Doctor Who: Every Series Plot Thread Ranked Worst To Best

The Timeless Child... The Lone Cyberman... Dr Ruth...

Thus far, this series is a little turbulent, but at least some interesting threads are being woven. It remains to be seen where they will end up, and if they were worth the investment. We live in hope.

One way or another, any arcs are better than no arcs. Threads ladled with mystery have been an essential part of Doctor Who programming, ever since the word 'Bad Wolf' began cropping up way back in the Eccleston saga. It adds interest, plays a long game, and gives the hyper-vigilant Doctor Who fanbase something to sink their teeth into.

It became such an institution in fact, that several or more threads began to emerge simultaneous, especially when the plot-mad Steven Moffat had free rein over the story telling. That's why this list is fairly chunky, and some of them are more sneaky, memorable and climatic than others. Please keep in mind that the higher entries are based largely on the impact of the payoff, rather than the longevity of the thread.

Here is a run-down of the worst to best.

The vault was an interesting one. It was pretty much the only plot thread on this list where The Doctor and his companion were in on the mystery. They were looking after the contents of the vault. They knew what was inside of it. We didn't.

This made it a cool concept and it had us going for a good half of a series. For that opening portion of Peter Capaldi's final run, the big question on fans' lips were, "What's in that vault?"

In the end it turned out to be Missy, aka The Master, who was a semi-cooperative captive of The Doctor. It was a bit of an anticlimax. We all love Missy, but new mysteries tend to pave the way for new ideas in Doctor Who, whereas as this one ended up dragging viewers back into already covered ground. For that reason, it was a kind of a disappointing reveal.

Fortunately, it paved the way for a cool story arc, involving Missy/The Master working to find the better part of herself. Shame it was destined not to last into the next regeneration.