Doctor Who: 10 Things Series 8 Must Do To Be The Best Yet

2. Bring On The Dead

Amy and Rory were dead but not dead, same too with River and Clara. Lately it is as though Gelth have swarmed the entire plot, forever keeping alive those who should have passed on. Death is a hesitant choice for long-term companions on Doctor Who: Leela's original exit was to be a heroic sacrifice to save the Doctor. Or there was Peri, who had an alternate ending to explain away her death which was so dissatisfying it took multiple media to correct. It seems all things considered companion death is preferred with a dose of €œtime can be rewritten€. That said it is not as though it has never been done. Notwithstanding the beautiful and tragic end of Cas in the Night of the Doctor, another heartwrenching death is still in order. Let us embrace our inner Earthshock, and without universe-restarts, or take-backsies, or parallel universes, blow someone to bits. No need to be picky: shot, stabbed, poisoned, drowned, set aflame, or anything will do€”perhaps a Rasputin of a companion who suffers all of the above! Even if Clara confetti is not in your set of Doctor Who hopes and dreams, there are other equally suitable options for a sacrificial lamb. Whether it is an unlikely hero like Gustav Lytton, or tragedy of a companion that never was like Jabe of Cheem, well-executed character deaths are important. In Doctor Who we see dozens exterminated, upgraded, or even eaten. Sometimes much like Doctor must, we forget about the individual tragedy of each lost life. But when death is foisted into the spotlight€”when someone we have really gotten to know is ripped away€”it makes the bigger tragedies: the wars, the Pompeiis, the lost species, all the more painful. This sublimity of death is a feature equally prominent, equally necessary, and equally well done throughout all of the Doctor's lives. It is one feature that ties all of Doctor Who together, and it was difficult to think of a single more important feature for a great series. But there is one other must-have that did ultimately top that.