10 Greatest Modern Doctor Who Episodes

The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances is an iconic story for various reasons, not least of which being the enduring, nightmarish image of a child in a gas mask, stalking the dark streets of London with a single phrase on its lips: "Are you my mummy?"

Here, Steven Moffat began something of a trend by turning something ordinary (like a gas mask or a statue) into the most feared thing in the universe to every child who was watching. Including poor Ellie. That aforementioned phrase, repeated in the most innocent yet terrifying child's voice... these episodes are practically a horror film.

The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances was Moffat's debut as a writer for Doctor Who (not counting the 1999 charity skit The Curse of Fatal Death) and he immediately proved that he was something special, demonstrating a keen understanding of what made this new iteration of Doctor Who tick. A complex yet easy-to-grasp sci-fi concept, witty dialogue, and scene-stealing characters.

The unexpected twist that the entire gas mask zombie situation was not a malicious alien attack but actually a misunderstood act of kindness from the Chula nanogenes is also such a Doctor Who thing. As the First Doctor would note in Moffat's final episode Twice Upon a Time, good always prevails.

These are also the episodes that introduced the enigmatic Captain Jack Harkness, a character who makes every story he appears in that little bit better.