1 hour ago, ElectroBoy said:

Hmmm this Smith exodus

I think Smith sadly had the most inconsistent run, there's a lot of brilliance to be celebrated higher up the countdown but there's some real shaky moments too! Absolutely none of that reflects on Smith himself, or 11, who I love as a Doctor, his portrayal was a bright light even through the weaker episodes. I do find Moffat as a showrunner/writer (given the intense editing the showrunner gives the majority of scripts) almost seems to get a new lease of life as Capaldi arrives, the quality becomes much tighter for series 8 (generally).

Also worth saying that I'm already comfortably into episodes I find enjoyable/good! It's splitting hairs to rank many of these, there's only a very small number that I don't really like so much. After all, Doctor Who's not my favourite show for nothing, so even if an episode drops out at this stage, it's still one where there are more elements I enjoy than elements I don't!

1 hour ago, 777666jason said:

TNOTD does feel unfinished. We should of had a minimum of either a minisode or a flashback explanation to explain how they got out of the timestream,

I also feel as i already said that the impossible girl arc suffered from clara and 11th lack of time together The whole arc felt underdeveloped, should we have had more mystery Clara's

Otherwise the episode wasn't bad River closure, shame we never got the paternoster gang spin off that was teased

The Impossible Girl storyline as a whole wasn't too bad, I actually didn't mind the timestream being the explanation for how it came about in the first place, just a few loose ends weren't tied up. I do believe the arc came at the expense of a more developed personality for Clara, though. She finds her feet more almost immediately after, and especially when Capaldi's on board (also another reason why it feels like Moffat got a new lease of life around the time series 8 was being developed)!

137 Once, Upon Time

Series 13 Episode 3

Doctor: 13th

Companion: Yasmin Khan, Dan Lewis

Also featuring: Inston-Vee Vinder, Bel, Fugitive Doctor, Karvanista, Sonya Khan

First aired: 14th November 2021

Writer: Chris Chibnall

I find this episode quite cool in a way. It's the type of concept you could only do in a serialised tale like Flux was, because there's actually not much of a plot here, yet somehow it kind of works. In the Temple of Atropos, the Doctor jumps into the time storm and hides Yaz, Dan and Vinder in their pasts to save their lives and defeat Swarm and Azure. The result is a curious concoction of trippy, semi-realistic flashbacks for each companion, albeit with a series of incorrect details. Yaz is haunted by a Weeping Angel, Dan relives a conversation with Diane, and we learn about Vinder's past encounter with the Grand Serpent. Meanwhile, in her own timestream, the Doctor learns about her own past as the Fugitive Doctor. There's some good backstory in these scenes, particularly for the Doctor in terms of advancing the Timeless Child storyline and building towards the later confrontation with Tecteun, and also for Vinder who we knew little about before this episode. In order to explore these backstories, though, the actual narrative has to come to something of a halt, so this episode feels a little like treading water. That said, I think this is where the Grand Serpent works the best, and I think he should really have stayed as part of Vinder's backstory in this episode only, rather than appearing out of nowhere in Survivors of the Flux later.

I finished rewatching Flux today and by and large enjoyed it. The last episode was a bit of a mess and didn’t really wrap things up well, but I enjoyed the first 5 eps, a lot more than I expected to.

Can’t help but feel it would be better of as a book, or having a couple more episodes to flesh things out more.

But as there’s so much going on, you pick up more on a rewatch

OUT was glad to see the fugitive doctor again, (could still do a spinoff 😅) is still a shame it toon nearly 3 series to get some meat to Yaz bones in terms of backstory, my only gripe with this and the flux is their really was a lot going on simultaneously

136 Kill the Moon

Series 8 Episode 7

Doctor: 12th

Companion: Clara Oswald

Also featuring: Danny Pink, Courtney Woods

First aired: 4th October 2014

Writer: Peter Harness

This episode's a pretty interesting one - most people either love or hate it, and there's some really divisive scenes and narrative choices throughout. The Doctor takes Clara and her student Courtney Woods to the moon in 2049, which already sounds like a major safeguarding risk as someone who works in a school (!), but Courtney makes for a surprisingly insightful presence throughout the episode, providing the most "human" takes in an episode full of debate. The space shuttle on the moon, led by Captain Lundvik, is set to destroy it, with an increase in its gravity having a catastrophic impact on the tides on Earth. Ultimately, the Doctor leaves it up to Clara, Courtney and Lundvik to decide what happens to the moon, and he leaves in the TARDIS, much to Clara's fury. I think this is a bold character decision and adds a lot of insight into how harsh 12 can be, particularly in these early days of his era. I don't say that like it's a bad thing, either - it's a clear moment where we remember that the Doctor is an alien, and sometimes, his worldview can be quite different to that of his companions. As for the moon ultimately being an egg, I think it's a little daft; Doctor Who's never been against daft ideas, but this is certainly pushing it and I can absolutely see why it was an issue for some, particularly when the most obvious analogy would be abortion, where this episode takes a curious pro-life stance...! That aside, my main gripe with the episode is the spiders, which seem to act as the monster of the week for no real reason beyond an actual visible threat for the casual audience to latch onto. I think the episode somewhat wastes time in actually getting to the interesting debate. Nevertheless, I like how the events of this episode ripple across the rest of the series, from Clara's anger and eventual forgiveness, to her lying to Danny about continuing to travel with him, and how that all plays into the series finale.

KTM, the theme did come across as trying to be controversial for the sake of being controversial, was it effective who knows, you could say it did pose some similarities to the Amy/silurain one 2 series earlier where both were ultimately taken put of the companions hands anyway

Could just be me but surely the moon ultimately being a giant egg cause plot holes in previous stories involving the moon

Other than that it was intriguing in setting up the tone for the rest of the series

135 Night Terrors

Series 6 Episode 9

Doctor: 11th

Companion: Amy Pond, Rory Williams

First aired: 3rd September 2011

Writer: Mark Gatiss

I've actually bumped this one up a few spots as I've been going along as it felt harshly low, but this feels quite right for what's ultimately a solid episode with no strings attached. Taking a break from the arc-heavy episodes of series 6, Night Terrors revolves around George, a terrified young boy whose nightmares have become real. Daniel Mays stars as Alex, George's dad, and is one of the best guest stars of series 6 as a desperate father who doesn't know how to connect with his son, and we see a tender side to the Eleventh Doctor when dealing with both George and Alex, which I love. Amy and Rory are largely separate from the Doctor as they get trapped in a giant doll's house, and there's some good mystery and spookiness to this episode. I think the resolution comes around a little too quickly, and George himself isn't the best of actors, bless him! I remember being quite relieved at a more "normal" Doctor Who episode in series 6 at this stage, though the lack of any real connection to the arc does mess the pacing of the whole series up slightly (also applies to other episodes the same way), and it feels a little swamped by the couple of episodes that followed immediately after, but it's a solid outing and a good example of "bread and butter" Doctor Who.

Yeah i dont mind NT, the peg dolls weren't as menacing as I would of liked (but then again im a big fan of the chucky film series)

Always seems a little weird when they throw in random episodes after arc heavy ones though, I did find the twist that it was George's parents desperate wa t fir a child which made him choice them in the first place a nice twist, Amy turning into a peg doll was rather random but was obviously gonna be undone (one day something happening to a campaign might actually stick 😅)

The ghost monoment having that call of duty sequence for a gag....also i dislike how the villian is.....a sheet floating essentially.

The name of the doctor isnt as bad as I think others feel it is. Its not thr best but far for worst.

Kill the moon is a mixed bag...clara telling the doctor off..chef's kiss....however, a creature being hatched from our actual moon in the sky...choices.

134 The Unquiet Dead

Series 1 Episode 3

Doctor: 9th

Companion: Rose Tyler

First aired: 9th April 2005

Writer: Mark Gatiss

Finally, an Eccleston episode drops! The lowest ranked episode of the era is the modern show's first trip back to the past. The Doctor takes Rose to Victorian Cardiff, where they bump into Charles Dickens as the gaseous Gelth creatures possess corpses. It's an episode that provides some strong character moments for the Ninth Doctor and Rose, who were both new to us at that point; the Doctor shakes Dickens into shape, while Rose lends an ear to servant Gwyneth, a clairvoyant who the Gelth later use as a gateway. There's an interesting moral debate in the episode which I really like, surrounding the Gelth's need for bodies, and their use of human corpses, though the episode can be a little slow in parts. Nevertheless, the corpses are creepy and I really liked Simon Callow's portrayal of Dickens, and how he came through at the end to rescue the Doctor and Rose. Some of the CGI looks highly dated now but that's easy enough to look past. A solid episode, and this being my least favourite Eccleston episode speaks volumes of how highly I rate series 1 in general! Only series 4 and season 2 have still yet to lose any episodes.

Series 1 (along with Series 5) is such a great run of stories! The Unquiet Dead has some great moments though - also feels novel to have a Christmas story outside of Christmas too.

20 hours ago, 777666jason said:

my only gripe with this and the flux is their really was a lot going on simultaneously

Flux is overloaded with plot and its unnecessary at times. The Halloween Apocalypse literally is filled with every single plot and its not needed, as it just feels over-stuffed. For instance there is no real reason for the Joseph Williamson plot to be included that early on. You could've just have him turn up randomly (like in War of the Sontarans) as basically cameos which are then explained later.

There are so many good ideas in Flux though and some good stand out episodes, but by the time you get to the Vanquishers it just falls a little flat. I guess its amazing it was made at all given Covid and it is brave attempt at a massive epic story - I think it actually holds up better on rewatches as you have more of a handle on some of the arcs, you can then focus on the rest of what's going on.

Edited Thursday at 19:353 days by ElectroBoy

Agreed was overstuffed , but also impressive because of covid

133 The Return of Doctor Mysterio

2016 Christmas Special

Doctor: 12th

Companion: Nardole

First aired: 25th December 2016

Writer: Steven Moffat

I liked this one more than I remembered on rewatch, I must say. It feels epic on a scale Doctor Who doesn't often match, and that's definitely intentional given the narrative! The Doctor meets young superhero enthusiast Grant in New York, who accidentally swallows a gemstone that grants him his wish to become a superhero himself. We pick up the action when Grant is an adult and keen to win over reporter Lucy Fletcher, who is investigating company Harmony Shoal. It's clear that it's heavily inspired by superhero movies and I think it's a really polished episode visually, and there's plenty of action throughout to keep it exciting. I really like seeing Nardole as companion, too, his presence in this episode adds some great comic relief. Grant and Lucy are decent characters, though I'd rather a little less time was spent on their love story, and more time was spent on the Harmony Shoal, who felt like they were being set up as a big bad for the future but have not yet returned to the show! It's a fun source of escapism with a lot of suspending your disbelief required.

I like that TRODM was another goofy fun episode after the darkness of series 9 and before the soft reboot of series 10, im hit or miss when it comes to superhero films but did really enjoy this one, I have to agree though it did feel like planting the seeds of another recurring big bad to just be forgotten about (something that keeps happening a lot) but I guess that was possibly down to S10 being Moffats last

17 hours ago, JosephBoone said:

134 The Unquiet Dead

Series 1 Episode 3

Doctor: 9th

Companion: Rose Tyler

First aired: 9th April 2005

Writer: Mark Gatiss

Finally, an Eccleston episode drops! The lowest ranked episode of the era is the modern show's first trip back to the past. The Doctor takes Rose to Victorian Cardiff, where they bump into Charles Dickens as the gaseous Gelth creatures possess corpses. It's an episode that provides some strong character moments for the Ninth Doctor and Rose, who were both new to us at that point; the Doctor shakes Dickens into shape, while Rose lends an ear to servant Gwyneth, a clairvoyant who the Gelth later use as a gateway. There's an interesting moral debate in the episode which I really like, surrounding the Gelth's need for bodies, and their use of human corpses, though the episode can be a little slow in parts. Nevertheless, the corpses are creepy and I really liked Simon Callow's portrayal of Dickens, and how he came through at the end to rescue the Doctor and Rose. Some of the CGI looks highly dated now but that's easy enough to look past. A solid episode, and this being my least favourite Eccleston episode speaks volumes of how highly I rate series 1 in general! Only series 4 and season 2 have still yet to lose any episodes.

This would probably be my last place for Series 1 as well, either this or The End of the World. Not that there’s anything wrong with either of them - as you say, the standard for Series 1 is so high - but I always find the Slitheen two-parter is where the action and the depth really sets in.

Love all the moments of Rose coming to terms with actually travelling to the past - small things like placing her foot in the snow and seeing her footprint conveys so much. I too really like Simon Callow’s portrayal of Charles Darwin, I fully accept that it’s really him.

132 The Long Game

Series 1 Episode 7

Doctor: 9th

Companion: Rose Tyler, Adam Mitchell

First aired: 7th May 2005

Writer: Russell T Davies

Another series 1 episode departs relatively quickly, and it's an interesting one in a few different ways. The Long Game was the first and only trip Adam Mitchell took in the TARDIS after meeting the Doctor and Rose in the previous episode. The TARDIS lands on Satellite 5 in the year 200,000, where the Earth's news is transmitted from, and where each reporter has a chip in their forehead connected to their brain. The Doctor and Rose learn that the station is under the control of the Mighty Jagrafess, manipulating the news for humans as a means to control them, while Adam gets a chip of his own. I think the Jagrafess makes for quite a weak villain, and while Simon Pegg gives the role of the Editor all he can, it's not the most memorable villain role. The Adam plot is what makes the episode stand out more, though. We see an example of a "bad" companion, wasting no time in using his chip to transmit knowledge from the future back to his present day life, which was a pretty genius idea in contrast to Rose's positive attitude to seeing the universe. The Doctor is ruthless in dropping him back, and the final scene of Adam's mum clicking her fingers, unknowingly opening the chip in his forehead, is comedy gold. A solid episode, a little unmemorable on the villain front but some great ideas that get picked up on later in the series too.

I probably wouldn't place The Long Game much higher (if at all), but I do think it's an interesting episode for sure. It's easy to toss it aside and consider it filler, but it puts in a lot of the legwork and lays the foundations for what's to come in the finale so when you look at Series 1 as a whole it really pays off. Lots to enjoy! I always remember being terrified of the beginning frozen landscape Floor 500 scenes when I was younger

Also don't be so rude, refer to your superiors by their full name Mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe xx

11 minutes ago, JosephBoone said:

132 The Long Game

Series 1 Episode 7

Doctor: 9th

Companion: Rose Tyler, Adam Mitchell

First aired: 7th May 2005

Writer: Russell T Davies

Another series 1 episode departs relatively quickly, and it's an interesting one in a few different ways. The Long Game was the first and only trip Adam Mitchell took in the TARDIS after meeting the Doctor and Rose in the previous episode. The TARDIS lands on Satellite 5 in the year 200,000, where the Earth's news is transmitted from, and where each reporter has a chip in their forehead connected to their brain. The Doctor and Rose learn that the station is under the control of the Mighty Jagrafess, manipulating the news for humans as a means to control them, while Adam gets a chip of his own. I think the Jagrafess makes for quite a weak villain, and while Simon Pegg gives the role of the Editor all he can, it's not the most memorable villain role. The Adam plot is what makes the episode stand out more, though. We see an example of a "bad" companion, wasting no time in using his chip to transmit knowledge from the future back to his present day life, which was a pretty genius idea in contrast to Rose's positive attitude to seeing the universe. The Doctor is ruthless in dropping him back, and the final scene of Adam's mum clicking her fingers, unknowingly opening the chip in his forehead, is comedy gold. A solid episode, a little unmemorable on the villain front but some great ideas that get picked up on later in the series too.

Agreed with your thoughts here! I really like the failed companion angle and the Doctor's response is interesting to consider when going into the following episode where it's Rose that 'abuses' her position. I think everything that happens below Floor 500 is really intriguing; when the action moves upstairs, it loses me slightly. I actually found The Editor a bit annoying and what exactly was the purpose of the Jagrafess controlling people's lives by manipulating the news? Is that addressed? I might have to go back and watch. Regardless, the episode ends on a high with Adam's mum's hilarious reaction to his head-chip! Also fun to see Anna-Maxwell Martin quite early in her career.

131 Tooth and Claw

Series 2 Episode 2

Doctor: 10th

Companion: Rose Tyler

First aired: 22nd April 2006

Writer: Russell T Davies

Another historical episode departs now, and this time, we see the Doctor and Rose unintentionally landing in Scotland in 1879, where they bump into Queen Victoria and accompany her to Balmoral House, unaware that it is now under the control of some sinister monks harbouring a werewolf. There's some good comedy in the episode, from Rose being "naked" to the attempts at getting Queen Victoria to say "I am not amused", which makes the dynamic between the Tenth Doctor and Rose feel natural after just a few episodes. Father Angelo, the head monk, feels disposed of a little too easily, and the episode mostly just involves the main characters running from one room to another, but there's some good tension throughout, and Pauline Collins excels as Queen Victoria, exploring some of the intricacies of her personality and history with ease. I do find Sir Robert's sacrifice to be a little pointless, though - there was no way he was going to be able to fight the werewolf off! Nevertheless, a solid historical episode, albeit low down the list of series 2 episodes I'd put on to rewatch if I were to select one right now.