7. The Fires Of Pompeii
Written by James Moran Series 4 Episode 2 Taking our travelling Time-Lord to major moments in Earth's history is a grand tradition in our favorite show, so it was only logical for this ambitious, high-tech incarnation of Doctor Who to tackle one of the grandest, most tragic moments in history the destruction of Pompeii. The reason that this episode is on the list is because (weird lava-centurion-men notwithstanding) it lives up to all of the tragedy and terror of the real event. Catherine Tate as Donna Noble is popularly considered one of, if not the best, companions in all of Doctor Who and this is really the first story where she gets to show off her great acting skills. She is entirely convincing in portraying Donna's completely hopeless distress at the end of the episode. 'Just save someone' she begs The Doctor in a scene whose dramatic potential will prove to be so important later in the Tenth Doctor's reign. Yet that thread had to begin somewhere, and Donna is definitely the right person to start it off. Another fun aspect to this episode is the presence of a second Doctor and a second companion. Karen Gillan isn't given much of an opportunity to shine but Peter Capaldi, who plays Pompeian father, Caecilius is charming and memorable in his part. This is a landmark episode for Who because of the cast, the characters and an amazingly epic tale.