Best Episode: The Doctor's Wife What makes this story so appealing is that it brings so much attention to one of the longest relationships in the series, that of the Doctor to his own TARDIS. While on so many levels, it seems as if nothing series-changing happened in the episode, it does serve as something that allows for a real and emotional understanding of the Doctor-TARDIS dynamic. Worst Episode: Journey To The Center Of The TARDIS What do you get when you combine a trip that by nature should be filled with wonder and amazement, turn it into a story with unnecessary monsters, and then add a button that causes all of it to have never happened? This story. Stories like this are nothing but a cheat to the audience. Best Race: Ice Warriors The biggest surprise of this Doctor's tenure was the return of the Ice Warriors. In the series, they have been good guys; they have been bad guys; they've acted with both honor and dishonor. With so many ways that the characterization could go, it was a welcome surprise to see the characters painted with such depth. Worst Race: Saturnyne By comparison, this is a race of aquatic vampires. The audience finds out very little about them, and the leader of the aliens takes such a completely uncompromisingly hostile role that there's no option for a richer story. Best Companion: Rory The best type of character is one who grows with the role, and rarely in a series does a character grow as much as Rory did. He goes from virtually useless to actively prepared and confident in his roles both aboard the TARDIS and in regular life. By the time he leaves, he's impressive in his own way. Worst Companion: Queen Nefertiti Again, with Matt Smith's tenure being so short, it's necessary to count all who took trips in the TARDIS as companions, and seeing as how little impact she actually had, even in her own story, she takes this role easily. Which is your favourite Doctor Who episode for each of the character's incarnations? Share your picks below.
Michael Marcus is a game designer, author, and mad scientist living in Hamtramck, Michigan; his current project list include a series of comic short-stories collectively called "One-Punch," a book on hypnosis and language called "The Prometheus Codex," a collaborative game project called "Art War," and a fun spy story called "The Adventures of Jack Uzi" at http://tinyurl.com/JackUziChannel (for those interested).
