Frankenstein's Monster was a character from the 1818 novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. The creature, a reanimated soul created from body parts, became iconic when portrayed on film by Boris Karloff, and many other actors thereafter, in the 20th century. The character was never given a name by Shelley, and was correctly only known as The Monster, The Creature, or Frankenstein's Monster (and variants thereof), but over time it became common for it to be referred to simply (though inaccurately) as "Frankenstein".
In 1996, an android version of Frankenstein's Monster, with Dracula and the Grey Lady, was part of an attraction at the Festival of Ghana. When Daleks in pursuit of the Doctor's TARDIS fired on it, it attacked them (DW: The Chase). Microsoft would undergo investigation for building such dangerous robots. (EDA: Interference - Book One)
On 30 December 1999, Pete watched the 1931 Frankenstein film featuring the Creature while the Seventh Doctor regenerated in his morgue. After regenerating, the Eighth Doctor was startled by the Creature on Pete's television. (DW: Doctor Who (1996))
The character's creator, Mary Shelley, travelled with the Eighth Doctor as his companion for years. (BFA: Mary's Story)
Behind the scenes
- John Maxim played the robot version of Frankenstein's Monster in DW: The Chase (billed simply as "Frankenstein" in the credits).
- Dave Prowse, who plays a different creature in DW: The Time Monster, played no less than three different versions of Frankenstein's monster in films of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
- At the time The Chase was broadcast, Microsoft did not exist. It was retconned into being the creator of the android in Interference - Book One.
