Doctor Who: EVERY Modern Series Ranked Worst To Best
With another Doctor Who series under our belts, let's see how the past 19 years stacks up...
We’re now 14 series, plus change, into the modern era of Doctor Who. And hasn't the time flown?
With Season 1 concluded and a new run of episodes to slot into the ranking, now is as good a time as ever to cast an eye back, and rerank every single series from Christopher Eccleston's first through to Ncuti Gatwa's latest.
The show has had quite the journey since 2005. We've seen the first female Doctor, brilliant new foes like the Weeping Angels, and Gallifrey's been destroyed about a hundred times. Every single series has its high points, but only one can reign supreme!
A few house rules: I’m not factoring in the runs of specials in 2009, 2013, or 2022 (though if you’re curious, they’d probably sit very low, quite high, and somewhere in the middle, respectively). The Fourteenth Doctor's specials won't be included either.
I also won’t be taking into account any of the Christmas specials, as it’s quite hard to know which series to attach them to.
14. Series 11
Something has to be last, and with a poorly characterised Doctor, a wooden cast of companions the writing simply can’t juggle, and too many middling to downright bad episodes, Series 11 is an easy choice here.
The Ghost Monument, The Tsuranga Conundrum, and The Battle Of Rabid Al’s Cupboard often sit near the bottom of NuWho rankings, with Arachnids In The UK never too far behind. And deservedly so.
The series is also held back by its hollow political commentary. Episodes like Kerblam and Arachnids completely fumble the bag – in Kerblam's case, you only have to look at something like Boom to see how those issues can be tackled better, with real intent.
Still, there are some highlights. The series opener is fun, It Takes You Away is a unique little acid trip, and Demons Of The Punjab is easily the standout, as the only episode that lands its emotional beats and gives us a glimpse of Jodie Whittaker with some strong writing.
The bad far outweighs the good, however.