The Best And Worst Episode Of EVERY Doctor Who Series

With fourteen series of modern Doctor Who now under our belts, it’s as good a time as any to look back over the last 19 years, series by series, and examine what worked and what didn’t.

Since Doctor Who returned in 2005, we've had three showrunners, seven Doctors – two of them played by the same actor – and a whopping 187 episodes. That's a lot of Doctor Who to sift through and assess!

For each revival series, I’ll be highlighting what I consider to be single best and single worst episode of each run (plus a couple of honourable and dishonourable mentions, because sometimes it’s almost too close to call).

Buckle your seatbelts – this is gonna be a big one.

Worst: Rose

This is a controversial pick, I know, but, aside from the initial mystery surrounding the Doctor’s character, I don’t think this story does a lot right, at all. It’s a story that undermines its creepy potential with juvenile humour, choppy editing, and a childishness that was a baffling choice for such an important moment for the show - this can’t have been RTD’s best attempt to win over a new generation. If released today, this story would be torn apart by fans, and rightfully so, I’m afraid.

Dishonourable Mention: The Long Game

Best: The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances

This is what series one should look like. This is the first episode of Doctor Who I ever saw, and it gave me such bad nightmares that I knew I had to come back for more. A creepy premise, terrifying execution, and the introduction of one of the most loved characters of the revival in Jack Harkness make this a standout, and Eccleston puts forward his best pitch for what Nine should be, showcasing his full range and putting in his best performance. That ‘everybody lives!’ scene is truly iconic and euphoric, and is, in my opinion, Nine’s crowning moment.

Honourable Mention: Bad Wolf / The Parting of Ways