This is a photo of the final scene in “Earthshock” after the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, and Tegan have witnessed a freighter Adric was o crash into prehistoric Earth and explode. “Earthshock,” indeed, as the credits rolled silently over the mourning TARDIS crew. I am confident this is the only time the ending theme music was not used.Subsequently, Tegan tries to convince the Fifth Doctor to go back in time and save him, but he refuses to cross his own time line even though it pains him. As mentioned in an earlier post, the Fifth Doctor’s refusal is the biggest motivator for her leaving the TARDIS. Too much death surrounds the Doctor.
When regenerating into the Sixth Doctor, the Fifth’s last word is, “Adric,” thereby demonstrating the distraught emotions captured in the above image had a lasting impact.
