Doctor Who: 10 Brilliant But Overlooked Moments In NuWho

In the timey wimey chaos of The Wedding of River Song, the scene in which the Doctor refuses to accept he must die and finds out the Brigadier has passed away stands out as a gem. However, considering this marks the loss of a long-standing recurring character, this moment is sadly overlooked.

Matt Smith gloriously encapsulates the Doctor’s denial in the face of death, allowing us to enjoy the character’s darker side as he pompously states that time “has never laid a glove on [him]”.

It’s captivating how quickly both Smith and Moffat can push this character from one extreme to the other as, after learning the Brigadier has died, the Doctor’s arrogance is replaced with a shell-shocked gentleness.

Under Moffat, the Brigadier’s often been used to evoke sentimentality from viewers and this moment takes the emotional biscuit, as it seems the Doctor decides this is one loss too far.

It’s fitting that the news of the Brigadier’s death serves as the turning point in the Doctor’s acceptance of his own, and when he pulls the blue envelopes from his pocket, it appears series 6’s story arc is about to fall into place.

This scene beautifully honours both the late Nicholas Courtney and his beloved character. Sadly, it falls within an underwhelming finale for series 6 and receives less attention than it would if Courtney had lived on to see out the part.