tech corporation Villengard, created by Steven Moffat back in his 2005 two-parter "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances." They're the bad guys in the latest Christmas Special, "Joy to the World." In a long interview with Doctor Who Magazine, Steven Moffat talked about the accidental twenty-year arc involving the Villengard Corporation.

Doctor Who's Accidental Big Bad

"Well, it's rather a slight arc!" he said. "It was originally only mentioned for a joke about bananas. The Doctor says he's blown it up, so he's already dealt with Villengard years ago. Peter Capaldi's Doctor goes to the ruins of Villengard in "Twice Upon a Time", very briefly, to find that Dalek. And then, of course, there was the landmine in Boom. So, when I was thinking, 'Who could be behind this?' Villengard was the answer. I think they've been established enough now for them to be 'an old enemy'."

Villengard is the most insidious villain on Doctor Who because it is a big, faceless corporation that is not human. It is driven only by profit, no matter how many people die, as long as it still gets money. Evil corporations are a common villain in every genre, including Doctor Who, and Moffat didn't even need to think deeply about what they represent. Evil corporations are Evil Capitalism in one go, and their evil is limitless in real life and in fiction.

"Russell did say to me, 'He has to go to Villengard! He has to go and blow them up!' But I said, 'He already did! Christopher Eccleston has already blown them up!'

Doctor Who Magazine mentioned that since that story was never written or seen, it could have been any Doctor who destroyed Villengard since that was in the current Doctor's past but in many people's future. Villengard had been around a long time, long enough to have its fingers in many industries, including the terrible medical insurance and service that was featured in "Boom."

"Well, yes," acknowledges Steven. "It could have been Patrick Troughton. But I always imagined it being Chris who blows up Villengard." Davies and Moffat have joked about the head of the corporation being a Miss Villengard, who would be an unexpected but well-known guest star who was the nicest, most unassuming little old lady you can imagine. "Joy to the World" is Moffat's 50th and possibly final Doctor Who story for the time being. At least until the news comes out that he's written another episode.

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