The Best SF Cliffhangers 14

New Doctor Who
“The Stolen Earth”

How do you know when a cliffhanger works? When the viewing figures rise by a couple of million the next week, which is exactly what happened after the penultimate episode of David Tennant’s final full season as the Doctor. This cliffhanger became a cultural phenomenon on a par with Who shot JR? In this case the question was, “Is the Doctor really regenerating?” Unusually for a show which seems to find it difficult to keep a lid on upcoming storylines, this time the outcome was kept secret. Viewers truly believed there could be a new Doctor (well, there was in a way – a clone, but let’s not get into that), thanks to a Dalek shooting the Doc in the back as he ran to embrace Rose.

Go to the the next exciting cliffhanger

SFX Magazine is the world's number one sci-fi, fantasy, and horror magazine published by Future PLC. Established in 1995, SFX Magazine prides itself on writing for its fans, welcoming geeks, collectors, and aficionados into its readership for over 25 years. Covering films, TV shows, books, comics, games, merch, and more, SFX Magazine is published every month. If you love it, chances are we do too and you'll find it in SFX.