Doctor Who: 10 Greatest Steven Moffat Episodes

Now that Doctor Who is getting a new showrunner in the near future, it's time to look at the best work of the previous incumbents of the job. Last month, it was Russell T Davies' turn. Today, it's the man who has overseen more Doctors than anybody- Steven Moffat...

Doctor Who: 10 Greatest Russell T Davies Episodes

Now that Doctor Who will get a new showrunner in the near future, it's time to look back at the best of the previous incumbents of the job. First up, the man who brought the show back from the dead - Russell T Davies...

Doctor Who: 10 Best TARDIS Teams

With Pearl Mackie's Bill joining Peter Capaldi for Doctor Who Series Ten, we have a brand-new 'TARDIS Team' for the first time since 2012. So what are the best Doctor-companion groups ever? Let's take a look...

Doctor Who: Step Back in Time - The Unquiet Dead

To celebrate Doctor Who's tenth anniversary, it's time to look back at the story that started it all. Well, for this fan anyway...

'What the Shakespeare?' 

*Disclaimer: As mentioned in several previous posts, 'The Unquiet Dead' is a very important Doctor Who for me so this review shall be shamelessly personal*

I have a very vivid memory of 9th April 2005, ten years ago this very day. It was a Saturday evening and I was settled in front of the TV, happy to be finally about to catch an episode of this new sci-fi series that I had managed to miss so far. Whizz forward 45 minutes, and I was even happier - it was fair to say this Doctor Who had captured my attention. In no small part due to the episode I had chosen to watch first.

'The Unquiet Dead' is the first in the distinguished line of the so-called 'celebrity historicals', a subgenre of new Doctor Who that includes 'Vincent and the Doctor,' and last year's 'Robot of Sherwood' (sort of) - and I think it's one of the best, delivering an enjoyable snapshot of its guest star. Simon Callow plays 'ol' Charlie boy' to a T (a role he's returned to in the Whoniverse in 'The Wedding of River Song'). His Scrooge-like awakening might be swiftly-handled but it is well done, particularly the Tiny Tim-quoting final line. It might not be as deep a character study as the aforementioned Vincent but it is probably the best episode for taking a famous author on an adventure just like their own fictions.
As such, the usual stars of a Doctor Who episode - its monsters - might not be as good as many others but the Gelth deserve something for being the first controversial creation of the revived series (the visceral sound of the Gelth snapping their victim's necks is not something I think the BBC would allow now). Importantly, this episode told us that Doctor Who could still scare the Dickens out of us.

As with every Doctor Who, it's the Doctor who makes the episode and Christopher Eccleston's number Nine is at his best here. Going from cheeky and charming to commanding and stubborn in a flash - just look at the seance scene where he goes from quipping one moment ('I love a happy medium!') to outlying his alien nature, by allowing the Gelth to inhabit human corpses, the next. Also of note is the chemistry he and Billie Piper share here. Much is made of that between Tennant and Piper but the still-grieving Ninth Doctor is positively bursting with love for Rose, just as she has burgeoning feelings for him. In short, this episode has both salient parts of the show in check - the love and the monsters.

In retrospect, this was the perfect Doctor Who for me to catch first - I love a bit of Victoriana and you can't beat a good ghost story - but those interests actually came later. What struck me at the time about 'The Unquiet Dead' was just the power of the show. The time travel, the monsters, the adventure and the amazing, eccentric man at its heart. This episode isn't one you often see on best episodes lists, even on lists of the best episodes of this series, but it's always been special to me. It might not be up there with the absolute classics but it contains all the elements that make Doctor Who great. The best evidence for that is the fact that I am writing these words at all, all these years later, now a seasoned Doctor Who fan - something for which I have this episode to thank.

And so, as Charles Dickens almost observed, God bless 'The Unquiet Dead', everyone!

Ghost town - The Ninth Doctor and Rose find Victorian Cardiff swarming with spectres.

Doctor Who: Step Back in Time - Series One

With Doctor Who's eighth series starring Peter Capaldi's brand-new incarnation of the Doctor in a few short months, it's time to start a retrospective look at the Doctor Who of years gone by. First up, it's 2005 and the show has been off the air for 16 years. Until one Saturday teatime nine years ago yesterday, Doctor Who returned, triumphant. The rest is history... and the future and occasionally the present.

Starring: Christopher Eccleston (the Doctor), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler), John Barrowman (Captain Jack), Noel Clarke (Mickey Smith) and Camille Coduri (Jackie Tyler). 

Produced by: Phil Collinson

Executive Produced by: Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner and Mal Young

Best Episodes

Rose by Russell T Davies

The episode that relaunched Doctor Who for the 21st century serves as a tremendous introduction to all the elements that define the Davies era; the root in the contemporary world, the Doctor's brooding nature and the companion at the heart of the story. A rollocking adventure that promises a whole lot more to come...

Father's Day by Paul Cornell

Although more gung-ho adventures such as 'Dalek' usually get all the attention, 'Father's Day' is an equally terrific episode, and perhaps the first that shows how much the Doctor Who of 2000s is built around its characters. If you like your timey-wimey monster mayhem tinged with touching human drama, this is the Who for you.  

The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances by Steven Moffat
No list of the best of Series One would be complete without this wondrous two-parter. Moffat really shows us what he's made of here with his customary mix of humour, scares and cleverness being sharper than ever. Starring the creepiest 'monster' in years, 'The Empty Child' proved that Doctor Who still had fangs...


TARDIS Team

From the opening credits of 'Rose' we know that the traditional dynamic of Doctor Who has changed. No longer will the companion, though the original run produced many bright and shining ones, be reduced to needing the Doctor to save them or handily asking all the right questions. This show was all about the Doctor and Rose Tyler, his latest time-travelling companion. Though don't tell her there's been others.
Steven Moffat has gone on record saying that the first two series of the revived show 'belonged' to Billie Piper and in many ways it's hard to argue. Though the tortured yet barnstorming Ninth Doctor is undoubtedly our hero (and as much as I love his fellow Time Lords, Christopher Eccleston offers perhaps the most robust performance of any Doctor) Rose is our eyes and ears. We learn about the Doctor as she does. Who he is, his mysterious, war torn past and, by the end, his little 'trick for cheating death'...
Throughout the series, the Doctor and Rose are also joined on their travels by Adam Mitchell, the companion who was kicked out the TARDIS after one episode, and the whole lot more loveable Captain Jack Harkness who has, of course, since gone on to helm his own spin-off series in Torchwood. Mention must also be given to Rose's mother, Jackie, and her ex-boyfriend, Mickey, who serve to anchor the show to the real world. Though one would get his turn in the TARDIS eventually...


Story arc

Doctor Who had properly materialised in the 21st century with this innovation for the series itself but beloved motif of every other contemporary television show; the story arc. The linking narrative of Series One is slight on the ground but rightly so as something more direct would have detracted from the easing-in to the world of Doctor Who that the series aimed for. The message of 'Bad Wolf' littered through space and time is a neat device and one which is still referenced in the show now, think last November's 'The Day of the Doctor.' Paradoxes have since become a fixture of Doctor Who, particularly in Moffat stories, but the 'Bad Wolf' meme (created by a god-like Rose only after seeing the phrase already) proved that the show was fresher and more imaginative than ever. Doctor Who was back. But it wasn't staying still.
Did someone say 'Barcelona'?


 Next month: Series Two... New Doctor, that's weird.

The Twelve Regenerations Before Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the web and social media, not a creature was stirring not even on Wikipedia. Apart from me, that is. It's Christmas Eve, which can only mean one thing - its the Doctor Who special tomorrow! As you must already be aware, this final special of the show's 50th anniversary year will see the final hour of Matt Smith, before he regenerates into Peter Capaldi. And so, in fittingly festive decoration, what follows is a look at the Doctor's previous regenerations, which coincidentally happens to be twelve. It's 'The Time of the Doctor' tomorrow but first it's time for a Christmas song...

'On the twelve days of Christmas, a Time Lord gave to me...'

                                                      '...One Wearing Thin...'
In: 'The Tenth Planet' (1966)
Cause: Old age, died in the TARDIS
Verdict: The original regeneration still holds it's own after fifty years. While its sad that the First Doctor doesn't bow out in a blaze of glory, the thrill of it being the very first shines out. See here for more.
Regeneration-ometer: 4



'...Two's Change of Appearance...'
In: 'The War Games' (1969)
Cause: Exiled to Earth and forced to 'change his appearance'
Verdict: While it is a game-changing moment for Doctor Who - the Doctor's own race is finally revealed and he is exiled to Earth- the regeneration itself is let down by not featuring the change into Pertwee. See here for more.
Regeneration-ometer: 3

'...Three's Valedictory Victory...' 
In: 'Planet of the Spiders' (1974)
Cause: Radiation poisoning on Metebelis Three
Verdict: A touching, brave swansong for the Third Doctor, and the first Doctor-Death to be thematically resonant within the story; this serial features much Buddhist symbolism, including the idea of reincarnation... 'Here we go again...' See here for more.
Regeneration-ometer: 4


'...Four's Final Fall...'

In: 'Logopolis' (1981)
Cause: Fall from radio telescope at the Pharos Institute
Verdict: The bombastic and eccentric Fourth Doctor gets a surprisingly low-key downbeat end although Baker's tenure is celebrated with a montage of past villains and companions. See here for more.
Regeneration-ometer: 3 1/2

'...Five's Significant Sacrifice...'
In: 'Caves of Androzani' (1984)
Cause: Suffered from Spectrox Toxemia on Androzani Minor
Verdict: Sacrificing himself to save his companion, the Fifth Doctor is gifted the perfect death of a Doctor. See here for more.
Regeneration-ometer: 5

'...Six's Silly Slip...'
In: 'Time of the Rani' (1987)
Cause: Rani's hijack of the TARDIS/Fell from exercise bike/ Colin Baker was sacked
Verdict: Sadly the definite weakest regeneration. At the start of the episode, the evil Time Lady the Rani attacks the TARDIS, entering to find an already-regenerating Doctor, laying prone next to an exercise bike. Colin Baker wasn't even brought back for the scene - incoming Doctor Sylvester McCoy had to wear a wig...
Regeneration-ometer: 1

'...Seven's Risky Resurrection...'
In: 'Doctor Who: The Movie' (1996)
Cause: Botched operation to remove bullet in San Francisco
Verdict: A solid regeneration for the Seventh Doctor that makes use of an interesting Frankenstein's Monster comparison as the Doctor is reanimated from the dead in a morgue.
Regeneration-ometer: 3

'...Eight's Grave Decision...' 
In: 'The Night of the Doctor' (2013)
Cause: Spaceship crash on Karn, guided by the Sisterhood
Verdict: A long-over due finale for the Eighth Doctor was given to us this year, forming an integral part of the ongoing story of Doctor Who in that it details the beginnings of the War Doctor. See here for (no) more.
Regeneration-ometer: 4

'...War's Reborn...'
In: 'The Day of the Doctor' (2013)
Cause: Old age, died in the TARDIS
Verdict: One of the great things about 'The Day of the Doctor' (and there were many) was that it gave us the complete set of regenerations! After realising he was still the Doctor, before he forgot the good he had done, the aging War Doctor accepted his regeneration with dignity. Here's to John Hurt's Doctor! May we see more of him in the future...
Regeneration-ometer: 4

'...Nine's Triumphant Transformation...'
In: 'The Parting of the Ways' (2005)
Cause: Consumed the power of the time vortex
Verdict: Most probably the greatest regeneration, fed by excellent writing and fine performances from Eccleston and Billie Piper as the woman he saves. The Doctor saving his friend and dying with a brave smile on his face. It's how he should always go. See here for more.
Regeneration-ometer: 5

'...Ten's Cheeky Cheat...'
In: 'The Stolen Earth' (2008)
Cause: Shot by a Dalek
Verdict: Played for shock value by Russell T Davies, this sneaky surprise  made us really think Ten's time was up - until he shot the regenerative energy into a handy nearby mcguffin. See here for more.
Regeneration-ometer: 4

'And the Actual End of Ten...'
In: 'The End of Time' (2010)
Cause: Slow radiation poisoning in Naismith mansion, died in the TARDIS
Verdict: An emotional farewell for one of the most beloved of the Doctor's incarnations. It is simultaneously made by its indulgence and hindered by it. I'm afraid 'I don't want to go' is still a bit too much for this fan. Here's hoping that in the Doctor's next, thirteenth (and surely final) regeneration, he holds himself with a little more decorum.
Regeneration-ometer: 4

As Christmas Eve draws to a close, it's time for Matt Smith's last bow, like all his other selves. The Eleventh Hour is over, the clock is striking Twelve's...

Have a very merry Christmas!

Doctor Who's Greatest Moments: Part Four - The 00s

After sixteen years in the wilderness (apart from one TV movie), Doctor Who returned to the nations' screens anew. Previously seen in the public consciousness as a cheerful children's show with wobbly sets and cheap monster costumes, viewers had their prejudices blown away when, in 2005, acclaimed writer Russell T Davies brought it back as a 'proper drama.' Of course, fans had always seen it that way but now the rest of the world had caught up. Doctor Who was prime time material once again - but there were a few changes. It was grounded in human characters and relationships, rooted to modern-day Earth and, most importantly, that eccentric wizard Doctor was now a survivor of a terrible war, recovering from the horror he had seen. However, underneath it was still exactly the same show, with the same brew of humour, drama and scares that had made the original twenty-six year run a success. The Doctor Who of the 00s was greater than ever before - and so were the moments...

10. Run! - Rose

Let's start at the beginning. Shop girl Rose Tyler is at the end of another boring day when things take an unexpected turn - confronted by living dummies in a stock room she encounters a strange man who takes her hand and tells her to run. And her life is never the same again.
A perfect kicking point for the adventure, this moment absolutely captures the effect meeting the Doctor has to a companion's perspective. You have a normal, boring life and then suddenly the Doctor appears, a wonderful, charming, insane man, with danger all around him. When the Doctor tells her to run, Rose does. And if the Doctor did the same to you, wouldn't you run too?

9. Don't Blink - Blink


Inquisitive (and all round fantastic character wonderfully played by Carey Mulligan who - ok, I'll stop now) Sally Sparrow has been caught up in a mystery involving the predatory statues, the Weeping Angels. In spooky old house, she and Larry Nightingale stick on a DVD - a message from the Doctor, giving them advice on how to escape the angels... that are (slowly) gaining on them. This scene makes it onto the list as the most memorable scene in arguably the most memorable episode of Doctor Who. Exceedingly clever and scary in equal measure, it properly established the most notorious monster of the 00s series. If you're walking through a graveyard and you come across a statue of angel, there's just one thing you have to remember: don't turn your back and, whatever you do, don't blink. Good luck.

8. The Family lives forever - The Family of Blood

At the end of exceptional two-parter 'Human Nature/The Family of Blood', after leading another life as a human, the Doctor returns and punishes those who forced him to change his identity in the first place - the Family of Blood - in particularly harsh ways. Father of Mine he wrapped in unbreakable chains, forged in the heart of a dwarf star, Mother of Mine was tricked into the event horizon of a collapsing sun, Sister of Mine became trapped inside a mirror world and Son of Mine was put into suspended animation to watch over England's fields - as a scarecrow. They wanted to live forever,' says Son of Mine (Harry Lloyd, in one of the show's best guest performances in recent years), 'so he made sure that we did. Obviously the Family were nasty individuals, but the callous comeuppances the Doctor dishes out to them are rather chilling examples of the dark edges of the Doctor's character.

7. Everybody lives! - The Doctor Dances

On the exact opposite side of the Doctor, we have this triumphant moment from Steven Moffat's cracking Doctor Who debut 'The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances.' With half of war-torn London converted into gasmask zombies, it all looks bleak for humanity until the Doctor is able to guide the nanogenes that created the virus into mending everyone affected. 'Everybody lives,' cries an ebullient Ninth Doctor,' just this once, everybody lives!' It is an extremely rare occurrence that everyone survives a Doctor Who story (it's contains an inordinate amount of death for a family-aimed series) but here the Doctor has his greatest wish granted - he saves everyone. It's wonderful to see the Ninth Doctor, often morose and hurt (oh no, he came before), so full of joy. A heartwarmer.

6. Time Lord Victorious - The Waters of Mars

However, it's not always so easy to save everyone, as the Tenth Doctor found out in his penultimate adventure 'The Waters of Mars.'
The defining characteristic of the Tenth Doctor could be said to be how much he felt the losses he had experienced in his long life. From his own people to Rose Tyler, he could hardly take it when he failed to save someone. Here, it seems the Doctor finally snaps and resolves to break the laws of time to save the crew of Bowie Base One on Mars from their deaths, a fixed point in time. His ego boiling over to dangerous levels, the Doctor proclaims himself 'Time Lords Victorious' and that time 'will obey [him].' The scene is such an important one as it details perhaps one of the significant changes to the Doctor's character in the entire series. For a few moments, in his manic state and blind assuredness, the Doctor virtually becomes the Master - prepared to do anything to get what he wants. This growing coldness to the character could be said to stem from a terrible event in his past...

5. The Survivors of the Time War - Dalek

Locked away in billionaire alien collector Henry Van Statten's vault, the Doctor is horrified to find a lone Dalek survived the Time War (give it a while, Doc, and I'm afraid you'll find there's a lot more). Despite both being the last of their kind, the last soldiers of the Time War, the Doctor is blinkered with his hatred for the Daleks and his usual compassion dissipates. In many ways the Dalek is more human in this scene, despondent and alone, while the Doctor gloats about the Dalek species' destruction - and even tries to 'exterminate' it before Van Statten intervenes.
Making the Dalek the fearsome force it hadn't been since the 60s, this scene really captures the impact the Time War had on the Doctor. A fine example of how the revived series knows how to pitch the drama of the series perfectly.

4. 'I'm regenerating...!' - The Stolen Earth

The cliffhanger of Series 4 finale 'The Stolen Earth/Journey's End' is one of Doctor Who's most 'coffee-spurting' scenes. Finally about to see Rose again, the Doctor is shot down by a Dalek - and begins to regenerate! For a whole week, the entire viewing public believed that come next Saturday David Tennant would cease to be the Doctor. Of course, at the beginning of the following episode we found out it wasn't the case - the Doctor is able to siphon the excess regenerative energy into his spare hand in a jar (just accept it). But this scene meant that, at the height of its 00s popularity as it was, Doctor Who was the focus point of every conversation in Britain (or at least at my school, ah those were the days) for seven days and so it stands as a testament to the power Doctor Who has in grabbing people's attention. Every now and then, it likes to remind us that it's the biggest drama on TV.

3. 'I think you need a Doctor...' - The Parting of the Ways

The Daleks have conquered the Earth. Yeah, I know, we've heard it a dozen times but this time they really are unstoppable. Unless you're Rose Tyler, and you've hoovered up the heart of the TARDIS to become a God-like entity. Deux Ex Machina it may be, but this end to one of the series' strongest sees the touching demise of Eccleston's Doctor. In exactly the way the Doctor should go, he sacrifices himself to save his companion. Restrained but emotional, the Doctor gives a few last jokes, almost says his feelings for Rose and bows out with grace and gravitas. While Eccleston is not my favourite of all-time Doctor, he is most probably the best all-round actor to play the role, and watching him here it's hard to say differently. He is simply fantastic.

2. The Most Important Woman in the Whole of Creation - Journey's End

It seems that the aforementioned Series 4 finale had two brilliant episode closes with the, uh, end of 'Journey's End'  being the devastating farewell to companion Donna Noble. After touching the Doctor' spare hand, full of regenerative energy, Donna gained the Doctor's mind - becoming the DoctorDonna, part human, part Time Lord. However, it was impossible for anyone to hold all the Doctor's knowledge in their head and so, to save her life, the Doctor had to wipe Donna's mind of all her adventures with him. The growth of Donna from mouthy trivia-obsessed temp to a grown-up woman who realised her true potential was the story of Series 4 and so to have the character robbed of not only her wonderful time in the TARDIS but also her improved sense of self-worth is utterly heartbreaking. The script and the fine performances of Tennant and Catherine Tate collide here to create the saddest companion exit ever.

1. I'm the Last of the Time Lords - The End of the World 

While there may be funnier, snappier moments out there this affecting scene sums up the ethos of the Doctor Who of the 00s and so claims the decade's greatest moment. After witnessing 'The End of the World', the Doctor and Rose return to modern-day London. Reflecting on how nothing lasts forever, the Doctor reveals who he really is; the last of his race, the Time Lords, who were destroyed in the Last Great Time War. A discussion of cosmic battles between alien races, but fuelled with such emotion - and taking place in an everyday street - this scene is quite simply 100% 00s Doctor Who. Just as 'The Day of the Doctor' recently made a major move to ensure the longevity of Doctor Who, this scene - and the changes it brought to the series - guaranteed that Doctor Who came back changed but still the same - letting it sail into its 50th anniversary and beyond.

Review: Doctor Who - The Day of the Doctor

The day has come and gone. Christmas day for 77 million Doctor Who fans worldwide, the 23rd November 2013, is now over. The surprises have been unwrapped - so was it worth the wait? In a short answer; most certainly so! For a longer answer: read on...

'Never cruel or cowardly.' 'Never give up. Never give in.'

When UNIT call the Doctor in to investigate an impossible incident at the National Gallery, he is swept into an adventure involving Elizabeth I, shapeshifting Zygons and his past self! But there’s more, an even older incarnation of the Doctor is returning, and the Last of the Time Lords is going to have to visit his darkest day all over again...

A few months ago, we thought Series seven finale ‘The Name of the Doctor’ was a liberal re-shaking of Doctor Who history - yesterday the 50th anniversary special materialised in our dimension, pointing and laughing at that episode for its half-hearted attempt. For at its heart, 'The Day of the Doctor' treads a very clever line between changing a defining part of the revived series of Doctor Who while also, actually, not. For once, though, it can be said that the show will be the same 'no more...'

Away from the plot (spoilers), the special was released in cinemas worldwide – one screening of which I was lucky enough to attend – and so had extra pressure to reach the filmic quality that the Doctor Who of the past year has aimed for. And to all intents and purposes, it achieved it. Many fans have been after a big-screen Who outing for years, but surely if one ever came it couldn’t look anymore gorgeous than this (oh, those beautiful Zygons). As for the 3D element, it was a potentially superfluous but enjoyable addition to proceedings and was quite effective on several occasions. Nick Hurran, the show's current stand-out director, certainly handled it well and it really aided to the cinematic feel that the special possessed. 

As well as Moffat’s script and the whole sheen of the special, the performances are really what held the whole shebang together. It was wonderful to see Billie Piper back, bringing new aspects to her character, Jemma Redgrave was once again solid as the Brigadier’s daughter and UNIT lead, Kate Stewart while Jenna Coleman was as likeable as ever, albeit in a diminished role. However, the sure stars of this special are certainly the three Doctors. John Hurt brings his usual gravitas to the 'War Doctor' while the riffing of David Tennant and Matt Smith is a true treat to watch. The return of Tennant was an exciting prospect alone but its extra pleasing to see him playing a fun Doctor again, not the tortured version of his later years in the role. Every exchange between the two Doctors is laugh-out-loud funny and work in tandem next to the special’s unfolding drama.

Unfortunately, there are a few nitpicks to be had – I'm unsure of the characterisation of a hopelessly besotted Elizabeth I and a resolution to the Zygon subplot would have been nice (I just want more Zygons) but, really, when the rest is as bold and exciting as this these foibles are forgiveable. 

Overall, 'The Day of the Doctor' is a fast-paced blockbuster as well managing to be a portrait of the Doctor's character, with a flavour of Dickens' A Christmas Carol. After the release of 'The Night of the Doctor' and the reveal that it was going to reveal secrets of the Time War, there was the worry that the episode would be low on shocks (we, of course, know how it ended). However, Moffat pulls out all the stops to produce an exceptional piece of television (even if you don't see it on a TV). Congratulations to all involved for creating something that, as with much of Doctor Who this year, celebrates the show’s illustrious past and aims to ensure its future. After this 50^th anniversary (very) special was broadcast in 97 countries across the world, it’s fair to say that Doctor Who will be with us for a good many years yet. Another fifty? For those of us without a TARDIS, we'll have to wait and see. 

P.S. Rather wonderfully, this is my fiftieth blog post this year. If Doctor Who has taught me anything, I now need to pop back into my own time stream to ensure that it turns out this way...

Countdown to Doctor Who at 50: The Ninth Doctor

As Doctor Who, the best television show on the planet (I'm famous for my impartial attitude), reaches its fiftieth year very soon, I'm dedicating a post to each Doctor every month. Just this once, let's go back seven years and remind ourselves of the no-nonsense and Northern Ninth Doctor.

'The ground beneath our feet is spinnin' at 1,000 miles an hour and the entire planet is hurtling around the sun at 67,000 miles an hour, and I can feel it. We're fallin' through space, you and me, clinging to the skin of this tiny little world, and if we let go... That's who I am.'
                                                           The Doctor (Christopher Eccleston)


In 2005, after sixteen years off the air, Doctor Who needed to remind viewers why it had been loved by so many in the original run. The best way to do this; have an excellent incarnation of the Doctor as your lead. And, they certainly got that, in Christopher Eccleston. The Ninth Doctor's success can be measured by how well his short but magnificent era was received: with unanimous love. His Doctor reflected the change the show itself had gone under since its own regeneration. a much more melancholy, brooding version of the Doctor although with all his perenial quirks and sense of humour, the show was different but it was still quintessially Doctor Who. In his own words, the Ninth Doctor is, undoubtedly, fantastic.

The Ninth Doctor immediately sets himself apart from other Doctors. While every other incarnation wears a tie, a shirt and an eccentric article of clothing (a bow tie or a long scarf or a ... stick of celery), the Ninth is usually clad in a jumper and leather jacket that suits his close-cropped hair, again in sharp contrast with, say, his predecessor's Byronic locks. All this fits his character; a Doctor who's stripped down to basics; his love of life, and seeing it protected, is there as much as ever but its rawer, somehow. This Doctor has been born out of a terrible war from which he was the only survivor; and he is determined to stop such tragedies that he witnessed - and took part in  - happening ever again. However, he still always possessed his kindness and love of laughs such as when he entertained a group of homeless children in World War Two with his jokes and teased Captain Jack about bananas.In fact, just like the very first Doctor was a prickly, sometimes harsh character who gradually mellowed, the Ninth Doctor, the first Doctor of the revived series, did too. Mostly, thanks to a rather special friend...

More than ever before, the Ninth Doctor, now the last of his kind, needed a companion to travel the universe with. Thankfully, when investigating an Auton invasion of London, he found one in shop girl Rose Tyler, desperate for more than just her boring, everyday life. The Doctor and Rose quickly became the best of friends, closer perhaps than any of the TARDIS teams seen before. In Rose, the Doctor found almost a role model to remind him of a kinder, more human way to see the universe. For instance, in their early travels, the Doctor encounters a lone Dalek, perhaps the only creatures he truly hates, and ruthlessly tortures it. Later, however, after many adventures with Rose, the Doctor denies the egging on of the Dalek Emperor and decides not to destroy the Daleks, and proclaims himself a coward.

The inseparable pair were also joined by others on the journeys such as Captain Jack Harkness, the flirty former Time Agent turned conman, and, very briefly, whizzkid Adam Mitchell who was dropped off back home for bad behaviour. Also, considering how this Doctor hated this 'domestic', he regularly met with Rose's family, her mouthy but endearing mother Jackie and her ersatz boyfriend Mickey, who the Doctor would often tease calling him 'Ricky' or 'Mickey the Idiot'. However it was Rose who was with him in all his adventures. Right to the end, when the Doctor made the greatest sacrifice...


The Ones to Watch:

Rose

The episode that relaunched the series after sixteen years in the wilderness is a an excellent example of the Russell T Davies series'  quickened pace and the mix between science fiction and domestic drama. Eccleston and Billie Piper shine in their roles immediately as the series' leads while the inclusion of the Autons from the
show's pasts cements this as proper Doctor Who.


The Empty Child/ The Doctor Dances

Steven Moffat's first writing credit for the show is one of his best. Publicly known as one of the scariest Who stories ever - and rightly so, the child and his gas mask zombies are chilling creations - it also features some of the sharpest lines in Doctor Who ever. A supreme episode.

Bad Wolf/ Parting of the Ways

Even though we've had several other series finales since, this two-parter still packs a punch when watched today. Not only a grand culmination of the mystery of the Bad Wolf with a ton of Daleks, it's also a fun parody of Television's obsession with game and reality shows. I still don't even mind the deux ex machina ending too much either.