Doctor Who: 10 Best Episodes Of The Decade

Following the departure of both Tennant and Russell T. Davies, the BBC were under a lot of pressure to continue the renewed success of Doctor Who. Thankfully, the Eleventh Doctor’s opening episode reassured fans the show was in great hands.

From the very start of the episode it’s clear Smith is a worthy successor to Tennant. Though there are certainly similarities between the Tenth Doctor and the Eleventh Doctor, there is no denying the latter is the funnier of the two. Throughout ‘The Eleventh Hour’ the Doctor is continually hilarious owing to some well-written dialogue and Smith’s physical mannerisms.

As well as introducing the new Doctor, the opening episode of the fifth series also introduces two new companions – Amy and Rory. Though neither of them quite jumps off the screen in the way the Doctor does, they’re both given enough time to catch the audience’s interest.

Furthermore, the shapeshifting villain makes for a terrific monster. It may not be as scary as the Weeping Angels or the Silence, but Prisoner Zero is an exciting creature for the Doctor to tackle, even if the CGI is now a little outdated.

‘The Eleventh Hour’ never once dips in quality over the course of its sixty-five-minute runtime, and as such, Smith’s first episode makes for an outstanding debut.