Doctor Who: 10 Revived Series Episodes You'll Only Watch Once

3. The Next Doctor

Doctor Who Christmas Specials are always an eagerly awaited part of the nation's yuletide festivities but the 2008 one was preceded by a heightened level of intrigue owing to the fact that it was seemingly going to introduce the nation to their brand new Doctor. And so soon after David Tennant's botched regeneration during the Series 4 finale? For shame! Let's be honest, though, calling it 'The Next Doctor' was always going to get tongues wagging so Russell T Davies knew exactly what he was letting himself in for. He was laughing all the way to the bank, too, seeing as the episode clocked in one of the show's highest viewing figures to date. All of our anticipation was ultimately in vein, however, when it transpired that David Morrissey's character (who had been out and proud about his Time Lord identity in all of the trailers) was just really confused. As it turns out, he wasn't destined to become our new leading man after all because he was just an ordinary bloke called Jackson Lake whose mind had been corrupted by the Cybermen. Damn. As such, once you know who he really is - or rather, who he really isn't - then it completely destroys the episode's element of surprise which, admittedly, is what everyone tuned in for. Yes, believe it or not but the record-breaking audience wasn't drawn in by the ginormous CyberKing that was built by London's orphans and proceeded to stomp its away through London town. In fact, that development was so bizarre that Steven Moffat wasted no time in narratively erasing it from existence. Guess those cracks in time were good for something after all, eh?