10. Series 12
Whittaker’s second season was an improvement on her first, but still fell far short of excellence. Chris Chibnall evidently took the criticisms of his previous season on board, investing more in character and genuinely menacing adversaries in Series 12. But while Sacha Dhawan’s Master was a welcome addition, as well as the genuinely terrifying Lone Cyberman, for every good villain there was still one that fell flat.
Rather than being a fairly relentless drag like Series 11, this run is better characterised as hit and miss. Furthermore, the finale of Series 12 completely polarised the fanbase, with many claiming that its grand revelation upended the lore of Doctor Who for the worse, and ruined the character of the Doctor.
Best Episode: ‘The Haunting of Villa Diodati’
Also Great: ‘Spyfall’, ‘Fugitive of the Judoon’, ‘Ascension of the Cybermen’
Worst Episode: ‘Orphan 55’
9. Series 4
Series 4 was David Tennant’s final season in the TARDIS. Unfortunately, it was also by far his weakest. At this point, it felt like showrunner Russell T. Davies was running out of ideas, and putting more of his energy into the upcoming special episodes leading to Tennant’s departure. The reintroduction of Catherine Tate’s Donna Noble was a welcome addition to the show, though she was still far from Tennant’s best companion.
Every year Davies oversaw looked to raise the stakes higher and higher, but by the end of Series 4, it felt like it had reached breaking point. The Avengers-esque union of the franchise’s heroes was pleasing, but there are only so many times the fate of the universe can be at stake before it becomes tedious.
Best Episode: ‘Forest of the Dead’
Also Great: ‘Silence in the Library’, ‘Midnight’, ‘Turn Left’
Worst Episode: ‘Partners in Crime’
Everything about this list is so wrong. Series 4 was the shows and 10s strongest by far. Series 2 was one of the weakest seasons and I’m not even going to go into some of the episodes named the worse but to say boom town is the worst episode when the long game exists is beyond me. Hopefully you can improve on your lists cause this one was atrocious