Gorilla

Gorilla
Biological type:	Primate
Place of origin:	Earth
First appearance:	Stanley
Appearances:	AUDIO: The Way Forwards COMIC: The Doctor and the Nurse

Extraterrestrial lookalikes

Gorillas were a type of ape native to Earth.

Earth gorillas

The Doctor, his companions and associates occasionally ran across gorillas in their travels. For instance, the Fourth Doctor and Leela once visited the London Zoo at a time when its animals were running free. They saw a gorilla grooming one of the zoo keepers. (PROSE: Stanley)

In 1911, Nathaniel Whitlock had a gorilla on his property in Suffolk. He paid £150 for it. (AUDIO: Moonflesh)

In 1936, Charley described the Slaverings as a "cross between a silver-backed gorilla and Mr Hyde." (AUDIO: The Shadow at the Edge of the World)

The Eleventh Doctor and Rory Williams visited New York City in the 1930s and found it was being menaced by an apparently giant gorilla. However, the Doctor told Rory that the gorilla was not giant, but the city itself had been shrunk. Though the Doctor wished to rectify this, Rory convinced him that it could wait. (COMIC: The Doctor and the Nurse)

Breeds

Amongst the specific breeds of gorilla known were mountain gorillas. (PROSE: The Last Dodo)

Cultural references to gorillas

Gorillas were often the subject of fiction. One of the more popular films of the 20th century was King Kong, which depicted the adventures of a giant gorilla. This movie spawned imitations, such as Mighty Joe Young. (PROSE: Happy Endings)

In an alternate 1887, John Hart saved Queen Victoria from an alien that was passed off in the press as an escaped gorilla. (AUDIO: The Death of Captain Jack)

There was also some literary use of gorillas. Lucy Hayward developed a life-long fear of gorillas from a book which she had read as a child. It was this fear which eventually killed her in a room on the Minotaur's "hotel". (TV: The God Complex)

It was also common for people to dress up as gorillas. Harry Sullivan, for instance, used a gorilla costume from the TARDIS to help fool a tribal shaman in Nyasaland into believing that the tribal chief had captured a mythical "Nandi Bear" inside the ship. (PROSE: To Kill a Nandi Bear)

The term "gorilla" also saw use an epithet or insult, indicating a person — usually male — who was ugly or brutish. Rose Tyler described Darren Pye as looking like a shaved gorilla, "only not as handsome." (PROSE: Winner Takes All)

In Charnage Hospital in 1917, Ace comtempuously referred to the soldiers under Lance-Corporal Burridge's command as his "trained gorillas". (AUDIO: No Man's Land)

In Monte Carlo in 1966, Peri Brown compared Gavin Walker's security guards to gorillas. This confused Erimem, who believed that she was talking about the animal. (AUDIO: The Veiled Leopard)

Behind the scenes

The gorilla from The God Complex that frightened Lucy Hayward in the hotel room was a role played by actor Roger Ennals.