Doctor Who: 10 Times The Doctor Lost
2. When The Universe Exploded
Throughout the Doctor's travels, he's made a heck of a lot of enemies. The number of aliens that want him dead is far too high to count, but no matter how foolproof their plans may seem, and no matter how many times they attempt to beat him, the Doctor always seems to come out on top.
This in mind, it's crazy to think that his foes rarely band together and try to take him down as an organised unit, which would be a far more effective strategy than coming after him one at a time. Right? In the Series 5 finale The Pandorica Opens, this is proven correct, as the Daleks, the Cybermen, the Sontarans, and countless others - believing the Doctor to be the one responsible for the cracks in time that littered Series 5 - all work as a team to trap him (successfully) inside the Pandorica.
But while their villainy was well-intentioned, it was ultimately misplaced, because the Doctor wasn't actually at fault in this situation.
The cracks in time were actually brought about by the TARDIS exploding and tearing holes in the skin of the universe, an event that - because this alliance of villains had sealed the Doctor within the inescapable Pandorica - could now happen. By trying to prevent the cracks, the villains actually caused them. Whoops.
And it goes without saying that none of this was very good news for the Doctor. By the end of The Pandorica Opens, not only was he trapped within the titular prison with the universe slowly extinguishing around him, but Amy had been shot dead by Rory, Rory had been turned into an Auton, and River had been caught right in the middle of the exploding TARDIS. It really doesn't get much worse than this.