10 Shocking Classic Doctor Who Era Cliffhangers

10. Auton Police (Terror Of The Autons)

If it's one thing that Robert Holmes tried to instil into his scripts, and that's horror themed elements. One could argue that he played a massive part in sending children scurrying behind the sofa, due to the content on screen being too frightening to watch.

Terror of the Autons was a prime example of Robert Holmes taking things a bit too far, incorporating a troll doll that chokes people, a sofa that engulfs its user, and a daffodil that literally murders you. Being the creator of the dreaded Autons, he felt it would be fun to find new ingenious ways to terrify the masses with their sequel outing.

He went as far as having the Autons disguise themselves as police officers. The cliff-hanger is cleverly built up in its intrigue, having the officers rescue the Third Doctor and Jo from a circus riot, but Jo quickly puts two-and-two together that something isn't right. Why were they being driven further and further into the middle of nowhere?

To confirm his suspicion, the Third Doctor proceeds to whip off the police officer's face (which, in itself, would've caused children across Britain to scream in unison), revealing them to be a faceless plastic creature. Parents were then worried they're children would now be frightened of the police force. I wonder why?