7 Moments That Almost Killed Doctor Who
4. The 26th Season
In December of 1989, Doctor Who aired an episode titled "Survival," which is ironic, seeing as it was the final episode before the show was cancelled. Yes, Doctor Who was cancelled, but seeing as it eventually returned, this cancellation stands as only a moment that almost killed the series entirely.
It was close to being completely dead at this time. The show was competing with Coronation Street, which was pulling a ton of ratings away from the science fiction classic. Jonathan Powell, the controller of BBC One at the time, made the decision to stop production at the end of the 26th series.
The effectively ended Doctor Who, and as far as anyone knew at the time, that was it. There wasn't a crystal ball, and certainly, no TARDIS to tell the millions of fans of the series that the Doctor would eventually return, so as far as anyone was concerned, Doctor Who was done.
While it did seem bleak at the time, the Doctor would eventually return, but doing so proved the world wasn't ready for a new Doctor... certainly not one who was somewhat re-imagined for an American audience... at least, not yet...