Who Episodes That Will Make Me Cry

My friends will back me up when I say that I cry at quite a lot. Being a Leonardo DiCaprio fan, the obvious one is Titanic, which despite the fact that I can recite pretty much the entire movie due to the amount of times that I’ve seen it, I still weep at every time. Again, my mum will vouch for me when I tell you that I properly broke down when Ianto died in Torchwood (and I mean bawling). However, if you really want to make me cry in front of the telly of an evening, then play an episode of Doctor Who.

I recently wrote a piece entitled ‘Why Rose Tyler is the best new Who companion’, so obviously I’m going to be biased towards anything to do with her. However, I think anyone who’s seen ‘Doomsday’ will agree that it’s one of the most heart-breaking episodes. From the moment that Rose clings to her magna-clamp, I sit there struggling to hold my tears in. When she desperately bangs on the wall in Pete’s world, the Doctor silently shocked on the other side, it gets even more difficult. But once we’ve reached Bad Wolf Way, there’s no hiding it, and I think that’s down to a pair of brilliant actors and their script writer. It’s Billie’s shattering cries as her Doctor can’t do anything to help, and his unfinished words “Rose Tyler-“

Who writers often send companions off in a very emotional way. Amy and Rory’s last story, ‘The Angels Take Manhattan’, is one that gives Rose a run for her money. In that episode (which I am watching as I write this) it’s the teasing of the audience from Moffat that keeps the tension high: the Ponds’ throwing themselves off of the roof of Winter Quay in a particularly Reichenbach fall fashion, then popping back up alive a matter of seconds later. We think they’re going to be OK, then look what happens… and finally, Amy’s afterword for the Doctor. Moffat certainly knows how to rip our hearts out, but here, I put some blame on Murray Gold, too. ‘Together or Not At All – The Song of Amy and Rory’ is simply stunning.

Another piece of brilliant music is ‘The Long Song’, which featured heavily in the series 7 episode ‘The Rings of Akhaten’. That episode brings tears to my eyes not because of character deaths or terrible separations. It’s that damn song… (Along with Matt’s speech that can’t be described as anything other than magnificent. That NTA was well deserved.)

Another one not specifically due to a departure that makes me cry is the brilliant 50^th anniversary episode ‘The Day of the Doctor’. Although I’ve not seen most of the classic Doctors (I’ve started recently, right at the beginning with Hartnell), the moment when all 13 come together to save Gallifrey is just spectacular. Then, right at the end, another of Matt’s speeches as he joins the line of Time Lords looking up to his home planet… Rassilon, that’s when I properly well up with happy tears. However, my heart(s) dropped when David left in his TARDIS, because at that moment I realised that it is unlikely he’ll ever tie up the laces on his Converse or swing his big brown coat on again. And they just had to do it, didn’t they? “I don’t want to go…”

Which brings me nicely to ‘The End of Time Part 2’. Regeneration episodes are commonly emotional, but the most recent ones have been particularly earth-shatteringly heartbreakingly awful. The last 20 minutes or so of David’s last episode (where he visits all his old companions) is tough to watch, especially Donna’s wedding and Rose’s first encounter (on a side not, a very clever move by Russell T Davies). But then, that Ood appears in the snow and ‘Vale Decem’ starts and that’s it. One last line. And… result? I’m an utter mess.

Although David was my Doctor, it was Matt’s last episode that totally destroyed my sanity and reduced me to a complete wreck (Seriously. I’m talking hyperventilating, shaking, blubbing.) ‘The Time of the Doctor’ has met with some less than positive reviews, so I think I’m in the minority when I say that it was a wonderful farewell to the eleventh Doctor. For this one, the uncontrollable tears began when we saw the Doctor as an old man, forgetful and weak, not even able to pull a cracker with Clara. At this point, I already couldn’t stay still sat down, so I was pacing up and down the room all through his explosive defeat of the Daleks, and back into the TARDIS. I’ve mentioned a couple of Matt’s speeches during this blog, but this one, his very last, was his very best. For the majority of it, he was the Doctor. But then, there are moments, seen in the glistening of his eyes as he says “I will never forget one line of this… I will always remember when the Doctor was me” when it is Matt being Matt. But still, that wasn’t what made an eruption of sobs gush from my eyes. Amy’s “Raggedy man, good night”… even thinking about it…

My list of 20 episodes, ranked in order of crying likeliness:

1. The Time of the Doctor
2. Doomsday
3. The End of Time, Part 2
4. The Angels Take Manhattan
5. Vincent and the Doctor
6. The Day of the Doctor
7. The Doctor’s Wife
8. The Doctor’s Daughter
9. The Girl Who Waited
10. Journey’s End
11. The Rings of Akhaten
12. The Family of Blood
13. The Last of the Time Lords
14. Father’s Day
15. The Big Bang
16. The Name of the Doctor
17. Forest of the Dead
18. The Girl in the Fireplace
19. The Parting of the Ways
20. The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe

Why Rose Tyler Is The Best New Who Companion

When it comes to the universe of Doctor Who, everyone has their favourites. When meeting a fellow Whovian, the social convention is to ask and discuss all aspects of the show, and in many cases, you will end up defending your Doctor as faithfully as he defends the Earth. Everyone has their favourite enemy, episode, music (if you’re interested, mine are the Master, ‘The Day of the Doctor’, and ‘The Long Song’), and of course, companion.

Being too young to have watched the classic series’ when they were broadcast, my earliest memory of watching Doctor Who was the episode ‘New Earth’, the opening to David Tennant’s first full series as the wonderfully witty Time Lord. At eleven years old, the fast-paced show was like nothing I’d seen before, and the Doctor was simply a hero to everyone watching. As I continued with the intergalactic adventures every Saturday night, it quickly became clear to me that while the Doctor was every bit the enigmatic wonder, his companion Rose Tyler was just as brilliant. 

With her determination, loyalty and “domestic approach”, Rose (played magnificently by Billie Piper) was the perfect mix of intrepid adventurer and girl-next-door, providing the audience with the eyes through which we watch the show. Yes, she could be jealous at times (notably in ‘School Reunion’, which was not particularly helped by Sarah Jane’s equally derisive remarks), but quite simply, that’s what made her real. After all, wouldn’t you be a little displeased if another woman turned up and diverted David Tennant’s attention away from you? Yep, exactly. Me too.

Speaking of Sarah Jane, Ms Piper must have had a difficult task in bringing to life the companion who would reintroduce Doctor Who to Britain. I’d go as far as to say it was just as tough as Christopher Eccleston’s feat, and Rose Tyler has certainly lived up to my expectations. Going back to ‘Rose’ in series 1 after her tearful exit in ‘Doomsday’ (I’ll come back to that later), I can see why the nation took the character to their hearts. She was open and innocent with a brilliantly argumentative streak that was displayed during her scenes with the Doctor on many occasions. Creating a character who would follow in the footsteps of the greats (Sarah Jane Smith, Leela and Ace to name but a few) is an achievement to be applauded, especially when beginning the new series with an episode entitled as the companion’s name.

There is no doubt in my mind that Billie Piper carried the show through the first two series of the revived BBC classic, her very human portrayal keeping the ratings high even after Eccleston’s beloved ninth Doctor departed the TARDIS. Even after leaving herself, the show continued to run on the very idea of Rose. During series three, she was mentioned in no less than six out of thirteen episodes and returned for three full episodes in series four, as well as her image being used by the Moment in ‘The Day of the Doctor’. Surely this, to an extent, shows how much Billie’s character was loved not only by the nation, but the Doctor himself.

A companion/Doctor relationship was somewhat a new concept aboard the TARDIS when Russell T Davies took the show on. However, I am a believer that Rose was a perfect match for the broken Time Lord, picking him back up, sometimes kicking and screaming, when his memories of the Time War threatened to darken his character (look no further than ‘Dalek’ in series one). For the Doctor, Rose was a beacon of hope and love (much like the Olympic flame in ‘Fear Her’) who brought him out of the shade and gave him faith again, which he confirmed himself in ‘The Satan Pit’ – “I believe in her.” For saving our Doctor, we must love Rose Tyler just as much as he did (or does).

The Doctor’s love for Rose was blazingly obvious throughout the series’, culminating in the heart-breaking finale of series two, ‘Doomsday’ (told you I would come back to it). Even if you didn’t like Rose, the last ten minutes or so must have convinced you that the Doctor truly loved her, or at least pulled on your heartstrings a little. If not, then I’m afraid to say you might be part Dalek… which is OK, because it might just mean that you’re an echo of yourself after jumping into the Doctor’s time stream… which is a whole different companion. Sorry, back on track.

As I was saying, that memorable moment when the Doctor says “Rose Tyler” on Bad Wolf Bay is one of the saddest in the show, even beating Tennant’s regeneration and the Ponds’ departure for me. The only consolation I have when bawling my eyes out over the scene is that I know, eventually, Rose will have her very own Doctor.

Finally, I can’t possibly write anything about Rose Tyler without mentioning Bad Wolf. The end of series one perfectly summarises Rose’s character: her stubbornness and determination, shown as she desperately cries for the TARDIS to take her back to the Gamestation; her bravery, opening the heart of the TARDIS and absorbing the time vortex just to save her Doctor; her concern for her friends, displayed as she brings Captain Jack back to life (accidently forever, although we can’t blame her for wanting that. We wouldn’t have Torchwood if it wasn’t for her); her love for the Doctor, and lastly, his love for her.

While it is blatantly clear that Rose, in my opinion, is the best New Who companion to date, this is not to say that I dislike any of the others. In fact, every constant TARDIS traveller since Rose has been equally likeable (the others in my top three are Captain Jack and Donna), but what Rose Tyler brought to Doctor Who was love, compassion, humanity, a little rebelliousness, and ultimately, the Doctor that we hold close to our hearts.