20 Doctor Who Moments We'll NEVER Forget

10. The Autons Attack (Spearhead From Space)

Doctor Who Sarah Jane School Reunion
BBC Studios

Doctor Who is rarely as unflinchingly brutal toward innocent bystanders as it is in this shocking sequence from Spearhead From Space.

As the morning commuters shake themselves awake waiting for the first bus, shop dummies come to life and begin making their way up the high street. It's the most cinematic sequence in Doctor Who up to that point, as the Autons massacre innocent, everyday people, while the Doctor's trying to bring the crisis to an end elsewhere.

The shots of horrified extras were traumatising for kids at the time, and it's still terrifying to this day. It certainly left its mark on multiple generations of Doctor Who fans, who'll never feel 100% safe in Primark ever again.

 
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Citizen of the Universe, Film Programmer, Writer, Podcaster, Doctor Who fan and a gentleman to boot. As passionate about Chinese social-realist epics as I am about dumb popcorn movies.