We've made it to the end! Here are my top 10 favorite Doctor Who stories. CONTAINS SPOILERS.
10. Army of Ghosts / Doomsday
Series 2, episodes 12-13. (2006)
10th Doctor, Rose Tyler, Jackie Tyler, Mickey Smith, Pete Tyler, Jake Simmonds
Writer: Russell T Davies
Director: Graeme Harper
Photo ©BBC
I cry every time I watch Doomsday. Every. Single. Time. There are so many things I like about this story. I thought it was an excellent way for Rose to leave the show. I really enjoyed the alternate universe introduced earlier in Series 2 and was happy to see it return, along with Mickey, Jake, and Pete. Plus, Daleks vs. Cybermen! The Genesis Ark and the Daleks add an intriguing element to an already interesting Cybermen story. Torchwood. Bad Wolf Bay. Jackie and Pete! There’s just so much to love. Overall a fantastic story with a heartbreaking end. Donna materializing in the TARDIS at the end brings a much-needed laugh through the tears.
9. The Angels Take Manhattan
Series 7, episode 5. (2012)
11th Doctor, Amy Pond, Rory Williams, River Song
Writer: Steven Moffat
Director: Nick Hurran
Photo ©BBC
This was a stunning end for Amy and Rory. It’s another episode I can’t watch without tears. As I’ve said before, I love the Angels. My favorite Doctor Who enemy. I liked the book element and that reading it created fixed points in time. I adore Amy and Rory really thought this was a perfect end for their time on the show.
8. Daleks in Manhattan / Evolution of the Daleks
Series 3, episodes 4-5. (2007)
10th Doctor, Martha Jones
Writer: Helen Raynor
Director: James Strong
Photo ©BBC
I do love a good historical story and this one is fabulous. New York City during the Depression. I really loved the look at the inequality of the time through the lens of people living in Hooverville going to work on the Empire State Building. It was brilliant and really showed the realities of the 1930s (some of which are the same or even worse today). Tallulah, Frank, Solomon, and Laszlo are all great characters who add to the story considerably. I also really love the Dalek story arc. Dalek Sec's literal evolution causes him to question whether the Dalek objective of hating everything and everyone different from them is right. My favorite Dalek story, personally.
7. A Good Man Goes to War
Series 6, episode 7. (2011)
11th Doctor, Amy Pond, Rory Williams
Writer: Steven Moffat
Director: Peter Hoar
Photo ©BBC
This episode blew my mind the first time I saw it. Obviously, the highlight is finding out who River Song is, but there is a lot to love about this episode. With Amy missing, the Doctor is willing to use any means necessary to bring her and her baby back. In fact, to some people in this time, “the Doctor” means “mighty warrior,” reflecting how the universe views him and making him realize he’s become too well-known, and definitely not in a way he is happy about. This episode also includes brilliant use of The Flesh, introduced in the previous story, The Rebel Flesh / The Almost People. Great story that left me absolutely shocked the first time I saw it.
6. The Unicorn and the Wasp
Series 4, episode 7. (2008)
10th Doctor, Donna Noble, Agatha Christie
Writer: Gareth Roberts
Director: Graeme Harper
Photo ©BBC
My favorite Doctor-Donna episode. There’s so much to love; the 1920s, Agatha Christie, and a murder mystery. It feels like a game of Clue brought to life. It’s brilliant. Donna trying to save the Doctor after he’s been poisoned is the funniest scene in Doctor Who, in my opinion. The episode also gives an insight into early 1900s views of morality.
5. Rosa
Series 11, episode 3. (2018)
13th Doctor, Yasmin Khan, Ryan Sinclair, Graham O’Brien, Rosa Parks
Writers: Malorie Blackman, Chris Chibnall
Director: Mark Tonderai
Photo ©BBC
This one wins the prize for causing the most tears. I cried when I first saw it in 2018, but then, watching it again last month after being arrested twice myself for civil disobedience with the ongoing civil rights movement in the meantime, this episode provoked so many emotions for me. It’s a moving look at the American South in the 1950s. The barriers Ryan and Yaz face in the episode were the reality and I thought it gave an impactful glimpse into a time that some would like to see return. The head-on manner in which racism is addressed in this episode is what makes it so great. The absolute best 13th Doctor story.
4. Vincent and the Doctor
Series 5, episode 10. (2010)
11th Doctor, Amy Pond, Vincent van Gogh
Writer: Richard Curtis
Director: Jonny Campbell
Photo ©BBC
I don’t think anyone can watch Vincent in the museum without crying. It’s such a beautiful scene and really an overall beautiful episode. Vincent van Gogh is my favorite visual artist for multiple reasons. Of course, because I find his art beautiful, but also because of who he was and the struggles he faced. I struggle with my own mental health and adore that he turned such pain into such beauty. I thought this episode did a good job of showing that.
“The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don't always soften the bad things, but vice-versa, the bad things don't necessarily spoil the good things and make them unimportant.” -The Doctor
3. The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances
Series 1, episodes 9-10. (2005)
9th Doctor, Rose Tyler, Jack Harkness
Writer: Steven Moffat
Director: James Hawes
Photo ©BBC
“Are you my mummy?”
This story is so creepy! London during the WWII Blitz is the perfect setting for it. It’s the first instance (in New Who anyway) of the Doctor befriending unhoused kids who are just trying to get by. As Amy Pond will point out in a much later episode, the Doctor “never interferes in the affairs of other peoples or planets, unless there are children crying.” This story is the introduction of Jack Harkness who, at this point, is a conman. Much like in The Unicorn and the Wasp, it explores the harms caused by societal views of morality. Best of all, “Just this once, everybody lives!”
2. Blink
Series 3, episode 10. (2007)
10th Doctor, Martha Jones, Sally Sparrow
Writer: Steven Moffat
Director: Hettie MacDonald
Photo ©BBC
This episode is so good. It’s unusual in that the Doctor and Martha are not the main characters of the story. In this case, it worked perfectly. Sally Sparrow is a marvelous character. I absolutely love the Doctor talking on a recording from the past with half of a conversation. Absolutely brilliant. A supreme introduction of the Weeping Angels. They were instantly solidified as one of the best Doctor Who enemies. The way all of the pieces are tied together at the end of the episode is utterly perfect.
1. The Day of the Doctor
50th anniversary special. (2013)
11th Doctor, 10th Doctor, War Doctor, Clara Oswald, Petronella Osgood, Kate Stewart, Elizabeth I
Writer: Steven Moffat
Director: Nick Hurran
Photo ©BBC
The 50th anniversary special. It’s really been 10 years already?! I remember being just as excited for this episode as I am for the new 60th anniversary specials and man, did it deliver. The 10th Doctor returns and an entirely new Doctor is introduced, the Doctor from the Time War. After hearing so much about the Time War up to this point, I was thrilled to get to see it. I also really love that the Doctor is able to redeem himself and the way he ended the war. The interactions of the three Doctors are wonderful and make him examine a lot about himself. After being mentioned in previous episodes, we finally got to see the 10th Doctor marry Elizabeth I (and learn why the Doctor is her enemy in her future)! I loved that Billie Piper returned and the way that she returned. Great storytelling with lots of (but not too much) nostalgia. A high bar to set as anniversary specials go, which makes me even more excited to see how amazing these new specials will be!
Thank you for reading! I'll continue to make more Doctor Who-themed posts in the future, as well as other things.
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