Dec 24, 20245 min read

Ranking every Doctor Who special so far - Christmas, New Year, Easter, Anniversaries and everything in between…

Updated: 4 days ago

Happy Doctor Who Eve everyone!! Excited?

Anyway, I was here to rank every Doctor Who special so far. Where do you think Joy to the World will end up on this list?

24. Legend of the Sea Devils

Not good was it? I really struggle to defend this one.

23. The Star Beast

I will never get over how easy it was to undo Donna’s brilliant series 4 ending.

It looked amazing but I'll forever be upset at just letting it go.

22. The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe

Not horrendous, but Moffat’s weakest festive offering. Maybe it was just a little bit too twee for my liking.

21. Revolution of the Daleks

Again, not bad, just the lesser of Jodie's Dalek specials. A couple of scenes in this are spectacular though.

20. The Next Doctor

This had the potential to be a classic, the first half of the episode was amazing. Things fell away in the second part though. Miss Hartigan was a brilliant villain but she was wasted in the end.

19. Planet of the Dead

A fun romp, easy to watch, but is never going to be an all timer hit. I liked it though. The London bus in the dessert looked stunning.

18. The Church on Ruby Road

Maybe a tad disappointing, maybe I was too hyped for Ncuti and the only thing that could happen from my heady expectations was disappointment. The goblins were pretty meh as villains.

The Return of Doctor Mysterio

A forgotten special really. Plonked in the middle of a break for the show. Capaldi is amazing as always and I do have a soft spot for Nardole.

17. Eve of the Daleks

I loved this one. If you took the very weird guy out of this I would of loved it more. That bloke needs locking up, creepy AF! Who on earth has a storage unit full of ex girlfriends belongings?!

16. The Runaway Bride

This was just pure good fun. Bonus points for the TARDIS on the motorway scene.

15. Wild Blue Yonder

Really amazing episode but slightly ruined by the secret around it. I don't like to be spoiled, I hate it in fact, but they could have said who wasn’t in it before it aired. Large parts of this episode I spent expecting Matt Smith or Peter Capaldi to pop up. Maybe that was my fault?

14. Voyage of the Damned

RTD throwing the kitchen sink at a Christmas special and hitting. Kylie, the Titanic in space crashing towards earth, an epic Doctor speech, Buckingham Palace, it had the lot.

13. The Giggle

Had the potential to rank even higher but I'm afraid to say the nasty side of me didn't want such a sickly happy ending. I loved seeing the amazing Ncuti for longer than anticipated, I loved the build up, Neil Patrick Harris was a great villain, it was creepy, it was epic, it looked bloody beautiful. If there was no bi-generation and Fifteen nobbled the Toymaker on his own I think this might of just made the top three.

12. The Christmas Invasion

Where the festive magic began, a massive hit, if it wasn't, then none of these specials would of probably existed.

11. The End of Time Parts 1 & 2

I do wish Ten hadn't been quite so mopey and the way the Master returned was a bit iffy, however, it was epic, and we got some great moments between Ten and Wilf.

10. The Husbands of River Song

A fan pleaser. Capaldi and Kingston are a bit of a dream team.

9. The Power of the Doctor

I'm an absolute sucker for shit hitting the fan and all sorts of things going on. This had shit hitting the fan and all manner of chaos. We got a load of classic Doctors, classic companions, Daleks, Cybermen, the Master. Ace was the first companion I ever saw, and I adore Sophie Aldred so even more plus points just for her. I wasn't overly keen on Dan and Yaz’s endings, particularly Yaz’s, I felt she deserved more - but we can't have it all can we?

8. Twice Upon a Time

In the grand scheme of things this was a pretty low key special. That is part of its charm though. Capaldi was amazing as the Doctor, and I loved his final speech.

7.Resolution

The Dalek on Lin's back was pure horror, Chibnall really doesn't get enough credit for how bad ass he made the Daleks.

6. A Christmas Carol

I have grown to appreciate this more over time. When it first aired it was a bit jarring, we were used to RTD going very big at Christmas and this felt more small in scale. Looking back now though it was a great story, and the fact it focused more on the people than a whole invasion made it more personable.

5. Last Christmas

Nick Frost was genius casting, he is brilliant as Father Christmas. A creepier special than normal and I loved it all the more for that. Needless to say Capaldi aced it, let's give some respect to Jenna Coleman as well. Daft old man!!

4. The Snowmen

If there is one scene I could watch over and over again it would be Clara, on a cloud, entering the TARDIS for the first time. Eleven loving life as she runs around the magic blue box, bloody marvellous. This whole special was magical, I felt Matt Smith went up another notch in this.

3. The Time of the Doctor

Some people probably don't agree with me, but I thought the way threads from Elevens era were tied up in this were well done. I enjoyed finding out what actually happened. Matt Smith's last line is a thing of beauty, it never fails to put a lump in my throat.

2. The Day of the Doctor

A tough gig for Moffatt, but he delivered. We got a great story, surprises, easter eggs, a thrilling finale and all whilst starting a new chapter for the show. This capped off an amazing build up and year for the show.

1. The Waters of Mars

Not just the best special, but quite possibly the best episode of the entire show. It is always good to see the Doctor’s morals questioned, add some amazing, scary as shit monsters, a banging soundtrack and brilliant cast and you have something special. Amazing!!

What has been your favourite special so far? Have I dropped the bauble and got my order in complete disarray? Let me know in the comments below.