The Doctor's farewell to Rose in
Doomsday has been voted the greatest moment in sci-fi, horror and fantasy by readers of the magazine
SFX, it was revealed today.
To mark the publication of issue 250 of the monthly magazine, readers were asked to vote for a definitive list of the 250 greatest moments of sci-fi, horror and fantasy in genres covering cinema, television, books, comics and video games. A total of
96,300 votes was cast and Doctor Who came top with that emotional scene set in Bad Wolf Bay. Originally broadcast on 8th July 2006, the concluding part of the two-episode story that ended Series Two was written by
Russell T Davies - who was the showrunner at the time - and directed by
Graeme Harper.
In a statement,
SFX said:
Revisionists would have you believe that Who was always a show with emotional impact, but barring a couple of companion departures, that didn't really become true until the advent of Russell T Davies.
His most heart-destroyingly tragic contribution was this scene, in which a holographic projection of the Doctor talks to a tearful Rose on a Norwegian beach, with the signal cutting out just before the slowcoach can declare, "I love you". It's a moment everyone can identify with because, as Davies put it, "There's an echo of every loss you've ever had."
We've all had to bid farewell to someone we care about - even if it wasn't forced upon us by the threat of universal destruction - and this eye-moistening moment perfectly encapsulates the agony of break-up.
David Tennant told
SFX:
I remember worrying on the day we shot this scene that as I was actually a projection from inside the Tardis my hair shouldn't be blowing in the wind.
That seemed terribly important at the time, and although we didn't find a solution to it, it bothered me for weeks. Then I saw the finished scene and of course all that matters is the end of the Doctor and Rose's story. Russell had weaved some glorious magic for two seasons and it all came together so perfectly in this scene that people still talk to me about it with misty eyes all these years later (and I suspect they always will.)
Murray Gold created some heart-stopping music that accentuates the misery and
Billie [Piper] is just breathtakingly good. I feel very lucky to be standing on that beach, with my hair flying around, in amongst all these brilliant elements. Whatever else I do and wherever else I end up, this will be a moment I will be forever proud to look back on. Thanks for having us at number one.
recruited some of the biggest names in the world of sci-fi to share their favourite moments, with
Buffy The Vampire Slayer star
Anthony Head among those agreeing that
John Hurt's chest-burst scene in the 1979 film
Alien was their greatest.
He said:
The first thing that comes to mind is Alien, the great exploding John Hurt moment! You didn't hear until afterwards how they filmed it, and it was one of those moments of reality really hitting a group of actors. You believed it. So full on. It was a perfectly-formed science fiction film, and it's always stuck with me. I was very scared.
The Top 10 greatest moments in sci-fi, horror and fantasy as voted for by
SFX readers are as follows:
- 1: Doctor Who - The Doctor and Rose say farewell at Bad Wolf Bay in Doomsday
- 2: Avengers Assemble - The Hulk destroys Loki
- 3: Alien - The chest-burst scene
- 4: Firefly - Mal Reynolds kicks a bad guy into Serenity's engine intake (The Train Job)
- 5: Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back - Luke discovers that Darth Vader is his father
- 6: Blade Runner - Roy Batty's "Tears in rain" monologue
- 7: Game of Thrones - "The Lannisters send their regards" (The Red Wedding)
- 8: The Matrix - Neo dodges bullets in the bullet-time scene
- 9: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (novel) - Dumbledore's death
- 10: Back To The Future - "Where we're going, we don't need roads."
The full list is printed in issue 250 of
SFX, which is on sale as of today and also features contributions from Davies and current showrunner
Steven Moffat.
UPDATE - 8.20PM: Since the result was announced, the BBC has uploaded the scene to its official Doctor Who YouTube channel. Watch it below:
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