Several big surprises and a few old favourites - let's talk about what YOU think are the best Doctor Who episodes!
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00In 2023, we listed our favourite episodes of the modern era, but now we thought it would
00:05be fun to take a look at what the fans think. This list will rank the 10 best episodes by
00:10their IMDB user rating, and there are a couple here that you definitely won't see coming.
00:15Now, two quick rules before we begin. One, we're only taking standalones into consideration here,
00:20so no two-parters. And to keep things more interesting, we're banning the two obvious
00:24frontrunners, Blink and Heaven Send. Sorry, Moffat. I'm Ellie for WhoCulture,
00:28here with the 10 best Doctor Who episodes, according to you.
00:32Number 10, The Waters of Mars, rating 8.8 out of 10.
00:36Let's kick things off with an RTD classic. The Waters of Mars takes Ten's god complex,
00:41sets a fire under him, and watches him boil. Tenet gives one of his greatest performances
00:46in the role, jumping from his usual bouncy self to unhinged and desperate,
00:50to cold and downright unnerving. All that angry staring aside, it's a top-tier episode elsewhere
00:56too. It gives us one of the best supporting cast ever in the doomed crew of Bowie Base 1,
01:01and Lindsay Duncan couldn't have been a more suitable one-off companion for the story that
01:06was told. The Mars setting is beautifully realised, and a big up for Gadget Gadget.
01:10The icing on the cake is an all-time villain in The Flood, creatures that are absolutely
01:15bone-chilling both visually and conceptually. There are few episodes that sell a threat like
01:20this one does. For such an important and memorable episode, it's no surprise that
01:24fans voted it near the top. In fact, the only surprise is that it isn't higher.
01:28Number 9, The Doctor's Wife, rating 8.9 out of 10. Remember when Neil Gaiman wrote for Doctor Who?
01:34Not that naff one with the Cybermen and the world's most annoying children,
01:38this one. It took until 2011 for Doctor Who to do something that, quite frankly,
01:42it was a little shocking it took 48 years to think of. It gave the TARDIS a body and a voice,
01:48and let it run around with the Doctor, and boy was it fun. With an incredible script that is funny,
01:53exciting and emotional all at once, The Doctor's Wife hits the beats you'd want from a conversation
01:58between the Doctor and his loyal ship. Saran Jones takes a role that could have easily slipped
02:03into cringe territory, and toes the line perfectly, and an unrecognisable Michael
02:07Sheen is fantastic as the sadistic House. And that scene where Amy and Rory are tormented
02:13in the TARDIS corridors? Yes, perfect. The Doctor's Wife narrowly missed out
02:18on our own top 10 list, so it is great to see it here. A worthy contender indeed,
02:21and it's about time Gaiman was given another bite at the apple, don't you think?
02:25Number 8, Turn Left, rating 8.9 out of 10. I love this episode. Turn Left also missed out
02:31on our own top 10, but again, it came so, so close. This is an episode that could only work
02:36in the era of the show it was created for. Russell T. Davis spent years building a connected
02:41universe of spinoffs, and the back half of Series 4 is where we really saw this pay off,
02:45with Turn Left bringing these Hooniverse characters together and systematically
02:49killing off every single one of them. It's a true powerhouse of a what-if story.
02:53How would various Earth-based adventures play out without the Doctor's intervention?
02:57Catastrophically, is the answer. Seriously. Doctor Who has rarely, if ever, been so bleak.
03:02This is without a doubt Catherine Tate's best performance as Donna, showcasing a vulnerability
03:07that we don't see much outside of this story, and we'd argue that it's also the strongest
03:11performance of the late Bernard Cribbins as well. If Wilf's reaction to the government opening
03:15labour camps doesn't get your lip quivering, you are a stone-cold robot.
03:18Number 7. The Angels Take Manhattan. Rating, 9 out of 10.
03:22We arrive at what will likely be the first big surprise for many of you. The Angels Take
03:27Manhattan is good, but it's not widely considered superior to, say, The Doctor's Wife, The Waters
03:32of Mars, and Turn Left. Still, it's an episode with some dizzying highs. It gets full marks for
03:37style and setting, mixing New York detective noir with paranormal horror to great effect.
03:42The Weeping Angels slot into this setting immaculately, though the Angel of Liberty
03:46continues to be one of the most baffling creative decisions of the modern era, let's be honest.
03:50It's not even made of stone.
03:51But it's The Pond's final farewell that makes this one for the history books. Moffat pulls an
03:56end of time on us, allowing us to hope for a moment that the inevitable goodbye has been averted,
04:01only to snatch Amy and Rory away at the last moment. It was brilliantly written,
04:05brilliantly acted, and MURRAY GOLD, STOP MAKING US CRY YOU MONSTER.
04:09The Pond spent more time in The Doctor's life than almost any other companion,
04:13and watching them get torn away from him was always going to be rough. I mean,
04:16it's been over a decade, and this doesn't get any easier to watch.
04:19Number 6. The Name of the Doctor. Rating, 9 out of 10.
04:23You thought The Angels Take Manhattan would be the most surprising entry on this list?
04:26Er, nope. Think again.
04:28Serving as a direct lead-in to the 50th anniversary extravaganza,
04:32series 7 finale The Name of the Doctor sits firmly in the shadow of its successor.
04:36It tends to be remembered for the shock reveal of John Hurt as the War Doctor,
04:40but upon closer inspection it's got a lot going for it that might explain its high ranking.
04:44Love it or hate it, the episode provides an interesting explanation for the impossible
04:48girl mystery, and finally gives us a look at The Doctor's grave on Trenzalore.
04:52There's a broader cast of companions, with the ever-lovable Paternoster gang in tow,
04:57and River Song rather awkwardly watching her husband from beyond the grave.
05:00But she's still in it, so it's fine. I love it.
05:02Richard E. Grant is having the time of his life as the Great Intelligence too,
05:06though the less said about the wasted potential of the Whisperman, the better.
05:09Or when Jenny dying mid-Zoom call is also a great moment.
05:12For such a monumental moment in Doctor Who history, it doesn't quite come together as
05:16well as you'd hope, though clearly the people of the internet disagree.
05:18Number 5, A Good Man Goes to War, rating 9 out of 10.
05:22That's three River Song episodes in a row. I know I always say she's the best character,
05:26but look, the ratings speak for themselves, people.
05:29And this episode is a banger. If you're looking for pure adrenaline,
05:32A Good Man Goes to War is a hype train that shoots out the station the moment Rory swaggers
05:37onto the bridge of a Cyberman ship in full Centurion garb and blows up a fleet, just to
05:41make a point. The fist-pumping energy of this episode doesn't relent as it continues giving
05:45us multiple moments of badassery throughout. The Doctor feels absolutely unstoppable here,
05:50and it's glorious. And that's why the moment he does fail hits like a truck.
05:55Well, there's the liquefying of a newborn baby too, which also helps sell the tragedy just a
05:59little bit. It seems like all hope is lost until the last minute of the episode, and quite possibly
06:04the best twist in modern Doctor Who, with the reveal that Melody Pond is River Song.
06:08It was guessable pre-release, sure, but the moment itself was flawlessly executed, so shush.
06:14It's the complete opposite of The Name of the Doctor in that it brings its subplots and series
06:18arcs together in an almost perfect manner, while delivering a knockout standalone episode to boot.
06:23It's rarely included in lists like these though, so we're glad that it made the cut,
06:27and if I had my way, it would have made our list as well, just saying.
06:304. Midnight Rating 9 out of 10.
06:33The Doctor has always had an innate ability to take control of a situation and to convince
06:38others that they're the smartest person in the room. It's an element of the show we take for
06:42granted. After all, as the audience, we know the Doctor can be trusted. The characters in the show
06:46don't have 60 years of context. So what happens if you take the Doctor's authority and sprinkle
06:51in some intense paranoia? Well, Midnight answers that question. This fan-favourite bottle episode
06:56gives us one of the creepiest villains ever in the entirely unexplained Midnight Entity,
07:01a creature of unknown power which can steal a victim's voice.
07:04We watch a group of mostly rational tourists descend into utter hysteria and succumb to
07:08pack tactics as they turn against the one person who might be able to help.
07:12It's riveting psychological horror, with one of the greatest scripts ever written for the show,
07:17and some knockout sound design and performances.
07:19I'm just travelling. I'm a traveller.
07:22It's fairly common consensus that this is the best Russell T Davies Penned episode,
07:26to date. So it's no surprise to see it so high up on the list.
07:29Number 3, The Girl in the Fireplace, rating 9.2 out of 10.
07:33Controversial opinion? I'm not actually a big fan of this episode. And if you never hear from me or
07:38see me again, it's because Sean Ferrick has flown over here and murdered me for that opinion.
07:42The Girl in the Fireplace is a very interesting episode to look back on with the Moffat era under
07:46our belts. At the time, it was rather unique in its premise and was incredibly well received.
07:51So well received, in fact, that Moffat would recycle the ideas in this plot throughout his
07:55reign as showrunner. Middle girl meets strange man who saves her from the monsters and grows up
07:59with him as an imaginary friend. He turns up again when she's older and saves her once more,
08:03but this time she's into him. He then accidentally abandons her a second time. Sound familiar?
08:07There's plenty to love elsewhere. The setting of pre-revolution France is beautifully realised,
08:12the clockwork droids make for striking villains, and David Tennant's chemistry with Sophia Miles
08:16rather awkwardly blows what he has with Billy Piper out of the window.
08:20It's an interesting microcosm of Moffat that tells you all you need to know about him as a
08:23writer in 45 minutes, despite pre-dating Matt Smith by a whole four years. It's actually seventh
08:29on the full IMDb list, which is higher than you'd expect it to be, but there is no doubt
08:33that it is a special episode. Obviously this one was coming.
08:39Doctor Who's 50th anniversary was a success in a way that few people anticipated,
08:44flinging the show back to the top of mainstream cultural relevance.
08:47With a fan favourite Doctor returning and a brand new secret incarnation played by acting royalty,
08:52the scale of this story was immense. The decision to finally tackle the time war head on was well
08:57earned, and it feels like the culmination of the seven series leading up to that point,
09:01flicking the switch on a status quo reset for 12 and allowing the incoming Doctor to
09:05tread new ground in his character development. It's an episode that has it all, sticking the
09:09landing on every emotional beat, every joke, every bit of bantering and every badass action
09:14sequence, and the ending, in which Gallifrey is saved, is pure euphoria. It's rare for fans to
09:19unanimously agree on something, but show us someone who doesn't like the day of the Doctor
09:23and we'll show you a unicorn. It was worthy of the occasion, and then some. And look,
09:26no disrespect to the 60th anniversary specials, but this is how you celebrate
09:30a major milestone in Doctor Who history. It's delightful to see Vincent and the
09:39Doctor so high up the ranking. Of all the celebrity historicals in the modern era,
09:43none hold a candle to the emotional power of this one. Cutting right to the chase,
09:47the story is most fondly remembered for the scene in which Van Gogh, a man who died penniless with
09:52no respect or renown, sees the full extent of his legacy. It's an iconic Doctor Who moment,
09:57and a genuine tearjerker. The episode does a fantastic job of portraying Vincent's depression
10:02and erratic nature, especially upon discovering that the Doctor and Amy plan to leave once the
10:06Crephaeus is dealt with, and the metaphor of the invisible monster that only Vincent can see
10:11is sublime. Likewise, the scene in which we see the world through Vincent's eyes as the trio
10:15stares at a starry night is an absolute triumph. Vincent and the Doctor shows the full extent of
10:20what Doctor Who is capable of. It has the power to change your view of the world. It educates,
10:25it entertains, it reminds you that there is always hope, even in dark times. It continues
10:29to leave a powerful impression on Doctor Who fans, and it's a thoroughly earned number one choice.
10:34And that concludes our list, but while we're on the topic of Doctor Who greats,
10:38why not check out 20 Doctor Who moments we'll never forget.
10:41In the meantime, I've been Ellie with Who Culture, and in the words of River Song herself,
10:44goodbye, sweeties.