Doctor Who Series 10: Ranking Every Episode From Worst To Best
9. Empress Of Mars
"I’ve a bad feeling about this." - The Doctor
Mark Gatiss, a writer steeped in Doctor Who’s mythology and history, has been one of the most significant champions for the show since its cancellation in 1989. But with new showrunner Chris Chibnall reportedly bringing in his own writing team Empress of Mars may very well be Gatiss’ final contribution. It would certainly explain the elements of this story that prevented it from becoming a classic.
After the bold and inventive Sleep No More, Gatiss is very much playing it safe here, with a script that wouldn’t have been out of place in the classic run. Given the reactions to his more creative contributions who can blame him? Sleep No More was hardly well received, but that was nothing compared to the fallout from the redesigned new paradigm Daleks. If he wanted to go out with a non-divisive fan-pleaser then this was exactly what he delivered.
Unfortunately this traditional approach meant that we were left with a bunch of stereotypical characters and the worst script of the run as far as the character of Bill Potts was concerned. Nardole was literally shipped off, having been shoehorned in at the request of Steven Moffat, and Bill might as well have gone with him to watch some more movies.
The Ice Queen ought to have been another of Gatiss’ inventive additions to Doctor Who canon, but she flattered to deceive and was undermined by a particularly cringe-inducing girls against the boys conversation with Bill.