11 Times Doctor Who Reinvented Itself

The revival of Doctor Who kicked off with Rose, a good fifteen years after the last regular series had been produced, and nine years since the one-off TV movie. Given the effort to make Doctor Who fresh and relevant again, it is no surprise that aside from the core concept, every element of the series was completely overhauled for a modern audience.

Aside from the new cast and updated design, the show now had a new format, with stories now told largely in 45-minute episodes. The plot, humor and dialogue all now unfolded at a quicker, snappier pace. Modern special effects allowed the show not only to do more with its terrifying monsters, but to throw out awe-inspiring fantastical imagery on a regular basis.

And a new status quo, with the Last Great Time War and the destruction of Gallifrey thrown into the Doctor's backstory, brought a new emotional edge and thematic focus to the series.

This was not only the most wide-spread reinvention of Doctor Who, but the most successful as well. The new approach that was introduced by Russell T. Davies and the production team with Rose have never been put aside. Even though there are four later episodes in earlier slots on this countdown, each of them are still building off the template that was established with Rose.