Doctor Who: Every Series 2 Episode Ranked Worst To Best

9. New Earth

Doctor Who New Earth Rose TARDIS
BBC Studios

Kicking Series 2 off, the new face of the Doctor (along with Rose) arrives at a hospital on New Earth in the far future.

There are a lot of bright sparks in this episode, such as the introduction of Catkind, and the welcome returns of Cassandra and the Face of Boe. But more than that, Tennant and Piper are clearly having tons of fun. As the story progresses, Cassandra telepathically throws her consciousness back-and-forth between the Doctor and Rose, and both leads get to try out playing the pompous, self-obsessed villain.

Tennant acting as though a sentient piece of skin has taken control of his body is one way to start a new series!

New Earth does end with a bit of a whimper, however. The main conflict is Catkind using captive people infected with every virus ever to develop cures for incurable diseases… which sort of trails off without much of a point to it, and ends with the Doctor using these miracle cures for their intended purpose.

Despite being an odd choice for an opener, it’s a fun, if flawed little romp.

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