10 Doctor Who Fates Worse Than Death
6. Living Without a Face
With the Queen's coronation, street parties and references to 1950s kids show Watch With Mother, Mark Gatiss' The Idiot's Lantern is probably too cosy and old fashioned to be anyone's favourite story. And yet it has a really strong vein of body horror running through it.
There's genuinely frightening imagery on display here. The knocking of Grandma Connolly's cane on the floor above, the scratchy grey blanket being pulled off to reveal a faceless Rose. Not only that, but the cage full of faceless people, flexing their hands in the half-light is a properly creepy Doctor Who moment. The sheer concept of having your whole face removed, unable to see or hear or smell or have any idea of where you are is spine-tingly frightening.
The Wire is a horrible Doctor Who villain, it doesn't kill you, but steals your face and leaves you on the street to shamble around, confused and faceless. Your consciousness, meanwhile, is stored on a television set, screaming for help. It's a fate so chilling and memorable that it even spawned an action figure of the faceless grandmother complete with swappable heads and a tiny TV.