10 Most Overrated Doctor Who Episodes

For the most part, modern Doctor Who's expansive back catalogue of episodes holds up pretty well.

There are a few out-and-out stinkers here and there, but all things considered, this is a show with impressively few duds when you consider we’re 13 series (plus change) deep.

Because of this stellar track record, there’s no real consensus within the fandom on what the best episodes actually are (aside from the big two). However, there are a number of hats thrown in the ring whenever this discussion comes up – some, if you ask us, that are justified, whereas others... eh, not so much.

In this list, we’ll be arguing why we think these ten fan-favourite episodes don’t deserve to be in contention for the crown (because clearly we enjoy courting controversy!).

Brace yourself. Are you ready? Let’s rip off that plaster and dive in.

Let’s get this out of the way first – we don’t have a single bad word to say about Capaldi’s impassioned anti-war speech in the back half of this two-parter. It remains one of the absolute highlights of Twelve’s run, and watching it back, it’s clear why Moffat had the confidence to give Capaldi the show’s first one-hander in that very same series.

But beyond its final 20 minutes, The Zygon Inva/version spends a lot of time treading water.

It finds itself in the rather awkward position of clearly needing two parts, but also not having quite enough story to justify the double runtime. Jenna Coleman’s turn as Bonnie is enjoyable and she’s clearly having a lot of fun playing the villain, but the UNIT stuff here is weaker than usual, and tends to plod along. A lot of the first episode feels like padding, to the point where it's kinda difficult to remember – this is an hour-and-a-half long, but our memory of it is the final half an hour. Generally not a great sign.

It’s still a good story, but we do think people tend to focus on that one fantastic scene when they rave about this one.