A high-point first episode for Matt Smith, whose newness was cause for concern from some more cynical fans and commenters around the show, The Eleventh Hour was the perfect tonic to any suspicions that he might not be quite up to the job. This was an episode of firsts: the first appearance of Karen Gillan, Eleven's first real episode and the first episode to see Steven Moffat as the main writer and executive producer. And despite that, the episode felt familiar and comfortable (something some complained about in fact), and was a particularly strong launching point for the new central pair, which goes some way to explaining why it's the first episode on this list that wasn't actually a special.
