Voord

Voord
Doctor Who alien
A Voord in "The Sea of Death", part one of The Keys of Marinus
Type	Amphibious humanoids
Home planet	Marinus
First appearance	The Keys of Marinus (1964)

The Voord are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants portrayed in the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. Both "Voord" and "Voords" have been used as the plural form. The Voord were conceived by science-fiction writer Terry Nation and first appeared in the 1964 Doctor Who serial The Keys of Marinus. They later appeared in Doctor Who stories in other formats. In one of those stories, written by Grant Morrison, the Voord are revealed to have evolved into the iconic Doctor Who villains the Cybermen.

The Voord were conceived as the villains for the season 1 Doctor Who serial The Keys of Marinus by writer Terry Nation, who previously conceived of the Daleks for an earlier season 1 Doctor Who story. As with the Daleks, Nation's script left the description of the Voord vague, and the design was developed by costume designer Daphne Dare. Freelance contractors Dave and John Lovell created the three heads and three pairs of black gloves that were used as part of the Voord costumes for less than 70 pounds. The Voord were portrayed by actors Martin Cort, Peter Stenson and Gordon Wales and their leader Yartek by Stephen Dartnell.

Author Dave Thompson described the Voord as "black amphibious humanoids." Authors Tat Woods and Lawrence Miles descrive them as "web-footed human beings in black frogman outfits." Authors David J. Howe, Mark Stammers and Stephen James Walker describe them as "rubber suited assailants." Howe and Walker describe the Voords' wetsuit costumes as "cliched but surprisingly effective." They describe the helmets as being "cleverly designed," containing different shaped antennae for all the Voord except Yartek. Woods and Miles describe the "wedge-shaped helmets" with antennae as suggesting an "evil Teletubby." Woods and Miles also take certain clues from the story to suggest that the Voord may actually look like humans under their outfits. Their wet suits are acid-proof but can tear. The Voord weapons include a dagger and a ray gun. Woods and Miles compare their submarine to a squeegee bottle.