5. The Parting Of The Ways
"Before I go, I just want to tell you, you were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. And you know what? So was I."
This was the final episode of the Eccleston era and featured the first regeneration of nu-Who, with Eccleston becoming David Tennant at the end. Whilst it could be said that it was Rose Tyler who saved the day, it also featured Jack Harkness heavily and set up motion the events that would later result in the Torchwood series (and also featured the very first mention of Torchwood as well). But it also showed an acceptance by Eccleston's Doctor that the Last Great Time War may not be the end, and he simply may not be a survivor. He had already seen a surviving Dalek in the similarly named episode, and here he found a whole Dalek fleet being led by the Dalek Emperor. But here he did not back down, but also he did not act out of pure revenge. Instead, he was almost disgusted at what the Daleks had become in order to survive and compared that to his own survival. The Eccleston Doctor's sorrow at regenerating is obvious, but he knows that he must in order to save Rose. I always remember a concept from a Babylon 5 episode which asked the question if you were willing to die just for one person even if no one would ever remember it and it is this action that the Eccleston Doctor takes in this episode. During all thirteen episodes of his tenure, Eccleston brought a level of depth to the role that had seldom been seen before. In this final episode, in his final scene, he demonstrated that the Doctor is truly selfless. And that endeared his performance to us even more.