As San Diego Comic-Con has come and gone, it was exciting to get our first look at the new season of Doctor Who, set to premiere on BBC America this October. As many of you know the most exciting thing about this is the fact that new 13th Doctor is, for the first time, a woman. Jodie Whitaker will bring her own spin on the alien time-traveling adventurer and it is safe to say Matt and I are both very excited for the new direction the show will be taking. Add to that, with the departure of Stephen Moffat and the addition of the new showrunner, Chris Chibnall (BBC's Broadchurch) it is time of great change for one of television's longest running and best-loved series.
With that, Matt and I decided to present our picks for the best episodes of the revived show (2005-present). We both picked our personal top 5 favorite episodes for this list.
Jay's Picks
5. Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead
Season 4 - Episodes 9 & 10
This two-part episode saw the 10th Doctor (David Tennant) and his companion, Donna (Catherine Tate) travel to a gigantic library in the 51st century that has been mysteriously abandoned. Here they meet a group of archaeologists led by the enigmatic Dr. River Song (Alex Kingston) who seems to know the Doctor intimately, even though he has no memory of her. Meanwhile, the group has to figure out what connection a young girl, who communicates to them over an intercom, has with the library. The introduction of River Song is handled fantastically, as she will become a central character for several seasons to come. She is one of my favorite characters and I love the idea of a romantic interest for the Doctor who is living her timeline in the opposite direction from him. This is why he does not recognize her and she has a long history with him. I also have to say that Donna is my favorite companion. Her season with David Tennant is still the high mark of consistency for the entire run of the show.
4. The Eleventh Hour
Season 5 - Episode 1
The Doctor - "You know when grown-ups tell you everything's going to be fine, and you think they're probably lying to make you feel better?
Young Amy - "Yes."
The Doctor - "Everything's going to be fine."
Matt Smith had a tough, tough job to take over for fan-favorite, David Tennant as the 11th Doctor. He managed to quickly calm everyone's fears by giving us a quirky and endearing young Doctor that was brilliant in his own way. Smith came out swinging with this, his very first episode as the Time Lord, and for me, it still his best and set the tone quickly for what a be more whimsical Doctor Who under the leadership of new showrunner, Stephen Moffat. This episode also has a unique way of introducing the Doctor's new companion, Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) as well, having him crash the TARDIS in her backyard when she was a child. The Doctor spends time with the his new young friend, inspecting the mysterious crack in her bedroom wall and discovering his newfound love of fish sticks and custard. The plot takes a twist though when he leaves and tells young Amy he will be back in 5 minutes only to return from his TARDIS and find that years have passed and she is now a full grown woman who remembers him as what she thought was an imaginary friend. Eleventh Hour is brilliant paced and fun and represents everything that makes Doctor Who great.
3. Midnight
Season 4 - Episode 11
The Doctor/Sky Sylvestri - "We must not look at goblin men, we must not buy their fruits. Who knows upon what soil they fed, their hungry, thirsty roots?"
Sometimes I feel that Russell T. Davies, the first showrunner of the rebooted Doctor Who series does not get his share of the recognition which he rightly deserves. He presided over, what I feel, is the best 2 seasons of the show (Season 3 & 4) and without his creative leadership the show might not have been as big a hit as it became. The best episode he personally wrote was Midnight. In what feels like more akin to a theatrical stage play since it almost entirely takes place in one location, this cleverly dark and creepy episode has the Doctor taking a well-earned vacation with Donna on the planet Midnight. This plant is very beautiful but so hot, that no living thing can survive outside on it surface. Our hero decides to go on a tourist trip in a space bus across the surface and things go very bad when one of the passengers is seemingly possessed by an unknown entity and begins constantly parroting everything anyone in the bus says. The uses of repetition in the dialogue adds a sense of impending doom and Davies uses this device to ramp up the suspense more and more. It is the scariest episode of Doctor Who for me and one of the best written by far.
2. The Girl in the Fireplace
Season 2 - Episode 5
Reinette - "You and I both know, don't we Rose? The Doctor is worth the monsters … One may tolerate a world of demons for the sake of an angel."
For a long time this has been my favorite and what I feel is the definitive episode of Doctor Who. I didn't think I would ever see a better episode but more on that to come. The 10th Doctor (Tennant) along with his companion, Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) and her boyfriend, Mickey Smith (Noel Clarke) travel to the 51st century where the discover a derelict spaceship that strangely houses an ornate 18th century fireplace that contains a portal that teleports the traveler to the bedroom of Reinette Poisson, the child who will one day be known as Madame de Pompadour. The young girl is being plagued by a series of clockwork men, dressed to impersonate the 18th century men of Versailles. The Doctor moves to save the young girl, but each time he returns the spaceship time speeds and up and the next time he sees her, Reinette (Sophia Myles) has grown into a beautiful woman. This is a plot device Moffat would return to again with the relationship between the 11th Doctor (Matt Smith) and his companion, Amy Pond (Karen Gillan). The connection between the Doctor and Reinette is immediate and strong (at the time Myles and Tenant were a couple) and the Doctor has difficulty reconciling the emotions he has for her and knowing how their story will ultimately end. This episode solidified Steven Moffat as the best writer working on Doctor Who and it left little question to his ability to take over for Russell T. Davies when he would leave the show after Season 4. It is a simple story but the way it s structured and what it teaches us about who the Doctor is and how his emotions work make it tower above all the others.
1. Heaven Sent
Season 9 - Episode 12
The Doctor - "If you think because she is dead, I am weak then you understand very little. If you were any part of killing her, and you're not afraid, then you understand nothing at all. So, for your own sake, understand this, I am the Doctor. I'm coming to find you and I will never, ever stop!"
Another Steven Moffat episode and this would be not only one of his final Doctor Who episodes but it is also his best. When Peter Capaldi took over as the 12th (13th?) Doctor after Matt Smith left the show, I have to admit that I was not happy with the majority of his first season as the Time Lord. I found his grumpy and caustic attitude difficult to connect with and frankly, at first, I found him unlikeable. But, thankfully, Season 9 redeemed him with Capaldi finally coming into his own. This was the "penultimate" episode of the season and boy was it a whopper. After the sudden death of his companion, Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman), the Doctor is transported to a strange castle/tower where a creature slowly stalks him throughout its halls. If the thing catches up to him it will kill him with a touch. As he discovers various rooms and clues throughout the tower the Doctor begins to piece together the mystery behind what this trap is that he was been imprisoned and who was there before him. He also must discover what lies and how to get through a large, diamond-like wall that may hold the key to his escape. Without revealing to much, Heaven Sent is the best example of how a very good writer who understands the themes and concepts behind Doctor Who can exploit them to create an interesting and clever narrative that builds upon the mythos of this character and who and what he is. No other episode does that better or more encapsulates the greatness of this show than this one.
Matt's Picks
Jay picked a lot of great ones -- ones that would definitely be in my top five! But in the tradition of wanting to choose different episodes, here are my picks!
5. The Doctor's Daughter
Season 4 - Episode 6
The Doctor - "Listen to me. The killing. After awhile it infects you. And once it does, you're never rid of it."
It's no surprise that the 10th Doctor (David Tennant) is my absolute favorite (yes, I'm one of the many)! In the episode, the TARDIS takes the Doctor, and his companions, Martha (Freema Agyeman), and Donna (Catherine Tate) to the planet Messaline, where they are met by soldiers working for General Cobb. The soldiers force the Doctor into a progenation machine, which uses his DNA to generate a soldier who becomes the Doctor's daughter, whom Donna names Jenny (Georgia Moffett). I had always hoped the writers would bring Jenny back but, alas, it wasn't meant to be (at least, not yet)! This episode is a great example of the fun -- and danger -- often present in most Doctor Who episodes. Some may consider this a rather unnoticeable season 4 episode, but it has special meaning for me. Beside the fact that it's a great, fun, rollicking adventure, this is also the first Doctor Who episode my daughters ever watched and enjoyed! It was also the first hint that there could be a female Doctor!
4. A Good Man Goes to War
Season 6 - Episode 7
River Song - "Demons run when a good man goes to war. Night will fall and drown the sun when a good man goes to war. Friendship dies and true love lies. Night will fall and the dark will rise when a good man goes to war. Demons run but count the cost; the battle's won but the child is lost."
As far as surprise revelations, Doctor Who has many memorable ones! One of my favorites was this revelation of fan-favorite River Song's (Alex Kingston) origin! In this episode, the 11th Doctor (Matt Smith) and Rory (Arthur Darvill) discover Amy (Karen Gillan) has been kidnapped and what is also a surprising discovery is that Amy gave birth to a baby girl, Melody -- conceived by Amy and Rory during mid-flight in the TARDIS! It's soon up to the Doctor, Rory and a mish-mash of their allies to save Amy and Melody from the wicked Madame Kovarian. Through a masterful buildup of storytelling, pacing and acting, a great plot twist ensues, leaving Doctor Who fans to be in continued awe of the series mythology.
3. The Angels Take Manhattan
Season 7 - Episode 5
The Doctor - "I always rip out the last page of a book. Then it doesn't have to end. I hate endings!"
A lot of Doctor Who episodes have surprised me, but this one was the most surprising! Shocking, even! The episode starts off as a mix of mystery and noir before soon becoming one of the most heartbreaking Doctor Who episodes ever! Involving one of my favorite villains of all time, the Weeping Angels (introduced in another wonderful hallmark episode, season 3's "Blink"), "Manhattan" features the trio of the Doctor, Amy and Rory in New York, and after a few mysterious sequence of events, coming to find an elderly version of Rory in a spooky building called the Winter Quay. The story is eerie, is wonderfully shot with spectacular cinematography, and a testament to not being able to escape one's fate. Written by legendary Doctor Who showrunner, Steven Moffat, this was one of the few episodes of any TV show ever where I was left stunned, consistently asking, "Did that really just happen?"
2. The Zygon Inversion
Season 9 - Episode 8
Whereas the new 2000s incarnation of Doctor Who had mostly been playful, campy, fun, dashing and a bit looney, it was the introduction of the 12th Doctor (Peter Capaldi) that brought about a more serious, darker Doctor. In this incarnation, viewers got a full run of the Doctor's dark past and deeds. Most of Capaldi's run was darker, more dramatic. One of my favorites was this second part to a two-parter involving the shapeshifting alien race, the Zygons. In this episode, Earth has been infiltrated by the Zygons, with some taking the form of humans. Bonnie, the leader of a small splinter group of shapeshifting Zygons that intend to start a war with the humans they live among, has taken the Doctor's companion Clara's (Jenna Coleman) form. The episode is a metaphoric examination of human nature and war. It is Capaldi's nuanced performance and wonderfully haunted, projective voice that is paramount in this episode. By episode's end, there is a standoff between the Zygon in Clara form, or Earth's emissary and UNIT (United Nations Intelligence Taskforce) Chief Scientific Officer Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave) on who "pushes the red button" of destruction. Capaldi delivers one of the best performances and one of the best monologues on war ever written. It's so good, I couldn't quote it; just watch the video above!
1. The End of Time - Parts 1 & 2
Season 4 - Episodes 17 & 18
The Doctor - "I don't want to go."
Every Doctor has his point of regeneration, and, unfortunately, even a lot of people's favorite, the 10th Doctor (David Tennant), had his moment in this two-part epic send-off. Pretty much every episode of this Doctor's tenure -- seasons 2-4 -- are spectacular! But Tennant's finale is simply the best! Tying up many loose ends, as well as bringing the Doctor's greatest frenemy, the Master (John Simm), into the mix, and preparing for regeneration, the Doctor visits past companions and acquaintances; Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman) and Mickey Smith (Noel Clarke) who have married and are working as freelance alien hunters, Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) and her son Luke Smith (Tommy Knight), and Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman). He also visits Verity Newman (Jessica Hynes), the great-granddaughter of Joan Redfern who the Doctor had previously met in "Human Nature". He then travels forward in time to Donna's wedding where he gives Wilfred (Bernard Cribbins) and Sylvia Noble (Donna's mother) a lottery ticket that he had bought for Donna with money borrowed from her deceased father. Finally, the Doctor visits Rose Tyler (Billie Piper), on New Year's Day 2005, three months before she meets him as the 9th Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) and tells her she will have "a really great year." Every time I watch the ending, it chokes me up. The desperation in Tennant's voice, all the great stories told. It's all too much to miss. But it's still one of the best!
Every Doctor has his point of regeneration, and, unfortunately, even a lot of people's favorite, the 10th Doctor (David Tennant), had his moment in this two-part epic send-off. Pretty much every episode of this Doctor's tenure -- seasons 2-4 -- are spectacular! But Tennant's finale is simply the best! Tying up many loose ends, as well as bringing the Doctor's greatest frenemy, the Master (John Simm), into the mix, and preparing for regeneration, the Doctor visits past companions and acquaintances; Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman) and Mickey Smith (Noel Clarke) who have married and are working as freelance alien hunters, Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) and her son Luke Smith (Tommy Knight), and Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman). He also visits Verity Newman (Jessica Hynes), the great-granddaughter of Joan Redfern who the Doctor had previously met in "Human Nature". He then travels forward in time to Donna's wedding where he gives Wilfred (Bernard Cribbins) and Sylvia Noble (Donna's mother) a lottery ticket that he had bought for Donna with money borrowed from her deceased father. Finally, the Doctor visits Rose Tyler (Billie Piper), on New Year's Day 2005, three months before she meets him as the 9th Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) and tells her she will have "a really great year." Every time I watch the ending, it chokes me up. The desperation in Tennant's voice, all the great stories told. It's all too much to miss. But it's still one of the best!
So, that's it! What's your favorite Doctor Who episode? Let us know in the comments! Until Whitaker's debut in a 65-minute premiere, watch this:
