40. The Parting of the Ways - Coward or Killer
This is the kind of moment that fans dreamed of before Doctor Who came back in 2005. Earth is under assault from a presumed extinct fleet of Dalek ships and the Doctor has had to take drastic action. He plans to build a delta wave, which will kill every living thing in its path. Human and Dalek. The Emperor taunts him throughout before the moment to choose comes. Surrounded by an army of Daleks, the Doctor threatens to push the button as he presumably did in the Time War. Then the Emperor asks him, What are you Doctor? Coward or killer?. The Doctor makes his choice, Coward. Any day.. The Ninth Doctor has always been something of a broken man, perhaps a bit more ruthless and no nonsense, but this is a step too far. Hes be no better than the Daleks. He saves himself from becoming like them for a second time.
39. City of Death - Scaroth Reveal
A tiny moment but its certainly a favourite among fans. A story starring Tom Baker as the Doctor and Julian Glover as the enemy Scaroth, last of the Jagaroth, in Paris. That alone is enough to make it brilliant. But the climax of Episode 1 is a classic. Scaroth goes down to the basement and starts feeling up his own face in the mirror. Finally he tears it off to reveal one eye underneath. As his wife calls, he turns dramatically to camera revealing his entire head is a mass of wrinkled green skin and mandibles, which is really quite horrible. That is how you do a monster reveal cliffhanger.
38. The Invasion - Cybermen Invasion Begins
Another iconic moment that is probably Doctor Whos equivalent of the moon landing, as it has gone down as legendary. The sequence on its own is a work of art. The silence across London is broken by the sound of manhole covers clanging on the tarmac, accompanied by a vibration noise that neutralises the population. The Cybermen begin to rise across the city and they march in formation down some steps, with St. Pauls cathedral in the background. Earth belongs to the Cybermen. The Cybermen are probably only seen in about 4 shots, but its enough to tell you that theyre in charge now.
37. The Stolen Earth The Message For the Human Race
The Series 4 finale united Doctor Who, 'Torchwood' and 'The Sarah Jane Adventures' for possibly the biggest adventure yet. Earth is moved to another part of space where the sky is filled with planets. The Doctors allies locate a fleet of ships above them and pick up a message meant for the human race. The message is one word, over and over again. Exterminate. Each of the Doctors companions knows what it means and with no sign of the Doctor, there is no hope. They all gather their loved ones close and kiss them goodbye. The most striking thing is, that this is probably one of the most powerful scenes in the story as we can feel the threat they pose and their insatiable desire to kill; yet the Daleks arent even seen. Its a terrific and chilling reveal.
36. Forest of the Dead - Rivers Death
How Steven Moffat made us sob for a character that in the grand scheme of things weve just met, Ill never know. It shouldnt work but it does. River Songs debut also becomes her death. This was something completely unexpected having seen how significant she is, the last thing we expected was to see her die. This only reaffirms how important she is. This mystery is probably what hooks the Doctor about River in future (her past). But also his relationship with River, which he knows nothing about, has caused her death. Seeing the Doctor handcuffed feeling guilty is so peculiar, because he cant even be sure what hes done to cause this. Only time will tell.