2. Toby Whithouse
Episode: School Reunion (Season 2), A Town Called Mercy (Season 7) I suppose I don't feel as strongly about kicking this writer off of BBC's payroll, but at the same time, when your first episode is subpar and your second episode actively declines, I see no reason to call you back for another try. The return of Sarah Jane Smith and perhaps the Doctor's physics "lecture" are two of the few redeeming qualities of "School Reunion," but the rest of the episode includes Mickey Smith and K-9 two of the most annoying characters in the show and principal Anthony Head mugging for the camera a bit too much (granted, that's probably the fault of the director). I only wish Sarah Jane could have come back in for a more compelling plot line. As it stands, the episode is passable, but, besides the presence of Sarah Jane, nothing special. Whithouse was given another chance in Season 7, but "A Town Called Mercy" is more fluff and filler for a season already guilty of way too much of that. Again, like with "Dinosaurs," it's as if the writers were out of ideas and someone said, "Hey, the Doctor already thinks Stetsons are cool. Wouldn't it be cool if he became a marshal in a town in the Old West??" Thus we are given an episode with a cyborg gunslinger and no point. Nothing that interesting or even important happens; it's just filler until we eventually reach "The Angels Take Manhattan." If Whithouse is asked back to write another episode, all I can say is I hope he learns from his mistakes so he's able to contribute something worthwhile.