10 Most Cringeworthy Doctor Who Moments From The '80s

Big hair, bright colours, and Doctor Who - what could possibly go wrong?

For those who lived through them, the '80s are a bizarre mixture of blissful nostalgia and everlasting embarrassment, and that goes double for the shows during that period. The early '80s have that interesting edge to them in which everything feels new, as Doctor Who did when John Nathan-Turner took over the reins. Then we moved into the mid-'80s, in which boundaries got pushed just a bit too far, as they did on Doctor Who (still being guided by John Nathan-Turner). And finally we moved into the late '80s, when nothing took itself seriously, especially Doctor Who (again, under JNT) - though Doctor Who seems to have gotten an early start in this area, if the costuming is anything to go by. The brands of cringeworthy moments in '80s Who are so variable, it's hard to imagine sometimes that they come from the same series, or that they all occurred under the same producer - but they did, every single one. Several of you have made suggestions for this list, but we're sure that we won't have hit all of them, so please feel free to tell us about any moments from our favourite show in the '80s that made you particularly embarrassed - and as usual, your mileage may vary!
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Tony Whitt has previously written TV, DVD, and comic reviews for CINESCAPE, NOW PLAYING, and iF MAGAZINE. His weekly COMICSCAPE columns from the early 2000s can still be found archived on Mania.com. He has also written a book of gay-themed short stories titled CRESCENT CITY CONNECTIONS, available on Amazon.com in both paperback and Kindle format. Whitt currently lives and works in Chicago, Illinois.