Doctor Who: 10 Most Infuriating Cliffhangers Of The Classic Series

5. The Five Doctors (Episode 2)

This is really a unique case, since this classic adventure featuring four out of five of the original Doctors was originally transmitted as one 90 minute episode in celebration of the show's 20th anniversary in 1983. As such, it wasn't initially intended by the showrunners to have any cliffhangers at all. However, when the episode came up in syndication for the US and elsewhere, it was arbitrarily divided into four parts, in keeping with the syndication format where most networks aired one episode a week rather than complete stories. This random division of the episode created some rather odd and unintentional cliffhangers, like Sarah Jane Smith tripping and falling down a small incline (oh no!) and the Master menacingly walking down a flight of stairs (ooh.. scary!). To any new viewer of the series who started with this episode, these cliffhangers must have been more baffling than suspense inducing. Fortunately, the 25th anniversary DVD of this story features an extended cut of the original story and, more important, it's back to its one episode format. Marvellous.