10 Greatest Modern Doctor Who Episodes

Like Heaven Sent, Blink was a risky episode that could easily have gone wrong.

Following a Doctor-lite structure after the disappointment of Love & Monsters, would people respond to a Doctor Who episode without the Doctor in it? Well, yes! The risk paid off, resulting in one of the best Doctor Who episodes of all time, and the best episode in the modern series to date.

It helped immensely that, unlike the previous Doctor-lite attempt, the absence of our hero was woven into the plot in a more interesting manner, adding to the tension and thrills of the episode. The Doctor is always there in the background, spewing out cryptic dialogue and orchestrating events like an unseen wibbly-wobbly puppet master.

Even when he isn't around, Carey Mulligan gives such a powerful performance as Sally Sparrow that you barely even notice that the Doctor is missing.

And of course, there's the Weeping Angels. Effortlessly one of the most compelling monsters in the show, they hold you in a firm grip, daring you to look away, but knowing that you're too scared to do that for fear of what might happen. The whole concept of "Don't blink" is thrilling, and the idea that these creatures kill you with time is, like the Angels themselves, oddly beautiful.

Ultimately, Blink has it all. It's scary, dramatic, tense, sad, and even funny at times. All crammed into a 45-minute episode of telly. It thoroughly deserves its place as the greatest episode of modern Doctor Who.