10 Best Doctor Who Minisodes That You Need To See

Doctor Who has more than its fair share of mini-episodes, or ‘minisodes ’ since its revival, yet a lot of fans of the show have yet to see the best of these due to them being difficult to find. Particularly prevalent during Matt Smith’s era as the titular Timelord, these bitesize nuggets of the Whoniverse often flesh out the gaps between episodes, giving us extra context that wouldn’t sit naturally within a standard episode.

Sometimes these minisodes even tell their own self-contained stories, with the shorter format allowing the writers to explore some different types of stories.

Many are released as DVD extras or aired as part of Children In Need, with others being released online ahead of a certain episode to provide a tease of what is to come and generate hype.

Though many non-official minisodes have been released as part of Doctor Who: LOCKDOWN, we will only be looking at the mainline minisodes released in parallel with the series for the purposes of this list.

If you haven’t seen any of these, they are well worth a watch for any fan...

It’s fitting that we start at the very beginning, with the first minisode of all of NuWho. Released as part of Children In Need ahead of The Christmas Invasion, Born Again picks up seconds after the end of The Parting Of Ways and sees the Doctor fresh off the back of his regeneration into his tenth incarnation, played by David Tennant.

In The Parting Of Ways we get just a few seconds of Ten discussing teeth before the episode wraps up, but here we get to see an extended conversation between himself and Rose, and his first proper moments as the Doctor - something that feels rather odd to confine to a minisode.

Straight off the bat, Rose is confused and scared, despite the Doctor telling her just moments ago what was going to happen (though, in fairness, her best friend/love interest's head did just explode from his head and hands). Rose tries to explain away what has just happened, saying the Doctor must have teleported away, refusing to acknowledge that the Doctor has changed. Once she begins to accept the truth, she asks him to change back, seeding the arc of the upcoming Christmas special in which Rose is distrusting of the new Doctor (would it kill the Doctor to give his companions a heads up on the whole regeneration thing for once? Welcome aboard, it’s bigger on the inside, it travels in time and space, and by the way, if I violently explode into another person at any point, it’s chill).

Ten attempts to comfort Rose, reminding her of the moment they first met, dropping the goofy mask he wears for most of this minisode for a moment of much needed sincerity and reassurance that we are in safe hands. As Rose finally starts to relax, the Doctor begins to stumble, making odd noises and expelling regenerative energy from his mouth as the post-regeneration psychosis starts to kick in. He starts to pilot the TARDIS like an absolute nutter, neatly explaining the crash-landing at the start of The Christmas Invasion.

Whilst this minisode is a little odd, and the tone is all over the place, it deserves its spot on this list given the significance of these first vital scenes with a new incarnation of The Doctor.