Yeah, I didn't mind the first episodes of Class, but they didn't enthuse me to carry on, the characters just didn't seem enough to invest in without the Doctor there (and, perhaps the cynic in me, but they did seem awfully like diversity box ticking). If it's never heard from again, I wouldn't be shedding tears.

 

Hell Bent was decent, but looks so poor coming after Face the Raven and Heaven Sent and don't get me started on that Clara ending...

Edited April 28, 20178 yr by Chez Wombat

I didn't waste time on it as I KNEW it'd be appalling.

Liked quite a few of them! Still interesting to see whether Clara with make another appearance before she 'dies'.

I didn't bother with Class, it didn't look at all interesting and the poor reception didn't help either.

Now that all of the obviously terrible episodes are out of the way, this countdown is all over the place.

 

I'm a huge fan of River Song so I'm probably bias but I think 'The Name of the Doctor' and many of the Series 6 episodes mentioned so far deserve to be much higher.

 

I agree that many of the Capaldi episodes are amongst the worst though, and lots of Tennant to come, which is good!

I actually really like River as a character! Alex plays the part to perfection, it's just a shame that a lot of the episodes she played a big part in are very much tied up in the series 6 arc, which I'm much less fond of really.

 

75 Closing Time

Series 6, Episode 12

Doctor: Eleventh

Companion: Amy Pond, Rory Williams

Also starring: Craig Owens, River Song

 

The penultimate episode of series 6 saw the Doctor travelling alone, having dropped Amy and Rory off at their new house at the end of the previous episode. On his farewell trip, he pops in to see old friend Craig Owens, now with son Alfie (or Stormageddon as he likes to be called). It's not long before the Doctor sniffs out trouble, as he gets a job in the toy section of a department store. They find the store is infested with silver rats, or Cybermats, and that inside a broken down lift, there's a portal to a Cyber ship. After capturing a Cybermat and finding that the ship is actually below the shop, currently reactivating its crew with the shop's power, Craig is captured and begins to be upgraded, but Alfie's crying restores him and this leads to the Cyber ship exploding. The Doctor slips away after saying goodbye to Craig.

 

Among the hit and miss series 6, it was really nice to get episodes like this. Bread and butter Doctor Who, and I've always found Craig pretty likeable, so Closing Time makes for quite a fun watch even if it's not totally essential and the conclusion/entire Cyberman plot is pretty weak. The scene where the Doctor sees Amy and Rory in the shop was my favourite, it seems to break his heart to not just run up to them.

http://i.imgur.com/nHB0R83.png

 

74 The Next Doctor

2008 Christmas Special

Doctor: Tenth

Companion: Jackson Lake, Rosita Farisi

 

A lot of hype preceded the 2008 Christmas special, particularly with the title of The Next Doctor and the news that David Tennant was leaving his role as the Doctor. We see the TARDIS land in Victorian London, and immediately, the Doctor hears someone shouting for him. In actual fact, it's for another Doctor, who our very own Doctor expects is his future self. The problem is... he has no recollection of his former self. Together they try to capture a Cybershade, but ultimately it's Rosita who has to save them both. Together they investigate the house of a dead man, Jackson Lake, and find "infostamps" stored, while they get attacked by a Cyberman. The Next Doctor kills the Cyberman by using the electrical impulse of the infostamp. They regroup at the Next Doctor's base, where he shows the Doctor his TARDIS - Tethered Aerial Release Developed In Style, ie. a hot air balloon. The Doctor realises that the Next Doctor is actually Jackson Lake, a man who opened the Doctor's infostamp and consumed all the information after his wife died and his child was abducted by the Cybermen. They infiltrate the lair of the Cybermen, where orphans are working to power the machine. They evacuate the kids, and themselves, before the CyberKing rises out of the Thames and begins to destroy London. The Doctor uses Jackson's TARDIS to ascend over London, and after reasoning with the human side of Ms Hartigan, her emotions seep through and the ship begins to get destroyed. He uses a dimensional vault to transport it into the time vortex, so it doesn't damage London.

 

After three great Christmas specials, this one never felt quite as good, particularly after the hype. The story of Jackson Lake is heart-warming and Ms Hartigan is played to a tee by Dervla Kirwan. It's kinda ruined by the CyberKing at the end, it looks a bit rubbish and I think it's a pretty weak conclusion in the end. Nevertheless, it's another episode that's well-suited to its Christmas theme, and it's a solid episode.

http://www.doctorwhoreviews.altervista.org/2006-01_files/New%20Earth%20(1).jpg

 

73 New Earth

Series 2, Episode 1

Doctor: Tenth

Companion: Rose Tyler

Also starring: Mickey Smith, Jackie Tyler

 

The opening episode of series 2 saw the Doctor take Rose to New Earth, the new home of humans after the original Earth was destroyed. They visit a hospital, ran by cat people, after being summoned by the Face of Boe. Rose, however, is intercepted by a young man called Chip, later revealed to be working for Lady Cassandra, who is hiding away underneath the hospital. Using a psychograft, Cassandra transports her mind into Rose's body, before rejoining the Doctor. He suspects that something is off with Rose, and after they discover many seriously ill patients, experimented on by the Sisters of Plenitude, locked in pods in the intensive care unit of the hospital, she knocks him out and locks him in one too. Rose/Cassandra releases some of the pods, with the infected patients and the Doctor, so that she can escape the Sisters of Plenitude. However, they open every pod and risk the spread of every single disease to all inhabitants of New Earth. The Doctor demands that Rose is brought back to him, so Cassandra transfers herself into his body instead, and this back and forth continues throughout the episode. The Doctor grabs every vaccine he can and mixes them together, using the disinfectant system in the lift to spread the cures amongst the diseased. The Sisters of Plenitude are arrested, and Cassandra transfers herself into Chip, who is dying. The Doctor and Rose take her to see herself, when she was younger, and Chip/Cassandra becomes the last person to call her beautiful, before she finally dies, in her own arms.

 

Cassandra was an excellent villain in series 1 and I really enjoyed seeing her back in this episode. The idea of patients being experimented on by nurses was great too and it saw series 2 off to a pretty fantastic start. It's not one I rewatch much but it's fun, and the final scene with Cassandra visiting herself was very touching.

I adore that final scene with Cassandra.

Closing Time had a really poor plot in regards to the Cybermen. They were just there and that solution was dreadful. The episode does recover due to Matt Smith though, his scenes with Craig and working in the Department store are excellent!

 

I also found The Next Doctor to be a big let down after the hype. I've never warmed to Jackson Lake, both on first viewing and rewatches, and so I never was really able to envisage him as the Doctor anyway. The CyberKing plot is also really messy and a but Jump the Shark. Miss Hartigan was great though as were the images of the Cybermen in the graveyard!

 

New Earth was a great first episode I felt. A light hearted reintroduction to the characters and helping to establish Ten & Rose's relationship. The body swap thing was fun and the ending with Cassandra was actually really well done. It was good to get that extra dynamic and exploration of a character after maybe being a bit two-dimensional (:kink:) in The End of the World.

http://www.doctorwhotv.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Doctor-Who-The-Beast-Below-1.jpg

 

72 The Beast Below

Series 5, Episode 2

Doctor: Eleventh

Companion: Amy Pond

 

Amy's first trip in the TARDIS saw the Doctor take her to Starship UK, where humans are currently living to escape the deadly solar flares of Earth. Amy follows a young girl, Mandy, who seems upset, while the Doctor investigates the ship's engines, having noticed that it doesn't seem to be powered by normal engines. He meets Liz 10, a masked woman who has also noticed the oddities with the engines. After Amy is caught snooping in an out of bounds section, she is taken to a voting booth. A video shows her the truth about Starship UK, and she is allowed to vote to protest, or to forget. Amy chooses forget, and the Doctor arrives with Mandy. Mandy explains that every adult is shown the video every 5 years, and they always choose to forget. The Doctor hits the protest button, and he and Amy are sent down into the mouth of a giant creature - the Star Whale. When they escape, they team up with Liz 10 to avoid the Smilers, which guard the ship. They are taken to the Tower of London, where it's revealed that Liz 10 is actually Queen Elizabeth X, with her body clock slowed to retain her appearance. The Star Whale had Starship UK built around it when it arrived at Earth, and the pain centre of its brain is exposed to give it shocks of electricity. Liz 10 is then given a choice - she can forget once again, or she can abdicate, and the Star Whale is set free. The Doctor is ready to render the Star Whale brain dead when Amy realises that it hasn't eaten any children, and therefore must have a heart. She forces Liz 10 to press the abdicate button, and the electrical shocks stop, but the Star Whale does not move - it's voluntarily carrying Starship UK.

 

The Beast Below was a pretty good follow-up to The Eleventh Hour. We learnt more about both Amy and our newest incarnation of the Doctor, and I enjoyed the twist of the Star Whale actually voluntarily helping out, so it was imprisoned for no reason. Liz 10 is one of the most memorable supporting characters of Moffat's era also, and it certainly had enough to keep me intrigued until the end.

My favourite of these three is new earth I really like Cassandra as a character. Evil yet funny :lol: I loved her last scene too very touching.

http://i.imgur.com/2Xi0aUA.jpg

 

71 The Unquiet Dead

Series 1, Episode 3

Doctor: Ninth

Companion: Rose Tyler

 

The first historical episode of the new series saw the Doctor and Rose arrive in Cardiff in 1860, where Mr Sneed, the undertaker, is having problems with zombies. He and his assistant Gwyneth follow the previously dead Mrs Peace to see Charles Dickens in the nearby theatre, just as she had planned to before her death. The Doctor and Rose arrive just as they capture Mrs Peace, and they kidnap Rose after she follows them. The Doctor and Dickens follow them back to the funeral parlour, where Rose is being tormented by Mrs Peace and newly deceased Mr Redpath. The Doctor realises they are being possessed by gaseous creatures, that have come through the rift that runs through Cardiff, and psychic Gwyneth is able to channel them through a seance. The creatures introduce themselves as the Gelth, who are few in number after the Time War. In the morgue, Gwyneth volunteers to be the portal between the Gelth and the current universe, ready for them to come through and live in the deceased humans. However, once they come through, they turn on the Doctor and Rose, killing Sneed, while Dickens cowardly escapes. Dickens however returns when he realises that turning on the gas will pull the Gelth out of the bodies, saving the Doctor and Rose, but it's too late for Gwyneth, who blows up the house to kill the remaining Gelth.

 

This episode's taken a few rewatches for me to enjoy I think, particularly as I've gotten older and can appreciate the character moments a bit more. Dickens is particularly interesting, as he's initially displayed as someone who ignores what's in front of him, and is a coward in his actions, but ultimately saves the day. Simon Callow plays the part to perfection, and Eve Myles is superb as Gwyneth too. If I'd done this rank a few years ago, this would've undoubtedly ended up lower, but a recent rewatch (plus a read of the Shooting Scripts book for series 1) has seen it grow a lot, first time I'd seen it in quite a while in fact!

I have liked The Unquiet dead more on each watch through!

New Earth should be a LOT higher.

 

No waay is that Charles Dickens one lower than that pandering, pretentious Shakespeare one!!!

 

Also, The Beast Below was good and memorable. It should be higher than the Impossible Planet. Every wpisode here should be hogher than that tbh.

 

However, talking of HUGE MAMMOTH SPACESHIPS, all countres would have pooled resources. Scotland would not have had its own as it could not afford it/ have the resources. Same for rUK. All of Europe would have been in ONE.

As the temporary Buffy/Charmed of t seet, I might have to Buffy/Charmed you off t seet Michael if you keep criticismg The Impossible Planet. -_-

As the temporary Buffy/Charmed of t seet, I might have to Buffy/Charmed you off t seet Michael if you keep criticismg The Impossible Planet. -_-

 

OMG!!!!! THIS!!!!

What!!!

 

But it SUCKS!!!

The Unquiet Dead is rather wonderful. The first episode to mention the Time War, it hinted at something bigger in the mythology of the series and this was way before it got all jumbled and messy. And it lays groundwork for Cardiff having a big role to play with Torchwood and god the universe just felt so well connected and planned out in the first 4 seasons.

 

Plus Charles Dickens is a lovely first historical character to visit - the strength of authors and artists in something like this is you can make tons of feelgood references and show them to be unexpected badasses, I see this one as the template for the also good Shakespeare Code and the masterpiece of Vincent.

 

Wasn't so keen on New Earth because Cassandra just gets ridiculous after actual humans show up.