See How The Doctor Who Spring Special Has Redesigned Their Classic 1980s Villains

The Doctor Who spring special is about to bring back a villain that has not been seen since the 1980s, and they have received a new redesign.

By James Brizuela | Published

jodie whittaker doctor who

A familiar foe to Whovians is set to return in the Doctor Who spring special. While this classic villain has not been around since the 1980s, it was seemingly time to bring them back in a big way. The Sea Devils will be making their way back into the Doctor Who universe, after first appearing to the Third Doctor in Season 3 of the long-standing series. Now that these ancient alien monsters have resurfaced, literally and figuratively, they have also gone through a bit of redesign. You can see the image of the old and new designs below:

doctor who sea devil
doctor who sea devil

While the design of the 1980s version doesn’t seem to be far off from the redesign, there is a ton more of the finer details to appreciate. For one, the coat of the new Sea Devils seems to look beat up with a bit of coral attached to it. Like that of the crew from Davy Jones in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. The facial design also looks to be similar in nature, though the elongated head might be part of the new look. These newly designed creatures are set to run amuck in the Doctor Who spring special, which airs on April 17th.

The full synopsis for the Doctor Who spring special sees the new Doctor, Yaz, and Dan being in 19th century China. They are set to take on the villainous pirate queen Madame Ching. Ching uses the new Sea Devils as her monstrous army in a bid to destroy the world. This will be the first special to air on BBC since January of this year. The last special was titled, “Eve of the Daleks.” This will likely be the second to the last special that sees Jodie Whitaker portraying the Doctor, as she is set to step down when the third and final special airs this year. Returning showrunner responsible for the 2010 revival of Doctor Who, Russell T. Davies, is set to take over the new series. Though there is no mention yet about who the next Doctor will be, there are plenty of rumors surrounding Hugh Grant as the next in line for the role.

Doctor Who has been airing since the 1960s, but lost its following and ratings sometime after, leaving Davies to help bring back the show to its original glory. The 2010 revival went crazy, and the series turned into a massive cultural phenomenon. Though Jodie Whittaker has been a great Doctor for the past four years, ratings are said to have plummeted again. Hopefully, the Doctor Who spring special can bring back some of that former glory and send Whittaker off the right way. The fact that the series is bringing back the classic Sea Devils, shows that the creators have surely not forgotten where they started.

The Doctor Who spring special, “Legend of the Sea Devils“, will air on April 17th. The Sunday special will see these classic villains make a big return. This new special will also possibly see the Doctor having to think of a clever way to best an aquatic and alien race that is being controlled by an even more nefarious pirate queen.