Keep It Zipped

Love 'em or hate 'em, the Slitheen are amongst the most profilic monsters to come out of Russell T Davies' 21st century take on Doctor Who. Next week the creatures are back on our screens for the first Sarah Jane Adventure; so now's an ideal time to look back at the family history of the Slitheen, and learn from the mistakes they've made...

Aliens of London/World War Three

The first appearence of the Slitheen occured way back in 2005, when Christopher Eccleston took on the family unit as they attempting an invasion of British Parliament, so that they could nuke the planet into a pile of molten slag. Amongst the Slitheen family seen here is Blon Fel Fotch Pasameer-Day Slitheen (aka Margaret Blaine) who somehow manages to escape as the Doctor blows up 10 Downing Street.

Lesson learnt: Don't pretend to be a Politican, because it'll always come back to haunt you. Oh, and avoid farting - it's a dead giveaway.

The Monsters Inside

Another Ninth Doctor adventure, as he and Rose find themselves imprisoned on a penal colony with a couple of Slitheen. However, despite appearences the Slitheen aren't entirely the bad guys. That honour instead falls to their ancestory cousins, the Blathereen. With the Doctor's help, the Slitheen are able to escape the prison and resume their intergalactic business; with their Blathereen rivals out of the way.

Lesson learnt: There's worse things than sharing a prison cell with a Slitheen. I'm told...

Boomtown

The return of Margaret Blaine (aka Blon Fel Fotch Pasameer-Day Slitheen) as she attempts to destroy Cardiff in her dasterdly attempt to escape planet Earth. Although it doesn't quite work the way she planned. She escapes, as an egg, having finally achieved the redemption she's longed for since becoming trapped on Earth.

Lesson learnt: Slitheen and a deus ex machina ending don't mix well...

Revenge of the Slitheen

Although the overall plot is a closely guarded secret, we do know that the family Slitheen are back on Earth; inside a school. What they don't bank upon however is an appearnece by Sarah Jane Smith and her loyal bunch of Smithren.

Lesson learnt: Don't pretend to be a teacher, because it'll always come back to haunt you. Oh, and avoid farting - it's a dead giveaway.

To learn more about the Slitheen visit this wikipedia page, or read BBC Book's "Monsters and Villains" which explores the Slitheen family history in detail; as well as explaining how the Slitheen were brought to our screens in the first place using a mix of rubber suits and CGI.

"Revenge of the Slitheen" begins next Monday on BBC One at 5pm.