10 Doctor Who Episodes Where Everybody Dies

6. Horror Of Fang Rock

The Caves Of Androzani Fifth Doctor Peri
BBC

1977's Horror of Fang Rock is an atmospheric masterpiece set on a lighthouse with an interesting set of characters, and the Sontarans' famous enemy 'The Rutans'. All of these characters, however, die.

Arriving at Fang Rock in 1902, the Fourth Doctor and Leela uncover the grisly body of a lighthouse keeper. With some suspicious locals and a superstitious 'Beast of Fang Rock' on the loose, it isn't long until the Doctor's interest is piqued.

As more deaths strike Fang Rock, the suspicious locals are revealed to be suspicious aliens - Rutans, shapeshifting gelatinous blobs hell-bent on terrorising the lighthouse. The purpose for their terror? Experimenting on the humans as tests for the never-ending war with the Sontarans.

The Doctor repurposes the lighthouse as a laser to fire at the mothership, but before it can activate, the Rutans wipe out the remaining lighthouse keepers.

'That'll teach them', the Fourth Doctor remarks to Leela as they escape, leaving behind a lighthouse full of corpses. Chilling.

Death Toll: All 7 humans, plus the Rutans and their ship. Oh, and all the local fish die too.

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Eden Luke McIntyre is a Scottish writer, editor and script consultant, with an MA in TV Fiction Writing. He writes content for TV, radio, stage, and online, and was appointed as a BBC Writers Room Scottish Voice in early 2020. Eden can usually be found rambling about Doctor Who, The Beatles, and obscure things that no one cares about.