Doctor Who: All 40 Steven Moffat Episodes Ranked From Worst To Best

Whilst the Justice Department dishes out hell to criminals near the end of their lives, the Doctor grapples with his own conscience after abandoning the young, pre-Plasticine face Davros to the mercy of those freak handmines.

It's a frenetic intergalactic hunt for the Doctor from the outset of series 9. We glide along with Colony Sarff to the unscrupulous Maldovarium, which recalls Star Wars' Mos Eisley Cantina, frequented by an array of Doctor Who's who alien species. Then it's off to the palatial headquarters of the Shadow Proclamation before hissing off to Karn, where we find the Doctor hiding behind a rock in realisation that his fateful decision has finally come back to haunt him.

Gomez is, once again, on sensationally insane, seductive and denigrating form. And it's always a treat watching Capaldi play the guitar. However the "extermination" of Clara and Missy induces some eye-rolling as it's obvious that they've teleported somewhere else.

The energetic opening episode then focuses on the introspection and cunning between the Doctor and Davros. Yet the Doctor still has time for fun and games by whizzing around in the Davros' chair and mocking him as a "smelly old uncle slash family pet slash genius scientist who couldn't even invent legs".

The domino effect at play here ends with poetic justice as the Doctor leaves Davros and the Daleks literally in their own s**t, but nevertheless showing the young Davros mercy, an act of compassion which eventually saves Clara.

Random thought: perhaps the Doctor accidentally left the Dalek gun with the young boy, thus unwittingly giving him the inspiration to create his hate-filled children?