Sunday, March 28, 2010

My Top 50 Doctor Stories Part 8

We're just two more off and with six days for The Eleventh Hour, I will get this list done with.

11: Turn Left (10th Doctor)

What if episodes are such a staple of any kind of series that you can predict exactly what will happen. A world where Donna Noble never interacted with the Doctor led to a dystopian future and while that was totally predictable, this is undeniably a superb episode. Rose's return was fine but it's Donna's episode from the off and Catherine Tate pulls in arguably the best performance from a companion actor in the show's 47 year history.

12: Earthshock (5th Doctor)

Companions can die in the series, only a few times and when even one who causes a divide like Adric can make his passing upset viewers who loathe him, you know you're onto something brilliant here. As for the Cybermen, well it was seven years since their last appearance and this one certainly more than made up for the absence.

13: Army Of Ghosts/Doomsday (10th Doctor)

For ultimate Doctor/Rose shippers, this was a sad story. I won't lie, I did cry at this one. But the truth is that now, I wouldn't. I did love Rose on the series but two seasons in, it made sense for Billie Piper to leave the series and she got a good exit. Plus RTD kept his tradition of big finales with a bloodbath between Daleks and Cybermen, who still got overshadowed by a certain scene on Bad Wolf Bay. And there was that nifty way of giving us Donna as well.

14: Bad Wolf/The Parting Of The Ways (9th Doctor)

One of the best finales in all of the series and also a rather (in it's own way) understated way to depart Christopher Eccleston and briefly introduce David Tennant. The series of snogs between the Doctor/Rose/Jack were certainly interesting as was the way Rose exterminated all the Daleks. It's a pity that Nine didn't last longer but damn it, he went out on a high.

15: The Dalek Invasion Of Earth (1st Doctor)

They say sequels can never surpass the original. Erm, this is a rarity then, because The Dalek Invasion Of Earth is actually a lot better than The Daleks and it's got one less episode. Susan left with the Doctor giving her some interesting nuggets, London's under Dalek control and Barbara gets to smash one of the feckers with a truck. What else do you want?

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