Doctor Who This Year

As I mentioned yesterday, this year saw perhaps the best season of Doctor Who since the show returned, and one of the best in the show’s history. Plus, after the relatively Who free 2009, 2010 has seen no fewer than fifteen episodes of adventure for the Doctor (not counting his brief sojurn into The Sarah-Jane Adventures). Nonetheless, as with any series, some episodes were clearly better than others. So let’s take a look, in reverse order of merit, what I made of this year in Who*:

15. Cold Blood
The Silurians are one of the best “monsters” in Doctor Who history, but you’d be forgiven for wondering why based on this story. They could have been any monster in this episode, and the utterly underwhelming, sub-Star Trek plot lacked the edgy realism of Doctor Who and the Silurians, the action of The Sea Devils and the sheer insanity of Warriors of the Deep. Plus, the death of Rory was just tacked on the end like an afterthought – something that utterly undermined the most dramatic moment of the whole story. Not just a missed opportunity, this one was a failure – and one that leaves me with the harsh conclusion that Chris Chibnall should not be allowed to write any more Doctor Who.

14. Victory of the Daleks
This episode failed – and yes, in the harsh light of day, it simply didn’t work – for two reasons. Firstly, there was just too much going on. It felt like a two part story forced into forty-five minutes, and as a result concepts that should have worked (like the subservient Daleks) were over and forgotten about almost as soon as they had been introduced. But the big problem was the fact that this story was meant to introduce the new Daleks – and given those Daleks were obese toys presented in bright primary colours, it was never going to work. Death to the new Daleks!

13. The Hungry Earth
There was a lot of atmosphere in this episode – especially as darkness fell and the church came under attack. But the twists of the episode were obvious (of course someone’s drilling up) and the Silurians were wasted. Not as much as they would be in the second part of this story, though, but I’ve already mentioned that…

12. The Vampires of Venice
This one was a bit like a bacon sandwich – fine while you’re consuming it, but always going to fade into insignificance when you’re eating a decent, full and well-prepared meal. As a standalone episode it worked well (despite the “flick the switch, save the world ending) and had some great lines. Ultimately, though, it was dwarfed by the bigger, and more distinctive, stories that surrounded it.

11. The Lodger
Like The Vampires of Venice, there was nothing wrong with this one, and it had moments that were both highly amusing and unsettling. But it ended up feeling like an also-ran among the more striking episodes of the season. However, I’d advise all fans to remember this one – I reckon the question of who was trying to build a TARDIS above that flat will be answered next year…

10. The Time of Angels
Well, it had some striking images – the Angel emerging from the TV screen – and a patented Moffat twist (the one-headed statues) but this one was ultimately too derivative to score any higher. It was clever, well-written and directed, and well-performed. But it pales into insignificance against the far superior – and more original - Blink. It also suffers a bit from padding syndrome – to a large extent, it was all about building up to the cliff-hanger, which is not uncommon in episodic shows – but equally not as rewarding as a first episode that can stand alone as more than just a cliff-hanger in waiting.

9. Flesh and Stone
(Just) better than the first episode in this story, this suffered a bit from being an elongated chase/escape from the Angels. Yet with Amy’s blindness, the moving Angel and the Doctor’s refusal to lie to the dying Amy there were flashes of inspiration bordering on genius. Furthermore, the fact that the crack in time played a key role in resolving the situation made it part of the story rather than just a story. Still no Blink, it did at least have the decency to be a good episode in its own right – no mean feat for the second instalment of a two-part story.

8. The Beast Below
Putting some slightly dodgy FX to one side (yes, Mr Space Whale, I’m talking about you), this was a neat little story with a strong narrative and some haunting images. It also managed to be topical, with a neat little critique of elections in Britain. Furthermore, it contained one of the season’s finest – and scariest – moments as the Eleventh Doctor raged against his companion and the whole human race. In a way, I almost wish we’d had a whole season of neat little stories like this one (the Doctor and Amy taking on injustice throughout the universe) before the overall story arc took over, and the Doctor hurtled towards his fate in the Pandorica.

7. The End of Time (Part Two)
Yes, it counts because yes, it was broadcast this year. On New Year’s Day, fact fans. And this episode stands as a shining example of what both worked and didn’t about the RTD years. The story was big on emotion, and more than capable of bringing a tear to the eye. Yet it was also full of padding and the ending – which was effectively about the Doctor stopping the Time Lords by shooting a machine – was a bit of a cop out. Special mention, though, must go to both Tennant and Cribbins – they never gave less than their very best, and were always absolutely convincing even when the script wasn’t.

6. Amy’s Choice
Despite the lacklustre explanation for the strange events of this one (space pollen? Please don’t) and the slightly tedious idea of alien possessed old fogies, this story worked well in part because of the banter, but also because of the Dream Lord – perhaps the best enemy faced by the Doctor in 2010. And the final revelation of who he was is one of those moments that was genuinely outstanding, particularly since it revealed so much about how the Doctor views himself. Clever, funny and unsettling – just what Doctor Who should be about.

5. The Pandorica Opens
Ok, so in retrospect a lot of this episode was padding – making up the runtime before we got to the cliff-hanger. But given the cliffhanger was one of the best – and bleakest – in the show’s history, I’m prepared to be quite forgiving. Particularly since a large section of that padding was taken up with the scariest presentation of the Cybermen seen since the show returned.

4. A Christmas Carol
Yes, it is light-hearted and short on scares. But it also has some very dark undertones. And it manages to be Christmassy. Which is the point – it was designed for viewing on Christmas Day. As such it absolutely succeeds, in my not at all humble opinion.

3. Vincent and the Doctor
People will talk about this one for many years, because it is Doctor Who at its best. It took a serious concept, and told a story about it in a sensitive yet entertaining way. Who’d have thought that what some dismissively call a kid’s TV show would deal with depression in such a compassionate and thoughtful way? Yet, that’s what Who can do. This episode may have been atypical in some respects, but throughout its history, Doctor Who has dealt with serious issues effectively, and often been at its best when it does so.

2. The Big Bang
Ok, it confused some and disappointed others, but for me the season finale was a great piece of well-plotted entertainment. Furthermore, it had one of those punch-the-air style moments that Doctor Who rarely has – when Amy remembered, and call the Doctor back into existence with the words he’d planted in her mind as a child – “something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue". Great stuff – and proof positive that the season finale can do a great deal with not a lot. No invading armies here – just a stone Dalek and a burning TARDIS managed to bring real, and often affecting, drama to Saturday night TV.

1. The Eleventh Hour
A magnificent statement of intent with a breath-taking central performance from Smith, the first episode of the new season showed not only that the series was in safe hands, but those hands were going to guide the show in more exciting ways than ever before. In years to come, The Eleventh Hour will be remembered as one of the all-time greats. Simply superb.

*2 episode stories are counted as separate stories, because they often feel very different in tone.