Doctor Who Series 10: 10 Biggest WTF Moments
Those times in Steven Moffat's final series of Doctor Who when we all said what? what? what?
These days it’s harder than ever to avoid Doctor Who spoilers. Most of them are leaked all over social media by overzealous set reporters or by journalists looking for a good story.
Even the BBC has got in on the act in an effort to drum up publicity or to be the first to get the news out. Long gone are the days when an appearance from the Master could be disguised by an unsubtle pseudonym or when a guest cast member could be easily smuggled onto the set without anybody noticing.
It’s a wonder then that Doctor Who can still surprise us, but this latest series has been delightfully full of unexpected twists, shocking revelations and dramatic plot points. Whether iconic or controversial these are the moments that will be talked about for years to come.
Here are some of those stand out scenes from series 10 that deserve a place in the WTF hall of fame. They can more than hold their own alongside the Tenth Doctor regenerating at the end of The Stolen Earth, SIr John Hurt's introduction as the Doctor in The Name of the Doctor, and even the revelation that the Face of Boe is none other that Captain Jack Harkness (The Last of the Time Lords).
10. The Death Of Spider
From the Dalek controller in Remembrance of the Daleks to
the young River Song as the impossible astronaut, some of the biggest shocks
and twists in Doctor Who have involved children. But has there ever been
anything quite as brutal as the death of poor Spider? He didn’t just drown in
the Thames, the poor kid was eaten alive by a sea monster. And the Doctor could
do nothing to save him despite Bill’s protests. In case we’d forgotten the
unpleasantness of it all, his floating red hat later serves as a chilling
reminder. Sometimes… most of the time... not everybody lives.
It was an unusually dark scene for a show that loves to give us happy endings for those we are meant to feel sympathy towards, and as empathetic characters go the poor orphan boy definitely fits the bill. Things quickly return to type when in the next episode a group of students are miraculously brought back to life after being half eaten by a particularly vicious breed of woodworm.
The point of course was to show Bill that travelling with the Doctor is no bed of roses. But by using a child to make the point, the writer Sarah Dollard really forces us out of our comfort zones to share some of the feelings of the Doctor’s new companion.