Doctor Who: 10 Most Underrated Episodes Of The Revived Series

8. The Idiot's Lantern

Back to 2006 now for a royal adventure (it wasn't really royal - it just so happened to take place on the day of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation, is all) which introduced fans to a new villain who sought to achieve world domination one face at a time. The Wire was an original NuWho creation and her choice of attack stands as one of the most memorable attempts at ultimate Earth conquest, so why is her starring adventure so often forgotten? Maybe it's the fact that the episode in question, The Idiot's Lantern, largely suffered due to the fact that it bridged the gap between two of Series 2's most critically acclaimed two-parters (it was preceded by the 21st century return of one of the Doctor's most notorious adversaries in Rise of the Cybermen and The Age of Steel and followed by one of David Tennant's most iconic adventures in The Impossible Planet/The Satan's Pit). As a result, a relatively straightforward standalone story in which Rose Tyler got her face sucked off - as spooky as that was - ultimately paled in comparison to the Earth-stomping comeback of the Cybermen that led into it. The Idiot's Lantern was probably just what the audience needed in order to recover from the Cybermen's return and prepare for their imminent encounter with Satan himself. As such, when it's taken on its own merits, there really isn't all that much to write home about. The Wire is terrifying, for sure, but does she really have what it takes to hold her own against the show's menagerie of formidable foes? She's just a face in a TV, after all. Still, there's lots of lovely Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler moments for their legion of devotees to revel in. It's generally just a nice piece of fluff, really. Our heroes land somewhere new, they save the world and then they're home in time for tea. Or, in the case of this episode, in time to enjoy a good old fashioned street party. Happy days.