Right from the very beginning in 1963, cliffhangers were a fundamental part of Doctor Who. The first glimpse of a Dalek (its 'sink plunger') occurred as part of a cliffhanger and even the modern series utilised this iconic tradition in almost every season.
Cliffhangers are used to hook the viewer and convince them to come back for the next episode. However, the effect of the cliffhanger depends on how well it is executed, and in Doctor Who, some are a lot better than others. For the purpose of this list, the cliffhangers will be ranked on their suspense, and not their resolution.
10 Worst - World Enough And Time (Season 10, Episode 11)
In all fairness, this would have made such an amazing and thrilling cliffhanger if it hadn't been spoilt eleven weeks earlier in a trailer for the season. At the end of the episode, it transpired that an old incarnation of the Master had returned alongside Missy.
Unfortunately, this version of the Master was revealed to be making a comeback eleven weeks prior to this revelation, so the intended effect of this cliffhanger just fell flat. Some of it was rescued, though, by Bill Potts being turned into a Cyberman.
9 Best - Bad Wolf (Season 1, Episode 12)
Although there have been better cliffhangers since this episode aired in 2005, it still packed an almighty punch. Earlier in this episode, Rose had been seemingly killed by the Anne Droid, but in reality, she was transported over to a Dalek ship.
The Doctor found her but also discovered an armada of Dalek saucers, ready to attack the Earth. The Daleks contacted the Doctor, demanding he do nothing in exchange for Rose's life, but he refused, telling Rose he'd rescue her while wiping out the Daleks once and for all.
8 Worst - A Good Man Goes To War (Season 6, Episode 7)
Considering this was a midseason cliffhanger, one expected it to have a much bigger punch. Ironically, the previous episode had an amazing cliffhanger which literally nobody saw coming.
The mystery of River Song had plagued fans for years, and this episode was finally going to reveal who she was, albeit in the last few seconds. It transpired that River was Amy and Rory's daughter, but given that the season so far had focused heavily on Amy's mysterious non-pregnancy, a lot of fans had already deduced that River was related to the Ponds, and so remained unimpressed.
7 Best - Spyfall Part 1 (Season 12, Episode 1)
Cliffhangers are at their best when the cast and crew go to great lengths to keep the shocks a secret. In this case, Sacha Dhawan was edited out of the trailer footage and promotional photos, and wasn't announced as appearing in the episode.
Initially, Dhawan played a friend of the Doctor called 'O'. However, it was later spectacularly revealed that he was the Master, making a comeback after a three year absence. Fans had no idea about his return and went absolutely wild when the cliffhanger aired.
6 Worst - Under The Lake (Season 9, Episode 3)
The unfortunate thing about this cliffhanger is that the actual episode was rather good, as was its follow up, "Before The Flood". The story revolved around an underwater base that found itself haunted by the ghosts of recently deceased crew members, as well as a random alien.
In the cliffhanger, the Doctor and Clara were separated, with the latter ending up stuck in the base with the ghosts. Clara then discovered the ghost of the Doctor, which made up the cliffhanger. It was just a bit simple, as everyone knew the Doctor wasn't really dead.
5 Best - Utopia (Season 3, Episode 11)
Although it could be argued that "Utopia" was just a filler episode leading up to the season finale, it still contained a decent plot in its own right. In fact, no one knew it was the first part of a three-parter until it actually aired, which only added to the shock value.
The Doctor, Martha and Captain Jack had arrived in the far future, where the last humans hoped to reach 'Utopia', assisted by the kindly Professor Yana. However, Yana was revealed to be the Master, a character not seen since the 1996 TV movie, a twist that thrilled fans of all ages.
4 Worst - The Girl Who Died (Season 9, Episode 5)
"The Girl Who Died" and "The Woman Who Lived" were marketed as two separate episodes that would be linked by an undisclosed defining feature. However, the former still had a cliffhanger of sorts at the end that failed to garner much interest from viewers.
In the episode, the Doctor and Clara visited a Viking village that was being menaced by the Mire. The Doctor defeated them, but a young girl died. The Doctor brought her back to life, but made it so she couldn't die, with the cliffhanger revolving around the girl becoming hardened.
3 Best - The End Of Time Part 1 (2009 Christmas Special)
This was one of Doctor Who's most epic cliffhangers. It was also the first part of the Tenth Doctor's swan song, so viewers knew that anything could happen. And it did. The episode ended with the Master becoming every single person on Earth.
As exciting as that was, the cliffhanger wasn't done yet. After the Master race revelled in its shocking glory, the Narrator revealed that he was a Time Lord, and that Gallifrey would rise once more. The Time Lords hadn't been seen properly since the old series and so this was absolutely amazing.
2 Worst - The Impossible Astronaut (Season 6, Episode 1)
The ironic thing about this episode is that it featured a brilliant cliffhanger moment. Unfortunately, this occurred about 10 minutes in, rendering whatever ending the episode ultimately decided to go with completely obsolete.
Despite that, the cliffhanger was still more disappointing than viewers expected. Nothing really happened, and that's no exaggeration. Rory and River were essentially forgotten about, and Amy picked up a gun and fired while the Doctor screamed. This was all done in awful slow motion.
1 Best - The Stolen Earth (Season 4, Episode 12)
When a cliffhanger makes national news, it's impossible not to award it first place on this list. Topping off a truly excellent season of Doctor Who, "The Stolen Earth" was basically a massive crossover between all the shows in the Doctor Who universe.
All of the Doctor's companions rallied together when the entire planet was taken and the Doctor was nowhere to be seen. Thanks to his friends, the Doctor eventually found the Earth, and Rose Tyler, when he was shot by a Dalek. He began to regenerate in the TARDIS, which was when the end credits rolled, leaving viewers on a massive cliffhanger.
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