8. Rose
Why it is beloved? It introduced Doctor Who to a whole new generation, setting up the necessary elements new fans need to be familiar with. Christopher Eccleston was introduced as the new Doctor and he was "fantastic!" Why it's overrated? Rose is almost always guaranteed to be in someone's top 20 list of best episodes because it relaunched the series and set up the rules so the show can be easily followed. The problem is, ever single pilot in history should set up its own universe. It's not something that should be considered as exceptional - only something that is arbitrary. Rose's position in a top 20 list is just a glorified honorary mention. This episode should be judged only by its story, but the story is just something only ordinary. An everyday young woman who meets a strange alien and must help him defeat the other evil aliens from taking over the world. If this episode wasn't Doctor Who, no one would have given it a second thought and would only pass it up as just another sci-fi show, a chip looking one at that - even by the standards of 2005. The Autons weren't scary, they were silly, and how they were defeated was anti-climactic. Rose Tyler was a terrible selfish character, at least in this episode. When her mother called from her cell phone, scared and confused, Rose hung up on her with a huge grin on her face. When her boyfriend needs her the most after experiencing a traumatic event, she implied her time with him doesn't mean anything to her and left him in the middle of the streets, again, scared and confused. She left her family and friends behind to go off and have fun, not caring that they are worried sick about her. Christopher Eccleston was fantastic as the Doctor but anyone can say that about him in all the episodes he appeared in. As far as introductory episodes to Doctor Who goes, there is nothing in Rose you couldn't get better in episodes like Smith and Jones and The Eleventh Hour.