Classic Moments: The Doctor's Lonely Journey

Everyone was expecting the usual "what? what? WHAT?" upbeat cliffhanger that leads into the Christmas special, but were given something else entirely. Instead, a poignant and powerfully understated scene took place at the end of the fourth season Doctor Who finale 'Journey's End', with lumps appearing in the throats of many viewers. In contrast to previous finale endings, there was no sudden shock of Catherine Tate appearing, or the Titanic crashing into the Tardis. Interestingly, a scene featuring the Cybermen invading the Tardis was shot but wisely dropped in favour of the magnificently ambiguous final shot.

The Context

The Doctor enlisted plenty of friends in his battle against Davros and the Daleks, who 'stole' a range of planets, including Earth, for their evil plan to destroy all other life forms in the universe. Thanks to Donna Noble, who had been transformed into a partial Time Lord, the metallic mutants were defeated and the Earth was towed back to its original location by the Tardis.

His vessel was packed full of his companions past and present, such as Donna, Rose, Mickey, Captain Jack and Sarah Jane - and everyone lapped up the victorious celebrations. Soon though, it was time to bid a sad farewell to everyone - including Donna. The Chiswick temp couldn't cope with the new knowledge and had to have her mind wiped to save her life.

The Moment

Having lost his beloved Donna Noble just as he had been parted from Rose Tyler and Astrid Peth, The Doctor returned to the Tardis alone after saying goodbye to Wilf. He walks around the ship's interior, dripping with rain from the downpour outside, takes off his jacket and leans against the console. With sadness etched upon his wet face, The Doctor looks forlornly into the distance.

The Aftermath

The immediate future is sketchy, but we do know that the Tenth Doctor only has a handful of adventures left. He does soon pick up a new companion to help him move on from Donna, though, as a Victorian lass called Rosita (played by Velile Tshabalala) should ease his woes. But how will he cope with another Doctor on the scene? And can they fend off the Cybermen together?