Counting down the best episodes of Who from 2005-2012 before Asylum Of The Daleks...We’re just hours away from Doctor Who’s return to our screens. As we lead up to the new adventures of the Time Lord, it’s well worth having a look back at the episodes that have come before Series Seven. When the show’s 50th Anniversary arrives, we’ll give you a full retrospective on the classic era of the series, but for now we’ll just look back on the modern 2005-2012 era. Without further ado, then, here are my Top Ten favourite episodes of Doctor Who since the show’s 21st Century return.
10. BLINK (2007)- Steven Moffat’s premiere Doctor-lite,
Weeping Angels story was a sublime hit that gave us one of the only truly scary
episodes of Doctor Who in a long
while. The Angels were a sure-fire success, and heaven knows what could be done
with them in a two-parter…
9. THE TIME OF ANGELS/FLESH AND STONE (2010)- If we’d ever been scared of letting Moffat loose after the mediocre Library two-part story on another double romp, we needn’t have feared. River Song and the Weeping Angels made brilliant returns here, the former character’s appearance signalling new precedence on a great story arc for Series Six.
8. THE GOD COMPLEX (2011)- Again the Weeping Angels get a chance to be on the Top Ten list! Toby Whithouse’s The God Complex is an eerie and gothic thriller that deserves to be remembered as a beautiful ‘rip-off’ of The Shining that gets its tone and story completely right. The way it deals with the Ponds’ departure is particularly memorable.
7. MIDNIGHT (2008)- Another brilliant Who horror, Russell T Davies’ prelude to his Series Four three-part finale works marvellously as its own standalone story. It’s companion-lite, but the mysterious unnamed antagonist makes for a brilliantly satisfying and terrifying watch for long-term fans and newcomers.
6. THE DOCTOR’S WIFE (2011)- Neil Gaiman was always going to do wonders with the Doctor Who format, but just how well he performed here is exceptional. Suranne Jones owned the role of the humanised TARDIS, and Matt Smith gave perhaps his best and most emotional showing as the Eleventh Doctor yet.
5. THE GIRL WHO WAITED (2011)- Though Amy’s Choice attempted to present us with a story focused on the Ponds, The Girl Who Waited took things one step further and provided Rory with the ultimate heartbreaking decision. Tom McRae struck Doctor Who gold here, and it’ll be a crime if we don’t see a return from him in Series Eight and/or near the anniversary.
4, VINCENT AND THE DOCTOR (2010)- Celebrity historicals on Who have always been a bit hit-and-miss, yet Richard Curtis’ science-fiction script debut works wonders along with Tony Curran’s incredible portrayal of the depressed Vincent Van Gogh brings Vincent to high status. Here’s hoping Curtis returns to the series again soon.
3. HUMAN NATURE/THE FAMILY OF BLOOD (2007)- Series Three was something of a mixed bag. All the same, the Doctor’s turn as a human being was packed with emotion and fear, with Jessica Hynes proving a wonderful love interest and the Family Of Blood some of the most engaging villains that the series has seen in a while.
2. THE WATERS OF MARS (2009)- The Tenth Doctor’s final adventures had their peaks and troughs, but The Waters Of Mars was by far one of the greatest peaks of modern Who. Thanks to Lindsay Duncan’s great turn as Adelaide and David Tennant stretching his Time Lord further than ever before, Russell T Davies and Phil Ford were able to give us one of the greatest Who stories of all time!
1. THE IMPOSSIBLE ASTRONAUT/DAY OF THE MOON (2011)- But by far the greatest Doctor Who adventure we’ve seen hit our screens since 2005 is the American two-parter that opened Series Six. Not only did we meet President Richard Nixon and the elusive Silence, we witnessed seemingly the death of the Doctor himself, a series-bending event that kicked off the programme’s most ambitious story arc yet. No pressure to Asylum Of The Daleks, but this is how you do a blockbuster movie opener…
9. THE TIME OF ANGELS/FLESH AND STONE (2010)- If we’d ever been scared of letting Moffat loose after the mediocre Library two-part story on another double romp, we needn’t have feared. River Song and the Weeping Angels made brilliant returns here, the former character’s appearance signalling new precedence on a great story arc for Series Six.
8. THE GOD COMPLEX (2011)- Again the Weeping Angels get a chance to be on the Top Ten list! Toby Whithouse’s The God Complex is an eerie and gothic thriller that deserves to be remembered as a beautiful ‘rip-off’ of The Shining that gets its tone and story completely right. The way it deals with the Ponds’ departure is particularly memorable.
7. MIDNIGHT (2008)- Another brilliant Who horror, Russell T Davies’ prelude to his Series Four three-part finale works marvellously as its own standalone story. It’s companion-lite, but the mysterious unnamed antagonist makes for a brilliantly satisfying and terrifying watch for long-term fans and newcomers.
6. THE DOCTOR’S WIFE (2011)- Neil Gaiman was always going to do wonders with the Doctor Who format, but just how well he performed here is exceptional. Suranne Jones owned the role of the humanised TARDIS, and Matt Smith gave perhaps his best and most emotional showing as the Eleventh Doctor yet.
5. THE GIRL WHO WAITED (2011)- Though Amy’s Choice attempted to present us with a story focused on the Ponds, The Girl Who Waited took things one step further and provided Rory with the ultimate heartbreaking decision. Tom McRae struck Doctor Who gold here, and it’ll be a crime if we don’t see a return from him in Series Eight and/or near the anniversary.
4, VINCENT AND THE DOCTOR (2010)- Celebrity historicals on Who have always been a bit hit-and-miss, yet Richard Curtis’ science-fiction script debut works wonders along with Tony Curran’s incredible portrayal of the depressed Vincent Van Gogh brings Vincent to high status. Here’s hoping Curtis returns to the series again soon.
3. HUMAN NATURE/THE FAMILY OF BLOOD (2007)- Series Three was something of a mixed bag. All the same, the Doctor’s turn as a human being was packed with emotion and fear, with Jessica Hynes proving a wonderful love interest and the Family Of Blood some of the most engaging villains that the series has seen in a while.
2. THE WATERS OF MARS (2009)- The Tenth Doctor’s final adventures had their peaks and troughs, but The Waters Of Mars was by far one of the greatest peaks of modern Who. Thanks to Lindsay Duncan’s great turn as Adelaide and David Tennant stretching his Time Lord further than ever before, Russell T Davies and Phil Ford were able to give us one of the greatest Who stories of all time!
1. THE IMPOSSIBLE ASTRONAUT/DAY OF THE MOON (2011)- But by far the greatest Doctor Who adventure we’ve seen hit our screens since 2005 is the American two-parter that opened Series Six. Not only did we meet President Richard Nixon and the elusive Silence, we witnessed seemingly the death of the Doctor himself, a series-bending event that kicked off the programme’s most ambitious story arc yet. No pressure to Asylum Of The Daleks, but this is how you do a blockbuster movie opener…
Doctor Who returns tonight on BBC1 at 7.20pm.
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