The Doctor has faced many invisible monsters and aliens in Doctor Who throughout his lives! From the Spiridons that were being experimented on in Planet of the Daleks to the Krafayis in France 1890 that menaced Vincent Van Gogh (Vincent and the Doctor), invisible creatures have been plaguing the Doctor for years (The Invisible Enemy).

Planet of the Daleks

★★★★☆

TX: 07/04/1973 – 12/05/1973

Written by Terry Nation    Directed by David Maloney

The Third Doctor and Jo follow the Daleks to the planet Spiridon. There they discover that the Daleks have been experimenting on the native Spiridons’ invisibility. A massive Dalek army beneath the surface of an ice volcano has been kept in suspended animation. The Daleks intend to make this army invisible and therefore invincible thanks to their experiments. The Doctor, Jo and a group of Thals from the planet Skaro make their way through Dalek control and also the ice volcano. The Dalek Supreme arrives on Spiridon to take control of the situation and activate the new invisible Dalek army. The Doctor and his companions decide to cause the ice volcano to erupt, which buries all the Daleks in molten ice. After making their goodbyes to the Thals, the Doctor and Jo narrowly avoid being exterminated by the surviving Supreme Dalek before escaping in the TARDIS.

Vincent and the Doctor

★★★★★

TX: 05/06/2010

Written by Richard Curtis   Directed by Jonny Campbell

The Eleventh Doctor takes Amy to the Musée d’Orsay in Paris to see the paintings of Vincent Van Gogh. However, the Doctor spots a creature in the widow of the painting of the Church at Auvers. The Doctor and Amy travel back in time to France 1890 where they meet Vincent Van Gogh. Van Gogh has been ostracised by society because of his mental health problems. Van Gogh flirts with Amy and suggests that they should have children together. The Doctor tells Vincent that his paintings are masterpieces! The Doctor explains to Vincent that he needs to paint the Church at Auvers, because in the window of the church is an invisible creature called the Krafayis. The Krafayis has been killing the local villagers and it also attacks the Doctor, Amy and Vincent at Vincent’s house. Vincent is suffering from depression, but the Doctor manages to convince him to paint the church. The Doctor, Amy and Vincent go to the church and whilst Vincent is painting outside, they spot the Krafayis in the window. The trio venture inside the church and fight the invisible Krafayis. During the fight, Vincent manages to kill the Krafayis using his easel. Later, the Doctor and Amy take Vincent into the future to see his artwork being appreciated in the present day. An art expert in the Musee D’Orsay explains behind Vincent’s back that Vincent is the greatest painter who ever lived. Vincent is redeemed and the Doctor and Amy hope that will cheer him up and inspire him to create even more artwork. However, upon returning to the gallery in the present, the Doctor and Amy find that sadly their actions didn’t change history, and Vincent Van Gogh still committed suicide at a young age. Amy says that if she and Vincent had got married they would have had very red hair. Amy notices that Vincent dedicated a painting to her. “The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don’t always soften the bad things, but vice versa, the bad things don’t always spoil the good things or make them unimportant.” With regard to mental health, I believe that mental health should be treated the same way as physical health, i.e. people should be more open about it. In the past, I have suffered from depression and suicidal thoughts (exacerbated by others telling me that my life wouldn’t be worth living) and I therefore sought professional help. Once I found the right therapist, the therapy I had was life-changing and I have now made Doctor Who my whole life in Cardiff. Also, you are happier when you clear people out of your life who aren’t nice to you or who hurt you or who don’t like you or if you don’t like them. You shouldn’t have anything to do with anyone that doesn’t have your best interests at heart, especially if they can’t tolerate your level of obsession with Doctor Who etc because they aren’t nice.