March 23, 2019
Doctor Who exploded back onto our screens 14 years ago this week, and to celebrate we’ve taken a look back at 14 of the twistiest twists and universe-shaking shocks we’ve been treated to since.
Last of the Time Lords
The End of the World (2005)
What happened? Rose Tyler had travelled through time and space with a mysterious alien called the Doctor. But who was he, and where did he come from?
Why did our jaws drop? Old-school Doctor Who fans were stunned to find out that everything they thought they knew about the Doctor was wrong. He wasn’t one of an all-powerful bunch of Time Lords. He was the only one. The rest had all burned in a terrible war with the Daleks. Sob!
The Daleks survived!
Bad Wolf (2005)
What happened? On a space station studio devoted to deadly versions of popular TV shows, the Doctor was horrified to discover who the executive producers were!
Why did our jaws drop? We already knew that one Dalek had survived the Time War but it had destroyed itself. Now, there was a whole army of them, hiding in the shadows! The Daleks were back in business, and the Doctor stood alone.
You Are Not Alone
Utopia (2007)
What happened? When the Doctor met the Face of Boe, he gave a strange prophecy – “You are not alone”. Later, scientist Professor Yana was confused by the Doctor’s talk of Time Lords and TARDISes. His real memories flooded back…
Why did our jaws drop? The Professor was a Time Lord too! And he was the maddest, baddest one of the lot – the Master! The truth had been staring us in the face all along: Yana came from “You Are Not Alone” – the Face of Boe’s prophecy. Minds blown everywhere!
Rose is back!
Partners in Crime (2008)
What happened? The Doctor and his best mate Rose Tyler had been trapped in different universes with no hope of a reunion.
Why did our jaws drop? Everyone gasped when they saw who Donna Noble had asked to fish her car keys out of a bin. It was Rose! But how could she be there? And why had she just disappeared again while running down the street? So many questions!
“I’m sorry, it’s too late. I’m regenerating”
The Stolen Earth (2008)
What happened? The Doctor and Rose were about to be reunited! Yay! Then he was shot by a Dalek! Boo!
Why did our jaws drop? For one bonkers week, the whole world held its breath, waiting to find out if David Tennant was leaving the show to make way for a shock new Doctor. The Doctor did regenerate, but he kept the same face! That’s cheating, but it was so much fun nobody minded really.
The Doctor’s DEAD!
The Impossible Astronaut (2011)
What happened? When we were invited to join the Doctor, Amy, Rory and River on the banks of Lake Si-lencio, show boss Steven Moffat was quite clear – one of them was going to die.
Why did our jaws drop? The one thing most people were sure about was that the victim couldn’t be the Doctor. It’s Doctor Who, after all. But it was! Blimey. Obviously they found a way around it, or you probably wouldn’t be reading this now.
Will the real Amy please stand up?
The Almost People (2011)
What happened? After a sticky encounter with gooey human duplicates called the Flesh, Rory was baffled when the Doctor started scanning Amy. Only she wasn’t Amy at all, she was Flesh, which promptly splatted to the floor in a pile of gloop.
Why did our jaws drop? This was one of the biggest shockers in the entire history of the show. How long had this fake Amy been travelling in the TARDIS? And where was the real one? Things could never be the same again.
The only water in the forest is the river
A Good Man Goes To War (2011)
What happened? The real Amy was found, and she’d had a real baby! Then, the baby was immediately kid-napped! And THEN, River Song turned up and announced that she was the baby, all grown up.
Why did our jaws drop? This episode had revelation after revelation, and finally made sense of who the mysterious River Song really was after years of hints. Thank goodness the theme music started up when it did, our nerves probably couldn’t have taken much more.
Soufflé girl
Asylum of the Daleks (2012)
What happened? Oswin Oswald was a soufflé-loving girl trapped on a planet full of mad Daleks. The Doctor had to get to her before the Daleks did, but there was a heartbreaking twist to come…
Why did our jaws drop? Everyone knew Jenna Coleman was joining the show, but people were gobsmacked she turned up earlier in the series as Oswin. But Soufflé Girl’s fate seemed to make it unlikely we’d ever see her again – how could she possibly come back for good?
The Warrior
The Name of the Doctor (2013)
What happened? Splinters of Clara Oswald had been scattered through time to help all the Doctors – but she knew there were only eleven at the time and she’d seen one more face.
Why did our jaws drop? There was whole extra Doctor we’d never seen before out there! Now that really was a sur-prise birthday party.
Eight again!
The Night of the Doctor (2013)
What happened? Stricken pilot Cass was about to crash into the planet Karn, but right at the last minute, a blue box materialised on board. Was she about to be saved by whoever was inside?
Why did our jaws drop? As Doctor Who geared to celebrate its landmark 50th anniversary, we were expecting a few old faces to pop up – but everyone was caught by surprise when a special mini-episode starring the Eighth Doctor dropped. We finally got to see how he regenerated – and it was very cool.
The Curator
The Day of the Doctor (2013)
What happened? The Day of the Doctor had already been quite the day, with Doctors galore, Daleks every-where and Gallifrey saved. And just when it all seemed to be over, a familiar rich, dark voice boomed out from the under gallery…
Why did our jaws drop? Was this mysterious gent with the twinkle in his eye really just the curator of this remarka-ble collection, or was he actually yet another Doctor? And does this meant that some of our favourite Doctors might come around again one day? The mind boggles!
Alive again
The Time of the Doctor (2013)
What happened? A knackered Doctor had been defending the town of Christmas on Trenzalore from an ar-my of his oldest enemies. He’d grown old and tired, and the end looked like it was finally in sight…
Why did our jaws drop? The Doctor had always thought that he had a limited number of lives, but when he made his dramatic last stand, something very exciting happened. A crack appeared in the sky, and the Time Lords sent through the gift of more regenerations! This meant the Doctor’s adventures could continue indefinitely, which is pretty good news as far as we’re con-cerned.
She’s the Master
Dark Water (2014)
What happened? The Doctor was bewitched, bothered and bewildered by a mysterious woman who seemed to know him very well, but who he couldn’t quite place.
Why did our jaws drop? SHE WAS THE FLIPPIN’ MASTER! OMG!