8. I Know The Feeling The Empty Child
This fleeting mention hints at a huge underlying emotional trauma in Eccleston's incarnation of the Doctor. Amongst a great episode which introduced John Barrowman's Captain Jack and Steven Moffat's first creepy monster, the double bill 'The Empty Child' and 'The Doctor Dances', Moffat also snuck in a highly resonant reference to the Time War. 'Before this war I was a father and a grandfather' Doctor Constantine tells Nine, referring to the personal costs of World War Two. 'I know the feeling' responds Ecclestone, briefly alluding to some of the devastating personal costs involved in ending the Time War. This scene was particularly intriguing to viewers for hinting at the personal turmoil the Doctor faced in the Time War as well as reintroducing the idea that he once had a family Susan, the Doctor's granddaughter was the first ever companion in the shows fifty year history and the suggestion here that she, and/or other members of the Doctor's family perished in the Time War could be a great tie-in for classic fans as well as upping the emotional stakes for the Doctor.