Doctor Who: 10 Most Infuriating Cliffhangers Of The Classic Series

8. Revelation Of The Daleks (Episode 1)

As Colin Baker stories go, one could certainly do worse than this episode. It's a solid Dalek adventure featuring the return of Davros and a pretty original plot about harvesting human bodies from a funeral home for Daleks with a very amusing guest star in Alexei Sayle of The Young Ones fame as a DJ who kills Daleks with amplified rock and roll (yes, really!). The ending of Episode 1, however, features one of the more ludicrous cliffhangers of the era. The Doctor and Peri, in unfortunate matching blue outfits than can only be described as "jester like", are walking through the cemetery grounds when Peri notices a large tombstone with the Doctor's face on it about to fall on top of him. This might have made for a thrilling cliffhanger... if the tombstone wasn't so obviously just a large painted block of styrofoam. Thus, this attempt on the Doctor's life is completely unconvincing and about as effective as trying to kill a bear by swatting it with a newspaper. In the resolution to this cliffhanger at the start of Part 2, viewers discover the statue wasn't even made of stone (surprise!) so someone was merely trying to get the Doctor's attention. Surely there are more effective, and cheaper, ways of doing that than building large breakaway statues? Why not just send him an invitation, for example?