And behind door number 22... a guide to some music of the more traditional kind
Catherine Munn and Jacob Martin list their Top 5 programmes to watch over the festive period.
And behind door number nine... some dazzling musical delights
The complete arts guide, for week 9
10. Ernst Stavro Blofeld. (Telly Savalas/Donald Pleasance)
James Bond's most potent nemesis, supremo of the international criminal organisation SPECTRE. Blofeld was faceless until his debut in You Only Live Twice, wherein we see him as a demented Austrian cat-fancier. He later killed Bond's wife, which was pretty evil.
9. Fu Manchu.
One of the world's most dangerous inhabitants, Fu Manchu had "a brow like Shakespeare and a face like Satan", and spent most of his time in a secret base beneath London's Chinatown perfecting the art of chemical and bacteriological warfare.
8. Dr Evil. (Mike Myers)
The farcical opponent of Austin Powers, his brother Dr Evil (a.k.a. Dougie Powers) holds forth in his lair atop the Seattle Space Needle with his feral, diminutive clone Mini-Me, regularly blackmailing the world for sums which haven't been adjusted for inflation.
7. Professor Moriarty.
Worryingly, though perhaps not surprisingly, many super-villains have ties with higher education. Conan Doyle created a nemesis for Sherlock Holmes with a planet-sized brain, who has been played variously as a demented academic and a suave psychopath. Last seen falling head first down the Reichenbach Falls.
6. Khan Noonien Singh. (Ricardo Montalban)
The genetically engineered superman Khan was always a bit of a tyrant, but after being marooned by Captain Kirk for twenty years on a wasted planet, fending off constant brain-slug attacks, he went full-on evil, but still maintained his charisma and impressive physique.
5. Lex Luther.
Superman's arch-nemesis, demented slaphead Luther has been shown in many guises over the years, from Gene Hackman's cunning portrayel, to Michael Rosenbaum's chummy small-screen persona, he always seems to return to stir up trouble.
4. The Sheriff of Nottingham. (Alan Rickman)
Alan Rickman's dastardly (and definitive) Sheriff was always causing mayhem, amassing power and influence, and threatening to cut people's hearts out with spoons. He even usurped Kevin Costner's Robin Hood (not, admittedly, a hard thing to do) in terms of likeability.
3. Keyser Soze.
For those who haven't seen The Usual Suspects, the identity of cinema's most enigmatic villain will come as a surprise. Regarded as a myth by the film's protagonists, he operates from the shadows. After all, "the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist".
2. Darth Vader.
Fondly remembered as the asthmatic overlord of the evil Empire in Star Wars, before his back story was ruined by the ridiculous prequels (why would someone married to Natalie Portman be so angry?) Still, we'll always have the Force-induced choking to remember.
1. The Joker. (Heath Ledger)
Not so much a power amasser as an anarchic force of nature, Ledger's portrayal of Batman's recurring foil as a mysterious psychopath always six steps ahead of the law took villainy to new levels. As he said, "I'm not a monster. I'm just ahead of the curve".
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