The Best And Worst Episode Of EVERY Doctor Who Series

Worst: The Shakespeare Code

This was a tough one, as series 3 has a handful of stinkers. I’m going to put forward an unconventional choice with The Shakespeare Code, which gives us a version of the playwright which is entirely at odds with historical accounts and shares nothing with him but a name. The story also treats Martha appallingly, with her subplot involving her fawning over the Doctor, despite him basically excusing the racist comments she receives and treating it like an eye roll moment. That’s Gareth Roberts for you…

Dishonourable Mention: The Lazarus Experiment

Best: Human Nature / The Family of Blood

My personal favourite story from the first RTD era. This episode is so damn unique. Tennant puts in his best showing here, and he only plays the Doctor for about ten minutes. This story has so much emotional weight to it, and manages to serve as a character study for a character that, as mentioned, isn’t even present for most of the runtime - that’s impressive. A grounded, personal story like this had no need to go hard on the villains, and yet, it also introduces one of the greatest one-and-done antagonists of all time in the Family of Blood, who manage to feel even more alien than half the prosthetic monsters on the show.

Honourable Mention: Blink