10 Doctor Who Episodes That Had The Balls To GO THERE

With more than 800 episodes, 300 stories and 40-plus seasons (and counting), Doctor Who’s writers are always looking for new and exciting ways to regenerate the show.

Let’s be real: Doctor Who is quirky and very, very bizarre at its core. Whether it’s killer androids made of sweets, slime-covered slugs like Sil, or walking blobs of fat, the Whoniverse has always leaned into the weird, wonderful, and downright surreal.

But sometimes, the show goes beyond the usual monster-of-the-week fun. Every so often a writer throws out the rulebook, ditches the expected sci-fi tricks, takes a bit more of a risk and boldly says, "Yeah. We're doing this." And that takes balls.

So, join us as we wander into the unknown. As we stroll into the strange. As we ease into the eldritch. As we... you get the idea. They might not all be great stories, but they do earn points for being among the most unique and avant-garde in Doctor Who's eclectic back catalogue...

When Sydney Newman first brought his exciting new sci-fi show to Verity Lambert, he had one important rule. "No bug-eyed monsters!" Or BEMs for short. He wanted Doctor Who to lean on the more serious, educational side. But then, along came the Daleks, and that rule was quickly thrown out the window for giant ants and moths.

Before Doctor Who had the budget to render alien worlds convincingly, 1965’s The Web Planet ambitiously attempted a six-part story set on the alien world of Vortis, featuring a cast composed entirely of giant insects.

Without a single human extra in sight, the cast performed in heavy, unwieldy costumes, communicating in clicks, buzzes, and opera-esque pitch shifts. Vaseline was smeared on camera lenses to create a spooky atmospheric effect. While it's easy to poke fun at the wobbly sets and unconvincing costumes today, the ambition on display is staggering.

We're thrown directly into a truly unearthly environment, demanding that we accept giant ants and moth-people as tragic, compelling characters.

Has it aged well? Not so much. But it still remains weird, otherworldly, and wildly brave television for its time.