Doctor Who: Every Doctor's BEST Episode
15 Doctors, nearly 900 Doctor Who episodes, and some very difficult choices.
How do you pick the best Doctor Who episode for each of the 15 Doctors?
Well, you don't, for a start, because you can only really judge 14 of them.
Paul McGann only has The TV Movie and Night of the Doctor for us to judge, and so it wouldn't feel fair to place either of those here -especially when we know how many far better examples of his portrayal of the Eighth Doctor are out there on audio. Therefore, we won't be including the Eighth Doctor here, nor will we include other one night only incarnations like The War or Fugitive incarnations.
Taking out the TV Movie still leaves us with nearly 900 episodes. Which of these best sum up a particular Doctor's era? Genesis of the Daleks is often near the top of overall rankings of "best" Doctor Who stories, but it doesn't feel exemplary episode of the Tom Baker era as a whole.
If we're to truly pick the best serial or single episode for each mainline Doctor, we have to focus on those stories that best encapsulate each incarnation, showcase the skills of the actor, and provide an exceptional example of the overall era.
No pressure then...
14. The First Doctor - The Aztecs
The Aztecs is an extraordinary bit of television, from its sumptuous costume design to its exploration of cultural intervention. It also just happens to contain William Hartnell's very best performance as Doctor Who. From his moral outrage at Barbara's plan to interfere in history to his bemusement at becoming engaged, Hartnell nails every ebb and flow of the First Doctor's arc.
The relationship between the Doctor and Barbara is the beating heart of Doctor Who in its early years, and William Hartnell and Jacqueline Hill are terrific here. The way that the Doctor tenderly suggests to Barbara that she's made a subtle difference by saving just one life is a touching moment that reveals to the audience that she's even changed the Doctor's mind when it comes to tampering with time.
It's not for nothing that over 40 years later, The Fires of Pompeii repeated many of the same beats with David Tennant and Catherine Tate!