While there is some uniformity in audience views regarding rating the right Doctor Who Doctors since after the 2005 relaunch, things become a little foggy when deciding which episodes are the finest. Because of the many different protagonists, backing casts, authors, and opponents over ages, any best episode ranking will differ from supporter to supporter, and that’s fine!
This is particularly true whenever a definite ranking list for every episode through Christopher Eccleston till Jodie Whittaker is presented.
Irrespective, I’ve compiled a great list of must-see favorites for any Star Trek fan, regardless of whether they support David Tennant, Billie Piper, Matt Smith, or Karen Gillan. Try to set your prejudices aside and think of these episodes (some of which have been split into two sections) as the greatest of Doctor Who.
30. Listen
- Season number: 8
- Episode number: 4
Doctor Who hasn’t had a lot of horror tales, so when it does, it usually does it well. On Clara’s romantic date with Danny, Peter Capaldi’s Doctor gets left unattended and becomes persuaded by a monster with the ultimate skill to conceal.
Despite the episode’s tension and anxiety, the finale is rather clever and shocking, especially considering where one could anticipate a Doctor Who narrative to go – which might also explain why it’s so much praised. “Listen” was the first Doctor Who expedition to be shortlisted for such Bram Stoker Award, presented to works with high-quality horror writing.
Stephen King, and Clive Barker, have both won awards in history, so I believe it relates to the spookiness of this episode and its general excellence relative to the entire franchise.
29. The Runaway Bride
- Season number: 3
- Episode number: 0
This episode featured the first entrance of Catherine Tate’s raucous future partner, Donna Noble, in the latest Christmas spectacular. Donna is blasted into the TARDIS during ‘The Runaway Bride,’ resulting in hilarity as the tenth Doctor tries to find out how she reached there. It’s bold, and exciting, and features the Racnoss, among the most spectacular monsters in the current series.
The connection between Tennant and Tate is evident, giving some big laughs while masking a tragic narrative of two misguided souls, paving the way for the latter’s comeback in season 4.
A highlight of the program is the thrilling pursuit sequence in which the Doctor tries to prevent Donna from just being abducted while flying the TARDIS along the A4232. These are the kinds of moments that make our Christmas specials so great.
28. Day Of The Moon
- Season number: 6
- Episode number: 2
The sixth season episode, “Day Of The Moon,” brings the Doctor, Amy, Rory, River, and an American Secret Service operative Canton Delaware III back to 1969 in the second period of a two-part adventure that commenced with “The Impossible Astronaut.”
What is the objective? Defend the Earth from an extraterrestrial invasion by a race called The Silence. However, shocking new evidence suggests that now the Silence are really not threatening to infiltrate; they’ve already done so. They’ve also been a component of Earth’s history for thousands of years, manipulating global events for their gain.
27. Turn Left
- Season number: 4
- Episode number: 11
- IMDb Rating: 8.9/10
“Turn Left” is almost entirely about the Doctor’s partner Donna Noble, who meets an alien soothsayer who grants her the ability to travel back in time and change other choices, allowing her to create an alternate universe in which she never encountered the Doctor.
The Doctor passes away in his meeting with the Empress of Racnoss because she does not have to assist him during their first gathering, as seen in “The Runaway Bride.” There are devastating implications without the Doctor to defend the Earth and the demise of many significant individuals from the “Doctor Who” canon.
26. The Impossible Astronaut
- Season number: 6
- Episode number: 1
Inside the episode “The Impossible Astronaut,” Amy, and Rory, with River Song, are beckoned to Utah, where they encounter the Doctor, who proposes to send them to space around 1969. They pause for lunch by Lake Silencio while departing when they observe an astronaut dressed in ftotalpanoply rise from the lake to kill the Doctor.
The remaining three meet at the cafe to grieve the Doctor’s passing and find another incarnation of the Doctor, one from even before he perished on the lakeshore. The party returned to Washington, D.C., in 1969 without informing the Doctor of his demise.
They should work together along with Richard Nixon as well as Secret Service Commander Canton Delaware III to stop an incursion by The Silence, a species of terrible aliens that could only be recalled while still being seen.
25. Partners in Crime
- Season number: 4
- Episode number: 1
Despite most of the episodes in that collection being sad stories that emphasize Tennant’s ability as a severe, dramatic performer, “Partners in Crime” is a fine example of Tennant’s ability to be both amusing and appealing.
Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) is reintroduced as the season’s sidekick in this chapter while she and the Doctor, too, are researching a dubious weight-loss firm without the other. They see one another while snooping on a conference from two separate windows on opposing ends of the room after a series of close calls.
Following that, the two have a ludicrous silent dialogue that lasts almost a minute, demonstrating the hilarious connection they’ll have for the remainder of the season.
In this episode, Partners in Crime, the Doctor is indeed getting to the end of a solitary phase in his life. After an alone journey, he begins this episode by pondering the parting from his most current partner and debating whether or not bringing these folks together with him is self-centered.
He almost refuses Donna because of this, but more importantly, he dislikes being alone again. “Never let the Doctor go solo” is a recurring theme in the program, particularly during Eleven’s tenure, and it’s remarked on painfully here.
24. Gridlock
- Season number: 3
- Episode number: 3
Martha (Freema Agyeman) is a misunderstood sidekick. During her first few episodes, she was frequently cast in the shade of Rose (Billie Piper), the new series’ first-ever partner.
The reality that she had been presented as a potential love interest so soon after Rose and the Doctor’s two-season growth as a prospective pair certainly didn’t help either. The Doctor with Martha, on the other hand, ultimately formed a genuine partnership with “Gridlock.”
The Doctor sees the Face of Boe in this chapter and is informed, “You will not be alone.” When Martha questions the Doctor about what Boe means by everything at the episode’s conclusion, he bluffs and says he seems to have no clue.
When Martha inquires whether this means he has her, he says bitterly, “I don’t think so.” He attempts to shift the topic and depart, but Martha gets him to respond. He grudgingly informs her, “I’m not only a Time Lord. I’m the last of the Time Lords,”.
Although this isn’t the first time we’ve heard about just the Time War and its effects, it is among the first occasions the Doctor speaks about it on television.
Tennant delivers a stunning monologue in which he decides to tell her about his pain and realizes midway across that he enjoys having somebody to speak to it over with. It also succeeds in removing Martha from Rose’s shadow.
23. The End of Times
- Season number: 4
- Episode number: 17
The tv series’ tenth anniversary, fortunate, The End of Time, she exposed the circumstances of the Last Great Time War.
This was about the tenth Doctor’s final visit, in which his insane foe, the Master, was revived on Christmas Eve.
They had a fascinating struggle in London’s deserted hinterlands, approaching the Immortality Gate. This may not be as star-studded as a Day of the Doctor, but that might be the best Doctor Who episode ever broadcast.
22. The Angels Take Manhattan
- Season number: 7
- Episode number: 5
The mid-season farewell song for associates Amy Pond and Rory Williams, the adored pair who had followed the Eleventh Doctor after his arrival two and a half seasons previously, was “The Angels Take Manhattan.” The three go to 1930s New York City to accompany River Song, who had given the Doctor a note inside the guise of a classic novel about a female investigator called Melony Malone, inside an episode that is a part criminal noir mystery.
Once they approach, however, they discover that the Angels have overrun New York and that the Statue of Liberty has been exposed to be among the vast quantum of imprisoned entities. And, if Amy’s plot to halt the Angels fails and Rory goes missing, the only option could be to wave farewell to the Doctor once and all.
21. The Beast Below
- Season number: 5
- Episode number: 2
Amy Pond’s first voyage with the Eleventh Doctor was to the 33rd century, where he took her there. Except for Scotland, the whole United Kingdom was looking for a fresh home while aboard the Starship U.K. Earth is being destroyed by solar activity, and the people on board are terrified of “the smiling men in the booths.”
The Doctor is presented with a difficult decision that can only lead to death for everyone involved, particularly Amy Pond. This is a typical battle between pure and evil.
20. The Robots of Death
- Season number: 14
- Episode number: 17
This would be the 5th and last serialization of Season 14 because it was one of the most significant episodes in which Super-Voc, Voc, plus Dum performed their very first television appearances.
The idea was inspired by Agatha Christie’s writings, in which she organized a series of mysterious killings. The Fourth Doctor, including his sidekick Leela, was aboard a Sandminer with the men they suspected of murdering in this episode.
19. Fugitive of the Judoon
- Season number: 12
- Episode number: 5
This intriguing take on Doctor Who debuted in the 5th episode of Series 12 and starred an out-of-the-ordinary embodiment of her own TARDIS.
The Doctor assumed the guise of “Ruth Clayton,” whom they suspected was using a Chameleon Bridge. The chapter The Fugitive of Judoon is about the 13th Doctor’s pursuit of a fugitive bringing him to modern-day Gloucester.
18. The Stolen Earth
- Season number: 4
- Episode number: 12
One of the best Doctor Who episodes is Indeed the Stolen Earth. Davros appeared in the twelve and penultimate episode of season 4, in which Dalek Caan managed to flee. Several former friends resurfaced, notably Sarah Jane, although Harriet Jones was also seen to be dying.
Earth and twenty-six other worlds were kidnapped and brought to the Medusa Cascade. However, the Doctor is absent from this chapter. This episode, which symbolizes David Tennant’s farewell, is followed by The Journey’s End.
17. Tomb of the Cybermen
- Season number: 5
- Episode number: 4
The Cybermen were resurrected in the opening episode of Doctor Who’s fifth season. This is due to Klieg and Kaftan’s cunning plot to gain the power of these monsters.
Regrettably, the tombs weren’t open but a massive trap designed to trick humanity into becoming Cybermen. Although the 12th Doctor has still yet to emerge, he, too, faced a terrifying adversary.
16. The Family of Blood
- Season number: 3
- Episode number: 9
In this episode, the eponymous Doctor is still convinced that he is a man named John Smith. It’s all part of his plan to elude the Family who is still looking for him to take his Time Lord eternity. “Smith,” a professor in 1913, has no clue what’s happening, but he’s had his spirit recovered to beat the Family.
Regrettably, the Family of Blood has taken the clock containing the Doctor’s life power, so Martha must recover it. It’s a sufficiently spooky plot that makes it suitable for an October revisit. One of the most vital occurrences of David Tennant’s reign, one of the greatest, incorporates horror and the supernatural.
15. The Christmas Invasion
- Season number: 2
- Episode number: 0
The freshly-regenerated Doctor, played by David Tennant, spent most of this Christmas special sleeping. Still, it was a thrilling start when he eventually awoke to battle an alien invasion inside a rented bathrobe.
The Doctor struggles to find out what sort of guy he is in “The Christmas Invasion,” the outcome is a Time Lord who is goofy, kind, cruel, and wonderfully hilarious.
14. The Pandorica Opens
- Season number: 5
- Episode number: 12
River Song receives a call from such an old friend during “The Pandorica Opens” and is offered evidence of a historical mystery regarding the TARDIS bursting. She summons the Doctor and informs him of a relic known as the Pandorica, which is thought to host the universe’s most excellent terrible species – and is about to emerge.
She leads him towards Stonehenge in 102 AD, convinced that the Pandorica has anything to do with the TARDIS’s foretold doom.
13. The Doctor’s Wife
- Season number: 6
- Episode number: 4
The Doctor, Amy, with Rory are enticed to a rubbish planet in a universe from outside space in “The Doctor’s Wife,” a higher aspirations independent episode penned by acclaimed comic book author Neil Gaiman. Unknown to the Doctor, he was lured there by a creature called House, which sucks off the TARDIS’s power and has already killed dozens of Time Lords.
The ship’s core is taken and implanted into the body of a woman named Idris even before Doctor and his colleagues know what’s happening. The TARDIS, now a humanoid, helps the Doctor with his crew in a battle to prevent the evil House from escaping his pocket world.
12. City Of Death
- Season number: 17
- Episode number: 7
“The City of Death,” featuring The Fourth Doctor and Romana, has been one of the funniest written chapters of Doctor Who. Any Fourth Doctor clip is worth seeing for the shenanigans of his period. Inside Doctor Who, that was also the start of fully worked associates. This is particularly true of Sarah Jane Smith, the sidekick.
The very-important “Genesis of the Daleks,” along with “The Seeds of Doom” for the great charisma between The Doctor with Sarah Jane, plus “The Ark in Space,” which had an excellent narrative, are some more episodes to just see with The Fourth Doctor.
11. The Big Bang
- Season number: 5
- Episode number: 13
“The Big Bang,” the closing episode of such 13th season and a direct sequel to “The Pandorica Opens,” ended another year on an exciting, timely wimey chord that will keep your mind whirling even if you stay up.
We learn that the monitoring — and most of the reality — is splitting because of the crash of the TARDIS in a weird parallel universe where a teenage Amy Pond dreams of lights that do not exist.
10. Vincent And The Doctor
- Season number: 5
- Episode number: 10
Doctor Who does have its quota of sentimental episodes; however, I’d argue that most of them elicit emotions from viewers by telling stories about imaginary people. “Vincent And The Doctor” takes a unique approach, with The Doctor and Amy Pond visiting Vincent Van Gogh, a troubled and unappreciated talent of his day.
The episode features a fantastic surprise by performer Bill Nighy and a joyful and heartbreaking finish for the viewers. In my view, nothing would end up making you weep if you don’t become tearful after this one.
This storyline is incredibly beneficial for discussing that, even though Doctor Who frequently alters the tomorrow, the future doesn’t always become the future we’re acquainted with until the expedition is done.
9. The Girl In The Fireplace
- Season number: 2
- Episode number: 4
“The Girl In The Fireplace,” staged in eighteenth-century France, depicts the Doctor inside the 51st era finding a deserted alien spaceship. The vessel has several odd-time gateways: portals that go to various stages in the life of Madame de Pompadour, King Louis XV’s mistress.
When the Doctor goes to see the young woman, he uncovers a civilization of androids who are watching her life along through panes and have slaughtered the crew and passengers. They suddenly believe Madame de Pompadour holds the answer to repairing their sunk ship.
In this amusing Victorian quest to rescue the Madame, the Doctor teams up alongside his animal buddy Arthur (an eighteenth-century horse). The narrative ends with the Doctor wasting his chance to discover love again in an installment that presents a new love involvement.
8. The Day Of The Doctor
- Season number: 50th Anniversary Special
- Episode number: 50th Anniversary Special
During “The Day Of The Doctor,” various Doctor versions band together to fight a Zygon invading London and recall the Last Great Time War, in which Gallifrey suffered its terrible end.
The 75-minute important episode was the first multi-Doctor occurrence of the contemporary era and honored Doctor Who’s 50th milestone. It included a cameo appearance by Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor and the reunion of other fan-favorite personalities and performers, notably David Tennant and Billie Piper.
The War Doctor’s transformation into the Ninth iteration at the end of the course concluded the cycle of resurrections. Overall, “The Day Of The Doctor” is a feel-good chapter paying tribute to the show’s history and admirers.
“The Day Of The Doctor,” the solution regarding Gallifrey’s destiny, pulls all elements of the Time War towards the forefront. The War Doctor, The Eleventh Doctor, and the Tenth Doctor unite their powers in this 50th milestone special.
The Twelfth Doctor appears as himself, while The Fourth Doctor is the museum’s custodian. The attribute-length episode “The Five Doctors” gathers 5 Classic Doctors for yet another multi-Doctor tale.
7. Silence In The Library/Forest Of The Dead
- Season number: 4
- Episode number: 8 and 9
Some may find this debatable, but I feel “Silence In The Library” & “Forest Of The Dead” mark the beginning of one of Doctor Who’s finest curves. Steven Moffat deserves all or most of the glory for presenting a love tale that begins at the conclusion for one protagonist and concludes at the beginning for the other.
This narrative grew in quality as it progressed and is worth revisiting following Peter Capaldi’s tenure. As much as I’d like to witness River Song reappear, I can’t help but suspect that introducing more episodes after her final run as the character will sully the storyline that had already been established.
6. D doomsday
- Season number: 2
- Episode number: 13
The boundaries of Doctor Who were rewritten in this episode. The Cybermen are pitted against the Daleks, who are super-villains. The Time Lord’s sadness was evident when it abandoned Rose, the Doctor’s companion for almost two seasons, in a parallel dimension.
Is it possible that perhaps the Doctor was… head over heels in love? With the singer of “Because We Want To”?
5. The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit
- Season number: 2
- Episode number: 8 and 9
The number of times contemporary Doctor Who has penned a narrative incorporating religion, and the number of times Satan (or a creature that may be Satan) has emerged, could be counted on one foot.
Even though The Doctor isn’t sure if he’s in any torment, the two-parter “The Impossible Planet” with “The Satan Pit” is a strange variation of what Doctor Who has accomplished before and subsequently. Perhaps it’s because of its history or because it utilizes the criminally underappreciated Ood species.
The Ood play an active part in this plot, and it’s successful enough that I’m disappointed they’re not employed for more villainous purposes. Considering their look, the reality that they had been mostly docile is a lovely perversion of assumption, yet it’s impossible to perceive them as anything other than frightening following this episode.
4. The Eleventh Hour
- Season number: 5
- Episode number: 1
The first episode of Matt Smith’s Doctor is remarkable, as he encounters a little girl, discovers a secret, but does not return to her for nearly a decade owing to a temporal glitch.
That girl is Amy Pond, played by Karen Gillan, who is widely regarded as one of the finest associates of the current Doctor Who period. That was one of the finest Doctor premiere episodes ever, and it quickly demonstrated precisely what Smith’s Doctor might bring to the role.
Specifically, the inherent wackiness, ostensibly cheery demeanor, and willingness to go along with the wave in the face of overwhelming odds. Smith’s Doctor was far better at dealing with unexpected situations than earlier versions, which is fortunate because it seemed to occur often.
3. Heaven Sent
- Season number: 9
- Episode number: 11
12th Doctor Peter Capaldi monologues well throughout “Heaven Sent,” demonstrating just how good and underappreciated Capaldi was the Doctor. In this episode, the Doctor is imprisoned in a medieval castle by some Time Lords and pursued by a strange cloaked entity known as The Veil. The Doctor discovers numerous bizarre remnants of former tenants as he investigates the mansion and learns they are clues intended to assist him in fleeing.
The Doctor, however, uncovers a wall made of pure Azbantium – a material tougher than diamond — inside one final room, and he begins scratching down at it with his fingertips to burrow across to his freedom. But, to get out, he may have to scrape for over four billion years.
2. The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances
- Season number: 1
- Episode number: 9 and 10
From the entrance of Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) to the unsettling repetition of “Are you my Mummy?” this prior two-parted was just memorable.
The end product set the bar high for how amazing the next series might be. And, after so much sadness and death in the Doctor’s existence, hearing Christopher Eccleston’s Time Lord say, “Just this moment, everybody lives!” is sheer delight.
1. Blink
- Season number: 3
- Episode number: 10
“Blink” is a special episode as it is both Companion and Doctor Lite and breaks the fourth wall.
Some of the selections on my top 10 list may be debatable, but I’m confident it’s not. “Blink” is a fascinating episode presented in a novel style, and it introduces the Weeping Angels, one of Doctor Who’s most unusual yet terrifying foes.
This was another episode in which the series employed horror to great purpose, resulting in the most potent attack in the saga. What’s even better about this fan favorite is its yet another twist on the traditional Doctor Who episode format.
Doctor’s involvement is primarily in the form of DVDs he filmed expressly for this occasion, and while it may look strange and a little goofy at first, his quips and remark on occurrences he was merely forecasting at the time are spot-on.
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