Every Modern Doctor Who Season Ranked From Best To Worst

The finale to the Tennant era is looked upon by many as the last time the show was at its peak, although ratings suggest that the show still had some legs through the Matt Smith era. There is no doubt though that NuWho struggled to overcome the absence of David Tennant, who made the year wait between the end of the fourth series and his final episodes worth the wait.

While the 2008/09 Christmas and Easter specials weren't the greatest Who episodes, they were again brilliantly anchored by Tennant. The lack of a companion did hurt both stories, especially in The Next Doctor which runs out of puff when we realise that David Morrisey's character is not who we thought he was.

The real highlight of the special season comes in The Waters of Mars, in which Tennant delivers his greatest ever performance. The manner in which Tennant embraces the Doctor's turn to the dark side is nothing short of extraordinary. Unfortunately showrunner Russell T Davies' doesn't fully follow through on this dark turn in the concluding The End of Time story, which really is a great shame.

The Master, the Timelords and Gallifrey all return for Tennant's finale, and their evil plans of destroying humanity and time itself are engaging enough. What really works though is the manner in which Tennant's Doctor says goodbye to the companions we grew to love with him, with the audience echoing his thoughts of not wanting him to go.