Alpha Centauran The Alpha Centaurans were a hexapod species , known for their nervous temperaments . Biology . The Alpha Centaurans had tentacle - like limbs , each tipped with claws . Their heads were featureless except for a large eye , with equally large optic blood vessels that nourished these eyes bulging from the skin around their heads . They were normally green in colour , though they would change in hue to match their emotion . ( PROSE : " The Dark Path " ) Red , pink and black was for anger , purple was for sadness and yellow was for fear or nervousness . Alpha Centaurans could be incapacitated by a blow to the side of the head , and struggled to right themselves if knocked off their feet . ( PROSE : " Legacy " , " The Monster of Peladon " ) Despite their female - like voices , Alpha Centaurans were hermaphrodite s and should properly be referred to as " it " . Nevertheless , the Doctor generally used the masculine to refer to the Federation ambassador to Peladon . ( TV : " The Monster of Peladon " ) Every few years , they would develop certain urges and , if convenient , they would create an offspring . ( PROSE : " Legacy " ) Culture . The Alpha Centaurans were known for being hypochondriacs . Alpha Centaurans never drank alcohol and could not see the appeal of it . ( PROSE : " The Dark Path " ) The Alpha Centauri were known for being adept at politics . ( PROSE : " " ) The Alpha Centaurans were greatly opposed to scandals and would do anything to cover them up . ( PROSE : " Shakedown " ) Apparently they enjoyed playing table tennis , having a Table Tennis Club . ( TV : " Robot " ) A fgan was an Alpha Centauran instrument . ( PROSE : " Rescue Mission " ) They opposed violence . ( AUDIO : " The Bride of Peladon " ) The most common and singular article of clothing used by Alpha Centaurians was a high - collared cloak that fitted around their necks and draped over the full length of their bodies to floor level . ( TV : " The Curse of Peladon " , " Art Attack " ) However , some Alpha Centaurians also wore fanciful hairpieces to show they were of high culture , and to also improvise for the lack of any natural hair growth on their craniums . They also showed an appreciation for finer interests , such as browsing galleries which held items of great artistic value . ( COMIC : " Art Attack " ) Alpha Centaurans created poetry . The Eighth Doctor ' s TARDIS contained various unfinished drafts of Alpha Centauran poetry . ( PROSE : " Longest Day " ) History . Alpha Centaurans sent a spaceship to Mars in 1881 . ( TV : Empress of Mars ) In Shanghai in 1941 , the Doctor , " a couple of centuries " prior to his fourth incarnation , helped a group of stranded Alpha Centaurans return home . ( PROSE : " The Shadow of Weng - Chiang " ) The Eighth Doctor and Samantha Jones saw an Alpha Centauran on holiday on Kursaal . ( PROSE : " Kursaal " ) Though Alpha Centaurans could be found in the Earth Empire , ( PROSE : " Original Sin " , " Shakedown " , PROSE : " Mean Streets " ) they became full members of the Galactic Federation . ( TV : " The Monster of Peladon " ) On the ship " Piri Reis " , the cultural advisor was a Alpha Centauran named Epilira . It was later removed from existence by the Darkheart . ( PROSE : " The Dark Path " ) During the entrance of Peladon into the Galactic Federation , Alpha Centauri acted as a diplomat . ( TV : " The Curse of Peladon " ) It later stayed on during the later war with Galaxy 5 . ( TV : " The Monster of Peladon " ) On the planet New Old Detroit , an Alpha Centauran named Hecto Shellac was such a brilliant lawyer that countless gangsters sought to use it to escape justice . Desperate for retirement , it prepared a World Bomb — capable of altering the whole planet according to the user ' s mind — to keep them off its back . Its dangerous actions were stopped when the Doctor activated the bomb and created a beautiful world with grass fields , supposedly because he " thought of England " . Hecto survived , albeit somewhat humiliated . ( COMIC : " The Deep Hereafter " ) In the 26th century , the Alpha Centaurans had a presence on Megerra . ( PROSE : " Shakedown " , PROSE : " Mean Streets " ) An Alpha Centauran appeared at the grand opening of the Oriel art gallery in the 37th century . ( COMIC : " Art Attack " ) In 4010 , Alpha Centaurans were on board the " Cressida " to watch a rare chemical reaction in the atmosphere of Uranus . ( PROSE : " Uranus " ) Undated events . The Second Doctor , Ben Jackson and Polly Wright encountered Venusian s , Draconian s and Alpha Centaurans at a spaceport bar . ( PROSE : " The Murder Game " ) Fitz Kreiner once saw two Alpha Centaurans playing a game of multidimensional chess . ( PROSE : " The Blue Angel " ) An Alpha Centauran was present on Paradost . ( COMIC : " The Glorious Dead " ) Alpha Centaurans had a presence on Coralee . ( PROSE : " Storm Harvest " ) An Alpha Centauran was present in the Frenko Bazaar . ( COMIC : " Bazaar Adventures " ) As shown in the Anubian Book of Deliverance , the Anubian s attacked the Alpha Centaurans . ( TV : " Curse of Anubis " )