TiSSC was a fun but sark episode , was a refreshing change to see Ncuti doctor go dark as we don't see this from the doctor often, shame it turned out to be the only instance we ended up getting, the Rylan character seemed so believable of something Rylan would actually do if he could 🤣🤣 the ending I personally wouldn't of stuck it mid credits with it having such a huge impact on the next episode would of been very easy for a casual to miss, overall a great episode in a run of great episodes

56 Lux

Season 2 Episode 2

Doctor: 15th

Companion: Belinda Chandra

Also featuring: Mrs. Flood

First aired: 19th April 2025

Writer: Russell T Davies

It's a Fifteenth Doctor threepeat as we lose another season 2 episode. As the Doctor tries to get Belinda home, he takes a "vindicator" reading in Miami 1952, and in doing so, convinces Belinda to stick around so they could investigate a locked theatre at the centre of fifteen missing people. Lux is undoubtedly one of the most memorable episodes of season 2 and it's not hard to see why - Mr Ring-a-Ding was a genius concept for a villain! The idea of bringing a cartoon to life was actually pretty eerie, and I love the shot of him climbing through the screen at the start. There's just the right amount of camp and lightness to the character despite that, too, and the animation is brilliant throughout. I enjoy the episode playing with the format - the Doctor and Belinda becoming cartoons was a little bit cringe, but it's a bold idea, and then breaking the fourth wall (literally) and talking to fans made for a surprisingly heartfelt moment. I'd read rumours of it beforehand and really hoped it wasn't true, but it surprised me! I don't think it even upsets the pacing of the episode, either. The final showdown with Mr Ring-a-Ding (aka Lux Imperator) was fantastic, too, and the different animation styles looks fantastic. I also like how the episode approaches the idea of racial segregation like the US had at that time - not being defined by it, but unfortunately a relevant thing to bring up for our first entirely non-white TARDIS team.

'Don't Make Me Laugh!'

Torn between , Mr ring a ding and Dugga Doo as to song of season so fitting they are back to back 🤣🤣

LUX was definitely an interesting concept enjoyed the miami setting and it's partially education tale of 1950s, the 4th wall break was done well and didnt seem overkill considering all Mrs floods 4th wall breaks herself, the "fans" were a cool touch and the blink fan service moment was definitely played for laughs you know RTD is secretly bitter about that 🤣🤣 overall a great episode again in a run of great episodes

55 Planet of the Ood

Series 4 Episode 3

Doctor: 10th

Companion: Donna Noble

First aired: 19th April 2008

Writer: Keith Temple

I surprised myself by ranking this episode so highly, despite being a huge series 4 fan, but this episode is a real unsung hero of a series where there's so many headlines to talk about. The Doctor and Donna land on the Ood Sphere, to find the headquarters of the native race's slave operation. As business executives arrive for a pitch, the Ood turn rabid and rebel against their captors. I'm really glad the Ood's story was picked up on, as a slave race didn't sit right in The Impossible Planet and they deserved to be given a proper focused episode. The real shining star of this episode was Catherine Tate, as Donna's empathy was the driving force in this story, particularly when meeting the natural Ood in the cage. Some of the CGI is dodgy (the huge brain didn't look great at the time and it really doesn't now) but the story is a touching one of good triumphing over evil, and Mr. Halpen's conversion to Oodkind was grotesquely brilliant! Also Solana snitching on the Doctor and Donna just minutes before the Ood kill her is karma in action x

Enjoyed POTO more for its simplicity, wasn't too plot heavy that it could be watched as a standalone but also planted huge seeds at the same time, I do agree that it's a nice touch that the Oods were redeemed and went on to be some of the better recurring characters

54 Boom Town

Series 1 Episode 11

Doctor: 9th

Companion: Rose Tyler, Captain Jack Harkness

Also featuring: Mickey Smith

First aired: 4th June 2005

Writer: Russell T Davies

I would once have called this the worst episode of series 1. Maturing is realising it's a prime example of how to succeed with Doctor Who on a budget. The Doctor takes Rose and Captain Jack for a pitstop at Cardiff, and Rose summons Mickey to visit. While there, they discover Margaret Blaine, aka Blon Fel Fotch Pasameer-Day Slitheen, has become the city's mayor, with deadly plans to avenge her family. Calling back to Aliens of London / World War Three just weeks later is a surprisingly genius move, particularly when this episode took a very different tonal approach. Farting takes a back seat as we explore Blon Fel Fotch as a character, and her scenes with the Doctor in the restaurant are the perfect display of the acting prowess shown by both Annette Badland and Christopher Eccleston. In fact, the episode gives the entire series breathing space, with Rose and Mickey's relationship put under the spotlight in a way we haven't really seen in the show post-RTD1. The camaraderie between the TARDIS team this episode is stellar, too, and Margaret desperately trying to run away from the Doctor, who is reversing her teleport, is comedy gold. Perhaps as a kid it wasn't action packed enough, but this episode is a fine wine, with a real character study on not only our series regulars, but also the villain. Episodes like this are precisely why I'd love long seasons these days, because sometimes taking it back to basics works wonders.

BT is a great episode definitely love it for uts simplicity, also always been in the minority that enjoy the slitheen 🤣 if ever there was proof that they can make great doctor who without Disney budget it's this right here, such a shame the RTD ability to flesh out the companions and relationships hasn't bled over to RTD2 as well

53 Rose

Series 1 Episode 1

Doctor: 9th

Companion: Rose Tyler

Also featuring: Mickey Smith, Jackie Tyler

First aired: 26th March 2005

Writer: Russell T Davies

Where it all began again! Though I didn't watch this episode until over a year later, there's a certain magic to it, especially knowing what it was able to kickstart. Rose Tyler's life changes forever when she encounters a man called the Doctor, and together, they face living plastic mannequins and a very old foe of the Doctor's. The tone is set immediately in this episode, not just for series 1 but for the entire modern run. Rose's story grounds the show in the 21st Century, reeling the viewer in with the familiar mundanities of everyday life and being able to identify with one of the two main protagonists, even just a little. Introducing Mickey and Jackie was genius too, and both already feel significantly fleshed out in just this one episode. Eccleston hits the ground running as the Doctor, and I like the mystery surrounding him as we meet him from Rose's perspective. The Autons were a memorable villain, and though they and the Nestene Consciousness are from Classic Who, they're not wrapped up in too much lore that this is remotely noticeable to brand new viewers, so a smart choice from RTD to allow a nod to the previous run without it imposing on the new show. While it may have a relatively simplistic plot at times, it's the character work that this episode does that makes it worthy of this position, and a particular shoutout has to go to the Doctor and Rose's conversation on the way to the TARDIS, about the Doctor feeling the Earth turning. There's no other scene like that in modern Who, but major props to Eccleston and Piper for pulling it off, and to RTD for the scripting.

52 War of the Sontarans

Series 13 Episode 2

Doctor: 13th

Companion: Yasmin Khan, Dan Lewis

Also featuring: Inston-Vee Vinder, Karvanista

First aired: 7th November 2021

Writer: Chris Chibnall

I've said it a few times through the thread but one thing Chris Chibnall deserves praise for is the way he approached classic villains. The Daleks, Cybermen, the Master and the Weeping Angels (not you, Sea Devils x) all had fresh approaches, but this was never more significant than it was for the Sontarans. With the Flux ravaging the universe, the TARDIS lands during the Crimean War, except it's not - Britain were fighting the Sontarans instead. It was our first proper Sontaran outing since 2008's The Sontaran Stratagem / The Poison Sky, with Strax providing the only substantial Sontaran presence in the interim. While I love Strax, it was about time we moved away from a comedic approach, and War of the Sontarans does just that. It's not immune to comedy - it can't be when you have a Sontaran riding a horse - but it strongly rebuilds the Sontarans as a credible and real threat, and the result is their best modern outing by quite some way. Separating the TARDIS team also really helped the episode, with Dan exploring the modern day effects (armed with a wok) while Yaz furthers the Flux storyline somewhat. That said, the heart of the episode remains with the Doctor and her new ally, Mary Seacole, who was an inspired choice of historical figure to add into the episode, particularly involving the Sontarans, a race that thrive on war and battle.

Rose , thats how you introduce people to a show they may or may not have seen before, how could you get the second era so wrong, personally the only other series opener that comes close to to Rose like that is the Eleventh hour, yeah it had its bad points like cmon Rose how can you not tell plastic mickey looks so fake and the burping bin 🤣🤣 yes cgi has clearly come a long way in 20 years, great episode that got hooked from day 1, Ecclestone is and always will be my doctor, shout out to jackie too

WOTS was great to see the sontarans serious again after essentially being reduced to comedic fodder, again it was another great episode it was such a shame that chibnal basically took 3 seasons to get the all the ingredients correct, was also a shame that by that point most people had given up too

51 Lucky Day

Season 2 Episode 4

Doctor: 15th

Companion: Belinda Chandra, Ruby Sunday

Also featuring: Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, Shirley-Anne Bingham, Colonel Ibrahim, Carla Sunday, Cherry Sunday, Mrs. Flood

First aired: 3rd May 2025

Writer: Pete McTighe

The second highest episode from our most recent season is one that barely features the Doctor at all. We caught up with Ruby Sunday as she meets podcaster Conrad Clark, who shows an interest in her adventures with the Doctor, as well as Ruby herself. However, when it appears that a village is in danger, Ruby learns that not everything is as it seems. Doctor-lite episodes in an 8 episode season shouldn't have been a thing, we already got too few episodes with Ncuti, but that doesn't mean this episode wasn't absolutely brilliant in its own right. We've been able to revisit departed companions before, including the likes of Martha, Donna, Rose, Sarah Jane and more, but this episode allows us to have a unique insight into Ruby, and the after-effects of travelling in the TARDIS, and I really love that. It adds an extra layer to the character of Ruby, and though not a RTD script at its core, his influence is clear as there was actually time to spend with one of RTD2's core characters. The plot twist of Conrad actually being a conspiracy theorist was really shocking and I didn't see it coming, but the transition from loveable boyfriend into one of the most insufferable characters of any show was superb, credit to Jonah Hauer-King for pulling that off. A well-paced episode with plenty of time for character development, and I love the scene of the Doctor catching up with Conrad at the end too, a side to Ncuti's Doctor that we haven't really seen.

The top 50, in alphabetical order!

73 Yards

Amy’s Choice

Army of Ghosts / Doomsday

Asylum of the Daleks

Bad Wolf / The Parting of the Ways

Blink

Boom

Dalek

Dark Water / Death in Heaven

Dot and Bubble

Extremis

Face the Raven

Father’s Day

Flatline

Fugitive of the Judoon

Gridlock

Heaven Sent

Human Nature / The Family of Blood

Last Christmas

Midnight

Mummy on the Orient Express

Oxygen

Partners in Crime

Rise of the Cybermen / The Age of Steel

Rosa

School Reunion

Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead

The Angels Take Manhattan

The Day of the Doctor

The Eleventh Hour

The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances

The Fires of Pompeii

The Girl in the Fireplace

The Girl Who Waited

The God Complex

The Haunting of Villa Diodati

The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit

The Pandorica Opens / The Big Bang

The Power of the Doctor

The Stolen Earth / Journey’s End

The Time of Angels / Flesh and Stone

The Waters of Mars

The Well

The Zygon Invasion / The Zygon Inversion

Turn Left

Utopia / The Sound of Drums / Last of the Time Lords

Village of the Angels

Vincent and the Doctor

Wild Blue Yonder

World Enough and Time / The Doctor Falls

Will get fully caught up on this soon, but looking at that top 50 and seeing two very obvious impostors in the form of 73 Yards and Dot and Bubble

LD fantastic episode Ruby was definitely under appreciated and should of been around for longer hopefully she can still return since she does technicallywork for unit , the conrad twist was expertly done too and Jonah plays both sides of the character well, enjoyed seeing a more vulnerable side to unit made them come across as more human with the "mistakes" made and the doctors hollegraphic warning to conrad at the end the chefs kiss

oops long catch up post time x

The Husbands of River Song - The River Song storyline was a bit too confusing, but I do really like this episode, one of my favourite Christmas specials, even if it's a pretty throwaway story. Greg Davies is absolutely hilarious (as he usually is x)

Eve of the Daleks - My favourite of the Chibnall Dalek specials (though they're all quite flawed) mainly for the concept which felt refreshing and Aisling Bea is always great, it's still writes itself into a corner by the end though.

Smith and Jones - A bit like Partners in Crime but with less chemistry, but it definitely has a much more engaging premise and threat. The Judoon were a great creation even if the CGI wasn't the best.

The Star Beast - Definitely did it's job as a fun anniversary episode that most of the fanbase can enjoy, Tennant and Tate are as amazing as ever, the explanation for Donna's recovery seemed a bit rushed, but was a nice and inclusive way of doing it. The Meep was a great, ridiculous villain, the scene with the Doctor in a courtroom setting (although I'm not familiar with what it's referencing) with the two aliens was fantastic too, a lot of fun x

The Runaway Bride - I actually don't remember this one very well, apart from that cliffhanger start and obviously great chemistry between them both, it's lacking a little bit compared to the last one, maybe it's just dated a bit.

Revolution of the Daleks - Don't like this one as much, the ending was way too rushed and it seemed far fetched that every bloody Dalek would fit in that TARDIS. It was good to see a proper Dalek episode though and I did like the scenes from the prison the Doctor even though that was forgot about quickly.

Rogue - Ugh, did they have to reference Bridgerton in every bloody scene? It's not the only period drama that ever existed, they might as well have held a big sign up saying 'HELLO GEN Z KIDS, PLEASE WATCH US YOU KNOW THIS REFERENCE!!' ..ahem, anyway, good episode despite that, the twists worked well and the relationship with Rogue was well done but again almost entirely pointless now because of how rubbish this era was wrapped up.

The Interstellar Song Contest - The last really solid episode thus far, that's a little sad to say, but true. I think this worked really well and the Doctor's mood swing was well done, though I'm not overly familiar with the Rani so the cliffhanger didn't have a huge impact. Assume you've seen this?

Lux - Another very good one and the only time one of these Gods has actually felt quite threatening and I quite like the twist that he kind of 'succeeds' in the end even though he vanishes, the period setting and the different animation were very well done, I wish more would've been done with the breaking of the fourth wall (like clowning on those 'Doctor Who's too woke' idiots) but it was a nice idea.

Planet of the Ood - Was really great to explore the Ood a bit more and I feel the time taken to develop aliens is really missing from recent incarnations, agree that the CGI hasn't held up the best, but otherwise I like that it explored cruelty and slave races.

Boom Town - This one's a mixed bag, I do like the concept of it and it does humanise the Slitheen to an extent, showing them and the Doctor's similarities, as well as Rose and Mickey's relationship which was fitting before the final, but the actual threat feels a bit minimal and there's just a bit too much silly escape sequences for it to be a classic.

Rose - Of course a classic and where it all began, the instant chemistry, building of character and gradual collaboration is something I feel not many first Doctor episodes have done as well and why Rose is still my favourite companion.

War of the Sontarans - this and the Angel episode were the only saving graces of Flux, I'll give it credit that I think this is the best presentation of the Sontarans in Nu-Who, it's not immune to the typical Chibnall writing pitfalls, but the historical setting is good, the Sontarans feel much more of a threat and there's a less packed cast than usual.

Lucky Day - A bit on the nose and I don't think it needed that Doctor monologue at the end, RTD does have this problem, but otherwise another very good Ruby-centric episode, which is odd as I don't actually think she was that standout when she was with the Doctor, the ending a lot crueller than usual to the antagonist which was interesting.

Pretty excellent top 50 there, there's a small handful from the recent eras that I wouldn't quite rank that high, but they are standouts.

22 hours ago, Chez Wombat said:

The Interstellar Song Contest - The last really solid episode thus far, that's a little sad to say, but true. I think this worked really well and the Doctor's mood swing was well done, though I'm not overly familiar with the Rani so the cliffhanger didn't have a huge impact. Assume you've seen this?

Never seen it before omg

Thanks all for continuing to show interest in this! Hoping to keep the pace going now we're at the business end.

50 Utopia / The Sound of Drums / Last of the Time Lords

Series 3 Episode 11-13

Doctor: 10th

Companion: Martha Jones, Captain Jack Harkness

Also featuring: War Master, Saxon Master, Francine Jones, Clive Jones, Tish Jones, Leo Jones

First aired: 16th, 23rd and 30th June 2007

Writer: Russell T Davies

The only official three-parter in modern Who history wasn't initially advertised as being so. After a pit stop in Cardiff where Captain Jack clings to the outside of the TARDIS, the Doctor and Martha, as well as a newly resurrected Jack, are thrown to the end of the universe, where what's left of humanity is hoping for a new beginning in Utopia. There's already lots of greatness about Utopia, and it's actually the strongest individual episode of the trio in my opinion, as we get a glimpse of all that remains of civilisation on the planet Malcassairo, as well as the other known lifeform, the cannibalistic Futurekind. It's great to catch up with Captain Jack, especially as, at that point, my parents hadn't allowed me to watch Torchwood! Derek Jacobi is excellent as the doddery Professor Yana, and even more excellent when the twist arrives and he opens the fob watch - the Master is back! Utopia leading directly into The Sound of Drums was genius, and this episode kept the momentum going well I think. John Simm plays the insanity of the Master really well and he has great chemistry with David Tennant, and there's some really harrowing scenes too - the gassing of the cabinet! The Doctor, Martha and Jack hiding in the shadows was another cool aspect, and it allowed for some great character moments, such as the Doctor talking about Gallifrey, and Martha's immediate reaction to her family being taken in. The finale is probably the least good part, but I don't mind the conclusion - it makes sense in terms of the Archangel network, though the Doctor being de-aged so easily was a bit daft. That said, this episode was a home run for Freema Agyeman, who played Martha at her strongest and most determined, travelling the Earth solo for a year, and then the immediate effect of this - travelling in the TARDIS and pining after the Doctor wasn't for her anymore, and she left the TARDIS in the most dignified way. An epic run of episodes even though it's the lowest placed RTD1 finale!

Utopia is definitely the strongest part of the 3 , was great to see Jack back, and having seen series 1 of torchwood the final scene of End of Days was slotted so effortless in that it was both a great nod, yet also didnt matter, if you hadn't seen it either, also notable shout outs to chipo chungs chantho and Derek Jacobis "professor Yana" who gelled so well, my only minor gripe is Jacobi was fantastic in his 2 minutes as the master so I wish we got more of his master. TSOD great 2nd part but not as strong as Utopia, John Sims master was a fantastic casting choice too, his and alexandra moens Lucy saxon again had fantastic chemistry too the toclefane twist was well done too , honestly RTD struck gold with all the leads here too, LOTTL definitely the weakest of the 3 but Martha really stole the show here and it's a shame they undid her ending in season 4 just to pair her with Mickey overall a great 3 parter but I can understand why it's the lowest finale of the RTD1 era here but it just goes to show his original tenure finale were just stronger