Doctor Who: Every Doctor's Definitive Seasons

The Seventh Doctor: Season 26

Despite a shaky start, the Seventh Doctor's era became something of a renaissance for Doctor Who during its final years. With the addition of Andrew Cartmel, the show was given a reinvention, that allowed The Doctor to become a more mysterious entity once more, accompanied with narratives that made you question his authority, and legacy.

This all began with Season 25 bringing about some juicy hints towards the Time Lord's heritage, indicating he wasn't who we all thought him to be. That, and we received some fantastic stories that all went about to explore this new version of The Doctor. Naturally, Season 26 pushed the boundaries even further, generating some challenging plotlines that delved deep into the mythology of The Doctor's darker, more manipulative nature, especially when concerning his companion Ace.

Ghost Light sees the Seventh Doctor betray Ace's trust by bringing her to the one place she never wanted to revisit. And yet, this was all for her own good, allowing her to face her demons, and build her up as a stronger person. Then you have The Curse of Fenric, which literally tests Ace's faith within The Doctor, to the point where she challenges his god-like presence in the adventure, as he towers over everyone in his long game of chess against Fenric. He's even forced to break her will, all for the purpose of ensuring checkmate (although he does later apologise for doing this to her).

Finally, Survival became a powerful thread that ensured Doctor Who's eventual return, creating the very groundwork that Russell T Davies would instil into his own version of the show upon its revival in 2005.