10 Doctor Who Cliffhangers That Made You Say WHAT?!

7. Floating In Space (The Woman Who Fell To Earth)

The Woman Who Fell To Earth Doctor Who
BBC Studios

Jodie Whittaker’s debut episode introduced so many new elements to Doctor Who. A new Doctor, a new gang of companions, and even a new central location on Earth – which did make a nice change from always ending up in London – but the one thing that audiences recognise as a mainstay of this timey-wimey show was missing: the TARDIS.

In the modern era of Doctor Who, it isn’t unusual to see the TARDIS take a bit of a beating following a regeneration, and an interior redesign was anticipated to accompany this fresh vision of the series. However, expectations were quickly subverted when the episode ended with our new TARDIS team teleporting not into a blue police box, but into open space.

Some fans were left a little disappointed at the lack of a new TARDIS reveal, but beyond that, the shock of seeing these poor humans who had been suddenly beamed into space (and were rapidly running out of air) was a great hook for the following week.

The resolution to this cliffhanger may not've been as good as the setup, but it ended Whittaker's first outing on a truly memorable note.

In this post: 
Doctor Who
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Ellie has been part of the WhatCulture team since 2021 where she began as a freelance presenter for the WhoCulture channel. As a diehard Whovian with a BA (hons) degree in Drama and Acting, this role was the perfect opportunity for her to combine her screen presence training with her extensive Doctor Who knowledge. From there, she branched out to various other WhatCulture channels, including TrekCulture, and became a full time Content Producer/Video Presenter in 2023. Ellie is now a regular fixture on both WhoCulture and TrekCulture and has become a well respected public figure within both fandoms, building up a substantial following across her social media platforms and being given the opportunity to represent the channels and the wider communities at several industry events. Her favourite Doctor Who character is River Song and her favourite Star Trek character is Captain Janeway - which tells you everything you need to know about how she approaches her role within a generally male dominated field.