Since its first airing back in 1963, Doctor Who has built up a staggering repertoire of almost 900 episodes, not including spin-off shows like Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Chronicles. That’s a lot of Doctor Who to get through, but we’ve all got our favorite episodes.
While I’ve been around long enough to have seen some of the older episodes, I’m not ashamed to admit that I don’t think they stand the test of time very well. So rather than narrowing down almost 900 episodes to a nice even 10, I’m going to focus solely on the newer generation of the show, starting in 2005.
With that said, there’s still a lot to choose from, and I don’t expect anybody’s personal list of favorites to line up exactly with mine, but here are my top 10 episodes of Doctor Who.
10. The Lodger & Closing Time
These two aren’t a two-part episode, but I feel like I can’t mention one without the other, so we can consider one of these a bonus entry on this list. I’ll let you decide which.
The Lodger stars Matt Smith as the Doctor and James Cordon as Craig. Interestingly, we learn through this episode that vicious headbutting is the primary way of passing information from the Doctor’s head into someone else’s head.
Although this is the first time we meet Craig, I have to mention the follow-up episode, Closing Time, in which he stars, after he has begun his relationship with Sophie and the two have had a child. This episode had parents across the country hoping that the Doctor would rock up on their doorstep and provide baby translating services after we learned he could communicate with baby Alfie, who hilariously apparently preferred the name Stormaggedon, Dark Lord of All.
9. Blink
Aside from the Daleks, one of the most iconic enemies faced by the Doctor through the years are the Weeping Angels, which make their first appearance during this 2007 episode. While being focused on the terrifying statues, this episode also features a lot of ‘timey wimey’ stuff that will give you a headache.
When Sally Sparrow explores an abandoned home with her friend Kathy, they encounter some Weeping Angels. Sent back in time by them, Kathy instructs her grandson to deliver a message to Sally, telling her about the life she goes on to lead. As well as this, the Doctor leaves a message embedded on a DVD, warning Sally of the dangers the Weeping Angels pose. It’s all a bit baffling, but that just makes the episode better.
8. Midnight
The Doctor (played by David Tennant) and Donna decide to take a relaxing vacation on the planet Midnight, but while Donna does get the chill time she was needing, it doesn’t quite end up being as serene for the Doctor as he was hoping. This is not a plotline that’s unique to Doctor Who (the premise of FFXIV: Dawntrail is remarkably similar), but it’s one that the show does incredibly well.
“What could possibly go wrong” are perhaps the most famous last words anyone could ever say and this is exactly what the Doctor says to Donna before setting off on a guided tour around the planet. Stuck on a shuttle with a bunch of strangers awaiting rescue after a ‘technical malfunction’, the Doctor is submerged into chaos as whatever is outside tries to tear apart the psyche of everyone on board, killing some of them in the process.
7 The Empty Child
“Are you my Mummy?” is not a sentence that I ever thought would make my blood run cold, but after this The Empty Child, written by Steven Moffat and staring Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor, it definitely does. With children of the Blitz running around in gas masks and asking everyone they see whether they’re their Mummy, this one is a chilling watch.
Also during this episode, Rose (played by Billie Piper) meets Captain Jack Harkness (played by John Barrowman) in London during the Blitz when he rescues her from the certain death of a very long fall. This is the first introduction of Jack, who later got his own spin-off show in the Doctor Who universe, Torchwood.
6. Silence in the Library
With fan favorite David Tennant as the Doctor and Catherine Tate as his also fan favorite companion Donna, Silence in the Library is the viewers first introduction to River Song. It’s also the Doctor’s first meeting with her, but I won’t say much more because “spoilers, sweetie”.
Focusing on the danger of darkness, Silence in the Library is set in a planet sized library in the 51st Century. Despite being the only humanoid lifeforms on the planet, the Doctors scan for lifeforms shows trillions of unseen life forms surrounding them. Archaeologist River Song shows up to investigate why the library sealed itself shut a century before and at the time, neither the Doctor or viewers know who she is, but she becomes a staple in the show moving forwards.
5. Heaven Sent
Watching Heaven Sent will spark in you the same feeling as banging your head against a brick wall. A constant battle to escape something, ending up right back where you started and having to fight your way through the same experience all over again.
Peter Capaldi plays as the Doctor, stuck in a time prison on a loop that continues for billions of years, reliving the same harrowing experience time and again until he finally breaks through the wall of Azbantium. At some point during the episode, he faces the realization that this time prison was created solely for him, and all of the skeletal remains and personal belongings he’s found during his time there are his own.
There’s a whole lot more to this episode that can’t be confined to a small number of words, but Heaven Sent is a testament of strength and perseverance against all odds.
4. The Time of the Doctor
The Time of the Doctor was 2013s Christmas Special episode featuring Matt Smith as the Doctor. After discovering the origin of a constantly broadcasting message is a village called Christmas on the planet Trenzalore, the Doctor and Clara go off to investigate, only to get stuck in the middle of the Siege of Trenzalore.
During the original timeline of Doctor Who, the Siege of Trenzalore ended with the death of the 11th Doctor and the TARDIS transformed into his tomb, but this episode threw the original timeline out of the window. This is the last episode to feature Matt Smith as the Doctor and his goodbye to the universe was and will remain a particularly heart-wrenching moment.
3. The Sound of Drums & Last of the Timelords
The main premise of this two-part episode is the Master becoming Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and using his new found political power to cause complete and utter chaos, including aging the Doctor by 100 years.
The reason this episode makes this list is because of Martha and her unflinching loyalty to the Doctor. After using the Vortex Manipulator to teleport away, Martha spends a year traveling around the country planting the idea of the Doctor in the minds of everyone she meets as a way to counter the Master and his nefarious plans. This, in turn, allows the doctor to recover his strength and defeat the Master.
2. The Stolen Earth & Journey’s End
If ever there was a class reunion episode of Dr Who, this two part episode is it. The Stolen Earth and Journey’s End see the return of previous companions alongside Donna in the shape of Rose and Martha, but also the return of Sarah Jane and Jack Harkness, as well.
That’s not the reason these episodes make the list, though. During these episodes, the Doctor is facing off against the Daleks to prevent the end of everything. There’s a long and convoluted story about how the Doctor’s severed hand ended up inside the TARDIS, but Donna manages to touch the hand and becomes imbued with the mind of the Doctor through absorbing regeneration energy. I promise it makes more sense if you watch the episode.
Essentially, Donna ends up becoming overwhelmed by the knowledge she now carries and the Doctor must say goodbye to her, as if she ever lays eyes on him again she will likely die, something which was revisited during the latest Special episodes.
1. Vincent and the Doctor
Featuring Matt Smith as the Doctor, Vincent and the Doctor pays homage to the creative visionary that was Vincent Van Gogh, albeit with an otherworldly twist.
This episode wholly deserves its top spot on this list because of the overwhelming emotion it triggers, especially for those who are more creatively aligned. Vincent and the Doctor deal with loneliness, mental health, the fear of being forgotten, and the battle to do what you love even when it feels pointless or your work is overlooked by peers.
At the end of the episode, to prove to Vincent that his efforts aren’t in vain, the Doctor brings him to the future to see his own work displayed in a gallery, spoken about by someone who loves the artist despite having been born long after his time. Who doesn’t want to be remembered after they’re gone or leave their mark on the world?
