If this doesn't qualify as the most cringey moment in Doctor Who history, it certainly comes close to qualifying as the most cringey moment in NuWho, and it's one of the moments in the very first episode of the 2005 series that made all us old-timers wonder if we were cut out for the new millennium. You already know the scene we're talking about, even though you fast-forward past it every time, just like we and so many others do. It's when a garbage bin that's been possessed by the Nestene Consciousness decides to lure Mickey Smith into its clutches. It does so by bonding to his hands so he can't get away, then it tugs him back, flips him into the air, catches him, closes its lid... ...and burps. We would likely all agree that everything is fine - or mostly fine - until that burp. Then the cringing begins. Actually, the cringing begins long before that, as we all know what's coming, and we only hope that it won't this time. But it always does. Always. The Myrka. We're sure we've left out plenty of moments that made you embarrassed about your favourite show and everyone involved in it, so if we did, leave them in the comments below!
Tony Whitt has previously written TV, DVD, and comic reviews for CINESCAPE, NOW PLAYING, and iF MAGAZINE. His weekly COMICSCAPE columns from the early 2000s can still be found archived on Mania.com. He has also written a book of gay-themed short stories titled CRESCENT CITY CONNECTIONS, available on Amazon.com in both paperback and Kindle format. Whitt currently lives and works in Chicago, Illinois.
