Every Modern-era Doctor Who Episode Ranked (Part 1 - 136-101)

Lockdown has certainly been a time for TV bingeing and, like most Whovians, I’ve taken the time to re-watch every episode of ‘Doctor Who’, from 2005’s Christopher Eccleston reboot to the most recent series helmed by Jodie Whittaker. The show is ingrained in British culture and despite drudging out some very lacklustre episodes along the way; it has also produced some of the most genius TV moments of the past 20 years. There will be a lot of mini lists that I can rattle off from this show, which I’m sure will follow in the future, but I couldn’t resist starting off my new blog with a massive ranking of every Doctor Who episode of the modern era.

136. Ascension of the Cybermen/The Timeless Children

Do I sound like a petulant child and snooty fanboy when I say that this is the worst episode of the modern era of Doctor Who? Probably, but I really don’t care. ‘The Timeless Children’ did its absolute best to rewrite so much of why I love this show. It feels like the writers were just desperate to include some kind of huge, shocking twist that would have everyone’s jaw dropping, and maybe for some people it did, but not in the right way. It’s not even about continuity or canon (because let’s face it, the show has never really cared about that), it’s about fundamentally changing a character’s history and make-up. ‘Ascension of the Cybermen’ has some nice moments, but I can safely say I will not be re-watching the most recent series finale for a very long time.

135. In the Forest of the Night

Apparently, writer Frank Cottrell-Boyce intended for this episode to come across as poetic , but it does anything but that. This is one of those episodes where the Doctor could have been left out and nothing would have changed. Whilst some use this to their advantage, this does not and results in zero tension throughout the episode. The scenes with the children in the Tardis do not work at all and the CGI wolves look pretty shabby.

Also, is it only me that gets annoyed when TV shows depict London completely unrealistically with no-one walking around?

134. Empress of Mars

The Ice Warriors are a historic Who villain, but this episode is just silly. A load of Victorian soldiers on Mars in a breathable atmosphere with an Ice Warrior servant? Mark Gatiss has done some decent episodes of Who in the past, but this is not one of them.

133. The Crimson Horror

It’s just so forgettable. The 100th episode since the 2005 reboot doesn’t stick in the mind at all, with an uninteresting plot and probably too many ideas for its own good. Diana Rigg in general is pretty brilliant, but here she doesn’t have the same fear factor that so many other great actors have brought to Who villains. Maybe it deserves to be higher, but just for the fact that it does nothing to peak my interest and is easily the most unmemorable episode in the show’s run, it’s going near the bottom.

132. Fear Her

Maybe I shouldn’t be saying this about a child actor, but Jesus Christ, that kid is annoying! The unbearable character of Chloe Webber is indicative of this episode which started to age before the 2012 Olympics had even begun. Monsters made of pencil scribbles and angry drawings that can be stopped by the ‘Kookaburra’ song do not make decent viewing as this stands out as the worst episode of the Russell T Davies era.

131. Let’s Kill Hitler

‘Rory, take Hitler and put him in a cupboard’ is about as ridiculous as this episode gets. Steven Moffat said that he wanted this episode to come across more light-hearted than series 6’s opener ‘The Impossible Astronaut’, however he goes too far and turns this into something far too stupid for its own good, which seems to only exist to try and tie up loose ends of the River Song arc and to set up the end-of-series twist. A really misjudged step for Moffat.

130. Can you hear me?

Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great that Doctor Who has done an episode about mental health and the challenges that people face with it, especially in the time that we’re in at the moment, this just shouldn’t have been it. The episode sets up two immortal and invincible foes that can’t possibly be beaten, for them to be beaten far too easily and far too quickly. ‘Can you hear me?’ is full of a lot of the problems that Chris Chibnall’s series’ have faced so far (an over-reliance on the sonic screwdriver to name just one) and that need to be addressed soon for future series to have success.

129. Journey to the centre of the Tardis

It really does feel like they just did this episode so they could have that title. What annoys me even more about this story than the three brothers who we really don’t care about at all, is that when it’s revealed that one of the brothers isn’t actually a cyborg after all and has been lied to by the others as a form of entertainment, The Doctor doesn’t react at all! Rather than saying what a horrible abuse this is, he actually uses this as a way to show that this character is decent after all because he admitted his wrong! Stupid logic, an uninteresting plot and dull characters make this a very weak episode.

128. The Idiot’s Lantern

Despite a solid performance from Maureen Lipman, The Wire is potentially the worst villain in modern Who. We don’t know anything about her (where she comes from, what she actually is, what her plan is other than eating people’s faces) and by the time she’s defeated we’ve lost all interest anyway. There are some nice scenes between the family and an emotional performance from the ever-brilliant David Tennant, but this turns into another Mark Gatiss clanger with little threat or tension.

127. Sleep no more

Mark Gatiss has come up a lot at the bottom of this list already hasn’t he? Unfortunately, it’s a ‘what could have been’ with this episode. A great idea of making a ‘found footage’ story, which is really well filmed, is let down by an appallingly bad story. Monsters made from eye dust? Really??!!

126. Victory of the Daleks

OK, I do like Mark Gatiss, I swear (maybe more as an actor than a writer), but this is easily the worst Dalek story of modern Who. The idea that the most powerful and evil species in the universe can only survive by helping out Churchill in World War 2 is just plain stupid, but perhaps the worst crime of this episode is that it fundamentally changes the relationship between the viewer and the Daleks. No more are they the fearsome, ‘cower behind the sofa’ monster that they were in the Russell T Davies-era, but now they’ve been turned into a joke that carries around trays of tea. An incredibly disappointing episode that ruined the most iconic villain in Doctor Who history.

125. Orphan 55

I get the impression from different social media groups, podcasts etc. that this episode would probably make the number 1 spot on a lot of people’s worst ever Who episodes list. However, on a positive note, James Buckley is a good actor and I’m glad that he’s working. That may well be the only positive note of this episode, which has its heart in the right place with its environmental message (a cause particularly close to my heart), but there are so many other episodes that have done this more subtly and with much more effect. That old woman constantly shouting ‘Benni’ is also deeply irritating.

124. The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe

Certainly the weakest Christmas special of the series so far. Despite some humorous moments from Matt Smith and some welcome appearances from Claire Skinner, Alexander Armstrong and Bill Bailey, this episode suffers from too many plot lines and characters going under-used and lacking in substance. It’s not going to offend or upset anyone, but you’re not going to miss out on anything if you give this one a miss.

123. The Eaters of Light

Just writing this, I’ve got that damn Celtish music stuck in my head. This is another episode that has a forgettable plot and lacks any kind of compelling mystery or threat that we came to expect from Capaldi’s final season. This was written by Rona Munro who wrote the final serial of the classic Doctor Who series ‘Survival’, so save yourself from this one and go watch that instead.

122. The Name of the Doctor

I really grew to love Clara as a companion to Peter Capaldi’s Doctor, but as ‘the impossible girl’, I just really don’t care. Richard E Grant’s performance as the Great Intelligence in the Christmas episode ‘The Snowmen’ was very enjoyable, but here he is wasted. Despite the excellent cliff-hanger revealing John Hurt as the War Doctor (leading into the shows 50th anniversary special), this is a very weak finale to one of the shows worst seasons.

121. The Wedding of River Song

Another series finale that just did not deliver like the show’s runners wanted it too. Coming off the huge success of series 5, Steven Moffat attempted to push the boat out even further in terms of ambition with series 6, but he pushes just too far into the completely absurd with time going wrong after the Doctor refuses to die. The twist of how he survives is very underwhelming and the Silence are nowhere near as threatening as they were in the series opener.

120. The Unicorn and the Wasp

Although it is fun to see the Doctor and Donna solve a crime with the help of Agatha Christie, the murderer is a giant wasp. Enough said really. A giant wasp that for some reason uses a lead piping to kill someone rather than their giant stinger? A very weird concept for an episode, which is saved from being even lower down on this list by some very funny moments.

119. The Witchfinders

I’m sorry, but I just can’t cope with that Alan Cumming performance as King James. Some may think it’s brilliant, but I think it’s far from that, if at times unwatchable, not to mention that the Morax feel like a very unoriginal and pointless villain.

118. The Lazarus Experiment

For once, Mark Gatiss isn’t the problem with this episode! He actually does really well to ramp up the creepiness and sliminess of the professor Lazarus, the issue here lies with the awful monster design and even worse computer graphics. I don’t know why they felt that Lazarus’ machine turning him into a giant mutated scorpion would be a good idea, although we do have some nice moments with Martha’s family who are always a laugh when they turn up.

117. The Long Game

By far the weakest episode of Christopher Ecclestone’s series. Simon Pegg’s noteworthy performance as ‘The Editor’ is balanced out by the incredibly annoying Adam Mitchell (by far the most infuriating companion to travel in the Tardis) and the uninspiring design of the Jagrafess as the episodes villain. Russell T Davies’ comments towards the media don’t quite raise the points I’m sure he wanted them too and the episode concludes in a very muddled way. However, I like Tamsin Greig as an actor and she went to my university, so for that I won’t put it any lower.

116. The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos

You can be forgiven for calling this the worst series finale of modern Who. At no point do you feel any threat during the episode’s climax and the return of Tzim-Sha was one that no-one was asking for. However, the production design is stunningly beautiful, and Bradley Walsh once again puts in another excellent performance as Graham.

115. It takes you away

Once again, this episode is elevated to a higher position by the brilliant performance of Bradley Walsh. Overall though, it fails to deliver any noteworthy punches. The episode tries to push in as much as possible into its runtime and doesn’t allow for a moment to breathe, and I don’t think anyone will ever be able to explain why Grace is a talking frog. Also, the main villain in this episode is a talking frog? No, seriously. A talking frog?

114. Last Christmas

Although Nick Frost is great as Santa Claus, his role does turn this episode into something much more ridiculous than it needed to be. Steven Moffat has clearly taken on a lot of inspiration from sci-fi and horror movies but they don’t really come together to have the effect he would’ve liked. I also really didn’t need to see Danny Pink again. His story arc was clearly finished by series 8’s finale and shoehorning him into this episode was unnecessary.

113. The Rings of Akhaten

Everyone remembers this episode for that fantastic Matt Smith monologue that he delivers as he’s about to sacrifice himself to save everyone for the hundredth time. What people don’t remember is that he’s talking to a living sun and that Clara manages to save everyone using a leaf. Not the episode that that speech deserved.

112. The Tsuranga Conundrum

Let’s face it, the Pting is not the threatening monster that this episode needed to deliver the kind of tense atmosphere that could have been present. The supporting cast do give some nice performances though and this is certainly not as terrible as some critics would have you think.

111. Closing Time

The Doctor and James Corden make a decent, funny pairing, but this episode only disappoints when it doesn’t come close to the charm of their first meeting in ‘The Lodger’. The cybermen being completely wasted add to its flaws and make this story feel like a 45 minute filler to pad the series out before it’s big finale.

110. Kill the Moon

I like most people were not impressed with the twist of the episode being that the moon is actually a giant egg. However, this alone doesn’t make the episode unwatchable and it does explore some interesting themes around the shows ethics, such as the Doctor interfering with human matters. Another annoying child actor performance doesn’t help though.

109. Praxeus

This story had some really good ideas around microplastics and the impact of waste disposal on our planet and does begin to build up some kind of mystery in it’s first act. Unfortunately, this doesn’t go anywhere and the ending is more than disappointing. Once again, Chris Chibnall attempts to dive into some deep issues and doesn’t succeed.

108. The Vampires of Venice

Potentially the funniest intro ever to a Doctor Who episode doesn’t have a strong enough episode to back it up. Although there are some other funny moments, primarily involving the first main involvement of Rory in the series, the episode doesn’t quite land in terms of dramatic plot and once again, the threats are stopped far too easily.

107. Arachnids in the UK

The story about giant spiders in a hotel doesn’t do enough to hook the audience and the villain being a Donald Trump copy is too obvious and in-your-face to have any impact. The introduction of Yaz’s family is a nice sidetrack though and allows for the immortal line ‘You can’t fire Yaz’s mum!’ Don’t know why but in Jodie Whittaker’s northern accent that cracks me up every time.

106. Planet of the Ood

‘Planet of the Ood’s strengths certainly lie in the way it grapples with the themes of slavery and results in some very emotional moments. The depiction of the evil ood corporation though is very pantomime and doesn’t allow for more rounded and interesting characters. In a series as strong as series 4, it stands out as being weaker than the other episodes around it.

105. The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People

I just don’t know why this had to be a double episode. Dedicating 90 minutes to this storyline makes it feel too stretched out and not gripping enough for the audience. The concept is interesting though and seeing two versions of the Doctor talking to each other is always good fun, even if it is executed better in ‘Nightmare in Silver’.

104. Asylum of the Daleks

This episode tries to undo a lot of the issues caused by ‘Victory of the Daleks’ by attempting to make them scary and threatening again. Unfortunately this isn’t achieved, especially by having the Daleks ask the Doctor for help. For me, knowing that the Daleks have an asylum and a parliament and prison camps doesn’t add to their terror but takes away from it, and doesn’t do the character of the Doctor any favours when it isn’t questioned that he hasn’t tried to do anything to stop these. Jenna Coleman does shine in this episode though and paves the way nicely for her character to return in the future.

103. Planet of the Dead

Despite being the weakest of the tenth Doctor specials in David Tennant’s final year, ‘Planet of the Dead’ is still enjoyable enough for a re-watch. Michelle Ryan’s companion apparently annoys quite a few people although she doesn’t bother me, but it’s Lee Evans who steals the show here as the loveable Malcolm.

102. Dinosaurs on a Spaceship

In many ways, this episode feels like it was produced purely to have Matt Smith say that line. A strong cast made up of Rupert Graves, Riann Steele, Mark Williams and David Bradley do enough to keep the story afloat though, even if Mitchell and Webb are wasted as the bumbling robots. It may be all surface and no depth, but it’s still a fun watch, and shows us that we can all feel emotional about a dying Triceratops who just wanted to play with his golf ball.

101. The Power of Three

A nice follow up to ‘Dinosaurs on a Spaceship’ which centres on Amy and Rory deciding if they want to carry on travelling with the Doctor or focus on living a normal life. I’d argue that this episode shows that Amy and Rory are actually the main characters of Doctor Who during their run rather than the Doctor. ‘The Power of Three’ allows for some really sweet moments and starts to build a really gripping mystery around the cubes. The main negative of the episode is the ending which is far too abrupt and gives little to no explanation as to what the point of the cube mystery was in the first place.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the beginning of this list. Do come back soon for part 2 of my ranking of every Doctor Who episode of the modern era.