Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think we have a topic devoted to one of the most mysterious characters in the whole show - The Valeyard!
First introduced in The Trial of a Time Lord, The Valeyard was described as “an amalgamation of the darker sides of [Doctors’] nature”.
The Valeyard appeared in multiple EU stories, including The Sixth Doctor: The Last Adventure, Trial of the Valeyard, Millennial Rites and other.
So, what do you guys think about this character? Do you think he will return to modern Who? Feel free to discuss anything related to The Valeyard here!
If absolutely nothing else, I adore The Valeyard’s outfit, an almost emo/goth take on the typical gallifreyan robes, and a perfect counterpart to Six’s iconic technicolour dreamcoat.
Michael Jayston’s performance is also great, and I especially loved him in the Unbound story He Jests at Scars
Great idea for a thread. I do like how for quite a long time, fandom couldn’t really agree on what the Valeyard was. The description in Trial is a little confusing - is he an alternate incarnation, is he a distillation of evil (and if so, how did he come about), is he like the Watcher - and interim stage?
Perhaps my greatest Doctor Who related pet peeve is that Michael Jayston doesn’t appear on merchandise the way that Jo Martin and the late, great John Hurt do. No disrespect to Martin and Hurt, but Jayston played the Doctor for a whole bloomin’ season, he needs to be in the lineup too. Let’s have some justice for the Valeyard.
Untapped potential there, with the Valeyard. He really should have made a return by now. I remember there being discussion among the fandom at the time of Matt Smith’s exit that the Valeyard should be coming, since the Doctor was nearing the end of his regeneration cycle. But then it never happened, and now it’s out there in limbo.
Potential spoilers for future seasons of Doctor Who
There are rumours about Season 3, though, which, if true, might make him relevant again…
I’d always been kind of hoping to see Michael Jayston reprise the role on screen, but with his death earlier this year, no chance of that. Definitely a character I’d have liked to see more of, though.
I recently listened to He Jests at Scars for the first time and found it incredibly moving. He was so good and interesting there.
Nah, he feels way more like a traditional villain than an official incarnation of the Doctor.
The inner fan in me always hoped, given what we know about the Valeyard, that either Matt Smith or Peter Capaldi should return to play that role as a full-fledged villain.
Jodie would be cool. I will never forgive Chibnall for having a Doctor-Master switcheroo story line and never giving Whittaker the opportunity to play the Master.
Maybe if there’d been more time. Stretch the storyline of Power of the Doctor out into multiple episodes, with them getting each other’s bodies in the first one…
As somebody who is a fan of Power of the Doctor, I just wish they pushed the idea a little farther. Let Jodie play the evil master and let Sacha Dhawan be the Thirteenth Doctor, even for a minute! The opportunity was RIGHT THERE!
I lost track of the fact we were talking about the Valeyard for a moment, and started picturing Michelle Gomez as the Doctor facing off against Peter Capaldi as the Master…
