7. Katarina/Sara Kingdom
With much change behind the scenes, Doctor Who's third season was one of experimentation and surprise. Thoughtful historicals jostled with bonkers sci-fi and comedy. To top this all came a 12 part Dalek adventure that travelled the universe from the farthest reaches of space to ancient Egypt, pausing so the Doctor could wish viewers a merry Christmas. Viewers had to contend with not one but
two deaths of people they assumed would be sticking around. Never before had the show been so cavalier about the casual killing of the Doctor's companions. Poor Katarina had only just met the Doctor, travelling with him from ancient Troy. The handmaiden thought the Doctor a god but he couldn't save her when a deadly serial killer seized her by the airlock of the transport she, the Doctor, Steven and Space Security agent Bret Vyon were escaping on. Did she know what she was doing when she reached out for the airlock controls? What makes it worst is the fact that fans will never know if this death was a sacrifice or an accident. If viewers were shocked by Katarina's demise, though, it was nothing in comparison to first seeing Bret gunned down by his own sister, Sara Kingdom (the wonderful Jean Marsh), and later, once Sara has settled effortlessly into the role of female companion and making a great team with Bill Hartnell and Peter Purves, being horribly aged to death by the Dalek's time weapon. The cosy familiarity of the show had never seemed so absent.