It dawned on me when Ricky died that one of the people on each episode is dieing maybe this is the recurring theme, I know people always die in Dr Who but its all the nice people, maybe this is leading to Roses death!

Parting of the Ways: The Ninth Doctor

Christmas Invasion: Sycorax Leader

New Earth: Cassandra

Tooth and Claw: I dont know but they were loads I just dont know there names

School Reunion: K9!

The Girl in the Fireplace: Madam De Pompedeur

Rise of the Cyberman: Jackie Tyler (Ok not true but lets just say it was this episode)

The Age of Steel: Rickey/Ms Moore

can you mention that you're talking about doctor who in the title?

I would not call all those you mentioned good people, and some of them died naturally. And of course, you get bigger emotional impact if you kill off good people. It also tells the viewers anything could happen and that nobody's safe if it makes sense for the story

I thought it went with the territory that at least one person died in every Doctor Who episode.

When 'The Empty Child'/'The Doctor Dances' was shown it was stated it was only about the 4th story in all the 40 years where noone actually died.
So no, this is entirely normal for Dr. Who.
(And it quite suprising, really, considering its a family show)

Obviously I can only speak from ancient experience, but the people who used to die were always baddies or random extras sent in for just that purpose (in the same way they did in Star Trek - some young ensign or yeoman you'd never seen before suddenly appears and you know they're going to be killed off). I think the shock was that it was a "goodie" who got bumped off this time. It's fine for the cyber chief to die, and as for the others - they were better off dead, but Ricky, well that's unusual.

What interested me was the Doctor getting involved in Euthanasia. I've never seen that before. Controversial?

How was the Sycorax leader a "good guy?"

POTW : Captain Jack (admittedly he was made alive again)

Christmas Invasion = UNIT Major who died protecting the PM

New Earth = Cassandra's assistant who lost his life in order to give Cassandra a chace to go "home"

Tooth and Claw = Army captain who died fighting the werewolf while the others escaped

But I did mention people sacrificing themselves for the greater good as a theme a few weeks ago

Think I suggested something similar to you ethel but went as far as suggesting that Rose might end up sacrificing something for the greater good as The Doctor did for her in series one. There again I thought Mickey was going to be wearing a lead overcoat by the end of AoS and how wrong I was there!

But there was nothing else that he could do, he couldn't make them better and you could see that it wasn't a decision that he made lightly.

Parting of the Ways: The Ninth Doctor - not dead regenerated

Christmas Invasion: Sycorax Leader - not good

New Earth: Cassandra - not good

Tooth and Claw: I dont know but they were loads I just dont know there names

School Reunion: K9! - but there was a new one

The Girl in the Fireplace: Madam De Pompedeur - ran the course of her life wasn't killed

Rise of the Cyberman: Jackie Tyler (Ok not true but lets just say it was this episode) - as you said not dead for good

The Age of Steel: Rickey/Ms Moore


If anything I think there is more of a theme of sacrifice but it isn't this series its running though both

Pete Tyler - died to save the world
Rose - sacrifices herself by looking into the heart of the tardis but luckily is saved.
The doctor - regenerated to save rose
Captain Jack - died making a last stand against the daleks but luckily got revived
This series
Mrs Moore and Rickey - both died fighting evil
Mickey - stays behind to save the alternate universe.

Out of interest, can anybody tell me the other three?

Edge of Destruction (but that had no supporting cast)

Terminus (well, they all had a disease)

Castrovalva? (they were all constructs of the Master's mind?)

There's always "Good" people being killed off on Doctor Who who are more than random extras.

Even in the new series we've had

Jabe
Gwyneth (and Sneed)
Prime Minister's Aide
Female Soldier in Dalek (Ok, she was the typical Redshirt)
Pete Tyler
Captain Jack

So Rickys hardly unusual.

In the Old series at least some (if not all) of the people the Doctor tried to help or who tried to help him ended up dying.

The Doctor is pretty much the Jack Baur of Time and Space, volunteer to help him and you can be fairly certain you'll wind up dead.

You've just reminded me - that was an accusation Micky made in series 1 - once he'd started to look into the doctor on the web.
Obviously Mickey decided he wasn't so bad after all

If there is a theme in the series, something tells me it is something to do with what the warewolf said when it was caged up in it's human form - it just sounded familiar, like someone from the first series but I don't remember who.

The wolf said something about being a long way from home, which may be a dalek or someone said - there was also a line about seeing something in Rose's eyes - like in "Living Dead" - it all seems a little Big Bad Wolf related... may be.

(Sorry, my post is a bit vague, it's only a feeling and I don't remember the exact lines).