10 Best Doctor Who Episodes Written By Russell T Davies

This was another example of the exemplary planning that went into the Davies era, with the return of the iconic villain coming at exactly the right time. The first attempted reboot of Doctor Who had occurred in 1996, but the show made the mistake of dumping The Master on the viewers without any explanation of who he was. Davies clearly learnt from this mistake, and his exploration of the character was outstanding

Having established The Doctor's standing as the last of the Time Lords and outlining the events of the last great time war, Davies built up the Master's return throughout the third season. While many speculated that Derek Jacobi would be the reincarnation of the Master, the arrival of this episode saw his character introduced as Professor Yana, a kindly old man helping the last humans try to escape the end of the universe.

The first act of the episode sees the return of Captain Jack, unwittingly transporting the Doctor and Martha to the end of the universe, before assisting the Professor in his mission. The subsequent reveal of Professor Yana as the human version of The Master is one that manages to surprise everyone, with his regeneration into a new body setting us up for further adventures. But more on that later...