Fewer things are more fascinating to a TV buff than the road not taken - scrapped storylines, aborted arcs, nixed narratives...

Some telly plots that got axed have become common knowledge. (Did you know Joey and Monica were supposed to end up together on Friends? YES, WE DID.)

But here are a few shockers you might not've heard about - discarded twists so HUGE, they would've changed the show forever...

1. Rose was bred by the Doctor as his perfect companion - from Doctor Who

BBC

In what sounds like a hugely creepy twist, a planned episode by BAFTA-winning writer Paul Abbott would have revealed that Rose's entire life had been manipulated by the Doctor in his attempts to create a perfect travelling mate.

Series boss Russell T Davies rejected Abbott's pitch, probably because it makes our Time Lord hero come off as a manipulative, misogynist control freak. Which isn't quite in line with the show's whole 'Saturday tea-time' vibe.

2. Shane killed Rick - from The Walking Dead

AMC

The fateful confrontation between Rick Grimes and his one-time pal, the unhinged Shane, was only ever going to play out one way... right?

Nope. Shortly after the episode aired, The Walking Dead's then-showrunner Glen Mazzara revealed that he and his writing team "did talk about" Shane being the one to walk away from their bloody bout.

Who knows how seriously this twist was considered, but it's mad to think that the notion of killing Rick - and having Jon Bernthal presumably lead the show in Andrew Lincoln's absence - was ever on the table at all.

3. Rimmer stole Lister's internal organs - from Red Dwarf

Joel Anderson

Yup. Refusing to submit to life as a hologram, Rimmer plotted to harvest Lister's organs - including, presumably, a rather damaged liver - to build himself a new human body.

The episode, 'Bodysnatcher', was intended to air as Red Dwarf's second ever episode, but ended up on the scrapheap.

It sounds like elements of this bizarro plot will be revisited in the upcoming Red Dwarf XI, though - this time with a deranged droid snatching Lister's kidneys.

4. Inara was sexually assaulted by Reavers - from Firefly

Fox

So turns out there was an upside to Firefly getting cancelled all the time. One plot held back for a future episode would've revealed the dark purpose behind Inara's secret syringe...

"She would take this drug - and if she were raped, the rapist would die a horrible death," executive producer Tim Minear later revealed.

"The story was that she gets kidnapped by Reavers [the show's brutal, devolved humans] and when Mal finally got to the ship to save her from the Reavers, he gets on the Reaver ship and all the Reavers are dead."

The idea being that Inara had, in Minear's words, "been horribly brutalised" and suffered a "really bad assault".

So yeah, Firefly getting canned? Every cloud, and all that...

5. Walter White went all Saw on a drug dealer's ass - from Breaking Bad

AMC

Most of us know by now that Aaron Paul's Jesse Pinkman wasn't supposed to survive the first season of Breaking Bad - but the original plan for what happened next beggars belief...

With Jesse offed by a rival dealer, Walt would've kidnapped the killer and locked him up in his basement. Then (and we swear, we're serious) Walt would begin torturing the dealer - chopping off another body part with each passing day.

In an even darker twist, the future Heisenberg also rigged a shotgun up on a tripwire - so that the dealer could end the pain by taking his own life.

Except Walt's dark plan went wrong when his son ventured down into the basement. When the dealer did finally pull the trigger, he took poor Walt Jr. with him, blowing the kid's head clean off.

Jesus, Vince Gilligan.

6. The Enterprise turned into a giant baby - from Star Trek

CBS / Paramount

Captain Kirk's craft would be possessed by the soul of a newborn in the axed Trek adventure, 'Rock-a-Bye-Baby, or Die!' (even the title is ridiculous).

The ship then starts cooing and crying like an infant, until Uhura comforts it by singing 'Rock-a-Bye-Baby' - but there are more complications ahead...

The Ship-Baby ages rapidly and once it becomes an impressionable teenager, it unleashes a pair of criminals trapped in its cells - after they promise to buy it beer.

The crooks take control of the Enterprise and the ship - realising its error - threatens to drive into a nearby sun unless they surrender. The ploy works, though the extreme heats sadly kills the ship's sentient brain. Because science.

You have to go some way to be more stupid than 'Spock's Brain' - but this just about pulls it off.

7. Ilana was Jacob's daughter - from Lost

ABC

Remember Ilana? We don't blame you if not.

Zuleikha Robinson's character was introduced as an apprentice to the mysterious Jacob. But despite the actress being promoted to a series regular for Lost's sixth and final season, Ilana ended up blowing herself up midway through the run.

So what happened? Well, Robinson later revealed that Ilana was actually supposed to be Jacob's offspring - but the reveal was later scrapped, with the show's writers feeling they hadn't sufficiently earned or foreshadowed the big twist.

Instead, BOOM. So long, Ilana - and thanks for all the red herrings.

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