20 Essential Doctor Who Stories For The "New to Who" - Part I: The Davies Era ('05 - '10)
10. The End of Time (Series 4 - Specials Collection, 2009/2010)
Its all built up to this. This is the moment that New Who pivots on, as the end of Russell T. Davies reign as show runner goes out with multiple bangs. The unfortunate side effect of such an event episode is that Davies tends to pay lip service to the plot leading up to the event (in this case, a wealthy businessmans quest for immortality) and then focuses solely on The Event once its begun. That said, its still a thrilling episode that concludes the storyline with The Doctors most infamous arch-nemesis, The Master. After fulfilling a prophecy foretold two specials ago, The Tenth Doctor takes his last moments of life and revisits all of his fond companions. He says goodbye with a final act of kindness granted to each, ultimately finding him in an encounter with Rose Tyler herself, before heading off to regenerate into his next form. Its as heartbreaking as you would imagine, and provides us with a wonderful cliffhanger that will lead not only into the Eleventh Doctors time to shine, but also the end of Part I.To Be Continued in Part II: The Steven Moffat Era (2010 Present)