10 Best Episode Runs In Doctor Who History

On broadcast, Series 4 contained a week’s break after The Unicorn and the Wasp, to accommodate Eurovision.

To tide fans over, a special mid-series trailer was created – which is in itself one of the most exciting Doctor Who “things” ever televised. From Wilf worrying about the stars going out, to Sky Silvestry cowering in terror, to glimpses of Rose, the Daleks, and Davros, it’s spine-tingling stuff.

And when those episodes finally arrived, they didn’t disappoint. Indeed, so great is the second half of Series 4 that it’s all made it onto this list.

This is some of the show’s most ambitious storytelling, taking us from a planet-sized library to a giant Dalek flagship, via a stranded shuttle bus and a nightmarish alternate reality. There are scares in the form of the skull-faced Vashta Nerada, the horrifically-corrupted Miss Evangelista, and the all-mysterious Midnight Entity.

There are thrills, via the epic Torchwood/SJA crossover, the long-awaited return of Rose and the jaw-dropping cliffhanger to The Stolen Earth. And there’s heartbreak, through the tragic fates of River, Donna, and the Doctor, who once again ends up alone in the TARDIS.

To go a couple of weeks without a dud is one thing. But six weeks of bangers? RTD and the team were really cooking here, and it's hard to imagine we'll ever see a streak this good ever again.