Love "The Name of the Doctor" - it boosted a very low quality series!

32

 

Age of Steel

 

 

At #32 it's the second part of the re-introduction to the Cybermen - 'Age of Steel'. I can't actually remember a lot about this episode in the slightest, so sorry in advance if the commentary's a bit shit. One of the moments that makes this episode as great as it is is the Doctor and the Professor - they both had great on-screen chemistry, and when she died it was quite a shocking moment (that may or may not have been in 'Rise of the Cybermen' - I can't remember. Note to self: re-watch series 2 at some point in the near future). One of the most chilling aspects though was definitely when we saw people being upgraded into Cybermen - a whole factory just to chop up human emotions, dissect them, remove them and put a metal shell on the exterior of the human body and pass them off as the next master race. Good episode though from what I can remember x

 

Average 8.250

Highest score 10 (Michael!, Jester, April)

Lowest score 4 (Iz~)

 

 

31

 

School Reunion

 

http://www.popculturemonster.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/School-reunion.jpg

 

I'm actually quite shocked this episode has only managed to get to #31. 'School Reunion' is an episode I'm sure almost every Doctor Who fan remembers - not just because it was a great episode and not for any other reason than it had Sarah Jane Smith, aka. the ultimate Doctor Who girl, in it. The story is actually really really strong by itself, but Lis Sladen's presence in it just adds that extra magic sparkle. We have the Krillitanes sleeping in the school (I'll never forget Rose's line about thinking the teachers slept in the school when she was younger, lol x), the oil used for the chips in the canteen at the school making all of the children extra intelligent as part of their plan to take over the world, we have Anthony Head being just as irritating as he always is (there's something about him that just makes me squirm), but we have this magical reunion between 10 and Sarah Jane. Obviously she's never met him in this incarnation before but it's like they'd never been away from each other and they'd been travelling together non-stop for all her life (and only part of his). The one scene that gets me is at the end where the Doctor leaves her a new model of K9. Beautiful moment.

 

Average 8.250

Highest score 10 (JosephStyles, Chez Wombat, April, Rabbit Heart)

Lowest score 2 (Michael!)

 

School Reunion was the first ever episode I saw :wub: Really should be higher, fantastic in every way.

30

 

The Eleventh Hour

 

http://cdn.screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/doctor-who-eleventh-hour-pond-angry.jpg

 

Managing to sneak into the top 30 is Matt Smith's début story as the Doctor, 'The Eleventh Hour'. I do think this is a really strong episode, and it was a great way for a) Matt to be introduced to the audience (fully, not just from the ugly snippet at the end of 'The End of Time'), and b) for Moffat to show us what he can do as Head Writer. The arc was set up right from the beginning with the crack in little Amelia Pond's bedroom wall, as well as Prisoner Zero warning the Doctor that 'silence will fall' - the two main themes we've had from Moffat's time as Head Writer, up to 'The Time of the Doctor'. I do think however that this episode has failed to stand the test of time. It does have really exceptional moments scattered throughout it, but I can't say it's one I'm inclined to return to that often. And it's probably mostly down to the fact that I just really don't like Caitlin Blackwood at all. Credit where it's due, she's a good actress, but I just can't take to her. Something very offputting there - even in 'The Big Bang' as well. The one moment from this episode that's my favourite though is definitely when Amy just screams "WHY DID YOU SAY FIVE MINUTES?!" then it all falls into place that she is Amelia and the Doctor abandoned her. Oops. Awkward.

 

Average 8.273

Highest score 11 (JosephStyles)

Lowest score 2 (Regina)

 

 

29

 

Midnight

 

 

I know some people absolutely love this, then there are those that absolutely hate it. It's not that I hate this at all, but I just... don't understand why it needed to be dragged out for 45 minutes. It was a bit too psychological. I actually like episodes where you can't actually see the villain/monster and it makes it more of an intense threat, but this one just fell kind of flat for me. The whole concept is great, but it just wasn't executed that brilliantly. I like the fact that it was set on a train (if it's a train) though, because I just love trains and the like - they're just so cosy lol. But yes, I don't think I've actually watched this more than about three times since it was first broadcast, and it's definitely one of the low points from series 4, which is a shame because it was on point nine times out of ten.

 

Average 8.333

Highest score 11 (Chez Wombat, Rabbit Heart, Severin)

Lowest score 4 (seantobewild, April)

 

 

28

 

The Poison Sky

 

http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090125150033/tardis/images/d/de/Sontaran_Group_The_Poison_Sky.jpg

 

This is another episode I don't remember a lot about at all, I have watched it a fair few times since it broadcast, but I mostly remember what happens in 'The Sontaran Stratagem' over anything here. I suppose the one scene I do remember is Sylvia taking the axe to the car to get Wilf out of it - that is such a moment. Sylvia gave us many of them. <3 I'll speak more about the Sontarans in 'The Sontaran Stratagem''s commentary, but can we talk about Luke Rattigan? He had this whole university and all the equipment and he was aligned with the Sontarans and he was blinded by what they could do and how much of a threat they were in the midst of a war - but in the end he gave his own life by being blown up on their spaceship... Bit daft. But I felt sorry for him in the end, really. And another thing, Martha Jones... Could she not just have stayed behind at UNIT to finish some paperwork instead of getting stuck in the TARDIS with the Doctor and Donna for *another* adventure? Such a tedious character, especially having come back when really she's not that rated as a companion, I wouldn't say (apart from Joseph that is x).

 

Average 8.333

Highest score 10 (seantobewild, Regina, April, Heezus)

Lowest score 6 (Michael!, Severin)

 

 

27

 

Father's Day

 

http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100407003028/tardis/images/1/1b/Pete_time.jpg

 

I just watched this episode not that long ago, and this is definitely one of the highlights from series 1 so I'm glad to see it's finished so high here! It's such a touching story, and it really made me warm to Rose much more than in previous episodes because she was a bit cold, and I couldn't really take to her fully until about half way through series 2, but by that time it was a bit late because she'd be buggering off soon. But yes, I absolutely love the scene where she tries to save her dad from getting ran over by the car but it doesn't work so she asks to go back and try again, and then the Doctor and Rose end up bumping into their past selves - it's confusing but at the same time such an entertaining scene! The Reapers were actually quite a terrifying villain in this episode too - even though in the end it turned out they were just doctors trying to heal the wound that was caused by Rose doing what she did to try and save her dad, there was a chilling presence about them, much like the Gas Mask Zombies - where I had to sleep with the lights on after initial broadcast. A very good episode on the whole!

 

Average 8.333

Highest score 11 (Heezus)

Lowest score 6 (seantobewild, Regina)

 

 

26

 

The Day of the Doctor

 

http://www.boomtron.com/wp-content/uploads/Day-of-the-Doctor35-e1384832805779.jpg

 

Well this has done rather well to get so high this early on, hasn't it? The 50th Anniversary special episode 'The Day of the Doctor' went down a storm when it was simulcast all over the world and it was in most major cinemas - it truly was one of the biggest TV events of 2013. I absolutely love the opening sequence of this episode - we have the policeman walking around the corner at Coal Hill School - then we have Clara in the classroom and the introduction of 'no more' as one of the themes throughout the episode, then we have the TARDIS being taken hostage by UNIT - and the Doctor flying through the sky while Clara's just standing looking pretty hanging out the door to see if he's alright - I LOVED that scene because it really felt like a big movie, where the credits were just appearing and there wasn't a title sequence to interrupt things at all. There's so many major MOMENTS in this episode, such as David Tennant's return, the Zygons returning, UNIT returning, Tom Baker making a shock return, the Daleks actually killing people for a change. The only two things that niggle me with this episode are a) Clara felt very much like a background character and she wasn't really given much to do. I know there were far more important things to concentrate on given this was the big birthday episode, but she was a bit of a spare part until the last 20 minutes or so, and b) Joanna Page. She was really annoying - she sounded more Welsh than she normally is when she was trying to put on a bloody English accent!

 

Average 8.364

Highest score 10 (Michael!, Calum Hood, JosephStyles, April, Rabbit Heart, Heezus)

Lowest score 0 (Regina)

 

Series 2 will always be my favourite series :heart:

 

I agree that it was really chilling when you saw the process of how the Cybermen were created.

 

Looking back, it was perhaps a bold move to include an old companion when the new series was just finding its feet. Yes, Sarah Jane was the most popular of the old series but I doubt many would have noticed the significance when watching the series. Of course, that didn't matter as the story was quite strong anyway and I wasn't fully aware of who Sarah Jane was when I first watched it of course.

 

As for the next match, :o, will comment soon...

There's a moment in Age of Steel with Cyberman Jackie Tyler that was quite nice if I remember correctly? Emosh, as was Father's Day - I loved the family life aspects of Rose Tyler, a shame that Moffat hasn't really incorporated it into Amy/Rory and Clara's stories.

 

Midnight is an incredible episode, so tense and I love episodes set within a confined space (see also The Waters of Mars, The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit etc.) Lesley Sharp was excellent as Sky and the Hostess's sacrifice was so sad (linking into the season four finale). Shame on you Calum x

25

 

The Sound of Drums

 

http://gspn.tv/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/726976645_36a8fc13c6.jpg

 

Up next at #25 is the penultimate episode of series 3 - 'The Sound of Drums'. Like a couple of others, I can't actually remember a great deal about this episode. What I do remember however is that Martha was actually tolerable for the majority of the episode. She wasn't just this squealing idiot that we'd grown to know over the course of the series - she actually had some purpose in this story, and so did her family (well, a little bit). This episode was the one where we saw the Harold Saxon arc unfold - it had been hinted all throughout the series with things scattered here and there (and there was even a crossover reference in Torchwood!) - and we saw the Master become the evil force we know he is, alongside an army of Toclafane. I actually think they were a good villain to introduce to the show, but their effect was weakened majorly when we saw what was inside them, although I guess it was enlightening to see their origins.

 

Average 8.375

Highest score 10 (Jester, Chez Wombat)

Lowest score 6 (April)

 

 

24

 

Voyage of the Damned

 

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/2/4/1265312766986/Doctor-Who-001.jpg

 

Now this is an episode I'm sad to see did not make the top 20! Aside from having an absolutely amazing guest star in the form of Kylie Minogue - this episode had the whole package. We had David Tennant on board the Titanic which was travelling through space, we had the Hosts who were actually quite a terrifying villain when they weren't behaving, Max Capricorn who was really quite frightening, and that's just looking at him, we had comedy, we had the Doctor asserting his authority - the only scenes I'd say really dragged and were quite boring overall were all the ones in the 'captain's deck' (is that what it's called?). Was not interested in the Captain or Russell Tovey's characters in the slightest. The two best scenes in this episode were of course a) Kylie driving Capricorn off the edge with the forklift truck, even though it meant she would die too. Such an emotional moment. And then of course when they were all battling the Hosts' halos - that was an unlikely action scene, but it all looked spectacular!

 

Average 8.375

Highest score 11 (Regina)

Lowest score 5 (seantobewild)

 

 

23

 

The Angels Take Manhattan

 

http://persephonemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Image-3-600x339.png

 

Finishing outside the top 20 despite being a bit of a fan favourite is 'The Angels Take Manhattan' - Amy and Rory's farewell story. The New York setting for this episode all looks fabulous, but that aside this is a really emotional story. The scene where Amy and Rory jump from the top of the building together and it all leads into 'Together Or Not At All (The Song of Amy and Rory)' playing - all in slow motion - that is one of my absolute favourite moments in Doctor Who, ever. Just as we thought the Weeping Angels were becoming a bit of a tedious villain after their previous outing as well, Moffat introduced a new version of the Angels - and that was in the form of the little baby angels. Despite not looking that threatening at all, when he was in a confined space, all dark, with only matches to keep him alive, one of the babies blew it out. But in the end, Amy and Rory falling from the building meant they could travel back to present day and go to the pub for a family outing, but then he was touched by an Angel (pardon the pun x), and in a heartbreaking moment Amy decided to leave the Doctor in the more-than-capable hands of River, and join her husband in a place that the Doctor could never visit again. It was a great ending for the both of them.

 

Average 8.455

Highest score 10 (Michael!, Calum Hood, Chez Wombat, April, Rabbit Heart, Heezus)

Lowest score 2 (Regina)

 

Getting to the really good ones now :wub: Disagree with you about Midnight - it probably remains my second favorite episode of Doctor Who ever (behind what will hopefully win this), so terrifying, claustrophobic and gripping - it feels more scary as the characters are all normal humans and the setting (though extrapolated a bit) is recognisable, plus it's an enemy that stumps the Doctor, often when the villains corner him, you sorta think that even though he's a bit stuffed atm, he'll find a way to get out of it. For most of Midnight, it's not really clear how he'll escape and he very nearly doesn't at all, I think that's the closest I've ever seen to him getting bested by the villain.

Fathers' Day is a really phenomenal episode, it has a great storyline which is well thought out, fantastic acting as always and the rewatchability factor, I always get the urge to go back and revisit it.

 

Midnight is also great, it's not the kind of episode that Doctor Who should do often so I'm glad it was a one-off because that was part of its charm. For once, it wasn't very fast paced. All in one location, meaning the viewer felt just as confined as the characters, adding to the intensity of the episode for me.

22

 

Rise of the Cybermen

 

 

Another episode I can't remember a *great* deal about but at #22 is 'Rise of the Cybermen', the first of a two-part story in series 2 that re-introduced the Cybermen to the loyal Doctor Who fanbase, and introduced them to a whole new generation of fans that would grow to love them (and fear them!). This episode was a great way to bring them back, and there was a lot going on in it besides the Cybermen making their return. The Doctor, Mickey and Rose land in a parallel universe where everything is a little bit different, but mostly the same. There are Zeppelins in the sky - and in one of them lurks John Lumic (RIP Rodger Lloyd Pack), seeking to bring an army of new metal robots to the surface. Rose's dad is also alive, and building an empire around fizzy drinks. He and wife Jackie have a daughter Rose... well... theoretically speaking... Rose is a dog. And the Rose that we know doesn't exist in the parallel universe. It's all very complex, but it's all amazing. And then things all kicked off when the Cybermen launched their attack and the Doctor identified them through the smoke as they stormed towards the building they were inhibiting at the time.

 

Average 8.500

Highest score 10 (Michael!, Jester, April)

Lowest score 4 (Iz~)

 

 

21

 

The Runaway Bride

 

http://www.david-tennant-news.com/wp-content/uploads/images/doctorwho/who-s3_0x_wal_12.jpg

 

The second Christmas special since the revival of the show, 'The Runaway Bride' just misses out on a spot in the top 20. I haven't watched this one in a long while, but from watching YouTube clips when searching for one to add onto the end here, those were very good. I think a lot of us thought Donna Noble would just be a bit of a gobby one-off companion that didn't really add that much of value until her last few scenes where she stopped the Doctor from doing more damage than good and going completely against his name - 'Doctor' - something not in the name of the Doctor (:kink:), but when she came back in series 4 she proved to be a VERY worthy companion, but that's a story for another time. This whole episode was a bit tongue-in-cheek really. Sarah Parish really made it IMO, she was classy, sassy and AMAZING as the Empress of the Racnoss, a very wise casting for a villain if ever Doctor Who had one. She's brilliant at being a villain no matter what show she's in, be it Merlin, Atlantis, or anything else. I do not have anything further to add re. the episode.

 

Average 8.500

Highest score 11 (JosephStyles)

Lowest score 2 (Iz~)

 

I watched Rise of the Cybermen just the other night, fantastic episode! The Age of Steel is also really good.

 

The Runaway Bride :wub: so much fun, exactly what an Xmas special should be, imo.

THE TOP 20

 

Army of Ghosts

Bad Wolf

Blink

Dalek

Doomsday

Journey's End

Planet of the Ood

Silence in the Library

Turn Left

The Christmas Invasion

The Doctor Dances

The Empty Child

The Fires of Pompeii

The Girl in the Fireplace

The Parting of the Ways

The Sontaran Stratagem

The Stolen Earth

The Time of Angels

The Unicorn and the Wasp

The Waters of Mars

A great top 20 (of course since 8 out of 20 are series 4 eps), but how on Earth did 'Dalek', 'Bad Wolf', 'The Waters of Mars' and even 'The Sontaran Stratagem' get there!

I cannot believe I have just witnessed Dalek and Bad Wolf shade :cry: Both are absolutely worthy of the top 20 imo!!

Catch-up time~

 

'The Eleventh Hour' really hit me in it's brilliance with repeated viewings. Yes the monster might be a bit shit but it's an amazing story away from that, immediately exploring Amy and the Doctor's relationship. It was nice to have the opportunity to start afresh with both a new companion and Doctor, although I wouldn't like it to be a common occurrence.

 

'Midnight' is one of Russell's best, a perfect chilling thriller. I love the moment why Sky takes control towards the end, with the Doctor becoming powerless.

 

'Fathers Day' was a brilliant piece of drama and it was great to see the show experimenting even in the first series since it was revived. It's very powerful that Shaun still dies at the end, showing that it can be a very mature show.

 

'The Day of the Doctor' won DWM's poll of EVERY story so I thought it would at least be Top 10 here! It was a fantastic anniversary episode and while it perhaps felt more like a celebration of the modern series, I guess it is hard to encompass the whole 50 years what with the ageing of the classic Doctors.

 

'The Sound of Drums' was a good idea, I just don't think it was executed as well as it could have been and I think that matches the use of the Master in every story he/she's been in since the revival.

 

'The Voyage of the Damned' was another interesting one because, behind all the humour of the episode, it was quite dark with so many deaths of 'nice' characters yet the traditional 'bad' one (Rickston) survives.

 

'The Angels Take Manhattan' may have been a bit too enwrapped in it being Amy/Rorys last episode (poor Rory doesn't even get a chance to get to say goodbye though) but it was still a brilliantly chilling and emotional story. The moment when Amy/Rory jump off was a perfect moment for them both.

 

'Rise of the Cybermen'/'Age of Steel' were chilling when it showed how people got transformed.

 

Wasn't expecting 'The Runaway Bride' to be so high! It's good but a bit too much of a run of the mill episode, which are necessary but still~

 

Hoping for 'The Empty Child'/'The Doctor Dances' win.

The Waters of Mars is THE best episode of New-Who EVER (possibly after Blink but they're definitely the top two). How outrageous!

The ones just missing the 20 are all fantastic, I love em all to bits. Seeing them all bunched together reminds just how great Who has been. Awesome!

The Waters of Mars is THE best episode of New-Who EVER (possibly after Blink but they're definitely the top two). How outrageous!

THIS!

 

'The Waters of Mars' is definitely in my top 2 alongside 'The Girl Who Waited' - couldn't possibly rank one above the other, both so so beautiful. :wub:

20

 

Planet of the Ood

 

http://bitchstolemyremote.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/doctor-donna-david-tennant-catherine-tate-almost-get-fried-in-planet-of-the-ood.jpg

 

This is a very beautiful episode, IMO. It's one of those ones that, yet again, has that one character you really hate so much and he seems to get away with being a little cretin for the majority of the episode. Holding the Ood captive for such a long time and torturing them, not allowing them to do all that they want to do - which is just to sing - is very cruel. Auctioning them off as the next type of servant where you can have this, that and the next thing handed to you on a plate whenever you like until one of them goes rogue was quite a chilling concept to work with. This was an episode where we got to see Donna really shine, not only had she just done that the episode before in 'The Fires of Pompeii' by making the Doctor change history and save just one family from the erupting Vesuvius, but she did it again here. When she was just sitting there hopeless and crying, that was an extremely powerful scene. But all was good at the end of the day because the Ood got to sing, but they warned that the Doctor's song would be ending soon. Oh.

 

"WHY'D YOU SAY MISS, DO I LOOK SINGLE?!"

 

Average 8.583

Highest score 10 (Michael!, Regina, April, Heezus)

Lowest score 6 (seantobewild, Severin)

 

 

19

 

Bad Wolf

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4b/Bad_Wolf.jpg

 

I love this episode for so many reasons - the fact that it took game shows and turned them into wicked, cruel things where people supposedly died was AMAZING. Anne Droid on The Weakest Link was just absolute TV gold, the scene where Rose becomes the weakest link and is turned to mere dust, that was very powerful. Then of course we had the Doctor landing in the Big Brother house at the beginning of the episode and throughout - it was amazing to see how he was reacting in that type of situation. Wouldn't it be amazing if on the actual Big Brother some of the housemates had happen to them what happened here as soon as they were evicted? x The end of this episode though was so impacting - the Daleks had returned, and I for one didn't predict that would happen at all. The Controller was quite terrifying in her own right, but until the very end when she landed on the Dalek spacecraft, I had no idea she was merely a servant of theirs. I'd love them to re-try this concept and have something like Ejector Seat where you play the game but you are ejected into a black hole if you're not fast enough. :heehee:

 

Average 8.583

Highest score 10 (Michael!, Jester, JosephStyles, Chez Wombat, April, Rabbit Heart)

Lowest score 4 (Iz~)

 

Two amazing episodes there! Definitely one of the main highlights of their respective series. :heart: