Doctor Who: 10 Things Russell T. Davies NEEDS To Do
5. Doctor-lite Episodes
Some of the best episodes in Davies' tenure were, ironically, those that didn't feature the Doctor as heavily. Blink is frequently cited as one of the best episodes that the revival of Doctor Who has to offer, with a star-making performance by Carey Mulligan as Sally Sparrow.
What makes episodes like this work is that the audience is given the opportunity to see the Doctor through the eyes of a stranger. At this point, the Doctor has been thoroughly explored from within - much of the mystery is gone. Seeing them through a stranger's eyes allows the audience to see them with a sense of wonder again.
Love & Monsters, while frequently reviled here on this channel, actually features an impressive character in Elton, the man desperately seeking to understand what happened to his mum when he was a child. Later, Turn Left gave one of the best performances of Catherine Tate's career, with the Doctor barely appearing at all.
It's not that we don't want to see the Doctor - we want to see them from another view, and that is something these episodes do very well.