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* An InUniverse example in the [[https://web.archive.org/web/20021009174222/http://www.menace.ndo.co.uk/loz/misnom.htm#fall online supplimentary material]] for the ''Franchise/BerniceSummerfield'' novel ''Down'' by Lawrence Miles. The bibliography for 26th century pulpzine character Mr Misnomer, the Man of Chrome, explains that when the original [[ExtrudedBookProduct autolit]] stories were created, between 2529 and 2535, Earth was going through a puritanic period, and so, despite some BDSM subtext, the zines were largely straightforward moralistic adventure stories. The licenced revival by an underground publisher in 2544, on the other hand, makes his sidekick a gay depressive, claims Misnomer's [[DependingOnTheWriter Depending on the Lit-Engine]] characteristica are the result of an incipit SplitPersonality and mind-altering drugs, and moreover that the Ancient Timeless Evil he's been fighting all these years is actually the manifestation of his own angst. Apparently, this didn't go down well with fans, who insist it can't possibly be canon. (Some aspects of this may ''possibly'' be intended to satirise some of the above, including Miles's own work.)
to:
* An InUniverse example in the [[https://web.archive.org/web/20021009174222/http://www.menace.ndo.co.uk/loz/misnom.htm#fall online supplimentary material]] for the ''Franchise/BerniceSummerfield'' novel ''Down'' by Lawrence Miles. The bibliography for 26th century pulpzine character Mr Misnomer, the Man of Chrome, explains that when the original [[ExtrudedBookProduct autolit]] stories were created, between 2529 and 2535, Earth was going through a puritanic period, and so, despite some BDSM subtext, the zines were largely straightforward moralistic adventure stories. The licenced revival by an underground publisher in 2544, on the other hand, makes his sidekick a gay depressive, claims Misnomer's [[DependingOnTheWriter Depending on the Lit-Engine]] characteristica characteristics are the result of an incipit SplitPersonality and mind-altering drugs, and moreover that the Ancient Timeless Evil he's been fighting all these years is actually the manifestation of his own angst. Apparently, this didn't go down well with fans, who insist it can't possibly be canon. (Some aspects of this may ''possibly'' be intended to satirise some of the above, including Miles's own work.)
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* An InUniverse example in the [[https://web.archive.org/web/20021009174222/http://www.menace.ndo.co.uk/loz/misnom.htm#fall online supplimentary material]] for the ''Franchise/BerniceSummerfield'' novel''Down''. The bibliography for 26th century pulpzine character Mr Misnomer, the Man of Chrome, explains that when the original [[ExtrudedBookProduce autolit]] stories were created, between 2529 and 2535, Earth was going through a puritanic period, and so, despite some BDSM subtext, the zines were largely straightforward moralistic adventure stories. The licenced revival by an underground publisher in 2544, on the other hand, makes his sidekick a gay depressive, claims Misnomer's [[DependingOnTheWriter Depending on the Autolit Engine]] characteristica are the result of MultiplePersonalityDisorder and mind-altering drugs, and moreover that the Ancient Timeless Evil he's been fighting all these years is actually the manifestation of his own angst. Apparently, this didn't go down well with fans, who insist it can't possibly be canon.
to:
* An InUniverse example in the [[https://web.archive.org/web/20021009174222/http://www.menace.ndo.co.uk/loz/misnom.htm#fall online supplimentary material]] for the ''Franchise/BerniceSummerfield'' novel''Down''. novel ''Down'' by Lawrence Miles. The bibliography for 26th century pulpzine character Mr Misnomer, the Man of Chrome, explains that when the original [[ExtrudedBookProduce [[ExtrudedBookProduct autolit]] stories were created, between 2529 and 2535, Earth was going through a puritanic period, and so, despite some BDSM subtext, the zines were largely straightforward moralistic adventure stories. The licenced revival by an underground publisher in 2544, on the other hand, makes his sidekick a gay depressive, claims Misnomer's [[DependingOnTheWriter Depending on the Autolit Engine]] Lit-Engine]] characteristica are the result of MultiplePersonalityDisorder an incipit SplitPersonality and mind-altering drugs, and moreover that the Ancient Timeless Evil he's been fighting all these years is actually the manifestation of his own angst. Apparently, this didn't go down well with fans, who insist it can't possibly be canon. (Some aspects of this may ''possibly'' be intended to satirise some of the above, including Miles's own work.)
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* An InUniverse example in the [[https://web.archive.org/web/20021009174222/http://www.menace.ndo.co.uk/loz/misnom.htm#fall online supplimentary material]] for the ''Franchise/BerniceSummerfield'' novel''Down''. The bibliography for 26th century pulpzine character Mr Misnomer, the Man of Chrome, explains that when the original [[ExtrudedBookProduce autolit]] stories were created, between 2529 and 2535, Earth was going through a puritanic period, and so, despite some BDSM subtext, the zines were largely straightforward moralistic adventure stories. The licenced revival by an underground publisher in 2544, on the other hand, makes his sidekick a gay depressive, claims Misnomer's [[DependingOnTheWriter Depending on the Autolit Engine]] characteristica are the result of MultiplePersonalityDisorder and mind-altering drugs, and moreover that the Ancient Timeless Evil he's been fighting all these years is actually the manifestation of his own angst. Apparently, this didn't go down well with fans, who insist it can't possibly be canon.
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** And then they took it to an entirely new level with the ''Series/TorchwoodMiracleDay'' in 2011. "Dark" doesn't begin to describe it. It may have gotten too dark though, as in 2014, there was no information on new ''Torchwood''.
to:
** And then they took it to an entirely new level with the ''Series/TorchwoodMiracleDay'' in 2011. "Dark" doesn't begin to describe it. It may have gotten too dark though, as in 2014, there it was no information the last series of ''Torchwood'' on new ''Torchwood''.television.
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** This continued into Seasons 20 and 21, though starting with [[spoiler: Adric's death in "Earthshock"]]. the vast majority of people in stories were [[KillEmAll forced to suffer death in various horrible ways]] catapulted by incredibly dark and brutal plots and the kinder and more human Doctor is forced to bear all of this, with "The Caves of Androzani" arguably being one of the darkest regeneration stories ever made.
** The mid-1980s period where Creator/EricSaward went to town with his "gritty realism" ideals, which led to a lot of stories with [[BlackAndGrayMorality hardly any truly sympathetic guest characters]], [[BloodierAndGorier on-screen gore]] and [[KillEmAll almost all of the guest characters dying]], and a Doctor who tried to kill his companion in a fit of homicidal mania and developed a nasty habit of making the odd BondOneLiner.
** The mid-1980s period where Creator/EricSaward went to town with his "gritty realism" ideals, which led to a lot of stories with [[BlackAndGrayMorality hardly any truly sympathetic guest characters]], [[BloodierAndGorier on-screen gore]] and [[KillEmAll almost all of the guest characters dying]], and a Doctor who tried to kill his companion in a fit of homicidal mania and developed a nasty habit of making the odd BondOneLiner.
to:
** This continued into Seasons 20 and 21, though starting with [[spoiler: Adric's death in "Earthshock"]]. the vast majority of people in stories were [[KillEmAll forced to suffer death in various horrible ways]] ways catapulted by incredibly dark and brutal plots and the kinder and more human Doctor is forced to bear all of this, with "The Caves of Androzani" arguably being one of the darkest regeneration stories ever made.
** The mid-1980s period where Creator/EricSaward went to town with his "gritty realism" ideals, which led to a lot of stories with [[BlackAndGrayMorality hardly any truly sympathetic guest characters]], [[BloodierAndGorier on-screen gore]] and[[KillEmAll [[EverybodyDiesEnding almost all of the guest characters dying]], and a Doctor who tried to kill his companion in a fit of homicidal mania and developed a nasty habit of making the odd BondOneLiner.
** The mid-1980s period where Creator/EricSaward went to town with his "gritty realism" ideals, which led to a lot of stories with [[BlackAndGrayMorality hardly any truly sympathetic guest characters]], [[BloodierAndGorier on-screen gore]] and
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** After Creator/VerityLambert's tenure where the companions enjoyed time travel for the most part and there's a happy ending every single time (except in the story [[BottleEpisode where the Doctor never shows up]]), Creator/JohnWiles' tenure as producer was characterized by extreme and nasty {{Downer Ending}}s, the Doctor [[WhatTheHellHero constantly getting called out for his more morally dubious actions]], suffering after the departure of his favorite companions, and being defined by his relative powerlessness. And unlike Lambert's tenure of producing quirky stories with [[GenreRoulette outrageous variety in setting and tone]], most of Wiles' tenure was clearly in the SpaceOpera genre, with {{Arc}}-based plots for the first time and a colossal body count. When Creator/InnesLloyd took over he reversed a lot of these changes and [[YoungerAndHipper recast the companions and even the Doctor with younger and trendier people]].
to:
** After Creator/VerityLambert's tenure where the companions enjoyed time travel for the most part and there's a happy ending every single time (except in the story [[BottleEpisode where the Doctor never shows up]]), Creator/JohnWiles' tenure as producer was characterized by extreme and nasty {{Downer Ending}}s, the Doctor [[WhatTheHellHero constantly getting called out for his more morally dubious actions]], suffering after the departure of his favorite favourite companions, and being defined by his relative powerlessness. And unlike Lambert's tenure of producing quirky stories with [[GenreRoulette outrageous variety in setting and tone]], most of Wiles' tenure was clearly in the SpaceOpera genre, with {{Arc}}-based plots for the first time and a colossal body count. When Creator/InnesLloyd took over he reversed a lot of these changes and [[YoungerAndHipper recast the companions and even the Doctor with younger and trendier people]].
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** This continued into Seasons 20 and 21, though starting with [[spoiler: Adric's death in "Earthshock"]]. the vast majority of people in stories were [[KillEmAll forced to suffer death in various horrible ways]] catapulted by incredibly dark and brutal plots and the kinder and more human Doctor is forced to bear all of this, with "The Caves of Androzani" arguably being one of the darkest regeneration stories ever made.
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** The mid-1980s period where Eric Saward went to town with his "gritty realism" ideals, which led to a lot of stories with [[BlackAndGrayMorality hardly any truly sympathetic guest characters]], [[BloodierAndGorier on-screen gore]] and [[KillEmAll almost all of the guest characters dying]], and a Doctor who tried to kill his companion in a fit of homicidal mania and developed a nasty habit of making the odd BondOneLiner.
to:
** The mid-1980s period where Eric Saward Creator/EricSaward went to town with his "gritty realism" ideals, which led to a lot of stories with [[BlackAndGrayMorality hardly any truly sympathetic guest characters]], [[BloodierAndGorier on-screen gore]] and [[KillEmAll almost all of the guest characters dying]], and a Doctor who tried to kill his companion in a fit of homicidal mania and developed a nasty habit of making the odd BondOneLiner.
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Changed line(s) 2 (click to see context) from:
** After Creator/VerityLambert's tenure where the companions enjoyed time travel for the most part and there's a happy ending every single time (except in the story [[BottleEpisode where the Doctor never shows up]]), John Wiles' tenure as producer was characterized by extreme and nasty {{Downer Ending}}s, the Doctor [[WhatTheHellHero constantly getting called out for his more morally dubious actions]], suffering after the departure of his favorite companions, and being defined by his relative powerlessness. And unlike Lambert's tenure of producing quirky stories with [[GenreRoulette outrageous variety in setting and tone]], most of Wiles' tenure was clearly in the SpaceOpera genre, with {{Arc}}-based plots for the first time and a colossal body count. When Innes Lloyd took over he reversed a lot of these changes and [[YoungerAndHipper recast the companions and even the Doctor with younger and trendier people]].
to:
** After Creator/VerityLambert's tenure where the companions enjoyed time travel for the most part and there's a happy ending every single time (except in the story [[BottleEpisode where the Doctor never shows up]]), John Wiles' Creator/JohnWiles' tenure as producer was characterized by extreme and nasty {{Downer Ending}}s, the Doctor [[WhatTheHellHero constantly getting called out for his more morally dubious actions]], suffering after the departure of his favorite companions, and being defined by his relative powerlessness. And unlike Lambert's tenure of producing quirky stories with [[GenreRoulette outrageous variety in setting and tone]], most of Wiles' tenure was clearly in the SpaceOpera genre, with {{Arc}}-based plots for the first time and a colossal body count. When Innes Lloyd Creator/InnesLloyd took over he reversed a lot of these changes and [[YoungerAndHipper recast the companions and even the Doctor with younger and trendier people]].
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Darkness Induced Audience Apathy was renamed.
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** Season 12 ended up much darker due to introducing a "detached" new Doctor who was unfamiliar to the child audience and had a more [[BreakTheBadass fragile personality]], which created a feeling of genuine danger rather than the EscapistCharacter runarounds of previous seasons. The fact that the new Doctor was also ''funnier'' than the previous one, and the lighthearted companion team of Sarah Jane and Harry, kept everything fun enough to prevent DarknessInducedAudienceApathy.
to:
** Season 12 ended up much darker due to introducing a "detached" new Doctor who was unfamiliar to the child audience and had a more [[BreakTheBadass fragile personality]], which created a feeling of genuine danger rather than the EscapistCharacter runarounds of previous seasons. The fact that the new Doctor was also ''funnier'' than the previous one, and the lighthearted companion team of Sarah Jane and Harry, kept everything fun enough to prevent DarknessInducedAudienceApathy.TooBleakStoppedCaring.
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** Season 14 amped up the gore and horror from the previous two seasons as much as possible, and combined it with the departure of the Fourth Doctor's very popular and long-serving companion Sarah Jane, making the atmosphere a lot less cozy. Her replacement was a [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Proud Warrior Race Girl]] in a {{Stripperific}} outfit who [[BloodierAndGorier liked to stab people]], and her relationship with the Doctor was more distant and vertical, making the Doctor come across as a lot colder. The writing became more cynical, and half the stories were different genres of murder mystery. The Doctor was made a ''lot'' funnier to distract from the gore and horror, but it didn't work and the production team got fired due to MoralGuardian pressure.
** The Master's portrayal in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E3TheDeadlyAssassin The Deadly Assassin]]". Up until this point he had been a [[AffablyEvil charismatic and almost friendly adversary]] to the Doctor played by Roger Delgado. This was the first time the character wasn't played by Delgado, and instead was made a rotting husk at the edge of his life and driven purely by hatred, especially for the Doctor. By the same token, the Doctor has none of the compassion for the Master he had before, culminating in a fight to the death after which the Doctor even admits that he hopes the Master has gone for good.
** The Master's portrayal in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E3TheDeadlyAssassin The Deadly Assassin]]". Up until this point he had been a [[AffablyEvil charismatic and almost friendly adversary]] to the Doctor played by Roger Delgado. This was the first time the character wasn't played by Delgado, and instead was made a rotting husk at the edge of his life and driven purely by hatred, especially for the Doctor. By the same token, the Doctor has none of the compassion for the Master he had before, culminating in a fight to the death after which the Doctor even admits that he hopes the Master has gone for good.
to:
** Season 14 amped up the gore and horror from the previous two seasons as much as possible, and combined it with the departure of the Fourth Doctor's very popular and long-serving companion Sarah Jane, making the atmosphere a lot less cozy. Her replacement was a [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Proud Warrior Race Girl]] in a {{Stripperific}} outfit who [[BloodierAndGorier liked to stab people]], and her relationship with the Doctor was more distant and vertical, making the Doctor come across as a lot colder. The writing became more cynical, and half the stories were different genres of murder mystery. The Doctor was made a ''lot'' funnier to distract from the gore and horror, but it didn't work and the production team Creator/PhilipHinchcliffe got fired due to MoralGuardian pressure.
** The Master's portrayal in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E3TheDeadlyAssassin The Deadly Assassin]]". Up until this point he had been a [[AffablyEvil charismatic and almost friendly adversary]] to the Doctor played byRoger Delgado.Creator/RogerDelgado. This was the first time the character wasn't played by Delgado, and instead was made a rotting husk at the edge of his life and driven purely by hatred, especially for the Doctor. By the same token, the Doctor has none of the compassion for the Master he had before, culminating in a fight to the death after which the Doctor even admits that he hopes the Master has gone for good.
** The Master's portrayal in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E3TheDeadlyAssassin The Deadly Assassin]]". Up until this point he had been a [[AffablyEvil charismatic and almost friendly adversary]] to the Doctor played by
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** Series 11 was a light season of the show, with a much friendlier Doctor than how Twelve started out. The stories were fairly low key, with the majority of the drama focusing on Graham and Ryan's reconcilation as a family. There wasn't much continuity shifts either, as Chibnall wanted to ease new viewers into the show. ''Then'' Season 12 opens with [[spoiler: the unexpected return of the Master ''and'' Gallifrey being destroyed for a second time]]. This sets the tone for the series and we see the friendly Thirteen retreating into herself as becoming more somber and ruthless. The first part of the three-part arc that ends this also has severe BodyHorror in a Gothic-inspired story with a partially converted Cyberman who helps maintain a grim tone throughout all three episodes. And then, the season finale severely darkens both the Doctor's backstory and the Time Lord's motivations as the Timeless Child is revealed.
to:
** Series 11 was a light season of the show, with a much friendlier Doctor than how Twelve started out. The stories were fairly low key, with the majority of the drama focusing on Graham and Ryan's reconcilation as a family. There wasn't much continuity shifts either, as Chibnall Creator/ChrisChibnall wanted to ease new viewers into the show. ''Then'' Season 12 opens with [[spoiler: the unexpected return of the Master ''and'' Gallifrey being destroyed for a second time]]. This sets the tone for the series and we see the friendly Thirteen retreating into herself as becoming more somber and ruthless. The first part of the three-part arc that ends this also has severe BodyHorror in a Gothic-inspired story with a partially converted Cyberman who helps maintain a grim tone throughout all three episodes. And then, the season finale severely darkens both the Doctor's backstory and the Time Lord's motivations as the Timeless Child is revealed.
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** And then they took it to an entirely new level with the ''Series/TorchwoodMiracleDay'' in 2011. "Dark" doesn't begin to describe it. It may have gotten too dark though, as in 2014, there was no information on new Torchwood.
to:
** And then they took it to an entirely new level with the ''Series/TorchwoodMiracleDay'' in 2011. "Dark" doesn't begin to describe it. It may have gotten too dark though, as in 2014, there was no information on new Torchwood.''Torchwood''.
----
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* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** After Creator/VerityLambert's tenure where the companions enjoyed time travel for the most part and there's a happy ending every single time (except in the story [[BottleEpisode where the Doctor never shows up]]), John Wiles' tenure as producer was characterized by extreme and nasty {{Downer Ending}}s, the Doctor [[WhatTheHellHero constantly getting called out for his more morally dubious actions]], suffering after the departure of his favorite companions, and being defined by his relative powerlessness. And unlike Lambert's tenure of producing quirky stories with [[GenreRoulette outrageous variety in setting and tone]], most of Wiles' tenure was clearly in the SpaceOpera genre, with {{Arc}}-based plots for the first time and a colossal body count. When Innes Lloyd took over he reversed a lot of these changes and [[YoungerAndHipper recast the companions and even the Doctor with younger and trendier people]].
** Season 7 boosts the darkness considerably, due to the "real world" Earthbound setting (except for a trip to an alternate universe Earth at the end of the season), the stories featuring more military attacks and harder science fiction, GreyAndGreyMorality and HumansAreBastards becoming a major theme of the show which had previously been very much about how HumansAreSpecial, and a new, more serious Doctor to contrast with the comedic Second Doctor. The second-to-last episode ends with an alternate version of Earth getting destroyed and the Doctor unable to save them.
** Season 12 ended up much darker due to introducing a "detached" new Doctor who was unfamiliar to the child audience and had a more [[BreakTheBadass fragile personality]], which created a feeling of genuine danger rather than the EscapistCharacter runarounds of previous seasons. The fact that the new Doctor was also ''funnier'' than the previous one, and the lighthearted companion team of Sarah Jane and Harry, kept everything fun enough to prevent DarknessInducedAudienceApathy.
** Season 14 amped up the gore and horror from the previous two seasons as much as possible, and combined it with the departure of the Fourth Doctor's very popular and long-serving companion Sarah Jane, making the atmosphere a lot less cozy. Her replacement was a [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Proud Warrior Race Girl]] in a {{Stripperific}} outfit who [[BloodierAndGorier liked to stab people]], and her relationship with the Doctor was more distant and vertical, making the Doctor come across as a lot colder. The writing became more cynical, and half the stories were different genres of murder mystery. The Doctor was made a ''lot'' funnier to distract from the gore and horror, but it didn't work and the production team got fired due to MoralGuardian pressure.
** The Master's portrayal in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E3TheDeadlyAssassin The Deadly Assassin]]". Up until this point he had been a [[AffablyEvil charismatic and almost friendly adversary]] to the Doctor played by Roger Delgado. This was the first time the character wasn't played by Delgado, and instead was made a rotting husk at the edge of his life and driven purely by hatred, especially for the Doctor. By the same token, the Doctor has none of the compassion for the Master he had before, culminating in a fight to the death after which the Doctor even admits that he hopes the Master has gone for good.
** The stage play adaptation of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E5TheRobotsOfDeath The Robots of Death]]" is even darker than the unusually dark story, partly due to ExiledFromContinuity issues as the playwright did not have permission to use the character of the Doctor or the companions in the story. The result of this is to change the central character from a CloudCuckooLander ScienceHero who's only there to explore and have a good time into a DeadpanSnarker assassin placed there specifically to murder one of the other characters. The ending also goes from a darkly funny hard-science solution that fits the Doctor's irreverent and ingenious personality to a [[OutsideContextProblem last-minute hijack from the Fendahl]] resulting in a gun battle.
** Season 18, due to a new script editor who wanted to make harder sci-fi about [[RippedFromTheHeadlines contemporary computer science]], a producer responding to fanboy criticism that Season 17 was too [[LighterAndSofter fluffy and flippant]] and [[CreatorBreakdown a lead actor whose mental issues were starting to bleed into the character]]. The cute RobotDog and the funny MetaGuy [[ShooOutTheClowns get]] PutOnABus, the Doctor is no longer an InvincibleHero and GothicHorror elements like the 'zombie' Master and vampires start showing up after a long absence.
** The mid-1980s period where Eric Saward went to town with his "gritty realism" ideals, which led to a lot of stories with [[BlackAndGrayMorality hardly any truly sympathetic guest characters]], [[BloodierAndGorier on-screen gore]] and [[KillEmAll almost all of the guest characters dying]], and a Doctor who tried to kill his companion in a fit of homicidal mania and developed a nasty habit of making the odd BondOneLiner.
** The last two seasons of the Classic series focused heavily on increasing the emotional realism, with characters having more realistic reactions to the also-increasing horror and gore. It also began expanding the Doctor's mythos. The Doctor's TheChessmaster quality was cranked up to the point where even his friends may become pieces on the board. It's when IDidWhatIHadToDo moments become an explicit part of his character.
** Many of the adult fan-aimed parts of the [[Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]], especially the ''Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures'' and some of the ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'' sub-series.
** When Creator/StevenMoffat became the head writer/showrunner and the Eleventh Doctor was introduced, the whole show became quite a bit darker — he's pretty much the undisputed king of NightmareFuel in ''Doctor Who'', with many of his episodes bordering on pure horror. It stops short of an "every episode is ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E10Blink 'Blink']]''"-level of ramping it up, but it's a scarier galaxy under his pen. The Series 5-7 MythArc deconstructs the Doctor's MO and his enemies sincerely believe he will be the undoing of the universe. Interestingly, while the stories get darker, the whimsical character of the Eleventh Doctor and Moff's sitcom-esque dialog maintain humor.
** Then there's the ''Twelfth'' Doctor. Series 8 alone has Clara Oswald and the Doctor having numerous arguments, her throwing his TARDIS keys into a volcano in an attempt to blackmail him over [[spoiler: her boyfriend's death]] (good thing it's in a dream state), and the season's BigBad imprisoning dead people in a false Heaven (a stretch that included the infamous "Don't cremate me" line) as a precursor to turning them into an army of Cybermen. Creator/PeterCapaldi also gives a far darker portrayal of the Doctor than the last couple of incarnations; he's much more rude, alien, and aloof even when people are dying around him. Over time it becomes clear he is actually amazingly empathetic and compassionate, and he grows even warmer and more whimsical in Series 9... just in time for near-nonstop emotional trauma involving many near-death experiences for him ''and'' Clara and the long-term consequences of many of his well-meant decisions. This culminates in a three-episode SeasonFinale in which his inability to cope with both a cruel betrayal and [[spoiler:Clara's actual death]], exacerbated by imprisonment in a torture chamber, result in him temporarily becoming TheUnfettered WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds. A most BittersweetEnding follows.
** Also, companions becoming more badass as time goes on is portrayed as not a good thing in this era. (Yeah, we had Davros ''saying'' he makes people into weapons in Series 4, but, well, ''it's Davros''.) Going back to the final Eleventh Doctor episodes, Clara takes the usual progression from civilian who's a little smarter than the average governess to someone able to keep up with what's going on around her, but starting with [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E9Flatline "Flatline"]] she does a good job of stepping into the Doctor's role — [[TheChessmaster too good]], in his opinion — and becomes increasingly willing to gamble her life, directly leading to his aforementioned climactic ordeal in Series 9.
** Series 10 plays with this. The first third is LighterAndSofter as new companion Bill Potts is broken in, but come [[Recap/DoctorWhoS36E5Oxygen "Oxygen"]] things get grim again, with the Monks Trilogy that follows showing things going from bad to worse for a ''long'' while before a happy ending is managed. The Vault StoryArc involving [[spoiler:Missy's possible redemption]] serves as a dark backdrop to the whole season, culminating in the SeasonFinale [[Recap/DoctorWhoS36E11WorldEnoughAndTime "World Enough and Time"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS36E12TheDoctorFalls "The Doctor Falls"]], which unleashes Hell on the Doctor and '''especially''' Bill on the way to a denouement flush with death, destruction, and straight-up tragedy even as the Doctor reaches new heights of ''goodness''. '''And then''' there's a RayOfHopeEnding for the broken, death-seeking Doctor, leading directly into a GrandFinale ([[Recap/DoctorWho2017CSTwiceUponATime "Twice Upon a Time"]]) in which he helps inspire his ''original'' self to regenerate, faces an antagonist who [[spoiler:isn't actually an antagonist]], gets positive closure regarding the fates of [[spoiler:all three companions]], sees that [[spoiler:EverybodyLives]], and finally decides to regenerate and keep living to help others — using his FinalSpeech to encourage his next self to "Run fast, laugh hard, be kind." Thus, unlike most Doctors, his MythArc sees him become a more uplifting character as it progresses, ending with him proudly embodying '''kindness''' ([[GoodIsNotNice just not niceness]]).
** Series 11 was a light season of the show, with a much friendlier Doctor than how Twelve started out. The stories were fairly low key, with the majority of the drama focusing on Graham and Ryan's reconcilation as a family. There wasn't much continuity shifts either, as Chibnall wanted to ease new viewers into the show. ''Then'' Season 12 opens with [[spoiler: the unexpected return of the Master ''and'' Gallifrey being destroyed for a second time]]. This sets the tone for the series and we see the friendly Thirteen retreating into herself as becoming more somber and ruthless. The first part of the three-part arc that ends this also has severe BodyHorror in a Gothic-inspired story with a partially converted Cyberman who helps maintain a grim tone throughout all three episodes. And then, the season finale severely darkens both the Doctor's backstory and the Time Lord's motivations as the Timeless Child is revealed.
* The YA-aimed ''Series/DoctorWho'' spin-off show ''Series/Class2016'' was rather darker than the parent show, though not as dark as ''Series/{{Torchwood}}''. The show featured two out of five regulars being LastOfHisKind (and one of them being the actual slave of the other), late-teens characters being clearly depicted as sexually-active, a lot of on-screen gore, and towards the end of the series a grim deconstruction of RecruitTeenagersWithAttitude that sees the characters becoming increasingly traumatised and finally committing [[spoiler:[[FinalSolution full-blown genocide]] on the AlwaysChaoticEvil recurring villain species.]] The BBC's discomfort with all this may have led to the show receiving [[ScrewedByTheNetwork little promotion and low-profile scheduling]], and being cancelled after a single season.
* ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'', a spinoff of ''Series/DoctorWho'', was billed as "Darker and Edgier" than its family-aimed parent, which amounted to quite a bit of sex and violence. While not as overt, series 2 still had far more sensitive material than could ever be shown at 7 pm, and the miniseries ''Series/TorchwoodChildrenOfEarth'' upped the depression and utter hopelessness of the show to eleven.
** And then they took it to an entirely new level with the ''Series/TorchwoodMiracleDay'' in 2011. "Dark" doesn't begin to describe it. It may have gotten too dark though, as in 2014, there was no information on new Torchwood.
** After Creator/VerityLambert's tenure where the companions enjoyed time travel for the most part and there's a happy ending every single time (except in the story [[BottleEpisode where the Doctor never shows up]]), John Wiles' tenure as producer was characterized by extreme and nasty {{Downer Ending}}s, the Doctor [[WhatTheHellHero constantly getting called out for his more morally dubious actions]], suffering after the departure of his favorite companions, and being defined by his relative powerlessness. And unlike Lambert's tenure of producing quirky stories with [[GenreRoulette outrageous variety in setting and tone]], most of Wiles' tenure was clearly in the SpaceOpera genre, with {{Arc}}-based plots for the first time and a colossal body count. When Innes Lloyd took over he reversed a lot of these changes and [[YoungerAndHipper recast the companions and even the Doctor with younger and trendier people]].
** Season 7 boosts the darkness considerably, due to the "real world" Earthbound setting (except for a trip to an alternate universe Earth at the end of the season), the stories featuring more military attacks and harder science fiction, GreyAndGreyMorality and HumansAreBastards becoming a major theme of the show which had previously been very much about how HumansAreSpecial, and a new, more serious Doctor to contrast with the comedic Second Doctor. The second-to-last episode ends with an alternate version of Earth getting destroyed and the Doctor unable to save them.
** Season 12 ended up much darker due to introducing a "detached" new Doctor who was unfamiliar to the child audience and had a more [[BreakTheBadass fragile personality]], which created a feeling of genuine danger rather than the EscapistCharacter runarounds of previous seasons. The fact that the new Doctor was also ''funnier'' than the previous one, and the lighthearted companion team of Sarah Jane and Harry, kept everything fun enough to prevent DarknessInducedAudienceApathy.
** Season 14 amped up the gore and horror from the previous two seasons as much as possible, and combined it with the departure of the Fourth Doctor's very popular and long-serving companion Sarah Jane, making the atmosphere a lot less cozy. Her replacement was a [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Proud Warrior Race Girl]] in a {{Stripperific}} outfit who [[BloodierAndGorier liked to stab people]], and her relationship with the Doctor was more distant and vertical, making the Doctor come across as a lot colder. The writing became more cynical, and half the stories were different genres of murder mystery. The Doctor was made a ''lot'' funnier to distract from the gore and horror, but it didn't work and the production team got fired due to MoralGuardian pressure.
** The Master's portrayal in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E3TheDeadlyAssassin The Deadly Assassin]]". Up until this point he had been a [[AffablyEvil charismatic and almost friendly adversary]] to the Doctor played by Roger Delgado. This was the first time the character wasn't played by Delgado, and instead was made a rotting husk at the edge of his life and driven purely by hatred, especially for the Doctor. By the same token, the Doctor has none of the compassion for the Master he had before, culminating in a fight to the death after which the Doctor even admits that he hopes the Master has gone for good.
** The stage play adaptation of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E5TheRobotsOfDeath The Robots of Death]]" is even darker than the unusually dark story, partly due to ExiledFromContinuity issues as the playwright did not have permission to use the character of the Doctor or the companions in the story. The result of this is to change the central character from a CloudCuckooLander ScienceHero who's only there to explore and have a good time into a DeadpanSnarker assassin placed there specifically to murder one of the other characters. The ending also goes from a darkly funny hard-science solution that fits the Doctor's irreverent and ingenious personality to a [[OutsideContextProblem last-minute hijack from the Fendahl]] resulting in a gun battle.
** Season 18, due to a new script editor who wanted to make harder sci-fi about [[RippedFromTheHeadlines contemporary computer science]], a producer responding to fanboy criticism that Season 17 was too [[LighterAndSofter fluffy and flippant]] and [[CreatorBreakdown a lead actor whose mental issues were starting to bleed into the character]]. The cute RobotDog and the funny MetaGuy [[ShooOutTheClowns get]] PutOnABus, the Doctor is no longer an InvincibleHero and GothicHorror elements like the 'zombie' Master and vampires start showing up after a long absence.
** The mid-1980s period where Eric Saward went to town with his "gritty realism" ideals, which led to a lot of stories with [[BlackAndGrayMorality hardly any truly sympathetic guest characters]], [[BloodierAndGorier on-screen gore]] and [[KillEmAll almost all of the guest characters dying]], and a Doctor who tried to kill his companion in a fit of homicidal mania and developed a nasty habit of making the odd BondOneLiner.
** The last two seasons of the Classic series focused heavily on increasing the emotional realism, with characters having more realistic reactions to the also-increasing horror and gore. It also began expanding the Doctor's mythos. The Doctor's TheChessmaster quality was cranked up to the point where even his friends may become pieces on the board. It's when IDidWhatIHadToDo moments become an explicit part of his character.
** Many of the adult fan-aimed parts of the [[Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]], especially the ''Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures'' and some of the ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'' sub-series.
** When Creator/StevenMoffat became the head writer/showrunner and the Eleventh Doctor was introduced, the whole show became quite a bit darker — he's pretty much the undisputed king of NightmareFuel in ''Doctor Who'', with many of his episodes bordering on pure horror. It stops short of an "every episode is ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E10Blink 'Blink']]''"-level of ramping it up, but it's a scarier galaxy under his pen. The Series 5-7 MythArc deconstructs the Doctor's MO and his enemies sincerely believe he will be the undoing of the universe. Interestingly, while the stories get darker, the whimsical character of the Eleventh Doctor and Moff's sitcom-esque dialog maintain humor.
** Then there's the ''Twelfth'' Doctor. Series 8 alone has Clara Oswald and the Doctor having numerous arguments, her throwing his TARDIS keys into a volcano in an attempt to blackmail him over [[spoiler: her boyfriend's death]] (good thing it's in a dream state), and the season's BigBad imprisoning dead people in a false Heaven (a stretch that included the infamous "Don't cremate me" line) as a precursor to turning them into an army of Cybermen. Creator/PeterCapaldi also gives a far darker portrayal of the Doctor than the last couple of incarnations; he's much more rude, alien, and aloof even when people are dying around him. Over time it becomes clear he is actually amazingly empathetic and compassionate, and he grows even warmer and more whimsical in Series 9... just in time for near-nonstop emotional trauma involving many near-death experiences for him ''and'' Clara and the long-term consequences of many of his well-meant decisions. This culminates in a three-episode SeasonFinale in which his inability to cope with both a cruel betrayal and [[spoiler:Clara's actual death]], exacerbated by imprisonment in a torture chamber, result in him temporarily becoming TheUnfettered WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds. A most BittersweetEnding follows.
** Also, companions becoming more badass as time goes on is portrayed as not a good thing in this era. (Yeah, we had Davros ''saying'' he makes people into weapons in Series 4, but, well, ''it's Davros''.) Going back to the final Eleventh Doctor episodes, Clara takes the usual progression from civilian who's a little smarter than the average governess to someone able to keep up with what's going on around her, but starting with [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E9Flatline "Flatline"]] she does a good job of stepping into the Doctor's role — [[TheChessmaster too good]], in his opinion — and becomes increasingly willing to gamble her life, directly leading to his aforementioned climactic ordeal in Series 9.
** Series 10 plays with this. The first third is LighterAndSofter as new companion Bill Potts is broken in, but come [[Recap/DoctorWhoS36E5Oxygen "Oxygen"]] things get grim again, with the Monks Trilogy that follows showing things going from bad to worse for a ''long'' while before a happy ending is managed. The Vault StoryArc involving [[spoiler:Missy's possible redemption]] serves as a dark backdrop to the whole season, culminating in the SeasonFinale [[Recap/DoctorWhoS36E11WorldEnoughAndTime "World Enough and Time"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS36E12TheDoctorFalls "The Doctor Falls"]], which unleashes Hell on the Doctor and '''especially''' Bill on the way to a denouement flush with death, destruction, and straight-up tragedy even as the Doctor reaches new heights of ''goodness''. '''And then''' there's a RayOfHopeEnding for the broken, death-seeking Doctor, leading directly into a GrandFinale ([[Recap/DoctorWho2017CSTwiceUponATime "Twice Upon a Time"]]) in which he helps inspire his ''original'' self to regenerate, faces an antagonist who [[spoiler:isn't actually an antagonist]], gets positive closure regarding the fates of [[spoiler:all three companions]], sees that [[spoiler:EverybodyLives]], and finally decides to regenerate and keep living to help others — using his FinalSpeech to encourage his next self to "Run fast, laugh hard, be kind." Thus, unlike most Doctors, his MythArc sees him become a more uplifting character as it progresses, ending with him proudly embodying '''kindness''' ([[GoodIsNotNice just not niceness]]).
** Series 11 was a light season of the show, with a much friendlier Doctor than how Twelve started out. The stories were fairly low key, with the majority of the drama focusing on Graham and Ryan's reconcilation as a family. There wasn't much continuity shifts either, as Chibnall wanted to ease new viewers into the show. ''Then'' Season 12 opens with [[spoiler: the unexpected return of the Master ''and'' Gallifrey being destroyed for a second time]]. This sets the tone for the series and we see the friendly Thirteen retreating into herself as becoming more somber and ruthless. The first part of the three-part arc that ends this also has severe BodyHorror in a Gothic-inspired story with a partially converted Cyberman who helps maintain a grim tone throughout all three episodes. And then, the season finale severely darkens both the Doctor's backstory and the Time Lord's motivations as the Timeless Child is revealed.
* The YA-aimed ''Series/DoctorWho'' spin-off show ''Series/Class2016'' was rather darker than the parent show, though not as dark as ''Series/{{Torchwood}}''. The show featured two out of five regulars being LastOfHisKind (and one of them being the actual slave of the other), late-teens characters being clearly depicted as sexually-active, a lot of on-screen gore, and towards the end of the series a grim deconstruction of RecruitTeenagersWithAttitude that sees the characters becoming increasingly traumatised and finally committing [[spoiler:[[FinalSolution full-blown genocide]] on the AlwaysChaoticEvil recurring villain species.]] The BBC's discomfort with all this may have led to the show receiving [[ScrewedByTheNetwork little promotion and low-profile scheduling]], and being cancelled after a single season.
* ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'', a spinoff of ''Series/DoctorWho'', was billed as "Darker and Edgier" than its family-aimed parent, which amounted to quite a bit of sex and violence. While not as overt, series 2 still had far more sensitive material than could ever be shown at 7 pm, and the miniseries ''Series/TorchwoodChildrenOfEarth'' upped the depression and utter hopelessness of the show to eleven.
** And then they took it to an entirely new level with the ''Series/TorchwoodMiracleDay'' in 2011. "Dark" doesn't begin to describe it. It may have gotten too dark though, as in 2014, there was no information on new Torchwood.
