13 Earth-Shattering Doctor Who Moments From The Last 10 Years

11. Gallifrey Named (The Runaway Bride)

There isn't a fan across the land who doesn't know that the Doctor is from a planet called Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous (if you're only just discovering this, shame on you!) but it took the revived series over two series to acknowledge its name on screen. The titular Time Lord hadn't been keeping new viewers completely in the dark about his origins up to this point, however. It didn't take them long to work out that his home world - along with the rest of his entire race - had been destroyed during the Time War but it wasn't until the 2006 Christmas Special, The Runaway Bride, that he uttered the word that Classic Series fans had been waiting for. Gallifrey. During a climactic showdown with the Empress of the Racnoss underneath the Thames (because where else would a giant alien spider do her evil bidding?), viewers were given their first NuWho insight into just how dark the Doctor can be. He was a Time Lord and he was serious business. It was an unexpected but now beloved moment in which both old and new fans rejoiced.