My Top Ten Modern "Doctor Who" Episodes

The last of the time lords is due to return to our television screens tomorrow, in the seventh series since "Doctor Who" was resurrected. So here's a list of my top ten favorite episodes from the modern era of "Doctor Who," in chronological order. Please note I am going to totally cheat and include two-parters in the same entries, but spoilers will be kept to a minimum.

"The End of the World" - The first episode where we really got to see the scope of the new show's ambitions. After a fairly low-key introduction to The Doctor and his new companion, Rose, on Earth, "The End of the World" takes them millions of years into the future, introduces all manner of alien lifeforms, and plays with special effects galore. This episode really sets the tone for all the high concept science fiction to come and gave a good introduction to the Doctor's philosophy and murky origins. It also has one of my favorite villains in the show, the twisted "last human," Cassandra.

"The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances" - Did someone order an omnisexual time-hopping con-man from the 51st century? Yes, the "Empty Child" was the first appearance of Captain Jack Harkness, one of the most delightful additions to the "Doctor Who" universe. It's also one of the best "Who" stories, featuring creepy, gas mask-faced creatures who threaten London during the Blitz. The show can be a little fast and loose with its science fiction concepts sometimes, but this one was beautifully set up and earned its unusual resolution. And as the title of the second half promises, we do get to see the Doctor dance.

"The Girl in the Fireplace" - A typical relationship between the Doctor and one of his beloved companions, compressed into the space of a single episode. The Doctor meets and connects with a lovely young woman in 18th century France under strange circumstances, but can only interact with her sporadically at different points in her life while trying to solve a mystery that somehow involves her, hundreds of years in the future. It's a lovely, poignant story that really gets to the heart of the Doctor's character, and echoes his interactions with Amy Pond several seasons later.

"Blink" - The Weeping Angels would show up again in later episodes, but they were never so scary as they were in their first outing, menacing a young woman named Sally Sparrow, played by a young Carey Mulligan. "Blink" is one of the "Doctor-lite" episodes where the Doctor and his companions are barely involved at all, in order to provide more breathing room in the production schedule. However "Blink" is so brilliantly conceived, and does such a marvelous job of juggling its wibbly-wobbly time-wimey ideas, the episode has become one of the undisputed classics of the new series.

"Human Nature" and "The Family of Blood" - Probably my favorite episodes overall, because it's about all the ways that the Doctor, in spite of his noble nature, is not a human being. We start with a "what if" scenario - what if the Doctor really was an ordinary man, specifically a schoolteacher named John Smith in the early years of the 20th century? And he falls in love? I especially appreciate the way it's told from the viewpoint of Martha Jones, one of the most shortchanged of the modern companions, who has to take on a very different role in order to help him during the adventure.

"Midnight" - Some of the most impressive hours of "Doctor Who" are the simplest. "Midnight" takes place largely on a single set, providing a mystery with high stakes for the Doctor, and doesn't give him much help to solve it. An alien creature possesses one of the passengers aboard a transport and the Doctor has to figure out how to communicate with it and discover what its intentions are. No rubber suits and no special effects are used. Rather, the intense performances by David Tennant and guest star Lesley Sharp create one of the most menacing villains the show has ever featured.

"The Waters of Mars" - For most of the hour this is a good science fiction spin on a classic haunted house mystery, set on a small human colony on Mars. The ending has significant implications for the Doctor, however, setting up the finale of the David Tennant era. This is a pointed look at a side of the Doctor that the show rarely showed us, the darker, arrogant part of his personality with all its terrible implications. I wish they could have delved more deeply into this, but "Doctor Who" simply isn't that kind of show, and Tennant and the Tenth Doctor would say their goodbyes two episodes later.

"Vincent and the Doctor" - Historical figures rarely come across very well in "Doctor Who" episodes, probably because the Doctor keeps showing them up. Then you have Vincent van Gogh in "Vincent and the Doctor," a troubled genius who was never appreciated in his own time. When Amy and the Doctor go visit him, and try to bring some happiness into his life, the results are unexpected and poignant. Van Gogh is portrayed honestly, and his problems are fully acknowledged. Art lovers should also enjoy the little touches to the sets and scenery, designed to mirror elements of Van Gogh's paintings.

"The Doctor's Wife" - Okay, yes, I'm a big fan of Neil Gaiman, who wrote this episode. However, the reason I love this one is because it was the story where I felt that Matt Smith really came into his own as the Eleventh Doctor at last. "The Doctor's Wife" is chiefly concerned with one of the most important and most overlooked relationships on the show - the one between the Doctor and the TARDIS, who briefly becomes a real girl and is able to talk to her "thief" for the first time. Shippers may talk up the companions as the Doctor's love interests, but his hearts will really belong to only one girl.

"The Girl Who Waited" - A showcase for Amy and Rory, a "Doctor-lite" story where a quick retreat and a miscalculation results in Rory having to choose between two versions of Amy - the version he knows and one who waited decades to be rescued after being left behind by the TARDIS. It's one of those high concept, highly emotional installments that could have gone poorly if the actors weren't really giving it their all. Amy and Rory have often been the highlight of the Eleventh Doctor series, and I'm really going to miss them when they bow out this year.

Happy watching!
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