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David Tennant and Catherine Tate reveal their favorite Doctor Who monsters
Tennant and Tate's favorite monsters bookend two fabulous eras of Doctor Who
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Every Doctor Who fan has their favorite monster from the show, and David Tennant and Catherine Tate are no different. Numerous, now iconic, aliens were introduced during Tennant and Tate's tenure on the show. And the pair's choices for their favorite reflects their sensibilities as artists who have contributed to Doctor Who lore.
While on a panel at FANEXPO Dallas, Catherine Tate revealed that her favorite Doctor Who monster was the Vashta Nerada, from the Silence in the Library episode. "I remember there was a line in it that just encapsulated everything about something that could scare you and keep you up at night, but being so brilliantly minimalist at the same time. And that is, it's not every shadow, it's any shadow," speaking of course to the Vashta Nerada's ability to hide or appear in the form of shadows.
Tennant, on the other hand, favors the Zygon aliens featured on the show when he was a child. The Zygons first appeared in the aptly-named Terror of the Zygons episode, during the Fourth Doctor's tenure in 1975. Speaking to fans, Tennant said, "When I was a kid, the Zygons, I loved them. Because they were a very particular design: big cone-headed things with suckers all the way down them. And I always hoped that they would return. And they didn't. And when I came back for the 50th anniversary special, they did!"
The Zygons have one of the most distinctive designs within the alien pantheon on Doctor Who. Tennant noted that "...when you see them up close, you think, 'Oh they're a bit silly, really, aren't they?'" This speaks to the show's capacity for both camp and genuine horror. For every "silly" looking alien like the Zygons, you have a genuinely disturbing creature like the Vashta Nerada. That's part of what makes the series so fun to watch.
If you want to start watching Doctor Who and don't know where to start, check out our handy Doctor Who watch guide. Or maybe you're already finished with the show - We've got the perfect Ten shows to watch when you're done watching Doctor Who guide for you too. If you're already heads over heels for the Fifteenth Doctor and want to learn more about the actor playing him, check out what he's been in before here. Or maybe you just need to figure out how the new series numbering is going to work (Are there really gonna be two series 1s? Yes.) - if so, this is the explainer you want.
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