10 Times Doctor Who Definitely Wasn’t A Family Show

You might have noticed that this list is more heavily focused on the Moffat era, especially the Capaldi years, and whilst its true that most of the heavier storylines did take place with Twelve at the helm (and a higher age rating), there are some very dark moments nestled with the campier RTD era too.

Turn Left is, from start to finish, a very upsetting watch. After Donna’s past is hijacked by the Trickster’s Brigade, causing the death of the Doctor during the events of The Runaway Bride, an alternate version of Donna is forced to live through every alien invasion of Earth since the start of the third series, but without the Doctor’s intervention. Instead, the viewer watches on helplessly as each disaster claims the life of former companions and allies to the Doctor. Donna’s home is vaporised and everyone she knows is killed when the Titanic crashlands in London, and this version of Donna is forced to step in front of a truck in order to restore the timeline. There is not a single moment of Turn Left where the mood brightens up, even slightly - maybe not the one to stick on for some light entertainment.

Among the carnage and death of loved characters is one more subtle moment that hits even harder. After Donna’s family is relocated to Leeds, they are forced to share a small house with a lovable and optimistic Italian family, who Wilf gets on especially well with. As the episode progresses and the government is forced to deal with a housing crisis on a national scale, the Italian family are carted away to a ‘labour camp’. Wilf’s teary eyed salute, followed by the line: “That’s what they called them last time… it's happening again!” is difficult to watch, doubly so when you realise that Bernard Cribbins lived through the events of the Second World War, and wrangling with the idea that history might repeat itself in this way was an incredibly heavy topic for prime time viewing.