To every Whovian in the
world, November 23rd 2013 has been a date 50 years in the making.
Today is the world premiere of The Day of
the Doctor the 50th Anniversary Special of the longest running
and most popular series in all of England (and possibly the world), Doctor Who.
Doctor Who
debuted on November 23rd 1963, for context that’s the day after JFK
was shot. It ran from 1963-1989 straight, had a TV film in 1996, and was brought
back to life in 2005 by Russell T. Davies and Stephen Moffat Doctor Who has flown in and out of time
and right into the hearts of nerds around the world. Lead by The Doctor and his
many companions Doctor Who is the
story of a time lord and his never-ending quest to save the world from the
dangers of the universe.
With this countdown we are looking at the top ten
episodes of the modern Doctor Who,
everything from 2005 to the present. Featuring episodes from The Ninth
(Christopher Eccelston), Tenth (David Tennant), and Eleventh (Matt Smith)
doctors, this countdown is focusing on new Who
and not classic Who as I am not
well versed in classic Who. As usual
with our TV 101 articles episodes are ranked from 1-10 in order I would show
them to a new watcher, who wants a sample of the series before jumping in, in
earnest. Two quick side notes, British
TV shows are separated into series not seasons, which is the terminology I’ll
be using here and for this list we are counting two part stories as one
episode.
10.
A Good Man Goes to War (S6 Ep7) –
The best episode of the weakest series of the new Who, A Good Man Goes to War
is the midseason finale of series 6. Here we see The Eleventh Doctor fighting
to save his friends and going to a much darker place then we’ve seen this doctor
ever go. This is the high point of a season that is convoluted at best,
confusing at most times, and disappointing as a whole; but A Good Man Goes to War stands a high point to series 6 and the
entirety of the River Song story arc.
9.
Midnight (S4 Ep10) – What makes Midnight a great episode? It’s the
epitome of a bottle episode. A bottle episode is an episode of a show that
takes place almost entirely in one location. For this fantastic episode of Doctor Who The Tenth Doctor find himself
on a vacation with Donna touring the planet Midnight. The Doctor goes it alone
in this episode as he is caught on a tour bus when a strange knock on the door
causes everyone on board to fight for their lives and reevaluate their beliefs.
Midnight is a great look at what
makes The Doctor tick and easily one of the most emotionally charged episodes
of the entire series.
8.
Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead (S4 Ep 8&9) – The first episode featuring River Song, a character
who, at this point, was full of potential and mystery. Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead stand as the best episodes
featuring River Song, to date. Just before visiting the planet Midnight The
Tenth Doctor and Donna find themselves in an abandoned 51st century
library. This is an episode that thrives on a very simple premise: count the
shadows. At the same time funny, scary, and moving Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead is full of great new
characters and moving moments for our regulars. It also represents a turning
point for the entire series.
7.
The Angels Take Manhattan (S7 Ep 5) –
The most recent episode featuring the Weeping Angels, the most iconic new
villain introduced to the series, is a brilliant episode for The Ponds (Karen
Gillan and Arthur Darvill). When the Angels invade New York City only The
Eleventh Doctor and his companions can stop them; a return appearance of River
Song also aids this episode. The Angels
Take Manhattan is tension filled from
start to finish and is a great mystery to boot. It’s one of the few times in
the latter seasons the creator Steven Moffat puts all the puzzle pieces
together nicely, it’s clear he understand how to use the Weeping Angles. This
is the standout episode of a much improved seventh series and makes the journey
getting this point more than worth the trip. 
6.
The Eleventh Hour (S5 Ep1) – The first Matt
Smith episode one of the best Matt Smith episodes. It’s insanely hard to step
into this role and make it your own, yet get the fans behind you; Smith does
all of that with one simple scene. After regenerating and falling to earth, “the
raggedy doctor” starts to figure out who he is and decides there is no better
place to start then with food. A clever and brilliant scene where the newly
born Eleventh Doctor tries many different foods and spits out everything until
he finally settles on Fish Fingers and Custard, ewww. Also featuring a great story and the
introduction of both Amy and Rory The
Eleventh Hour is one of the finest hours of Matt Smith.
5.
The Impossible Planet/ The Satan Pit (S2 Ep 8&9) – These were the episodes that made me fall in love
with David Tennant, it’s where he really comes into his own. Showing that The
Tenth Doctor funny, clever and caring but he’s also not to be messed with. This
is one of those episodes you don’t see coming, smashed in the middle of the
season and having a very simple plot; it delivers some of the most emotional
moments of the entire series while dealing with the meaning life, death, and
the afterlife. The Doctor and Rose (Billie Piper) stumble upon a planet that is
impossibly on the map and have their first dealing with an alien race known as
the Ood. The Impossible Planet & The
Satan Pit are amazing mortality tales that works on every level, and are
among the cream of the crop in all of Doctor
Who. 
4.
The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances (S1 Ep 9&10) – The only Ninth Doctor story on our list, features
some of the most iconic moments in the new series and features the debut of
Captain Jack Harkness (John Borrowman). Both Jack and Rose are grat in this
episode, but it’s Eccleston that shines. If we got more than 13 episodes with
Eccelston this list would be filled with him (I could fill a list with just series
1, as I have a HUGE soft spot for Mr. Eccelston, but I digress). Rose and The
Doctor land the TARIDS in 1941 London while answering the call of another time
traveler, while looking for the signal Rose finds a child in need. This set up
gives us the backdrop for The Doctor to finally start dealing with the time war
and all of his issues. Although nothing is fleshed out by the end this episode
it is the first time we see the heart of The Ninth Doctor. The Doctor Dances is one of the most genius titles of the entire
series as it works on a crazy amount levels and by the end of this story if
you’re not in tears, then I’m not sure you have a soul.
3.
The End of Time (2009) – The End of Time, features the return of
The Master (John Simm) and Wilf (Bernard Cribbins) as well as a guest spot by
Timothy Dalton. This episode is an action packed thrill ride full of heart,
characters, love, loss, and the answer to prophecy “he knocks four times.” Even
knowing the story of The End of Time it’s
an episode that kills me every time, this one amazing moment after another for
Tennant as an actor. It serves as a beautiful transition from series 4 to series
5. I’d gush more, but in this cease less is better. The End of Time is the conclusion to a year without an actual
series, but instead 5 specials were aired starting on Christmas Day 2008 with The Next Doctor and ending on New Year’s
Day 2010 with The End of Time Part 2.
2.
Vincent and the Doctor (S5 Ep10) – This
stunning episode takes The Eleventh Doctor and Amy to 1890 to fight an invisible
alien that only Vincent Van Gogh can see. What seems to be a one off episode becomes
one of the most crucial ones for Amy, The Eleventh Doctor and the story has
whole. Dealing with Vincent and his many, many issues gives the perfect
backdrop for Amy to deal with all things in her life. This episode hits its
stride when giving us a touching but sad peak into the life of Van Gogh (Tony
Curran); it also featuring a cameo appearance from Bill Nighy. Poignantly told,
gorgeously shot, and masterfully crafted this episode is not only a great story
but is one of the best episodes in terms of filmmaking in the entire series as
special effects blend seamlessly with practical ones and Vincent and the Doctor looks like a piece of art that Van Gogh
himself would be proud of.
1.
Blink (S3 Ep10) – How could Blink not be number one? It has almost universal
acclaim as being the best episode of Doctor
Who, not just new series but possibly ever. Blink features the first appearance of The Weeping Angels, a special
guest staring role by Carey Mulligan, and gives us the one of the most enduring
catchphrases of the show: “Don’t blink. Blink and you’re dead.” In this episode
we find The Tenth Doctor and Martha (Freema Agyeman) trapped in 1969 and need
the help of Sally Sparrow (Mulligan) and the only clue she gets is the cryptic
phrase “Don’t blink. Blink and you’re dead. Don’t turn your back, don’t look
away. Don’t blink. Good luck.” This is a unique episode that somehow
encapsulates everything that new Who represents.
It’s unique in the fact that The Doctor is featured very little in the episode,
Blink shows the everlasting and endless
faith The Doctor has in humanity as a human girl he’s never met, is his only
chance for survival.
Enjoy The Day of The Doctor, leave a comment
below with your thoughts on the list and all things Doctor Who.
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