Doctor Who: 10 Greatest Things The 50th Anniversary Year Gave Us

10. The Doctor's Beginnings

Nearly every Doctor Who fan's jaw hit the floor when Series 7 finale 'The Name of the Doctor' opened by showing us the forbidden; the moment the Doctor left Gallifrey. The Doctor's time on Gallifrey has always been shrouded in mystery, limited to infrequent hints scattered across fifty years and the First Doctor's assertion that he and his granddaughter, Susan, left their home planet together. Here, we have this confirmed as the Doctor and Susan run away with a faulty TARDIS - with a little surprise help from the Doctor's future companion, Clara (although it does sort of go against Idris' claim that she picked the Doctor in 'The Doctor's Wife' and.. I'll stop now). This is a real moment for fans, something would usually be more likely found in a tie-in novel or comic strip than the actual show itself. If this scene had occurred in any other year of the show, it would be hard to argue that it wasn't overly self-indulgent. Yet this year it seems utterly right that we should finally see how the Doctor's journey across time and space began...