Doctor Who: 10 Moments In NuWho That Made Us Cry

In this episode featuring Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor and companion Rose Tyler, Rose goes back to the day her father died and breaks all the rules by saving him. This had devastating effects on the timeline by causing a paradox.

Rose spends time with her dad, and on their way to a wedding, the car that should have hit him appears from nowhere and flies around the corner before disappearing. Meanwhile, the Reapers appear and start attacking people, trying to fix the paradox.

While the guests are stuck inside the church and under attack from the Reapers, Rose and Pete get closer. While the tension rises, among the claustrophobic horror of the church-under-siege, there’s a very personal family drama playing out.

Eventually, Pete realises that things are going wrong because he is supposed to be dead. He runs outside and jumps in front of the time-looped car. It hits him, and as Pete lay dying, the Doctor tells Rose to go to him so she runs over and sits with Pete while he dies.

This episode was the first one in NuWho to feature such a shocking and dark moment. The conversation about mortality and accepting when one’s time is up was hard-hitting and it set the standard for the future.