10 Doctor Who Moments That Made You Say 'WTF Were They Thinking?!'

For every great moment in Doctor Who, something questionable is never too far behind.

Doctor Who Nightmare in Silver Matt Smith Eleventh Doctor Clara
BBC Studios

Part of being in a fandom is taking the rough with the smooth. Fans of Doctor Who know this more than most, because the show hasn't exactly been firing on all cylinders for every single one of the 60 years it's been around, whether that's a bad couple of episodes, or even a bad couple of years.

It's one thing when something is bad with a good thought at its core, but sometimes, Doctor Who has presented ideas that should've probably been stopped when they were on paper – let alone when they were actually committed to the screen.

Sometimes, you'll be scratching your head and wondering what the writers were on when they dreamt that up. That's at the lower end of the spectrum – elsewhere, there are moments that are so bad, they leave you needing to uncurl yourself from a massive ball of cringe.

Sorry Doctor Who, we love you, but you do test our patience from time to time! While we'll never forget the iconic speeches or show-stopping special effects sequences, we'll also never forget those moments that just didn't work at all.

10. Thumb Sucking

Doctor Who Nightmare in Silver Matt Smith Eleventh Doctor Clara
BBC Studios

Honestly, the whole of Orphan 55 could've been on this list (BENNNNIIIIIIII!!!), but for the sake of everyone's mental health, we've limited our selection to this questionable theme that bookended the episode.

While everyone else is running round saving the day after things kick off at Tranquility Spa, Ryan is hiding under a table... sucking his thumb. Which apparently stops hallucinations brought on by the Hopper virus. Ok then.

As luck would have it, he meets fellow thumb-sucker Bella, and the two "bond" over the course of the episode. Ryan is ultimately forced to leave Bella behind after she chooses to stay with her estranged mother and fight off the Dregs that have invaded the spa, which could have been a tender goodbye – had Bella not decided to signal it by shoving her thumb in her mouth.

It's a laughable attempt at forcing a meaningful emotional moment with some dramatic music and lingering close-ups. These characters have no real chemistry and they're both just stood there sucking their thumbs like a pair of babies during the big action climax.

"Misjudged" is an understatement.

 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Jacob Simmons has a great many passions, including rock music, giving acclaimed films three-and-a-half stars, watching random clips from The Simpsons on YouTube at 3am, and writing about himself in the third person.