The Judoon were a race of rhinocerid humanoids frequently employed as a mercenary police force.
Biology
Judoon were two-metre high humanoids with stocky builds and rhinoceros-like heads. They had large lungs to breathe even in environments with low levels of oxygen. (TV: Smith and Jones) Their thick skins were capable of withstanding most forms of attacks and their ears were capable of selective hearing. (REF: Doctor Who: The Visual Dictionary) Judoon had yellow blood. (TV: Prisoner of the Judoon) They had rather small brains; a Judoon brain was able to fit in a chest that could easily be held in a humanoid palm. (WC: Prequel (A Good Man Goes to War))
Culture
The Judoon were known for their strict obedience to the law and their brutal efforts in maintaining it. Crimes like physical assault of a Judoon incurred the death penalty, without chance for trial. The Doctor described them as logical, but stupid, and they seemed to favour methodical patterns of behaviour to a fault. (TV: Smith and Jones) Even on crucial missions, Judoons would obey local traffic laws, "Authorised personnel only" and "Pay and Display" signs, follow mission procedure rigidly and always got a form signed when commandeering transport. (TV: Prisoner of the Judoon)
Judoons slept with their boots on to show their dedication to their job. They also believed that a studded kilt was the sign of a warrior. (REF: Doctor Who: The Visual Dictionary)
The Judoon were trained to use all known forms of transit, albeit not very well in the case of cars. (TV: Prisoner of the Judoon)
Their language was composed of many one-syllable words ending in a vowel, generally an "o" sound (such as "blo mo co jo") but occasionally an "a". (TV: Smith and Jones, PROSE: Judgement of the Judoon) Each sentence was composed of several of these words strung together. (TV: Smith and Jones, The Stolen Earth) Despite the TARDIS containing a telepathic translator that turns all alien language into English, the Judoon language does not seem to be translated, even with the TARDIS and The Doctor present in their company.
Though they did not laugh, Judoons would shake and make laughter-like noise when amused. (PROSE: Judgement of the Judoon)
A favourite sport among the Judoon was Nukeball, but it was illegal on their planet to avoid the destruction of the population. (PROSE: The Coming of the Terraphiles) Judoon did not like opera. (COMIC: The Great Mordillo)
Technology
In general, Judoon technology was a dark red or black colour, and most instruments, such as their weapons, scanners and translators, were thick and pen-shaped, similar to a large sonic screwdriver.
Communication and scanning
The Judoon had scanners which would tell the Judoon the species of the scanned being. However, the scanners could be fooled by previous close contact with another species. Metamorphic beings capable of altering their internal biology using assimilated biomatter could also deceive the scan. They also were known to use a thick marker pen to mark "catalogued" people - those who had been scanned and deemed not to be a suspect - on their right hand.
The Judoon had translation devices which worked by analysing the recorded voice of a being. The translation was reciprocal. It also had a contact device that reached every Judoon helmet, allowing the Judoon Captain to give orders with a press of a button. (TV: Smith and Jones)
Transportation
The Judoon rockets were large, cylindrical craft with four boosters and four claws at the bottom which served as landing gear. Each craft could hold several thousand Judoon troops of several hundred each. (TV: Smith and Jones) They were powered by ionic pulse fusion engines, allowing them to cross the solar system in forty-five minutes. (TV: Prisoner of the Judoon) The ships were originally designed as military vessels and were shaped to strike fear in the hearts of their enemies. (REF: Doctor Who: The Visual Dictionary) The Judoon also had teleport technology. (PROSE: Judgement of the Judoon, TV: The Pandorica Opens, A Good Man Goes to War)
The Judoon were known to use an H2O scoop to transport buildings across space, and shield them with force fields as required by Galactic Law. (TV: Smith and Jones)
Weaponry and armour
The 'execution' punishment was delivered using a directed energy weapon with a red beam which could incinerate the target. (TV: Smith and Jones)
Judoon wore heavy black armour, sealed to allow them to survive in hostile environments. Their knees, feet, wrists and torsos were heavily armoured and reinforced for both offensive and defensive purposes. (REF: Doctor Who: The Visual Dictionary)
Other
In the 25th century, the Judoon were able to remotely lock down the communication and transport systems of spaceships. (PROSE: Judgement of the Judoon)
History
The Judoon were originally a warlike race. They became mercenaries for various Galactic organisations, including the Padrivole Regency and the Shadow Proclamation. (WC: Captain Jack's Monster Files) They came to be one of the universe's most trusted mercenary races largely at the expense of the Ogrons, who lost their dominant position as "hired guns" because of a string of defeats by the Third Doctor. (COMIC: Fugitive)
In 102, the Judoon were among the races who joined the Alliance. They came to Stonehenge and helped imprison the Eleventh Doctor in the Pandorica in order to save the Universe. (TV: The Pandorica Opens)
In 1902, while working for the Galactic Council, the Judoon were conned into assisting in a plot to use Temporal Reversion Devices on Earth. As they abducted Balmoral Castle during this, the misunderstanding would be known as "the Balmoral Incident". As a result of this, the Judoon were banned from Earth. (WC: Captain Jack's Monster Files, PROSE: Revenge of the Judoon)
At some point after the 1980s, the Judoon came to Earth, despite it being out of their jurisdiction. They came to the house on Allen Road, looking for an Eye of Akasha. The Fifth Doctor followed them and was forced to help them look for it after they threatened Tegan. He handed it over and let them leave, but using sleight of hand he switched the Eye with a cricket ball. (COMIC: The Forgotten)
The Judoon encountered the Sycorax at some point before 2006. The Sycorax who invaded Earth had belts made of Judoon skin. (REF: Doctor Who: The Visual Dictionary)
In 2008, a Plasmavore who was pretending to be an old lady called Florence Finnegan murdered the Child Princess of Padrivole Regency 9 and then escaped to the Royal Hope Hospital. The Judoon used an H2O scoop to transport the Royal Hope Hospital to the Moon, as they had no jurisdiction over Earth. The Plasmavore had drunk the blood of a human, though, and passed as a human to their scanners. The Tenth Doctor was able to make her drink his blood, making her seem like an alien again. Martha Jones then convinced the Judoon to check her again. Finding her to be the alien they sought, they killed her. The Judoon then returned the hospital to Earth. (TV: Smith and Jones) The Judoon also investigated Slitheen activities on Earth. (TV: Revenge of the Slitheen)
When the Tenth Doctor and Donna Noble came to the Shadow Proclamation to investigate the stolen planets, the Judoon were working as security for the Shadow Architect. (TV: The Stolen Earth)
In 2009, Captain Tybo of the 1005th Judoon Guard crashed on Earth while transporting the prisoner Androvax. Androvax escaped, and Tybo (wounded in his pursuit) was forced to accept help from Sarah Jane Smith and her friends. He was eventually able to track Androvax down and return him to custody. He initially sentenced Rani and Clyde to disintegration for interfering with his pursuit (by locking him in a EM shielded room), but he later commuted their sentences to planetary confinement after they helped prevent Androvax from escaping. (TV: Prisoner of the Judoon) The Judoon later took Androvax to a prison planet in the Calysteral cluster. (TV: The Vault of Secrets)
In 2010 a Judoon was at the bar where the Tenth Doctor came to visit Jack Harkness one last time before his regeneration. (TV: The End of Time)
In late 2010, a Judoon was hypnotised by the Krulius as part of his army of alien slaves led by him to attack Sarah Jane's house. Clyde used a detention force bubble to trap the Judoon. After he defeated several other of the aliens, the Judoon regrouped with the army and the Krulius ordered them to retreat. (WC: Defending Bannerman Road)
When the Council of Dead were planning to sell humans in slavery, they had to avoid the attention of the Judoon. The Eleventh Doctor believed he could scare off the buyers, the Zu'nar, with the threat of the Judoon. (WC: Attack of the Snowmen)
In 2487, the Judoon investigated the Invisible Assassin. They tracked it to New Memphis. The Tenth Doctor believed they would cause more harm than good and agreed to work with the Judoon commander, Rok Ma, provided the other Judoon kept off the planet. With the help of Nikki Jupiter, they were able to find the Invisible Assassin, bring down two criminal empires and find the bombs planted within Terminal 13. After the mission, Rok Ma left the Judoon forces and joined Nikki's detective Agency. (PROSE: Judgement of the Judoon)
In the 52nd century, Dorium procured security software for the headless monks by extracting it from the memory of a Judoon trooper. (WC: Prequel (A Good Man Goes to War)) Later, a squad of Judoon were part of the Eleventh Doctor's army which assaulted Demon's Run in order to rescue Amy Pond and her baby. When Colonel Manton gave the Clerics the order to abandon Demon's Run, the Judoon escorted them off the station. (TV: A Good Man Goes to War)
In 51,007, some Judoon took part in the tournament for the Arrow of Law. (PROSE: The Coming of the Terraphiles)
Undated events
- The Judoon were behind the loss of Extron's body. (COMIC: The Monster Upstairs)
- Following the activities in the Silver Devastation, Judoon were sent to pick up the criminals. (PROSE: The Game of Death)
- The Tenth Doctor described being in a mind-reading device “like he has gone six rounds with a Judoon bare-knuckle boxer”. (COMIC: The Green, the Bad and the Ugly)
- Some Judoon firearms were part of a shipment taken from the Hub that was then stolen by a rogue CIA Special Operations Division. (PROSE: The Men Who Sold the World)
- At least one Judoon was abducted and sent to face their fear in the Minotaur's Prison Ship. (TV: The God Complex)
- The Judoon worked as security officers at the Spaceport One. These Judoon dressed in red as opposed to black. Rory Williams ran into one and informed the Judoon officer of a Reptilodon invasion led by General Mystan. (PROSE: Rory's Adventure) The Judoon were soon on the scene to arrest the invading Reptilodons before anyone was hurt. (PROSE: Amy's Escapade)
Behind the scenes
The Brilliant Book 2012
According to The Brilliant Book 2012, a book that contains non-narrative based information; The Church have plans to complain to the Shadow Proclomation about the Judoon's involvment with the Doctor.
