Doctor Who: 10 Moments Of Mind-Blowing Unexpected Cruelty From The Doctor

3. "The Twin Dilemma"

From the start, Colin Baker's Doctor was among the rudest and most arrogant. His first remark to his companion Peri (aside from his post-regeneration comment) was aimed at ridiculing her nonexistent conceit. But the two had started to get along through the serial. Peri's charm and the Doctor's wanton need to be desired made for a somewhat humorous friendship. In fact, when I first watched the episode, I found myself upset, thinking I had somehow found a censored version that did not contain the strangling I had heard so much about. So when the Doctor tried to kill his companion, it seemed completely out of nowhere. Sure, the dialogue built up to the strangling, but it still came out of left field. Never before had the Doctor attempted to kill a companion (aside from euthanizing Kamelion), much less in such a brutal, grisly way as strangling. Fortunately, the conflict resolved, and Peri grew to be one of the Doctor's closest companions. But the unnecessary strangling at the start of their relationship made for a very bumpy regeneration process.