Doctor Who: Every Penultimate Cliffhanger Episode Ranked From Worst To Best
9. The Stolen Earth
The Stolen Earth arrived towards the tail-end of David Tennant's mighty run as the Tenth Doctor, so many of his best moments had already come to pass, as did the best penultimate cliffhanger episodes. This particular story was Russel T Davies' all out showcase of everything he'd contributed to the Doctor Who canon. It featured characters from The Sarah Jane Smith Adventures and Torchwood.
Davies was a fantastic writer whose contribution to the Doctor Who franchise is legendary. So even though the story was neatly woven, it did feel a little overcrowded and impersonal given some of the dramatic moments he'd executed in the past. Davros' return was a good handle. But by this time, another Dalek-Earth skirmish was something of a tired plot-point. The work done in the previous episode, Turn Left, turned out to be a great deal stronger.
The episode ended on a fake regeneration, but again, various news and promotional material assured us that Tennant was far from done in the role. So audiences were duped for no longer than a handful of minutes.