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Doctor Whorecently returned for its fourteenth time of year for the revival serial that start in 2005 . However , the legacy of the show extends back to 1963 , when it debut on British goggle box and ran for 27 seasons . There was a nearly two - decade gap between the end of the firstDoctor Whoseries and its heir , which keep in May even though BBC and Disney+ take a firm stand on calling it “ Doctor Whoseason 1″ as if it were a third serial publication .
Ncuti Gatwa star in the newest season ofDoctor Whoalongside Millie Gibson , who play the Doctor ’s latest companion , Ruby Sunday . It ’s their time to add to the lore of the serial publication , hopefully with stories that can earn their place on this tilt in the hereafter . In the meantime , we ’ve chosen the 10 bestDoctor Whoepisodes of the revival series , which you could see below .
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10. The Husbands of River Song (2015 Christmas Special)
There have been some terrificDoctor WhoChristmas special since the serial publication returned in 2005 , butThe Husbands of River Songmade this listing because it take gag law to a long - running storyline that begin in time of year 4 when Alex Kingston made her first guest appearance as River Song . Through most of her meter on the show , River knew more about the Doctor ’s hereafter than he did . Peter Capaldi ’s Twelfth Doctor flipped the switch on River , in part because she had never met his incarnation of the Doctor before .
This fourth dimension , the Doctor start to play the role of the companion to River , who miss some obvious clues about his true indistinguishability . The Doctor was clear have a blast , even though he did n’t always approve of River ’s manoeuvre . When River recognized the man she make love , the Doctor finally show River how much he loves her as well .
9. School Reunion (season 2, episode 3)
The first season of the revival series did n’t fetch back anyone from the original version ofDoctor Who . time of year 2 quickly amend that with a guest appearance by Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith , the Doctor ’s companion during some of the peak years of the serial publication in the ’ 70s . Sarah Jane ’s return was attractively handled , as her hard feelings about being abandoned by the Doctor gave way to the joy of seeing him again . The Doctor was also distinctly gallant of the woman that Sarah Jane had became .
Sarah Jane ’s restoration was more than just an emotional tie-in to the past . It allowed Sladen to finally get a spinoff series , The Sarah Jane Adventures , which was something that almost chance decade in the beginning .
8. A Good Man Goes To War (season 6, episode 7)
The Doctor is many things , but seldom as wild he was inA Good Man run To War . Madame Vastra ( Neve McIntosh ) and her military unit kidnapped the Doctor ’s companion , Amy Pond ( Karen Gillan ) , and forced her to give birth in captivity . The Doctor and Amy ’s husband , Rory Williams ( Arthur Darvill ) , responded by putting together a modest U. S. Army from across prison term and space to storm the Demon ’s Run space station for keep open Amy and her newborn daughter .
This installment was also one of the uncommon occasions where the scoundrel get the last jest , and the Doctor ’s triumph became a biting licking . Regardless , the last minute of the story were a revelation that there might be a glad ending at the end of this difficult time .
7. The Stolen Earth/Journey’s End (season 4, episodes 12 and 13)
The Stolen EarthandJourney ’s Endpulled off a massiveDoctor Whocrossover narrative a decade beforeAvengers : Infinity Wardid the same thing for the MCU on the grownup cover . Every single companion from the revival series to that date returned for this two - part season 4 finis , which also sport Edgar Guest appearances by the casts of the two spinoff serial : The Sarah Jane AdventuresandTorchwood .
Watching the Doctor of the Church ’s friends rag around him was exciting and rewarding . Yet the episode ’s emotional post came to rest on the Doctor ’s bail with Donna Noble ( Catherine Tate ) , who was perhaps his best friend among the companions . Donna saved the universe , and all it be her was the hazard to live a sprightliness of adventure with the Doctor and all the memories that went with that . It ’s a good thing that the 60th anniversary special gave the Doctor and Donna some much - needed resolution and a joyous reunification . We had to wait a long time to see that .
6. The Name of the Doctor (season 7, episode 13)
The second one-half ofDoctor Whoseason 7 rotate around the mystery of the Doctor ’s novel companion , Clara Oswald ( Jenna Coleman ) , who somehow simultaneously existed in multiple time periods . The Name of the Doctorpeeled off the secrets of Clara ’s intention just as the Doctor fall upon his final resting place in the future tense . There were also several callbacks to old adaptation of the Doctor , both within the revival and the original series .
Despite the rubric of the sequence , the Doctor ’s enceinte arcanum is n’t his name . It ’s the chapter of his past that he observe hide out from everyone , which flirt out inThe Day of the Doctorsix months after this season finale aired .
5. Blink (season 3, episode 10)
ManyDoctor Whofans point toBlinkas the greatest sequence of the series despite the fact that the Doctor hardly appear in it . It also has a much scarier tincture than most of the show ’s episodes . This is a great standalone story have guest star Carey Mulligan before she went on to become an Oscar - nominated actress . Mulligan plays Sally Sparrow , a young woman who has never meet or hear of the Doctor before .
Much to Sally ’s surprise , she arrive to actualize that the Doctor is attempting to contact her from the past tense because he need her help to commit his TARDIS back in time to retrieve him . stand in Sally ’s way are the Weeping Angels , an alien raceway who seem like statue whenever anyone lays eyes on them . But the second that their victims appear away , the Angels move with startling speed . There ’s only one solution : “ do n’t nictate . ”
4. Army of Ghosts/Doomsday (season 2, episodes 12 and 13)
TheDoctor Whorevival upped the stake with its two - part season 2 finale , Army of GhostsandDoomsday . The Doctor ’s two with child foe , the Daleks and the Cybermen , came face - to - face before immediately declaring war against each other . Since both force out were occupy Earth at the same time , that could have meant the death of humanity .
Thankfully , the Doctor and his companion , Rose Tyler ( Billie Piper ) , come up with a solution … with an unintended consequence that forces them to say goodbye constantly . This was Piper ’s final episode as a unconstipated cast member of the series , and at the prison term , it really did seem like the Doctor and Rose were divide for just just when they were about to acknowledge that they love each other . The heartbreak in their farewell is unmated .
3. The Eleventh Hour (season 5, episode 1)
The fifth - time of year premiere , The Eleventh Hour , may be the most perfect pilot episode that is n’t in reality a pilot . Matt Smith ’s first full installment as the Eleventh Doctor completely reset the board for the show , even as the Doctor was still wearing the rags of his old incarnation .
After crashing to Earth in the yesteryear , the Doctor meets and befriends a young girl named Amelia Pond ( Caitlin Blackwood ) . One slim metre travel mischance later , the present day Amelia now go by Amy , and she is understandably worried because she thinks the Doctor abandoned her . But they have much bigger Pisces fingers and custard to fry because the Doctor has to save the worldly concern without his TARDIS or his sonic screwdriver . And he ’s got less than an 60 minutes to deplumate it off . Keep an eye out for Oscar - achiever Olivia Colman as she get a cameo late in the episode .
2. Heaven Sent (season 9, episode 11)
Peter Capaldi is one of the best doer to ever play the Doctor , and several of his episode come down just outdoors of our top 10 . However , Heaven Sentis in a conference of its own , and it was all on Capaldi ’s shoulders . For almost the intact installment , Capaldi is the only actor on screen as the Doctor finds himself a prisoner in a unknown palace where he is stalked by a ghoulish wight known as the Veil .
This story accept place immediately after the Doctor find the death of one of his snug friends and companions . That left Capaldi with a lot of emotions to convey , including angriness and grief , as the Doctor seek to arrive up with a path to escape . With no one else around to speak with , Capaldi fundamentally make for off of himself , and he gives an incredibly compelling public presentation . The ending is also up there with the all - clock time disgraceful cliffhanger in the chronicle of the series .
1. The Day of the Doctor (50th Anniversary Special)
Anniversary specials are often where the Doctors of the past meet the Doctors of the present . In the innovative geological era , David Tennant and Matt Smith were the two most democratic incarnation of the Doctor when they team up up for the 50th day of remembrance special , The Day of the physician . lover had impossibly high expectations for this special , and the sequence surpassed them .
Since the Ninth Doctor actor , Christopher Eccleston , refuse to return , showrunner Steven Moffat rove film veteran John Hurt as the War Doctor , a previously unknown incarnation of the Doctor who was physically older and more mature than his much younger version from his personal future tense .
Tennant and Smith were screaming together , but pairing them with Hurt raise the dramatic stake and reserve all three of the Doctors to come to terminus with their corporate past . This happened during a fast - pace story that was nearly the distance of a movie , which also set the microscope stage for the next decade ofDoctor Whoadventures in an emotionally cheering and exciting room .
learn the raw season ofDoctor WhoonDisney+.Doctor Whoseasons 1 - 13 are available to teem onMax .
