10 Awesome Sci-Fi TV Twists You Never Saw Coming

There was no shortage of twists to choose from the many years and incarnations of this beloved British cult series, but as brilliant as many of the reveals worked into the Doctor’s adventures over the decades have been, there’s a single standout which we had to highlight for a list of twists you never saw coming.

And yes, it’s arguably a fake out—which makes it all the more fitting that we chose this one to represent this cheeky show, famous for its daring and inventive plotting, on our list. Yes, if you haven’t guessed by now, it’s the series four instalment The Stolen Earth which contains the best twist ever pulled off by the good doctor, wherein one of the most beloved incarnations of the titular hero, David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor, begins regenerating upon being struck down by his nefarious nemesis the Daleks.

Would the show really off Tennant this soon, and with so little fanfare?

Course not, he’s still got that severed hand—but you didn’t know that the first time you saw this twist, and the fandom’s collective heart sat in their collective throats until the poignant follow up, Journey’s End, aired.