10 Doctor Who Endings Nobody Saw Coming
6. Vengeance On Varos - Part One
Although Colin Baker was far from the only guilty party in Doctor Who's first major decline, his detractors got some catharsis in Vengeance on Varos' first episode.
While searching for a valuable mineral to repair the TARDIS with, the Doctor and his companion, Peri, are held captive by the Governor of the planet Varos. The Doctor manages to escape, but ends up stranded in a desert and begins to die of thirst.
At least, that's what we're led to believe.
On Varos, public torture and executions are viewed as a form of entertainment. Think Big Brother but way worse... actually, not that much worse.
The Doctor is only hallucinating the desert due to the effects of a structure called the Punishment Dome, with his struggles being broadcast across the planet. When the Governor orders the transmission be cut, the credits on the actual episode begin to roll.
A clever ending that would've fit perfectly into the meta-focused world of today, this episode must've blown everyone's minds when it first premiered in the '80s.