Doctor Who: 10 Times The Doctor Was The Bad Guy

5. Casual Murder Of The Racknoss

Doctor Who The Runaway Bride Donna Noble
BBC

In Donna Noble's first adventure with the Doctor, she saves his life, solidifying her place in his history. While her actions were heroic, they were a stark contrast to the actions of the Doctor himself, who was ready to stand-by and watch the last of an ancient race drown.

The Racknoss, while a deadly foe, were all but extinct when the Doctor encountered them. The Empress herself was hiding away on her ship, though her children were sleeping at Earth's core, ready for her to wake them and bring them up to the surface. Thanks to Donna, the Doctor was able to discover this plan and set about stopping it.

He began to drain the Thames River into the shaft that had been burrowed into the Earth's core. So far, so good. The Empress arrived, engaging the Doctor in battle. Then, the true hard-hearts of the Doctor emerged. Using little bombs in the shape of flying Christmas baubles (just go with it) he began to attack the Empress, watching her scream in agony and despair as her children drowned.

The events of Turn Left proved that, without Donna, the Doctor would have stood there watching the Racknoss die. Though that would have led to his own death, it was another example of the Doctor losing himself in destruction.

Contributor
Contributor

Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"