Doctor Who Series 10: Ranking Every Episode From Worst To Best

10. Knock Knock

Doctor Who Series 10
BBC Studios
"You don’t have to go to outer space to find monsters. There’s plenty of things that wanna kill you right here on Earth!" - Nardole

The fourth episode of the series is a classic case of an interesting story let down by a rushed and ill-conceived ending. The switch from David Suchet being Eliza’s father to her son might have been a neat trick, but it makes absolutely no sense. The same could be said for the flesh eating bugs and their modus operandi. But the biggest cop out of all came when the students were miraculously brought back to life. Apparently it’s quite possible to walk away unharmed after being partially consumed by a bug ridden wall.

Knock, Knock is also a good example of the limitations of the 45 minute format. Mike Bartlett admirably crams plenty of familiar themes and set pieces into this riff on the teenage horror flick genre, but there is insufficient time to fully develop the characters. With the exception of the series regulars and David Suchet they are all instantly forgettable.

On the plus sides the effects were some of the best of the year and as an added bonus the BBC released a special audio version added a new dimension to this atmospheric story. Plus it’s always fun to see the companion in their own environment and the Doctor acting hopelessly out of place. Overall however, Knock Knock was a watered down version of a story that would have been better suited to the ill-fated Class spin-off.

Contributor
Contributor

Paul Driscoll is a freelance writer and author across a range of subjects from Cult TV to religion and social policy. He is a passionate Doctor Who fan and January 2017 will see the publication of his first extended study of the series (based on Toby Whithouse's series six episode, The God Complex) in the critically acclaimed Black Archive range by Obverse Books. He is a regular writer for the fan site Doctor Who Worldwide and has contributed several essays to Watching Books' You and Who range. Recently he has branched out into fiction writing, with two short stories in the charity Doctor Who anthology Seasons of War (Chinbeard Books). Paul's work will also feature in the forthcoming Iris Wildthyme collection (A Clockwork Iris, Obverse Books) and Chinbeard Books' collection of drabbles, A Time Lord for Change.