The Doctor defines Doctor Who, no matter what actor is portraying the iconic character, and there are facets of the Doctor that are consistent throughout the TV show’s many seasons. One of the harsh realities of Doctor Who is that there’s a darkness inside the character that causes them to carry out some morally gray or downright villainous acts. Though the Doctor impresses upon their companions the importance of doing good and putting the preservation of all life first, this doesn’t always reflect their actions. However, it’s this imperfection that has made the Doctor such an enduring character.
There are many differences between classic Doctor Who and the modern era. While the way the contemporary episodes have updated some of the themes of the series in exciting ways, the characterization of the Doctor has been nuanced from the beginning of the show in 1963. Overall, the things the Doctor has done for the good of the universe usually outweigh their missteps, but some are so big that the show itself has tried to retcon them. However, with the power and intelligence that the Doctor has at their fingertips, it’s not surprising that they stray from the path sometimes.
10 Eleven Leaving Behind The Older Amy
Season 6, Episode 10, “The Girl Who Waited”
Amy, Rory, and the Eleventh Doctor have a fun dynamic throughout seasons 5, 6, and 7 of the modern era, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of dark episodes throughout this run. One of the most unexpected reveals of Eleven’s personality comes in “The Girl Who Waited,” which sees Eleven accidentally abandon Amy on a quarantined planet and come to rescue her thirty-six years later. Though the Doctor eventually finds both the older Amy and the young one, they end up only rescuing the young one, claiming only one Amy can exist in the same time stream.
Though the young Amy is more understanding of this plan, Rory is torn apart because the older Amy is still the woman he loves, and allowing her to disappear is cruel.
Though the young Amy is more understanding of this plan, Rory is torn apart because the older Amy is still the woman he loves, and allowing her to disappear is cruel. Eleven is sorry but would clearly do this again, showing little remorse for disrupting the time stream in this way, causing the older Amy pain and then destroying her. The saddest Eleventh Doctor tragedy with Amy and Rory happens towards the end of Matt Smith’s tenure as the Doctor, but this early episode was a hint of what was to come for the ill-fated companions.
9 Ten Trying To Rewrite Time In The Waters Of Mars
2009 Special Episode
David Tennant’s portrayal of the Tenth Doctor is a critically acclaimed and fan-favorite interaction of the character. Tennant has returned many times to reprise the role, as he perfectly balances charm with the simmering fury and dangerous intelligence of the Doctor. In “The Waters of Mars,” the Doctor’s hubris comes to the forefront, as they wish to escape their own death and regeneration and so attempt to rewrite a fixed point in history, which could have catastrophic consequences.
Doctor Who frequently uses these special episodes to tackle larger issues and show different sides of the Doctor that they would normally hide from their human companions. Despite the fact that Ten knows the explosion of the base and death of Adelaide is a fixed point in history, they believe that by changing this, they can control time, life, and death in a way no being should. This ultimately results in a tragic act of violence and the Doctor’s bitter realization that they’ve only postponed the inevitable.
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8 Seven Insulting And Using Ace
Throughout Ace’s time as companion with the Seventh Doctor
Sylvester McCoy played the Seventh incarnation of the Doctor and was the final Doctor before the classic era’s cancelation in 1989. Seven’s chief companion throughout his seasons was Ace, played by Sophie Aldred, an Earth teenager who was transported in time and was picked up by the Doctor along the way. While the Doctor cares for Ace and works hard to teach her about the universe, they go about this in the wrong way and force Ace to relive some of the most traumatic events of her past.
During the climax of the confrontation with Fenric, the Doctor says awful things about Ace and tells Fenric that they never cared about her.
Throughout their time together, the Doctor belittles Ace and uses her as a means to defeat the villain Fenric, not revealing her connection to Fenric until it’s convenient for them. During the climax of the confrontation with Fenric, the Doctor says awful things about Ace and tells Fenric that they never cared about her. While it turns out this was a ruse to save Ace, it was an awful moment that shook both Ace’s faith in the Doctor as well as the audience’s.
7 Eleven Brainwashing Humanity Into Killing The Silence
Season 6, Episode 2, “Day of the Moon”
The way the Doctor treats their enemies is just as telling as the way they treat their friends, and the way they handle the Silence is a shockingly violent aspect of the series. They’re a formidable antagonist, as the Silence are forgotten as soon as they’re out of the eye line. This is a fact that the Doctor takes advantage of, communicating to the entire human race while they’re viewing the Silence that they should kill them all on sight, effectively exterminating the species and brainwashing humanity.
The two-part premiere of season 6 leads up to this moment, and it’s a distinct reminder of how the Eleventh Doctor is different than their predecessors and isn’t afraid to take extreme actions. While the Silence come back in the later episodes of season 6, they remain a mysterious force that the Doctor treats antagonistically. Additionally, the Doctor cavalierly messing with the minds of humanity was uncharacteristically manipulative. Even though this message might save more people than it harms, it was an intense start to season 6.
6 Four Abandoning Sarah Jane Smith
Season 14, Second Serial, “The Hand of Fear”
Sarah Jane Smith, played by Elisabeth Sladen, was one of the best characters from the first era of Doctor Who, and her chemistry with the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) made for compelling television. Sarah Jane is considered one of the best Doctor Who companions because of her resourcefulness and kindness in the face of adversity. The bond she forms with the Fourth Doctor is one of the most evolved Doctor-Companion relationships, as their friendship rings true.
When Four is called back to Gallifrey, they leave Sarah Jane and never come back for her, which is a tragic and unfair end to her time on the show.
However, when Four is called back to Gallifrey, they leave Sarah Jane and never come back for her, which is a tragic and unfair end to her time on the show. This is made even more painful when Sarah Jane reunites with the Tenth Doctor in season 2 of the modern era. She still feels connected to them and has been holding on to this abandonment since they parted ways years ago. After everything they had been through together, there’s no question that Sarah deserved better and that the Doctor betrayed her.
5 Destroying Both The Daleks & The Time Lords In The Time War
The 50th Anniversary Special
The Doctor Who 50th-anniversary special plot holes have still not been resolved since the special that saw the introduction of John Hurt as the War Doctor. Throughout the modern era, the war between the Time Lords and the Daleks is something the Doctor references frequently, but they rarely go into detail about what happened and how it affected the course of the universe. This episode was the series’ way of making up for the lost time between eras, but it also is one of the Doctor’s darkest personas.
It’s revealed that during the war, the Doctor decided to wipe out both the Time Lords and the Daleks to save the universe. However, finding out that the Doctor is responsible for the death of their own people was one of Doctor Who‘s biggest game-changing storylines. Though the War Doctor does get to get back in time and change the past during “Day of the Doctor,” this doesn’t change the fact that they were willing to destroy all of Gallifrey and the people there.
4 Eleven Leaving River In Prison
Throughout Season 6
The relationship between River Song (Alex Kingston) and the Doctor is one of the most important narrative arcs of the Eleventh Doctor’s tenure. Throughout season 5, the audience gets only a few hints about River’s true identity and how she came to know the Doctor. Season 6 is dedicated to unraveling these mysteries and showing that River is Amy and Rory’s daughter and was trained to kill the Doctor. This is the crime she was imprisoned for, but it’s also one that she doesn’t actually commit.
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Once the Doctor discovers River’s past and understands their connection, it would only be right for them to help set her free and clear her name. However, the Doctor never does this and allows her to fulfill her sentence, even though the Doctor is alive and well. While River has no trouble breaking in and out of her prison, this doesn’t make it right that the Doctor left her there. It becomes especially problematic when considering that they married each other and the many sacrifices she makes for the Doctor.
3 Nine Torturing A Dalek
Season 1, Episode 6, “Dalek”
Christopher Eccleston’s performance as the Ninth Doctor had a lot of pressure riding on it, as Eccleston was the first actor to play the Doctor in the modern era. Though the full history of what happened in the gap between the Seventh and Ninth Doctors wouldn’t be fully explained for some time, Eccleston gives a haunted performance. This comes through in the Doctor’s interaction with the Dalek in the episode “Dalek.”
For many new audiences, this was the first time they had ever seen a Dalek, and they were learning about the history of Time Lords and Daleks along with Rose (Billie Piper). Rose doesn’t understand why the Doctor is so angry and why they resort to torturing the Dalek out of revenge. This confusion is shared by the audience, making the Doctor’s actions even more intense and egregious. While the Daleks are horrible, it’s expected that the Doctor won’t sink to their level.
2 Seven Destroying Skaro
25th Season, First Serial, “Remembrance of the Daleks”
Seven and Ace are together in “Remembrance of the Daleks,” an episode that lives in infamy in Doctor Who canon. The Seventh Doctor goes toe to toe with Davros, the leader of the Daleks, in search of the Hand of Omega and its enormous power. It’s in this episode that the Doctor makes the pivotal choice of destroying Skaro. Not only does this wipe out the Daleks, but also everything else that lives on Skaro, which disrupts the core tenets of the Doctor’s personality and moral code.
Both before and after this, it would be unthinkable for any incarnation of the Doctor to blatantly erase an entire planet from existence and act like there was a moral justification for this.
This is the last time Doctor Who would feature Daleks until the return of the series in the early 2000s, and it’s an extreme note to go out on. Both before and after this, it would be unthinkable for any incarnation of the Doctor to blatantly erase an entire planet from existence and act like there was a moral justification for this. Seven’s grim acceptance of this and commitment to the decision make it difficult to sympathize with them.
1 Six Strangling Peri
Season 21, Episode 21, “The Twin Dilemma”
The Doctor is a lot of things, but throughout the series, it’s clear that while they might manipulate companions, they would never be violent towards them. However, all of this changed when the Doctor regenerated into their sixth form, played by Colin Baker. In the confusion of the regeneration, the Sixth Doctor becomes convinced Peri, the companion played by Nicola Bryant, is an alien spy, almost strangling her. It’s a violent start to Six’s tenure, and this dark first impression colored the way audiences responded to Baker’s portrayal.
Though Peri and Six went on to have a decent relationship in Doctor Who, this was a terrible start to their Doctor-companion dynamic. Six is immediately regretful and nearly goes into exile because of it, but this doesn’t change the fact that it happened. It’s a traumatic moment and makes it difficult to forgive the Sixth Doctor moving forward because their personality is more antagonistic than other incarnations. The Sixth Doctor would ultimately only stay on for three seasons because they weren’t as dynamic as earlier iterations. Part of this can be traced back to the first incident with Peri.
The latest season of Doctor Who introduces the Fifteenth Doctor, joined by new companion Ruby Sunday. Their first adventure begins with “The Church on Ruby Road,” where they face powerful new foes and unravel the mystery surrounding Ruby’s origins. The Doctor grapples with the aftermath of a unique regeneration event and battles enemies more formidable than ever before.
- Cast
- Ncuti Gatwa , Millie Gibson , Susan Twist , Michelle Greenidge , Angela Wynter , Jemma Redgrave , Yasmin Finney , Anita Dobson
- Release Date
- December 25, 2023
- Seasons
- 2
- Streaming Service(s)
- AppleTV+ , Britbox , Max , Disney+
- Franchise(s)
- Doctor Who
- Writers
- Russell T. Davies , Dave Gibbons , Kate Herron , Steven Moffat
