Let's begin by mangling the words of Benjamin Franklin: "Griping about episodes everyone loves is the most natural state of Doctor Who fans." Of course, Benjamin was really talking about marriage being the natural state of man, and there are times when it certainly feels like fans are married to their favourite programme, for better or worse. Joking aside, it's undeniable that there are hugely esteemed episodes of the revived series that are, when you stop and think about them, deeply flawed, if not a bit rubbish. Having said that, just because certain parts suck that doesn't mean each of these episodes is entirely bad. There's always something to like in every episode of Doctor Who, and more often that not, several somethings. But what are the most widely admired stories that are, upon even cursory analysis, not as good as all that? Which adventures were not as well-written or as expertly put-together as initially thought? Here comes a list of the top 10 contenders for people's favourite episodes that are really not quite as good as is generally claimed. Get ready for a roller-coaster ride through a decade of new Doctor Who, and expect a great many passionate views in the comments section because the following opinions are not going to be popular! Be warned - for those fans who haven't seen up to Series Eight, there are spoilers ahead.
Mike has lived in the UK, Japan and the USA. Currently, he is based in Iowa with his wife and 2 young children. After working for many years as a writer and editor for a large corporation, he is now a freelancer. He has been fortunate enough to contribute to many books on Doctor Who over the last 20 years and is now concentrating on original sci-fi & fantasy short stories, with recent sales including Flame Tree, Uffda, and The Martian Wave. Also, look for his contribution on Blake's 7 to "You and Who Else", a charity anthology to be released later this year.
You can find him on Tumblr at https://www.tumblr.com/blog/culttvmike
