Ranking Every Opening Story of the Modern Doctor Who Series
- doctorbrick
- Apr 7
- 6 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
So close! We are nearly there! A robot revolution is coming. Fuck, I am so excited!
So, as we near a new series of Doctor Who, I thought it would be a good time for a ranking of every opening story of the modern series. Working my way through bogeys and fat, hospitals on the moon or hospitals ran by cats, prisoners and plastic, and everything in between. Starting from my least favourite and working my way up.
I loved last series, it didn't get the viewers it deserved. It was wild, it was different and it was amazing. Perhaps the reason it didn't get as many eyes on it was down to Space Babies. Doctor Who is for families, I get that, but I think talking babies is a step too far. It seemed a waste of an amazing looking monster and an even more amazing Doctor.
Thankfully, things picked up very quickly in the next episode, which I guess, in theory, could be classed as an opening episode as well.
13. The Woman Who Fell to Earth
I think this still had an Eleventh Hour hangover, and I might be placing this unfairly low because of that. I spent the episode longing for that moment, you know the one I mean, the one where the new strange Doctor makes you say fuck yeah, you are the Doctor, what was the name of the last one?!
I think this can be summed up by the fact that people say Grace was the best companion, and Grace was bloody rubbish!
I am yet to rewatch this one as I work my way back through the show, so maybe some hindsight will change my mind.
I haven't truly disliked any opening episode, so just because an episode is near the bottom it certainly doesn't mean I hate it. Asylum of the Daleks is a good example. I liked it, I just think there were better opening episodes, 11 better ones in fact.
I was torn on the Clara mystery - I love a mystery - but I was a bit dubious after what I felt was a bit of an anticlimactic ending to all the mysteries of series 6. There were a lot of mysteries, and I wasn't sure any of them had a great conclusion. Introducing Clara early was fun though - something we have had recently with Belinda as well - and Jenna Coleman was amazing in this episode.
The Pond divorce felt a bit random, alright, it was a lot random, and I have never been all that invested in Amy and Rory, so that was a downer on this episode for me. The Dalek parliament looked awesome, seeing all the different Daleks was awesome, the Daleks forgetting the Doctor was a great ending as well.
New, new, new, new, new, etc, etc. Billie Piper and David Tennant are so funny in this, Cassandra is always welcome in an episode, and the ending was more emotional than I was expecting.
Just to see Ten beat out a Samba and Rose do some ropey cockney rhyming slang was enough for me, loved it!
See Space Babies - minus the viewing figure problems. I am assuming this was the vibe RTD was trying to take with Series 14, a slightly daft, harmless opener, grab the kids, then take them along for a ride in time and space.
Bringing Catherine Tate back was a masterstroke - her and David really are perfect together.
I may have ranked this low, but that's not to say I don't like it, or parts of it. The Doctor and Donna meeting through the window is iconic, and the last scene when Wilf sees the TARDIS is pure bloody perfection, this is one of my favourite scenes in all of Doctor Who, if not my favourite.
9. The Pilot
This is a trifle underrated for me. Peter Capaldi being a legend? An amazing new companion? An interesting and sometimes scary monster? Check, check, check!
8. Spyfall Parts 1 & 2
Is it cheating having a two parter? I've decided not, and there are a couple more to come.
I was not a fan of series 11, I am sorry, it just wasn't for me. I know all the noise was about women, woke, blah, blah, blah, but why I wasn't fond of the series was down to one very simple reason, I found it a bit boring.
I was concerned, had my time with the Doctor ran out? Then these two episodes came along and I was back in the game! I also think Thirteen thinking she is playing Snap! is a moment I will remember Jodie for, I chuckled, I had a lol, and that doesn't happen often Jodie became the Doctor to me at that moment, no grand speech, no saving the day, just the Doctor thinking she is playing a kids game and not a boring old gambling game.
Then we got the twist, and yes, in hindsight it may have pissed all over the Missy arc, but I didn't really care, I was thrilled, and the insane way Sacha Dhawan played it was even more thrilling.
I don't think Jodie's era gets enough credit for how fucking scary it was!
7. Deep Breath
Peter Capaldi is the Doctor! The Paternoster Gang are here. I am loving life!
Clara and Vastra's chat was a great watch, seeing the Doctor being a bit of a shit was a nice change, and I think Twelve brings out the best in Clara. I wonder if that is my personal taste, I prefer Rose and Nine to Rose and Ten, and I prefer Clara and Twelve to Clara and Eleven. What does that say about me I wonder? Maybe it says nothing!
I love Martha Jones. The end.
5. The Halloween Apocalypse
I guess a lot of people will think I have lost the plot placing this pretty damn high. But so what, I bloody love Flux. I really shouldn't, I think we would have been better off without Dan for starters, and Division were underwhelming at best, but this episode really got me excited for Doctor Who again after a little lull, and I was back in, hook, line and sinker.
Swarm escaping his prison was such a moment, it was scary, looked amazing, and was everything I love in my Doccy Who! Swarm and Azure make great villains.
We had mysteries thrown at us, what was the Flux, who is Claire, who is Vinder, what the devil is going on! We got Weeping Angels, talking dogs, Sontarans, there was a lot going on here.
Was it all tied up and delivered with a neat bow at the end? No! Do I care when I watch this episode for the 58th time? Hell no H2O!
4. The Magicians Apprentice/Witches Familiar
A different kind of opener. A slower pace. But come on, the Doctor and Davros scenes are electric. The Doctor rocks out with his guitar. They go to Skaro! The hand mines are freaky AF! Yes, yes and yes!
Would we be here today if this wasn't a banger? If Eccleston wasn't so fantastic? If Billie wasn't an absolute blinder of a casting? I doubt it!
But we are here today and that's because Rose is brilliant. A new take on a very old program. It is a work of art. Broadcast at the right time, with the right cast and the very right script.
The Doctor's speech, the Autons, lots of planets have a north, seeing the TARDIS, Rose's reaction to seeing the TARDIS, honestly, just writing these few words about Rose has made me excited.
Fantastic!
Oh this was special. Probably similar to The Halloween Apocalypse in that the final resolution by the end of the series wasn't all that great, but for two weeks in April 2011 I was buzzing!
This is also one of those rare occasions when the second part of the story is better than the first. We got the ridiculously scary scenes in the orphanage and the most bad ass moment of Eleven giving a whacking great kick up the backside for the Silence, that scene is theatre. Matt Smith is on top form here, and
Replacing David Tennant must have been daunting, Matt Smith seems like a cool chap though and I am sure he took it in his stride. That said, this was still a big deal, how can you replace David Tennant, and how can you replace RTD?
Answer, Moffat writing a magical script with Matt Smith being a legend. Who da man indeed!
Just 65 minutes of pure magic! I could go on and on about this one, but all I really want to say is - Hello, I'm the Doctor. Basically, run!
I know you completely disagree with me don't you? What is your favourite opening episode? Let me know in the comments below.
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