13 Darkest Doctor Who Endings Ever

Classic Who, much like its modern counterpart, isn’t too great at permanent companion deaths. Most of the Doctor’s friends get happy endings, even if they originally seemed like tragedies. 

So imagine the shock when the first time the show ever killed off a long-term companion, they chose to do it to a child. While Adric was not particularly liked by the audience at the time, his death at the end of Earthshock was a watershed moment for the show.

With a Cyberman ship hurtling towards planet Earth, the best that the Doctor and the gang are able to do is bump the impact date away from the present day and into the prehistoric past, where it will be responsible for wiping out the dinosaurs. As they flee the ship before it’s too late, Adric stays behind, wanting to take one more stab at averting the crash altogether... and he fails.

The episode ends on this truly shocking and sobering note, and Adric’s death is never undone, with the credits rolling in silence to the visual of Adric’s shattered badge. Somehow, this relatively unpopular character managed to secure his legacy by traumatising a generation of young fans. 

This seems to be a rare ‘fixed point’ in the show’s canon that even the likes of Big Finish seem to respect, and that sense of finality makes it a strong contender for the most impactful companion exit of all time.