Doctor Who: EVERY Steven Moffat Episode Ranked Worst To Best

7. Heaven Sent

Doctor Who Heaven Sent Peter Capaldi Twelfth Doctor
BBC Studios

Heaven Sent is quite unlike anything Doctor Who has done before, or since. We've had Doctor-lite stories, we've had companion-lite stories, we've even had TARDIS-lite stories, but this episode strips everything back so that the Doctor is completely alone (well... almost) for the majority of the runtime.

The Groundhog Day structure is such a perfect Doctor Who device that it's bizarre it had never been done before. Accompanied by Murray Gold's sensational piece The Shepherd's Boy, Peter Capaldi delivers his magnum opus performance, while Steven Moffat's script lays out all the puzzle pieces at just the right times and at just the right cadence to keep you hooked.

When a show has been running for as long as this one has, it's important to experiment with new ideas and take a few risks. Sometimes this works, and sometimes it doesn't. But when it does work, it shows what Doctor Who is capable of. Heaven Sent stands not only as a monument to Steven Moffat's brilliance as a writer, but as a display of the heights Doctor Who can reach when it's firing on all cylinders.

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Ellie has been part of the WhatCulture team since 2021 where she began as a freelance presenter for the WhoCulture channel. As a diehard Whovian with a BA (hons) degree in Drama and Acting, this role was the perfect opportunity for her to combine her screen presence training with her extensive Doctor Who knowledge. From there, she branched out to various other WhatCulture channels, including TrekCulture, and became a full time Content Producer/Video Presenter in 2023. Ellie is now a regular fixture on both WhoCulture and TrekCulture and has become a well respected public figure within both fandoms, building up a substantial following across her social media platforms and being given the opportunity to represent the channels and the wider communities at several industry events. Her favourite Doctor Who character is River Song and her favourite Star Trek character is Captain Janeway - which tells you everything you need to know about how she approaches her role within a generally male dominated field.