10 Longest Pay-Offs In Doctor Who History

10. RTD Arcs

In season one, we keep seeing the words Bad Wolf, in season two we had Torchwood, in season three we spotted Vote Saxon posters, and in season four we kept being told that planets (and bees) were disappearing.

Each of these mysteries was developed over their respective seasons, with information slowly being gradually drip-fed as we progressed through the story. The arcs would all last for an entire season and then hit us hard at the end.

The best of these arcs was seen in season four. Multiple threads ran through the episodes; the disappearing planets and bees, the return of Rose Tyler, mentions of the Doctor Donna, the Medusa Cascade and "there's something on your back". All of these things would return towards the end of the season to bite us on the backside when it all came together.

Season four was an absolute masterclass in storytelling from Russell T Davies and his team, and these arcs are something we're really excited to see when RTD returns. We can only wonder what he's got up his sleeve, but we know it's going to be good.