2. Series 5
This is the series when Steven Moffat took over as showrunner – the man behind some of the show’s best episodes up to that point. While he would ultimately prove to be a better writer of individual episodes than as an overall showrunner, he approached Series 5 with his better instincts intact. With a new showrunner and a new Doctor in the form of Matt Smith, Series 5 almost had the feel of a soft-reboot.
Tennant’s era was characterised by high-stakes sci-fi, but Moffat wisely chose to downplay the action-packed elements in favour of a more low-key and quirky experience with this series. The result? It’s an absolute blast from start to finish. As mentioned earlier, Matt Smith’s Doctor was sometimes let down by the writing, but this series gave him a great opportunity to shine.
Best Episode: ‘The Time of Angels’
Also Great: ‘The Eleventh Hour’, ‘Flesh and Stone’, ‘Amy’s Choice’, ‘Vincent and the Doctor’, ‘The Pandorica Opens’
Worst Episode: ‘The Vampires of Venice’
1. Series 9
By the time Season 9 rolled around, Doctor Who’s quality appeared to be in terminal decline. Capaldi’s initial run was the show’s weakest at the time, and Matt Smith’s latter seasons left many indifferent, but Moffat clearly realised that the show was in need of a shake up. He slashed the number of stories in favour of a series almost entirely consisting of multiple-part narratives. It’s almost a shame this didn’t become the standard, as it gave space for much richer storytelling.
Series 9 was a smashing return to form for Doctor Who, which barely took a single wrong step. Capaldi’s character became much more clearly defined this time round, and episodes such as ‘Heaven Sent’ were worthy of any accolade bestowed upon them. This is the golden standard for any future Doctor Who showrunner to consider.
Best Episode: ‘Heaven Sent’
Also Great: ‘The Magician’s Apprentice’, ‘The Witch’s Familiar’, ‘The Girl Who Died’, ‘The Zygon Invasion’, ‘The Zygon Inversion’, ‘Face the Raven’
Worst Episode: ‘Sleep No More’
Words by James Moules
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