After the surprise of seeing Amy in the Pandorica in the The Big Bang, I thought I'd ask everyone what they thought was one of the biggest surprises was in the show's history that left you gobsmacked, particularly at those cliffhangers when an old foe returned, like The Master. (Though that wasn't much of a surprise after a while!) or something really surprising happened that you just couldn't wait until next week to see what it was all about.

One of my biggest surprises was at the end of part 2 of City Of Death when Captain Tancredi enters the room in shadow and we don't quite see who it is at first until The Doctor asks what he's doing here. He enters the room in full light and we see it is Julian Glover. 'I think that is the question I should be asking you, Doctor.' That was a real ' awuh' moment for me!

So just wondered what other surprises others didn't see coming and which they consider the best?

Even though I wasn't much of a Rose fan by the time she left, her surprise appearance in Partners in Crime was pretty jaw dropping, because even though she was expected to appear at the end of the series no one had a scoobie doo she would appear at the start of the series.

Bit of a master stroke by RTD actually, because I think that all helped add to the hype come the latter part of the series.

For me Classic Who is when the Doctor is about to be shot in teh War Games....and when the Doctor and Peri are shot in Caves!!! Especailly as I knew it was the final story for both Doctors....I was like "OMG already??? NOOOOOOOOOO!"


New Who has to be The Daleks in Bad Wolf, and Army of Ghosts...wasn't into spoilers then so had no clue whatso ever...The whole YANA thing in Utopia, and also Cpt Jack's Face of Boe reveal!!!! ....for series 4 it was Rose, and also the regeneration sequence....in Water's of Mars it was the Doctor saving Adelaide and co...and in series 5, it was the Angel turning its head in Flesh and Stone....

I really didn't see Wilf and the 4 knocks coming.

yes, that was a good one, but quite painful at the same time.

Nothing beats Amy appearing in the Pandorica. N-o-t-h-i-n-g.

The scene in Time Flight where the Doctor realises that the 'psychokinetics' used by Kalid are just electronics, and the evil Chinese Mandarin shrugs off his costume to reveal the Master. 'I don't understand'. 'No Doctor, you never do understand do you? You never do'. That scene has stayed with me for nearly thirty years. That, and the Cybermen reveal at the end of Earthshock part one.

That was the first thing that sprang to mind for me too.

Very sad moment, who'd have thought that lovely Wilf would bring about the Doctor's demise

I must admit, I hand on heart, swear on my parents life knew it wasn't going to be the Doc in the Pandorica when it opened. I didn't know it was going to be Amy, but I knew when I saw those spoiler pics of young Amy in the Museum that it would open and the Doc wouldn't be in it... I was half tempted to start a thread at the time but didn't think it worthy as we all do way too much speculation...

Anyway, does anybody remember a Dalek story with Rodney Bewes playing a lovable but dithering idiot with a stammer... who turned out to be NOT a blithering idiot with a stammer and in league with the pepper pots?

He wasn't consciously in league with them though, was he? He didn't actually know[ he was a Dalek duplicate. Though it was a nice twist...

I barely remember it to be honest... I just vaguely recollect my 12 year old self (ish) thinking..... 'got me...'

You barely remember it? But that story was the big TV break of the man who would become British TV's favourite villain of the eighties-EastEnders' own Dirty Den Watts!

Ha ha, I fell out with Dr Who after Tom Baker left and only glanced at it now and then with - I'm not sure what the word is but I'm going with 'disdain' reluctantly - I adore my childhood memories of Tom and the Dr and anything that attempted to replace him was sure to fail in my eyes... I need to re watch it and prob will do this weekend

Den Watts ...? blah

Yes ofcourse!!!!

I remember that too. Like you, was expecting her to pop up towards the end of the series and her appearance in Partner in Crime threw me completely!

I don't many people did! That was one hell of a plot twist, probably one of the best there's been!

I didn't see the "regeneration" coming at the end of The Stolen Earth...

Thought it was good they managed to keep that quiet amongst all the speculation DT was going to leave the show...

I had been at a DW convention that day. Anneke Wills invited fans back to her hotel to watch Partners In Crime in the bar. She and I had had a huge discussion about her autobiography, and I was sat next to her when DW came on. When Rose appeared, there was a gasp around the room. Anneke looked so shocked that she nearly spilled her drink.




Good ones.



Avoid spoilers! Avoid them! They are evil!


I'd vote for Professor Yana. Really shocking stuff. Mrs Chuff and I were amazed. (Such a shame the next two episodes were bumwash of the highest order).

From the old stuff: Adric's death left me bereft, age 7, and the end of Mindwarp is a devastating sequence.

Best surprise ever was probably the Daleks appearing in the last scene of The Space Museum.

In more recent times it was, by a country mile, the Macra's appearance in Gridlock. Would never have anticipated that in a million years!

Come on.... Den Watts, one of the greatest characters of british tv fiction, and most iconic character EE ever produced!!!

Cyberman reveal in earthshock was good; not overly shocking, but the reveal that the ship was called mdm de pompadour can from no where - in a good way.

Yes, Pompadour spaceship! Very cleverly done.

Also: Daleks at the end of Frontier in Space. Mrs Chuff was gobsmacked when we watched it, recently. (A shame that it leads into the vastly inferior Planet of the Daleks).

Iirc that is usually put down to Roger delgado dying suddenly, and the assumption therefore that a better story involving the daleks and the master was the original intent.

Waking up one morning in 2003 and finding out the programme was coming back!

Rose in Partners in Crime was by far the biggest shocker of all. I even heard 'Rose!' being yelled through the wall from my neighbours. The Yana thing was good also......

But for the best shocks of all, I take you back to the 2-part Series 1 finale. First time I got shocked was in 'Bad Wolf' when Rose was 'disintergrated' by the Anne Droid, as I genuinely thought she was dead for a few minutes. The shocks kept on coming in The Parting of the Ways with the death of Lynda (with a Y), the death of Jack (for the first time and where it all began for him and Torchwood), and then best of all when the Doctor is talking to the Emperor Dalek, who reveals he is NOT the Bad Wolf message that has been drawing the Doctor in....that bit gives me chills

As has been mentioned before, often the appearance of The Master was no great shock, but I remember his appearence in The Keeper of Traken after so long being a real surprise...