Doctor Who: 5 Unfairly Forgotten NuWho Stories

From the pen of Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall, the Series 3 episode '42' threw the Doctor and Martha straight into the action, answering a distress call that left them stuck on a ship that would fall into a nearby sun within just under the remaining running time of the story. Convenient. Though the resolution was a little cheap (they were against the clock, after all), this story featured a genuinely scary antagonist that was practically designed to become a classic. Yet it didn't.

A real time episode with a literal ticking clock as an alien menace inhabiting the crew of an isolated, ramshackle spaceship facing imminent destruction. A villain with a creepy mask, a sinister catchphrase ("Burn with me!") and the ability to unleash the power of a star just by opening his eyes. Martha stuck in an escape pod and the Doctor incapacitated, screaming and terrified. This was a glorious episode, but for some reason it's seldom mentioned.

Why it's forgotten: Following a one week break to make room for the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest, this episode marked the start of the third series' latter half, which is possibly one of the best sequential run of episodes in the show's history. '42' was immediately followed by Paul Cornell's terrific 'Human Nature' two-parter, which was itself followed by 'Blink' before the three-part series finale. The tail-end of the third series had a huge spike in quality and, though excellent, this episode never really stood a chance in comparison.