For all its majesty and obvious quality, the new incarnation of Doctor Who can be a bit formulaic at times. This is often understandable- after all, kids watch the show, so Steven Moffat (and Russell T. Davies before him) cant just engage with deep and challenging material all the time. Sometimes a more accessible, Scooby Doo-esque romp is in order. Theyre often well-written, very clever romps, but are nonetheless formulaic by their nature. Id argue this was its worst during the David Tennant era. As much as I love Tennant as the Doctor, a lot of his episodes followed a common structure; Tennant finds out about some sort of threat/problem and deliberates on how to beat it. Events occur and he runs down a corridor, occasionally with John Barrowman in tow. In the aftermath of this, his companion makes a seemingly inconsequential observation (Dave, I think the bees are disappearing), causing Tennant to have a eureka moment (Of course! The lost moon of Poosh!). He figures out he
totally knew the solution all along, and he just needed his companions ill-informed observations to set him on the right path. Of course, by virtue of your protagonist being unfathomably clever, youre able to commit this deus ex machina seemingly at will, pulling plot-busting solutions out of your arse whenever you feel like it. However, the beauty of Doctor Who is that when it eschews this (very successful) approach and casts its net wider, it finds itself just as capable at addressing larger, more thought-provoking issues. Whether the shows putting on its hard sci-fi hat or simply exploring the wider issues of the Whoniverse (if thats not a word yet, Im totally claiming it),
Doctor Who has created some extremely innovative and ingenious classics since its 2005 re-birth. So without further ado, heres a top five. Be aware, a
SPOILER WARNING is in effect.