10 Doctor Who Characters Who Died For No Reason

8. The Acid Bath Guards (Vengeance On Varos)

Doctor Who Flesh And Stone Father Octavian death
BBC Studios

An infamous example of the Sixth Doctor's more brash attitude towards the universe occurs in 1985's Vengeance On Varos, where he "accidentally" murders two unsuspecting guards by sending them into an acid bath.

This happens when the Doctor collapses, gets captured, and is then taken to this acid bath area for disposal. Here, the two guards - who believe the Doctor is dead - turn their backs on him, at which point, the Doctor stands up and taps one guard on the shoulder, creating a scuffle which culminates in their grisly deaths.

Over the years, people have attempted to defend the Doctor's actions here, but the fact is, he could've avoided this bloodshed by simply leaving the room when the guards weren't looking at him. Surely, he knows that jump-scaring two men who are leaning over a pool of bubbling acid is a really bad idea, and surprise! It is.

These poor guys were just trying to earn a living to feed their families, but instead, they got melted down into sludge because the Doctor didn't think things through.

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Danny has been with WhatCulture for almost nine years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. He has been writing and video editing for 10+ years, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers and uploading them to YouTube (they're admittedly a bit rusty by today's standards). If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order or to tell you about the making of 1988's Remembrance of the Daleks, Danny is the person to ask.