10 Things That Only Doctor Who Could Get Away With

2. Doctor Who The Hell?

Just when the Doctor Who fandom thought they were finally getting a grasp on the show's ever evolving legacy, Steven Moffat decided to throw an almighty spanner into the works by reminding them that they really don't know as much as they think they do after all. The ramifications of this particular development would impact the future of the show itself and Doctor Who is probably the only programme out there which would attempt such an Earth-shattering twist. Speculation around the series was at an all time high during the build up to its momentous 50th anniversary back in 2013 and nobody - apart, perhaps, from the 0.1% of its audience who trawl the internet for the latest filming pictures and spoilers - could have predicted what was about to come. In the climactic moments of the Series 7 finale, The Name of the Doctor, viewers came face to face to a version of the titular Time Lord who had, up until that point, remained hidden in the darkest depths of the Doctor's time stream. This guilt-ridden incarnation was played with gusto by stage and screen veteran Sir John Hurt and his ominous glare into the camera catapulted the show off into an exciting new direction on the eve of its landmark festivities. Unfortunately fans would be forced to wait half a year to witness the fall out of this mysterious new Doctor, in the feature-length special The Day of the Doctor, but there would be plenty of surprises to help them pass the time along the way. What's more, the introduction of John Hurt into the show's mythology also paved the way for the shock - and not to mention long overdue - return of Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor so it was pretty much a good time all round. It gave a show that was about to turn half a century old a new lease of life in a way that only Doctor Who ever could. On the subject of regeneration...