Judoon
The Judoon are a race of mercenary police first appearing in the episode "Smith and Jones" (2007). They are basically humanoid in form, have heads that look like that of a rhinoceros, and wear black, bulky armour with heavy boots. As explained by David Tennant in a later interview, the name Judoon and the fact that the episode they appear in is set on the moon is an in-joke from the scriptwriter. As Tennant naturally has a Scottish accent one of the harder sounds to pronounce with an English accent is the 'oon' sound at the end of both words, including the line "a Judoon platoon upon the Moon".
Judoon are galactic police, brutal in their application of the law and highly logical in their battle tactics, but not very intelligent. They have no jurisdiction on Earth and no authority to deal with human crime, so when a fugitive alien hid out in an Earth hospital they transported the building to the moon. The Judoon carry energy weapons which can incinerate humans. In the hospital the Squad Leader is the only one seen to remove his helmet.
During the episode, the Doctor demonstrates considerable knowledge of Judoon methods and says that, whilst their behaviour is (on the surface) that of a military police force, they are little more than "interplanetary thugs". Also, according to The Doctor, the Judoon have a "great big lung reserve".
The Judoon are also mentioned in Revenge of the Slitheen, the first story of The Sarah Jane Adventures, although only once by name. One of the Slitheen said that the Intergalactic Police were after them. The Judoon also featured in 2008's Quick Reads release Revenge of the Judoon, where they seized Balmoral Castle in 1902 after being conned into a fraudulent mission; they made a deal with the Doctor that meant Earth was off-limits to them, something confirmed as canonical with the TV series by the BBC Monster Files feature.[1] The Judoon are also mentioned in the Doctor Who adventures Comic "The Great Mordillo."
The Judoon make a return appearance in "The Stolen Earth", as guards to white-skinned, red-eyed humanoid females at the Shadow Proclamation. Curiously, the TARDIS does not translate their language, and the Doctor replies in their language rather than in English. They only begin speaking English once he has introduced himself.
The Judoon make their first major novel appearance in Judgement of the Judoon, released April 2009.
The Judoon will appear in the third series of The Sarah Jane Adventures, in the serial Prisoner of the Judoon.
Appearances[]
- Doctor Who
- Smith and Jones — 2007
- The Stolen Earth — 2008
- Novels
- Revenge of the Judoon (New Series Adventures) by Terrance Dicks
- Judgement of the Judoon (New Series Adventures) by Colin Brake