10 Greatest "I'm Dead And I Know It" Moments From Modern Doctor Who

The fact that Doctor Who is a sci-fi series is something of a saving grace for some of the characters on this list, as many of them have faced death on more than one occasion. While Captain Jack Harkness may take the record here, there are many more who have had to stare down the barrel of the gun and hope that they don't piss their pants.

Many of the folks here displayed themselves with bravery, standing in front of whatever doom was racing toward them, dying on their feet. While some were able to come back and fight another day, some were lost to history, becoming a footnote on the Doctor's journey. Even the Time Lord themselves hasn't been immune to this, technically having died dozens and dozens of times.

There are those villains who get underwhelming deaths, and those heroes who go out with a bang. There are those then who are in-between, never truly standing out, yet still dominating the screen for their few seconds of an epic death scene.

And then there are those poor souls who got screwed, just because the Doctor couldn't send a bloody text message through time.

There are several options to choose from, both from the Tenth Doctor himself to his final episodes, The End of Time. He knows that the prophecy has been made, spelling his doom when some mysterious figure 'knocks four times'. This, naturally, leads The Doctor to suspect that The Master, who has been plagued by the drumbeat of a Timelord's heartbeat forever, will be the cause of his death.

That leaves the Doctor initially running from his responsibilities, then coming to terms with what he's facing. As he crashes through the ceiling of the gate room, he faces both The Master and the Lord President Rassilon with a gun. As Rassilon raises his hand, he tells the Doctor that he is going to die along with the rest of them. The Doctor replies, "I know".

Only, he doesn't. The Master steps in, saving him, making everything right again. The Doctor begins to laugh in joy... until Wilf knocks, four times, on the glass of a radiation chamber. The look on Ten's face at that moment sinks faster than the soundtrack around them. He knows that, despite all of his efforts, his time is up.