An RTD episode, finally

Listen is actually one I don't feel the urge to go back to a lot from series 8 ngl, so it's probably about time I gave it a rewatch (series 8 on the whole sounds quite tempting to go back to!). The Christmas Invasion will forever be iconic for the moment it gave us...

Just now, Calum said:

An RTD episode, finally

Bish there was one just four episodes ago xx

I love the Christmas Invasion. My least fave Xmas one is probably the most recent

The Christmas Invasion is ok; average romp really.

The Christmas tree moment is good though, as is Harriet Jones... until the Doctor decides to bring her down. Rose is a bit annoying in it though.

82 Under the Lake / Before the Flood

Series 9 Episode 3-4

Doctor: 12th

Companion: Clara Oswald

First aired: 3rd and 10th October 2015

Writer: Toby Whithouse

The second story of series 9 was another example of a fantastic first part and a disappointing second part...! The Doctor and Clara land on an underwater mining facility in 2119, to find the crew are being haunted by two ghosts, one of whom was their commander. There's a lot to love about part 1 in particular - a likeable and varied supporting cast, including representation of the deaf community via Cass, who's portrayed as one of the strongest characters there. The ghosts are scary and there's a fantastic concept surrounding them, including the "day" and "night" shifts of the facility. There's some strong 12 and Clara moments, including the prompt cards - a genius way of showing not just 12's character softening and attempting to be less hostile, but also his reliance on Clara. It ends on an excellent cliffhanger, too! Before the Flood seems to lose some of that momentum, though. I like the timey-wimey aspect of the second episode, it feels like a Moffat episode even though he didn't (primarily) write this one, and I quite enjoy the fourth wall-breaking of the Doctor explaining a bootstrap paradox to the audience. The Fisher King was a pretty weak villain in the end, though, a very unmemorable part of a story that's otherwise strong on visuals and manages to deliver on being quite scary. I do enjoy the story as a whole so it's worthy of this placement, it's just frustrating because a stronger ending could've seen this become a 10/10 story I think.

Under the Lake is a fantastic episode - creepy and a nice small cast that get picked off one by one.

Before the Flood is still good, but it is lacking a bit compared to the first. Going back in time within the story is novel, as is the Doctor being the one in the tank. But yeah it is definitely the weaker of the two and lets things down a bit.

The Capaldi stuff with the cards is funny though! Also really like Cass and Lunn as characters too

I’m actually surprised to see this so high considering what you’ve said about Before the Flood in the past definitely up there with the best of Toby Whithouse’s contributions to the show for me!

17 minutes ago, Calum said:

I’m actually surprised to see this so high considering what you’ve said about Before the Flood in the past definitely up there with the best of Toby Whithouse’s contributions to the show for me!

The God Complex I think it Whithouses' peak for me

Personally TCI is my favourite christmas episode, mostly because the doctor was in bed 🤣🤣 robot Santa's and killer Christmas trees was camp and silly but very fun, moment of the episode was the start of Harriet Jones downfall even if her intentions were misunderstood, definitely a fun episode to watch randomly

UTL/BTF nice episode interesting concept, realistically we all knew the doctor wasn't actually a gonna, agreed the capaldi card thing was fun and silly at the same time, novel idea fun episode not the best choice of episode for just a random watch

81 The Caretaker

Series 8 Episode 6

Doctor: 12th

Companion: Clara Oswald

Also featuring: Danny Pink, Missy, Courtney Woods

First aired: 27th September 2014

Writer: Gareth Roberts & Steven Moffat

One of the things I really love about series 8 is how consistent it feels on a character level. It sets out to tell a clear story, from start to end, about the Doctor, Clara, and their connection with each other. One of the focal points of that relationship is this episode. The Doctor comes to work at Clara's school as the caretaker, acting undercover to investigate and capture a dangerous robot. The Skovox Blitzer is the weakest part of the episode - far from being the most interesting villain, and it only really exists to forward the character element of the story, but that doesn't bother me given how strong that element was. Clara's relationship with Danny continues to blossom, and the Doctor is gobsmacked that she not only fancies an ex-soldier who he deems to be a PE teacher who couldn't be worthy of teaching maths (I do appreciate that maths is seen as the highest subject to teach xxx), but also that it's not Adrian, the man whose appearance is reminiscent of his previous form. It says a lot about 12's character and how little tact or understanding of humanity he has, and this is an important reminder that the Doctor isn't human, which is something that can be all too easy to forget. Clara gets to shine as she tries to keep her relationships with both the Doctor and Danny afloat in a situation where she's lied to them both - 12 and Clara's complex dynamic throughout series 8 is what makes it so good, I don't think we've ever had another dynamic like theirs. The Doctor is uncomfortably harsh to Danny at times, but this is something that pays off not just at the end of this episode, but also in the finale, given what we now know happens to Danny down the line. A strong mid-series episode that, on the surface, feels a little like filler, but actually does an insane amount of heavy lifting with character development.

Ooooh The Caretaker's high. I think the first 15 ish minutes are ok then it just goes into meh territory. Its not one of my faves... in fact I forgot that it hadn't even appeared yet.

I like Series 8's more darker Doctor and is a complete change to Tennant and Smith. However the whole 'I don't like Solider's' stuff wore thin incredibly quickly and given all previous Doctor's had worked with solider's etc it just felt like a complete WTF?

TC a pretty forgettable episode only there to further the doctor, Danny, clara relationships, got to agree the capaldi and Coleman was probably o e of the better dynamics, pretty basic episode otherwise and could easily skip on a rewatch

The Caretaker I always enjoy going back to, if only for Capaldi's effortless comedy throughout. The one liners he delivers to Danny, Courtney, etc are all just too good. Other than that though, pretty forgettable villain but some essential character moments.

Under The Lake is a strong ep but.....the 2nd parter.....I feel loses direction a bit so that brings it down a bit for me

80 Voyage of the Damned

2007 Christmas Special

Doctor: 10th

Companion: Astrid Peth

Also featuring: Wilfred Mott

First aired: 25th December 2007

Writer: Russell T Davies

The most viewed episode of Doctor Who from 2005 onwards, according to the official final ratings figure, is 2007's Christmas special. Undoubtedly benefiting from being a festive special at the show's peak, Voyage of the Damned also guest starred the legendary Kylie Minogue, and it felt like everyone was talking about this at the time. After the Titanic crashes into the TARDIS, the Doctor lands on board, to find it's actually a replica of the infamous Earth ship. The replica is just as doomed as the original, with the captain taking the shields down to allow meteors to collide with the ship, and the on-board service robots, the Hosts, picking off the survivors. It's a high stakes episode that isn't afraid to kill off its guest cast - justice for Morvin and Foon, and Bannakaffalatta!! - and the extended runtime allows us to get to know each of the guest cast really well, so I ended up caring for (most of) them throughout. The scale of the episode feels huge too, and the scene where they're walking across the very unstable bridge is a real highlight with some fantastic imagery. Astrid is an excellent companion and Kylie has excellent chemistry with Tennant, and I remember feeling so gutted by her demise at the end of the episode! It's packed full of smaller but still great moments too, such as Astrid experiencing Earth (and our first meeting with Wilf, not that anyone knew how important he'd become at the time!), and any scene with Midshipman Frame ("allons-y, Alonso!"). Max Capricon felt like a slightly disappointing villain, which is the only downside to the episode for me. A blockbuster episode that felt really well suited to Christmas viewing, and I think it's the closest to a proper movie that modern Who has felt (perhaps alongside The Day of the Doctor).

TVOTD was a great episode stand out character was definitely Banakafalata (although them trying to replicate it with the vinvotci in TEOT didnt work quite as well), we all knew Kylie couldn't exactly stick around but that Astrid sacrifice was a moment too, one of the strongest christmas episodes whilst actually being one of the least christmasy decorated definitely worth watching as a solo episode , although would of been nice to see a follow up to that Jack and almost scene, (Russel Tovey is always great in everything cat wait for TWBLAS);tbf the whole guest cat was perfect even Duke from Tracey beaker 🙌

An ep with Kylie Minogue, Russel Tovey and Duke from Tracey Beaker....RTD knew what he was doing with this one....creating history!

79 The Hungry Earth / Cold Blood

Series 5 Episode 8-9

Doctor: 11th

Companion: Amy Pond, Rory Williams

First aired: 22nd and 29th May 2010

Writer: Chris Chibnall

The long awaited return of the Silurians also represents Chris Chibnall's highest ranked story from before he became showrunner, and the only such story to feature in the top half of the countdown. The Doctor, Amy and Rory land in Wales in 2020 (awkward) nearby a mining operation, where Amy is dragged underground. What unfolds is a battle for territory between humans and Silurians, with both the best and worst traits on show. I feel like the Silurian design forms most of the discourse I've read about this episode - I quite like it, myself, even if it does feel much closer to being "human" than the originals. I think Neve McIntosh is fantastic as Alaya and Restac, showcasing territorial, defensive Silurians keen to defend their own race and reclaim their planet. Likewise, Malohkeh and Eldane are great contrasts to this, and I enjoy the approach the episode takes by encouraging peace talks between humans and Silurians, and how a small minority on each side can let down the majority. The guest cast are great - Meera Syal is particularly memorable as Nasreen Chaudhry, who I think could have made an interesting and unique companion actually! Also a big shoutout to Nia Roberts, who makes me love to hate Ambrose, who proves she'll go to any length to defend her family. There's great stuff between Amy and Rory, too, and the conclusion of Cold Blood was really shocking at the time, and still packs a punch now even knowing it wasn't the end for Rory. A strong two-parter that I feel is quite underrated, even if it's overshadowed by some of the other insane highs of series 5 (particularly either side of these two episodes).

THE/CB 2 great episodes which reintroduced the silurian, as not familiar with the OGs I really like the design, the 2020 setting and isolation theme maybe a little foreshadowing to real world themes in hindsight 😅 enjoyed the fact Rory got a meatier part in these episodes helped make the cracking scene have more impact at the time, meera syal is always great in anything she stars in and again was expertly cast, I enjoyed the hukan/silurian pact decisions much better than the later KTM one personally

Why has Voyage completely slipped my mind? Even now I can't recall the episode at all. And I rewatch Tennant episodes a lot