What happens when you travel in time so far into the future that you can’t recognize the world anymore? It's a question central to the earliest science fiction stories about time travel, including much of the novel The Time Machine, the H.G. Wells classic that launched an entire genre. Certain time travel stories are only interesting if they’re deeply personal. This is why we love Back to the Future and a huge portion of Doctor Who. But what about when the scope is massive? What does that do to our perceptions of life, the universe, and everything?
Twenty years ago, after having just rebooted for the 21st century, Doctor Who tackled the big time-travel questions in the second episode of its then, newly-minted, “Season 1.” And now, looking back on this pivotal episode, it feels dark and way ahead of its time. Here’s why Doctor Who’s “The End of the World” still holds up. Spoilers ahead.
