Top 10 Doctor Who Episodes

Doctor Who is one of my favorite shows. I’ve only recently discovered it (recently being about a year and a half), and in that time I’ve watched (and re-watched) all the new series and got a tattoo in Gallifreyan. How’s that for devotion? I haven’t quite gotten up the nerve to watch the classic series yet, I’m generally not a fan of the old cheesy sci-fi, so I’m a little worried that it might ruin it a bit for me. So, until then, I like to re-watch my favorites. The top 3 were easy enough for me to chose, but I had a heck of a time filling in the rest, there are so many great episodes. Before I get into it, here are the 3 episodes that were thisclose to being on the list, but in the end, drew the short straw:

The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit – I re-watched this just the other day, and I’d forgotten how creepy it actually was. Doctor Who doesn’t delve into straight horror very often, but when it does, it does it right (and you can tell those are my favorites, by what’s on this list)

Human Nature / The Family of Blood – This one was so good that I almost wish the other 10 weren’t so amazing just so it could be on the list. Alas, this tear-jerker didn’t quite make the cut.

The Doctor’s Wife – I absolutely loved to finally hear Tardis speak in her own voice. Another episode to bring the tears!

And now – drum roll please! – the best of the best, my top 10 favorite episodes of Doctor Who!!

10 – The Pandorica Opens / The Big Bang

In this two-parter, a giant vessel known as the Pandorica is about to open, releasing a deadly creature, and the Doctor, along with River and Amy, try to figure out how to stop it. This episode also re-introduces Rory, in the form of a Roman centurion, and thank goodness for that, because Amy and Rory are my second favorite Who-couple, just under Ten and Rose. So (and I’ll try not to spoil too much, just in case, but seriously, if you’re reading a top 10 list without having seen it, it’s really your own darn fault), needless to say that when the box finally opens, we’re all floored by what’s inside. In the second half of the episode, we’re faced with the end of the universe, and get to see young Amelia Pond again, for she, of course, is the key to everything.

9 – The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances

“Are you my mummy?” In this incredibly creepy two-parter, Nine and Rose travel to war-time England, and find something seriously wrong with the townspeople. A seemingly unstoppable “dead” child in a gas mask is turning others into creatures like himself. This episode also introduces us to the wonderful Captain Jack Harkness, who, I’m sad to say, did not get nearly enough air time. We need more Jack in our Who, dammit! Nine, Rose and Jack race against time to find the source of the mysterious ailment before a bomb is set to explode.

8 – The Fires of Pompeii

Ten and Donna were aiming for ancient Rome, but got a little lost in the voyage. So they end up in Pompeii, the day before the massive volcano destroys everything and kills 20,000 people. Donna begs the Doctor to warn the people, to save as many as they can, but he insists he can’t, that this is a fixed point in time and needs to happen. Meanwhile, they discover a religious sect in the town that has a darker heart than anyone ever thought. When I first saw Donna in The Runaway Bride, I hated her, and was annoyed to find out that she’d become a regular companion in the next season. But, after toning down her character a bit, I fell in love with her, and was very, very sad to see her go. She didn’t have enough time.

7 – Hide

Another creepy foray into horror-territory, Hide is Who’s version of the classic ghost story, and man did it deliver. Season 7 for me was pretty meh. I was sad to see Amy and Rory go, and I don’t really like Clara, she’s rather grating. But, even so, it managed to make this wonderful stand alone episode. Looking for answers concerning Clara, Eleven decides to go consult a powerful clairvoyant. When he finds her, she’s in the process of trying to contact a very old spirit who’s been said to haunt this house for well over 300 years. In helping her to contact this spirit, we get a wonderfully Whovian explanation to what some some hauntings really are.

6 – The Unicorn and the Wasp

This delightful episode has Ten and Donna meet Agatha Christie in a genuine murder mystery. After a man is found dead in the library, the Doctor rounds up all the guests, and, with Agatha’s help, proceeds to deduce what happened to the man. As they get closer to the truth, more people die, and the culprit seems to be not of this world. Includes some absolutely hilarious interactions between Ten and Donna, this episode had me in stitches.

5 – Amy’s Choice

It’s five years in the future, Amy and Rory are happily living in a small village with a baby on the way. On the Tardis, Eleven, Amy and Rory are hurtling towards a frozen star, the ship’s controls having been shut down. Bouncing between both realities, the trio have to figure out which world is real. Die in a dream, and you wake up. Die in life, and well…

4 – Vincent and the Doctor

I love anything to do with Van Gogh, so I was monumentally excited when I heard of this episode. And it definitely did not disappoint. Seeing something in a Van Gogh painting that should not be there, Eleven takes Amy to the rural countryside that Vincent calls home. Befriending the turbulent painter, they ask him if they can accompany him to paint the site in question. Turns out there’s a beast only Vincent can see (for some unexplained reason, but who cares, really, right?), and the Doctor is going to use that to his full advantage. Awesome interaction between Amy and Vincent, and more kleenex was needed here.

3 – Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead

River Song’s introductory episode is still my favorite of hers. The Doctor gets a message to meet at a library planet, but when he arrives, the whole planet is deserted. When an archeologist and her team arrive to survey the place, they find out why the planet is empty in the first place. This two-parter had me counting my shadows for days afterwards. And I was always kind of angry that things turned out the way they did for Donna. She just can’t catch a break, it would seem.

2 – The Girl in the Fireplace

Ten, Rose and Mickey land in a seemingly deserted spaceship. Scattered all over the place are doorways to another time, 1700’s France, to be exact. The Doctor is able to cross through, and enters the life of Reinette Poisson, later in life to be known as Madame de Pompadour, consort to the king. Turns out the clockwork droids piloting the ship need her for something, but only when she’s “ready”. This one was high on the creep factor for me, simply for the disguises that the droids wear. Those masks were seriously scary!

1 – Blink

And finally, my very favorite Who episode is our introduction to the Weeping Angels, Blink. Everything about this episode is awesome. A young woman sees a message in a old house written in 1969, but seemingly addressed to her. As she unravels the mystery, and gets more messages from the past, she is pursued by what at first seem to be stone statues. At least that’s what they are as long as you keep your eyes open. Don’t blink, don’t even blink. Blink, and you’re dead.

And that’s it for my top 10 episodes of Doctor Who! Hope you enjoyed my list, and stay tuned for more! 🙂

M.