8 Doctor Who Episodes With Alternate Endings
4. The Doctor's Daughter
The Televised Ending
After Jenny - the title character - is seemingly shot dead by Cobb, the Doctor cradles her in his arms, and they bid an emotional farewell to each other.
The Doctor then leaves the planet of Messaline to drop Martha back at home and continue his travels with Donna, but unbeknownst to him, Jenny has survived that gunshot, and she springs back to life, steals a spaceship, and jets off into the stars.
The Alternate Ending
The alternate ending to The Doctor's Daughter still hits all the major beats that the televised ending does, except it throws an extra scene into the mix.
When the Doctor leaves Messaline in full belief that Jenny is dead - and after he's dropped Martha back at home - he and Donna have a short conversation inside the TARDIS. The Doctor is sad about losing his 'daughter', so Donna comforts him, and by the end, she's managed to turn his frown upside down.
Showrunner Russell T Davies decided to cut this scene because it made the end of the episode too gloomy. Just look at the televised ending: Jenny gets shot, the Doctor is sad; Jenny dies, the Doctor is sad; the Doctor stands at Jenny's deathbed, and he's sad; the Doctor stands inside the TARDIS, and he's sad some more.
This alternate ending was just way too much, and by taking it out, we're able to get to the more optimistic scene of Jenny re-awakening a lot sooner.