10 Most Hated Doctor Who Episodes

And now we arrive at what will undoubtedly be the most controversial placement on this list. It's true, this episode is adored by many, but it has its critics in equal measure.

Yes, Ten's swansong is deeply emotional. Yes, Tennant puts in a career-best performance. And yes, Bernard Cribbins was a truly wonderful man who has our bottom lip trembling every time he's onscreen. But we're not here to talk about the strengths of the episode, and in fact, that's where The End of Time's high points, well... end.

This is the regeneration episode that betrayed the fabric of the show, kicking Smith and Moffat in the shins before donning a brown trenchcoat and melodramatically sauntering out the TARDIS doors with a wistful stare into the middle distance. RTD wanted to do something different with regeneration, and when it works, it bloody works, but with Ten's issues and vanity left unresolved at the end of the episode, the series was left hamstrung, with the next incarnation being villainised by his predecessor before he'd even appeared onscreen.

The End of Time is coded like the end of the show, and does nothing to prepare audiences for the incoming change at the point where, following the most popular Doctor of all time, they needed their hand held the most. RTD could've had his cake and eaten it too, showing a Doctor who doesn't want to change, but has to redeem himself in the end (see Twice Upon A Time), but instead, we're forced to sit through an RTD victory lap.

There's also the stuff with the Vinvocci, Joshua Naismith, and the Immortality Gate, all of which feel like afterthoughts. Even the much-hyped return of Rassilon boils down to a far-too brief exchange between him and the Doctor, before he's blasted back into the abyss for the next five years. It's all oddly half-baked.