Gas Mask Transformation | The Empty Child | Doctor Who

The Doctor witnesses a man's face transform into a gas mask. Taken from the episode "The Empty Child."
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[@MrAccidental238]

He switched from Medic to Pyro

[@ProphecyPhrase]

Haha genious 😅

[@t.d9324]

That doctor is a spy!!!! XD

[@Stetsonbryl]

OMG 😂😂😂

[@JonathanToolonie]

+UltraGamer I see what you did there

[@hamedgitar1946]

Hahahaha!! Nice one! 😂😂😂

[@scler8453]

10 years later, and Im still terrified of gas masks for this exact reason

[@jimguppy7204]

+Shannon-Marie Clerkin Same here, and would you believe it one of my friends happens to collect the damned things.

[@scler8453]

My boyfriend got a real soviet gas mark when we were on holiday. Its not even funny

[@zackthetimelordquizdoctor7702]

I feel sorry for both of you.

[@GTF-11]

+Shannon-Marie Clerkin i feel so sorry for you but why didnt you put it on and started acting like one and scare your boyfriend?

[@scler8453]

And put that evil mask of death and strange rubber smells over my face! Change my breathing into some less epic Darth Vader noises. RISK BECOMING ONE OF THE EMPTY CHILDREN! Nope.

[@ArcaneAzmadi]

Dr Constantine is awesome. I particularly love his line "Before this war I was a father and a grandfather. Now I am neither, but I am still a doctor." I'm glad everyone got a happy ending in this story, because it's the only way to relieve the nightmares from watching the alien nanomachines literally transform his flesh into rubber, metal and glass before your eyes.

[@EstrellaViajeViajero]

When the doctor said "I know the feeling", it refers to how before the Time War he also had a granddaughter, now has none, but is still the Doctor.

[@blaychris]

But that voice at some point... he was an architect...

[@cross01718]

He also played Gaius in Merlin

[@mushroomhead3619]

He was also a grouchy old man who yelled I don't believe it! at things

[@RogueLuna1642]

"EVERYONE LIVES JUST THIS ONCE ROSE!"

[@SamTheFisherMan100]

When his face turns into the mask it the freakiest moment in the whole of doctor who

[@xxmoonlight_firexxgaming5581]

THANK YOU. FINALLY SOMEONE WHO AGREES.

[@emmahacker4020]

Saminbound VERY creepy. But I'm still more scared of the weeping angles.

[@Marci.B]

Well this and the bloody whatevenwasthat under the blanket in Listen

[@gracereceiver2011]

+Mark Lynard Lol. Not wrong.

[@kyoto3695]

Saminbound peg dolls

[@maddiedoes3571]

John barrowman said that even off camera the kids walking around were creepy. He said it was like "I'm not your mummy leave me alone."

[@gorillaau]

Maddie Does The kids would have loved it :-) It should be a great memory for them.

[@xavageanimations2241]

Maddie Does lol

[@AlexQuill63]

I suspect, from him saying that, that the kids knew it made him uncomfortable and kept showing up when least expected.

[@luissaumeth8000]

​@@AlexQuill63those now grown kids probably laugh at the memory lol

[@Solarstar10]

Say what you want about the weeping angels, but for me these were the most terrifying Doctor Who monster.

[@whybecause.5723]

Yep. Weeping angels didn't even scare me, but this gave me nightmares as a kid.

[@TheDragorrin]

+Solarstar10 creepy angels are more jump scare type empty child is like village of the dammed creepy

[@Solarstar10]

+Anthony Nelson Exactly. Not to mention the guy turning into one of those gas mask monsters was pure nightmare fuel.

[@gobbalino9510]

+Solarstar10 Those peg dolls were creepy as well

[@alinahuang]

There are way scarier than the weeping angels

[@MediumRareOpinions]

Ah the nostalgia of a time when Doctor who was genuinely frightening

[@nicolesong6199]

That's because you happen to expect it now.

[@Ted_Curtis]

I found Listen to be really heart racing.

[@nicolesong6199]

Eddie Curtis Yeah. You definitely weren't expecting that one.

[@toagonel7045]

I did too XP

[@hellofabird8277]

Nicole Song or because of age

[@1Buttonmasher]

It is really horrible to watch him transform. It scares me so much, even now, 10 years later. Genuinely horrifying. It made me gasp and stare in horror, then and now, and I remember when I first watched it I was terrified and I still am! Doctor Who needs more of these truly horrifying monsters.

[@TheRealXartaX]

It's not a monster, tho, that's what's so horrifying. You can fight monsters.

[@atharvadeshpande6907]

Ask Steven Moffat... the genius behind all of Doctor who's scariest monsters: 1. The Empty Child 2. The Clown Androids 3. The Weeping Angels 4. The Vashta Nerada 5. The Silence 6. The Monster Under the Bed 7. The Veil

[@danparr6714]

Constantine's transformation had so much nightmare fuel it was off the damn chart. Even today this scares me to bits. This episode's creep factor was off the chart. The empty child is not only one of the scariest monsters, but one of the best. His scariness makes him good.

[@babygamer4139]

Are you my mummy?

[@danparr6714]

+Watermelon Cabinets No! I am not your mummy!!!

[@danparr6714]

+Watermelon Cabinets Fingers on lips!

[@danparr6714]

+Watermelon Cabinets Lol I remember that episode!

[@danparr6714]

+Watermelon Cabinets I'm not making myself very clear. Funny is like this: :D Not funny is like this:😠 Now, I'm not like :D, I'm like 😠.

[@IVIaskerade]

If the empty child was a teenager, he'd be undefeatable. "Go to your room!" "You can't tell me what to do! You're not my mummy!"

[@safe-keeper1042]

Oh my god. Yes. It would've been the end of the doctor, and then the human race.

[@sarahrohde7923]

I’m a WWII historian and this episode makes my job so much harder than it needs to be because I’m terrified of handling gas masks

[@FreakyTeeth]

Hey don't blame the TV show, get over it.

[@drippylad3973]

​@@FreakyTeeth Rude

[@C4DNerd]

It was really cool how this was the most dark episode in Season 1, but also the one with the happiest ending of all. This was a fantastic episode!

[@lilbabynay_8855]

Are you my mummy No luke i am your father

[@juan.carlosrodriguez6251]

it's alright there harmless.

[@hopeellett1126]

Naomi Davis lol

[@roseyblack18]

Naomi Davis lol

[@Le_Cobra]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@redactedagentdataexpunged9431]

@@juan.carlosrodriguez6251 until they touch you

[@Haaris.Qureshi]

'Before this war began, I was a father and a grandfather. Now I am neither. But I am still a doctor.' 'Yeah. Know the feeling.' Omg, my feels

[@NPCarlsson]

The rest of my family all watched this episode when it aired and they all said it was the most terrifying episode ever. I watched it on DVD later on and it honestly didn't scare me that much... except for this one scene, which freaked me out for months!

[@matic4175]

NPCarlsson lol

[@mushroomhead3619]

Hey it's that guy that makes KZbin poops!

[@Weaponsandstuff93]

Sadly the masks used in this episode are not real masks, however, the British Civilian Duty mask, the Swedish folkgasmask and the British C7 respirator bear some resemblance to the mask.

[@derpanzermensch7776]

Weaponsandstuff93 Imagine if they used ShMS masks in this episode.

[@martinthedrainedsedlak]

that would be better but the localisation would be maybe Russia or Ukraine

[@nathanielbrunen8303]

Weaponsandstuff93 you have done your research

[@mr_rusty8667]

I love your comment

[@LL-yd8zz]

@@derpanzermensch7776 Hmm, unless they used the black variant it wouldnt be as bad, although IMO the freakiest masks are still WW1 era Gummimasks

[@ILuvSmexyShowgirls]

Holy shit. Nanotechnology can be truly terrifying.

[@emeraldtabbycat148]

Yeah, after all how are super-tiny machines that can restructure you from the inside out NOT terrifying. There is literally no defense against that kind of horror.

[@cortexius181]

RISE OF THE PYRO ZOMBIES!!!

[@theinsultmachine8847]

MMMPH MMMPH MPH MMMPH MMMMPH MPH!

[@peacefulhoovy1999]

Make TF2 burn again!

[@katelynbodiford5680]

@@cortexius181 Looks like he's turning into SCP The Plague Doctor from Creepypasta.

[@kaefwjuef5749]

I almost shat my pants when I saw this ep as child. It looks kind of silly now, but still pretty morbid.

[@xxxdumbwordstupidnumberxxx4844]

The cgi hasn't aged particularly well, but it is still pretty well done.

[@GLaDOS551]

This is how they mad the pyro

[@samsonitefanatic4372]

More like when a Medic switches to Pyro.

[@amyberridge4925]

Philosopher I

[@thescottishjacksparrow5192]

Philosopher Made*

[@benjpope6949]

Richard Wilson's voice and acting was brilliant in this scene!

[@laurenceellis6256]

Does anyone find the 'growing the gas mask' scene quite creepy/scary?

[@doctorwhofan1989]

That's the point.

[@WingRocka]

Nah. This mutation is actually one of the smaller/nicer ones in Doctor Who. Go see Dr.Lazarus. His mutation is much more terrifying.

[@jareththegoblinking3191]

Wing Rocka well dr lazarus just accidently unlocked a dormant and achient gene, imagine what horrible gene could exist in the doctor *shivers*

[@WingRocka]

This is why I would rather grow old and die peacefully instead of turning back young and transform into a monster just to feed on life energy if we have this technology in the future.

[@jareththegoblinking3191]

Wing Rocka well i dont know about you but id like to be young, and be a terrible beastie, beasties have more freedom

[@erosion271]

I know some of the effects of series 1 are really dated but this transformation still holds up

[@MrZAP17]

The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances is still my favorite NuWho story. This is a big part of the reason why... the fact that while so many episodes are scary, they're adventures first, but this isn't. This is a straight up mystery and horror story, done masterfully well. More than any other episode, these are the most striking and memorable for me.

[@Michelle_Schu-blacka]

_"They're not dead."_ I DON'T BELIEEEVE IT!!!

[@applejuice5272]

*Attacks Father Ted*

[@graciegj63]

DNA abridged vegeta: *Uh* >:(

[@Bruh-nx9hc]

To be honest. This transformation and indeed this whole episode was more sad than scary. But what really scared me from doctor who was the peg dolls and the shadow things

[@Jake-wq1ut]

what is the episode name if anyone knows

[@terrortower666]

+Jake1 its called the empty child

[@sugatea5411]

oh dear god why did i have to remember that i hate my life

[@AllyGatorAnimator]

"Hey, who turned out the lights?" *TERROR ENSUES*

[@thebreezybigt]

Thank you! So glad I'm not the only one!!

[@sternchild]

This scared the life out of me back when I was 7

[@AP-mq4tv]

Me too!! :)

[@mr.domble6519]

this episode went to the 'Metal Gear Solid school of explaining things'

[@barnardsloop01]

NANOMACHINES, SON.

[@powerpackgaming4143]

Every time I watch this I think of 2 things 1: Shaggy screaming Zoinks and running out the room with Scooby 2: the plot of a syfy original movie

[@Smokeboats]

2:40 So called medic mains when the enemy team has 3 spies

[@kirstenproctor6086]

I can't not see Gaius from Merlin

[@Alfa162]

Me too, bud. That's all I thought when I saw him. Glad someone else did, too.

[@tabascocat5102]

The best Doctor Who double EVER. Best ideas, most original premise-just GENIUS from Steven Moffat. I hope it won awards, it deserved to.

[@freshney92]

This scene gives me chills every time.

[@brodaviing6617]

Oh man, I remember when I was five years old and I couldn't fall asleep. So I went downstairs, turned on the tv and it was left on BBC by my parents. There I sat, on couch in the cold and dark room. watching exactly this scene. Didn't sleep well for 2 weeks after that and had a fright of gasmasks for 10 years. Watching it now, I didn't want to click this vid but I did it anyway. The scene isn't that frightening at all actually, reflecting after 12 years.

[@LL-yd8zz]

Well, this was single handedly the most traumatic moment of my childhood, still didnt stop me from loving gas masks.

[@themeh3411]

The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances is in my opinion the greatest Doctor Who story in its 50+ year run. This is also the only story that I can think of that actually properly scared me. Fantastic.

[@azapro911]

You know it's a truly grim and unlucky situation when Victor Meldrew sits in the middle of it.

[@joaquinwaters1810]

This scene gave me actual nightmares as a little kid. The whole episode did actually. And I love it to this day.

[@jackmonaghan8477]

At least Dr Constantine didn't shout "I don't believe it" as the nanobots took hold.

[@nicandknacksandseans]

For a series that has had some really agressively awful cgi, particularly in the early seasons, like this episode is from, that transformation is an excellent peice of work. Truly horrifying. I particularly like/am horrified by the gas mask tube coming seemingly up the throat and out the mouth (ouch) and the eyes enlarging into lenses. Very clever

[@xyz7572]

Absolutely. This is honestly still the most viscerally horrifying thing I’ve ever seen on tv

[@PontusWiberg]

and that's how the TF2 Pyro was created XD

[@gronkmusic7973]

This is absolute full-on horror.

[@EpicNNG]

Oh Moffatt.... What happened?

[@branches5056]

EpicTryHardGaming BBC restricted him from scaring us like that again :(

[@EpicNNG]

:/ These were the episodes tho..

[@bun6134]

One year later, and World Enough and Time aired.

[@OkamiWalker]

Did not expect to find you here

[@spacemafia16]

and it still haunts me to this day...

[@zoeh623]

This is what nightmares are made of.

[@GTF-11]

+somerandomnerd yeah and what makes it worse is i have a little brother

[@rhianora]

Yeah

[@katelynbodiford5680]

@@rhianora Look on the bright side his transformation isn't nasty or gross.

[@hermishmer]

Its 11:43PM. That wasnt that bad. But hell like im falling asleep anytime soon.

[@ZondaFRoadster]

And so the Pyro was born!

[@S0URCH33KS]

I hope they bring episodes like this back in the new season!

[@TheSniperWho]

Perhaps Steven Moffat's episode 4, "Listen" in the 8th season will be scary and mysterious. If not mysterious then at least scary.

[@Wizardaron]

This isn't even the stuff of nightmares. Nobody could ever dream about something this terrifying.

[@matic4175]

this is how you switch classes to pyro.

[@burningrabbit7278]

A-are you my mumm... Are you m-mm.. Mmmph... mmmph... MMMPH- MMMPH!

[@katelynbodiford5680]

@@burningrabbit7278 At least this transformation wasn't gross or nasty.

[@padfoot1178]

“Before this war started I was a father and and a grand father but now I am neither but I am still a doctor”

[@ruksarahmed1569]

The scariest Doctor Who episode ever. ❤️

[@SourGummiWyrm69]

2:49 noot noot

[@kageandchesse]

LOL

[@morningcoffeecat2271]

Jake K. Gunnar 🐧

[@shawnlion8181]

Richard Wilson and Christopher Eccleston did a superb job bringing this scene to life.

[@c63655]

No wonder the tf2 pyro is so mysterious, he's an empty child! think about it, he has the childlike mannerisms, the gas mask, the creepiness factor, and everyone is scared of him, it all makes sense now

[@radium4194]

I’m here for this

[@stephenmurphy2212]

Happy Birthday, Richard Wilson! "I don't believe it!"

[@CapemanProducti0ns]

this enemy was terrifying, and then knowing it was nanomachines following a wrong human template to "cure" humans made it even more terrifying.

[@ARSD219]

And that's how they make pyros in TF2.

[@TradingCardsAndMore]

Goosebumps… as a 5 year old this was the most terrifying thing I’d scene in TV, this first season of nuwho will forever be an all timer for me.

[@scarecrow2097]

I remember as a 9 year old kid I loved watching Doctor Who, I treated it as nothing more than an adventure series until I saw this episode....I was disturbed but still watching till I reached this part and the fear was so real that I didnt even talked,or scream like a little child would....I just had that very serious face and closed the tv after the transformation was over and for the following week I had nightmares from those gasmasks...

[@mattador1996]

I remembered being at your age and had nightmares for years, until you see the bts and it goes away.

[@dep7229]

Why can't Doctor Who be this grim and grisly again? Listen closely and you can hear his bones snap!!! :O

[@theocutscenes]

The transformation is creepy and all, but the shadow on the man's shoulder gives it away...

[@robbytomminson5807]

Imagine visiting your nan in hospital and seeing her like that.

[@Andrewnuva199]

Somewhere out there, somebody is is very... enthused in watching this. Trust me, I've seen corresponding artwork on DeviantArt, I know.

[@shvrkkii]

Man I wanted to watch this again cause it's a creepy scene. Went scrolling down here cause that connection just clicked for me that this is where that weird trend started and you're the only other one who said it

[@jcob1211]

2:38 "scout mains" when theres three spies on the enemy team:

[@andiparker3733]

Richard Wilson is fantastic here!

[@Ditto-js1or]

"before this war I was a father and a grandfather. now, I am neither." the doctor knows how you feel.

[@themainmelodyanimator8939]

The way he turned into that thing was scary, AMAZING, and AWESOME, oh and sad :c

[@TogetherFornever]

I just watched this after watching Merlin and I saw Dr.C and I shouted out "It's Gauis!!!!"

[@SalemZaphira]

Well. That was more horrifying than I remember.

[@tecnotrog1]

still one of the scariest thing I've ever seen on TV..LOVE IT !!!

[@bethanyannpaige6109]

I like how he is unfazed like yeah this is nothing new

[@plaguedoctormasque8089]

The first Doctor Who episode That honestly freaked me out and scared the s*** out of me was this episode I was 52 years old when I first saw this episode and yes it scared me just like all that long time back the Daleks scared children when they first appeared in Doctor Who My next door came back from basic training then lost his apt. They throw out his things in the trash i found a gas mask it was still filled with noxious things but I cleaned it out and I put it on and I walked back into my apartment and said to my boyfriend are you my mommy? I thought he was going to die the look on his face was priceless LOL

[@berkylmaz2973]

+Before this war began i was a father and a grandfather. Now i am neither but still a doctor. -Yeah, i know the feeling. What a great line.

[@LordChristoff]

This is how Dr Who should be and should have always been... creepy/scary.

[@atharvadeshpande6907]

Yo... it's a kid's show... meant to be educational about being kind... but these episodes are necessary to keep it fresh

[@LordChristoff]

​@@atharvadeshpande6907 A kids show yes, in which the producers push their own political correctness ideology into the episodes. Partly the reason why I've not watched the new seasons. And why the viewings have dropped through the floor since season 11. They should have left it as the Doctor going around defeating monsters, as it always should have been. Ever noticed how the best episodes are with the scariest monsters? Empty Child, Daleks? Weeping Angels? -- Season 11 -- The Woman Who Fell to Earth" - 10.96 "The Ghost Monument" - 9.00 million "Rosa" - 8.41 million -- Season 12 -- "Spyfall, Part 1" - 6.89 million "Spyfall, Part 2" - 6.07 million "Orphan 55" - 4.19 million

[@atharvadeshpande6907]

@@LordChristoff I never said the new seasons were good... Season 11 is plain trash and season 12 was absolutely ruined by The Timeless Children and yes... the best episodes are the darkest... but I was just saying that it can't just turn into straight up thriller-horror... as the main demographic is still Children... Yes, it can have a few unique and dark episodes... but at it's heart... its still about kindness and appreciating the little things. That's why we'll never get a Valeyard Doctor in his/her full glory

[@Swaggerpede]

i swore never to revisit this due to the trauma it caused me as a child. why Am i here

[@robertmcghintheorca49]

If you listen very closely, you can actually hear bones crunching and cracking as he transforms.

[@West_Coast_Mainline]

2:39 medic mains when the enemy team has two spies

[@wangwang2211]

"Physical injury, as plague". That's just a scary image.

[@GuerreiroAventureiro]

and this is where the pyro born

[@Hazgoblin]

When a spy keeps bothering you

[@Coffeepanda294]

The scene that traumatized a generation.

[@s.k4713]

So called medic mains when a spy enters the server.

[@KaijuComics]

That transformation was actually really cool

[@neurotica5461]

when I see pictures and not watch the sieries I thought they just wear a mask to hide thier face

[@hanwinmaw8621]

Me throughout the entire time starting from transformation, ahem........."AH! AHHH! AHHHHHH! OMG!! AHHH! AHHH!!!!!!!".....done

[@aplynch030399]

Back when Doctor who was scary, this is definitely one of the most disturbing episodes of the entire programme, this is what doctor who should be like today

[@hiddenpatchz3328]

still to this day the scariest doctor who episode out

[@sniippiggydigg]

Perhaps the greatest and most horrifying moment of 57 years of doctor who, this episode terrified me as a child and i adore it as an adult. Truly a timeless classic

[@ShaunakDesaiPiano]

the empty child is truly, the timeless child 👀

[@jrt7357]

Ya know, I was wondering why I was so terrified of gas masks. Then I was reminded of this. Now I remembered why I was so terrified of gas masks.

[@SCPBackup]

Looks like I’m not sleeping tonight

[@joshleonard8947]

God I could not sleep after this episode aired as a kid

[@mariiisssa]

2:28: So called "medic mans" when a spy begins to dominate them.

[@koolkid9836]

This episode gave me nightmares for years even thought I watched it once. It left a scar on my childhood....but I'm over it now, 11 years later.

[@bobSCOTT99]

2:54 the sad look on the Doctor's face says it all really

[@henryam503]

come to think of it the doctor probably wasn't even in danger the whole episode given the ending, the nanogenes seem to recognize timelord genetics so he can't catch the gasmask plague

[@Leonor-07nGildedcoffe]

So called Medic mains where there are 3 spys

[@Britf1Films]

This still terrifies the hell out of me

[@thephenomenalt-g-k6895]

There’s something seriously unsettling about seeing an old man beg for his mother

[@potat04]

Oh my god yeah I just saw this episode. Now I double deadlock my door, am terrified of gas masks, and whenever someone knocks on the door I wait for answer before speaking.

[@romantheflash]

Still one of the scariest episodes ever.

[@Netherman14TheHellblazer]

When Nine mentions the scars on the back of the hand, Constantine looks at his own scar before hiding it from the Doctor