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Even a show as big as Doctor Who isn't invincible.
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00:00Like Harry Potter, Star Trek, and Star Wars, Doctor Who is one of those evergreen franchises
00:04that feels like it'll be around forever. It's impossible to imagine the pop culture landscape
00:09without wizards, lightsabers, Patrick Stewart's beautiful bald head, and the TARDIS. And though
00:14there was a substantial period of time when the show was off the air, its fanbase stuck around,
00:19and the 2005 revival made Doctor Who the biggest it's ever been. That said, the fact that TV shows
00:25and movie franchises end all the time does raise an interesting question, one that many Whovians
00:31have pondered over the years. What if the same thing happened to Doctor Who? Hypothetically,
00:35what if Doctor Who did come to an end one day? An actual, definitive, permanent end? What would
00:41that look like, and how might such a finale be executed? It's a big question, so naturally,
00:46we decided to try and answer it. While we're praying to the Time Lord Council that none of
00:51the following options actually happen, each is a potential avenue the showrunners could go down
00:56if, God forbid, they do decide to end Doctor Who one day. With that in mind then, I'm Ellie with
01:01WhoCulture, and here are 8 ways Doctor Who could actually end.
01:05Number 8. Cancellation, again. Cancelling Doctor Who is one of those extreme outcomes that seems way
01:11too outlandish to even consider, until you remember that it's actually happened before. Doctor Who might
01:16be one of the most popular and famous brands in entertainment, but that was also true in the 80s,
01:22and yet, the plug was still pulled. Now sure, it was a completely different time back then,
01:27with completely different people in charge, people who didn't treat the show with the respect it
01:31deserves. But still, considering that Doctor Who has been cancelled once before, there's always going
01:36to be that lingering thought at the back of fans' minds. Could it happen again? Well, sure it could,
01:42but not in the immediate future. Though a certain vocal minority would have you believe that Doctor
01:47Who is pretty much dead right now, it isn't. It still gets more viewers than most shows can dream
01:52of, and the impending return of RTD means that the show's future is the brightest it's been for years.
01:58And even way in the future, there isn't going to be an abrupt cancellation that we see so many other
02:03shows suffer, with the creatives not being given the time or the space to work out a satisfying,
02:08definitive conclusion. Rather, if Doctor Who is put to rest one day, it'll be a more gradual,
02:14well-planned retirement.
02:15Number 7. A TARDIS AND A SUNSET
02:18Funnily enough, this one also happened in the 80s. Almost literally. When the classic series was
02:24cancelled, it finished its run with the 1989 serial Survival, which concludes with the seventh
02:29Doctor and Ace walking off into the distance, discussing their next adventure with great hope
02:34and excitement. Obviously, we didn't get to see that adventure, but all things considered,
02:38this would actually be a great way to end the show permanently. Picture this. The Doctor steps
02:43into the TARDIS, having saved a world from an alien menace. That iconic whirring sound begins,
02:49and the machine dematerialises, flying off into the sunset to seek out new planets, new creatures,
02:54and new adventure. After all, the sentiment that's expressed in the closing seconds of Survival
02:59is what Doctor Who is all about. The universe is a vast place, full of wonder and joy and good
03:05people, and we're going to head out there and explore it. An optimistic ending like this would
03:09allow the show to continue on in our minds, implying that the Doctor will always be out there,
03:14helping innocents and vanquishing monsters.
03:16Number 6. The Doctor lives a John Smith life. This is another ending that sort of happened in the
03:21show before, and it would definitely be an interesting way for Doctor Who to sign off for good.
03:26In the 2007 10th Doctor story, Human Nature and the Family of Blood, the Doctor lives a normal
03:31human life after stripping himself of his Time Lord biology. In a vision, we see him settle down
03:37and get married and have kids with Joan Redfern, before growing old and dying, having lived a life
03:42the Doctor never could. Throughout the show's entire run, but particularly during the 10th Doctor's
03:46era, we've seen flashes of the Doctor yearning for that normalcy, that family life. Like Steve Rogers
03:52in the MCU, this is a character who's constantly at war, and just wants the fighting to stop.
03:58The 12th Doctor expresses this in Twice Upon a Time, calling his entire life a battlefield,
04:03and musing,
04:03Can't I ever have peace? Can't I rest? Now sure, by rest he's talking about dying,
04:09but just like Rogers settling down with Peggy Carter in Avengers Endgame, what if we saw the
04:13Doctor exit the battlefield by finding someone they can share a life with? This also happened in the
04:18recent video game, Doctor Who The Edge of Reality, with the 10th Doctor marrying Madame de Pompadour
04:24in an alternate reality. It's indicative of the fact that the Doctor has become a more emotional
04:28and romantic hero over the last 15 years or so, and as such, it wouldn't be completely out of left
04:34field for the main show to end in a similar manner.
04:375. An Open-Ended Regeneration
04:40In much the same way that a flying off into the sunset ending would be a fittingly optimistic way to wrap
04:45up Doctor Who, an alternative approach here would be to show the start of a regeneration,
04:50but cut away just before the end. Circling back to Twice Upon a Time, and there's a shot at the
04:54end of that episode, where the camera pulls back on the 12th Doctor's regeneration, before cutting
04:59to an extreme close-up of his eyes. We linger here for a moment until the screen is consumed by a burst
05:05of white, and the 13th Doctor is revealed, standing in front of the TARDIS console.
05:09Okay, now picture this exact ending, only without the reveal of the next Doctor. That burst of white
05:15holds, the theme tune starts up, and the credits begin to roll. Like the sunset ending, this allows
05:21the legend of the Doctor to live on, letting us know that they'll always be out there, making the
05:25universe a better place. Even if Doctor Who does have to end, why shouldn't the legacy continue on?
05:314. Timeless Child Time Loop
05:34So far, we've mostly discussed endings that people would be happy with, but here's one that would
05:39certainly prove a divisive way to cap things off. Though plenty of fans expected Series 13 Flux to
05:45provide more answers about the Timeless Child story, or maybe even wrap it up for good, it really didn't.
05:50All we got was a mention that the Timeless Child might have been from a parallel universe, and even
05:55that wasn't a concrete revelation, or even a surprising one. With so much wriggle room then, and with current
06:01showrunner Chris Chibnall having just two episodes left before departing, giving him very little time
06:06to flesh everything out, there's an opportunity to use the Timeless Child as a way to bring the show
06:11full circle. Basically, what if the final Doctor regenerates before falling through a purple wormhole,
06:17revealing that this is where the original Timeless Child came from? This would essentially make the
06:22entirety of Doctor Who one massive time loop, and though it's unlikely that a future showrunner would
06:27want to revisit such a divisive storyline, especially if they're bringing Doctor Who to an
06:31end, and one of the goals is to keep fans happy, it would be perfectly on-brand for such a timey-wimey
06:37show. Alternatively, we could even circle back to the official first Doctor, William Hartnell,
06:43as a way to honour the incredible history of the show.
06:46Number 3. The Curator
06:48Speaking of keeping fans happy, it's hard to think of a better ending than this one.
06:5250th anniversary special The Day of the Doctor introduced a character called The Curator,
06:57played by Tom Baker. The Curator is heavily implied to be a future elderly incarnation of
07:03the Doctor, one who is revisiting some of his old favourite faces and has retired from a life of
07:08adventure to become the humble steward of the Under Gallery. As we mentioned, there have been
07:13flashes of the Doctor yearning for a normal, adventure-free life, and this is an example of
07:18him actually doing it. If the Curator is indeed in the Doctor's future, then this could be right at
07:23the end of his life, and in turn, right at the end of the show, with the character running out of
07:28regenerations, or simply not needing to regenerate, and finally growing old. No matter how the Doctor
07:33ends up becoming the Curator, ending things here would simply be perfect. Imagine the scene,
07:38we pick up with the Curator walking away after finishing his conversation with Eleven, as seen in
07:43the day of the Doctor. The camera then follows him. If Baker isn't around, then a body double can be
07:48slotted in, as he walks out of the gallery into that white light. The white consumes the screen, and
07:54the show ends. In many ways, Baker is the Doctor, so having him bring the show home would be truly
08:00poetic and highly emotional for longtime fans. Number 2. A full-on reboot
08:05Though the 2005 revival did feel like a reboot in certain ways, it was still a continuation of the
08:12Doctor Who story that began with the first Doctor in 1963. However, for this entry, we're suggesting
08:17a reboot in every sense of the word, a fresh start for the show that ends the current iteration and
08:23starts a new one. The overall premise would stay the same, but the story and characters would be
08:27entirely different. While you could argue that there's no need for this to happen, since each
08:31regeneration is its own mini-reboot anyway, there's no denying that it's a possibility, especially as the
08:37show gets older and less accessible for newcomers. The sticker shock of having to catch up on 12
08:42series was surely why the BBC opted to call Series 13 Flux instead of giving it a number,
08:48with the goal being to rope in casual viewers. So what about in 15 or 20 years' time, when the
08:53modern episode count is double what it is now? What if the show's lore is so convoluted, long-lasting,
08:59and inside baseball that it's impossible for newbies to catch up? And what if, hypothetically,
09:04the show's ratings have completely flatlined, and only the hardcore fans have stuck around?
09:10Well, that reboot button might start to look enticing to the BBC. And hey, if it's a choice
09:15between that or outright permanent cancellation, we take a reboot every single time.
09:21Number 1. The Doctor Actually Dies
09:23On numerous occasions, it's been established that it is possible to kill the Doctor outright,
09:28as in, kill them permanently, leaving them without the ability to regenerate.
09:32Laser screwdrivers, drowning, and running out of regenerations are all potential options here,
09:37but let's face it, the writers can think up any random method they like, and it doesn't have to
09:42make a lick of sense. Why? Because it's Doctor Who, that's why. In all seriousness, though,
09:46the fact that the Doctor isn't invincible means that one day, they could kill him off. Sure,
09:51it wouldn't feel right to end the show on such a miserable note, but bowing out on a heroic death
09:56would give Doctor Who a real sense of finality. And hey, if a certain British super spy can bite
10:01the dust in his own franchise, then there's no reason the Doctor can't do the same in theirs.
10:06In fact, over the last few years, many fans have suggested that the 12th Doctor's death
10:10in The Doctor Falls would have been a fitting final stand for the character, with him dying while
10:15trying to protect innocent people from the Cybermen. While the BBC probably wouldn't want to end the show
10:20on such a downer, there's no doubt that killing the Doctor off would be a bold move, and would
10:24make for one of the most emotional, iconic moments in the history of television.
10:29And that concludes our list of ways Doctor Who could actually end. If you can think of some
10:34other interesting ways, then do let us know in the comments below, and while you're there,
10:38don't forget to like and subscribe and tap that notification bell. Also, head over to Twitter
10:42and follow us there, and I can be found across various social medias just by searching
10:46Ellie Littlechild. I've been Ellie with Who Culture, and in the words of Riversong herself,
10:51goodbye, sweeties.
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