In the next eleven days leading up to the 50th Anniversary Special - The Day of the Doctor - I will be posting about my favorite episodes of Doctor Who. In the interest of fairness and full disclosure, I'm only picking "New Who" episodes because I have not yet adequately covered all the (available) episodes of "Classic Who". Eleven episodes for the eleven doctors even though I'm only covering three doctors.
The word "episodes" is used loosely in the Doctor Who world (Whoniverse, as it were). Stories, I believe, is the proper term. Of course, there are entire season arcs, but on my list, there are multiple episode stories, e.g. "The Hungry Earth" and "Cold Blood" or "The Rebel Flesh" and "The Almost People".
I realize that some other fan favorites and amazing episodes will be left off of my countdown, but this is completely subjective. Everyone has their favorites and this was no easy task to whittle them down. I have a list of thirty-some episodes that I just adore beyond others, so narrowing that list and then ranking them was extremely difficult to do.
Following there is a list of stories that just did not quite make the cut. You may see some episodes you expected to make that top eleven, but they didn't quite make it. It was like choosing between Milky Way and Three Musketeers bars. Three Musketeers is amazingly delicious with all that delectable mousse, but Milky Way bars have caramel that make them just that much better. So here are my Milky Ways in the Doctor Who Reboot, and my favorite thing about the episodes:
Season One
--The Long Game - Simon Pegg's turn as the Editor in Chief
Season Two
--The Christmas Invasion - a wonderful reference to Arthur Dent
--Tooth & Claw - Banter between the Doctor & Rose - "I am not amused"
--The Girl in the Fireplace - A wonderful, sad tale of Madame de Pompadour
--The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit - The Doctor's speech to 'satan'
--Love & Monsters - profuse use of ELO's "Mr Blue Sky" and Shirley Henderson's guest starring role
Season Three
--Smith & Jones - the immediate chemistry between Freema Ageyman and David Tennant
--Gridlock - The Doctor finally facing a few of his demons and his tumultuous past at the end of the episode prompted by Martha's willfulness
--42 - the race against time and the title pays kudos to Douglas Adams
--Blink - Doctor-lite, but Carey Mulligan is flawless as Sally Sparrow surviving against a new terrifying enemy - the Weeping Angels
--Utopia/The Sound of Drums/The Last of the Time Lords
Season Four
--Partners in Crime - It's just so funny, and the adipose are darling
--Planet of the Ood - Questions of enslavement and showing empathy for other species
--The Unicorn & The Wasp - A murder mystery so good it could be from Agatha Christie... oh wait...
Specials
--Waters of Mars - Heartbreaking ending showing that even if you change the past, you run the risk of ruining the future
Season Five
--The Eleventh Hour - Matt Smith's debut as a new doctor and a new catchphrase, "Silence will fall"
--Amy's Choice - Whimsical, yet dire and completely outlandish, but Toby Jones is fantastic. "Ask me what happens when you die in reality," says the Dream Lord. Rory asks sheepily, "What happens?" The snarky Dream Lord replies, "You die, stupid. That's why it's called reality."
--The Lodger - The Doctor tries his turn at a normal human life while investigating curious goings on and making a new friend.
Season Six
--The Doctor's Wife - Neil Gaiman tries his hand at writing for Doctor Who with wonderful results
--The God Complex - This episode is like a creepy horror story
--Closing Time - Craig returns with his son Stormageddon
--The Wedding of River Song - Everything about this episode. Everything. It's wonderful and beautiful and amazing
Season Seven
--Hide - Multifacted love story
--Nightmare in Silver - Cybermen! Warwick Davis! But mostly Warwick Davis. Another gem from Neil Gaiman
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