Rank the NuWho seasons
- Thread starter I am not Spock
- Start date
I'm going to put season four ahead of season five, but with a bit of reluctance. I love the cast in season five, and a few of the episodes are among the finest in televised science fiction, but the season suffered from several disappointing episodes. Season four also gave us Donna Noble as a regular companion.
Season one then follows, with Chris Eccleston returning the franchise to television and a string of wacky tales as the show struggled to find its footing with "Dalek" proving the new series could be powerful and moving.
Season two comes next, with an amazing conclusion. Sure, the whole business of a romance between the Doctor and one of his companions felt strange and new, but that's exactly why I loved it ... it broke with tradition and explored something new.
Finally, there's season three. I don't hate Martha Jones, but there's no question she couldn't hold her own against Rose and Donna. It was nice to see a smart, educated companion traveling in the TARDIS, but she lacked strong character traits. Perhaps if we could strap Martha and Donna into rocket sleds and slam them into each other, we'd be able to get the perfect companion to the Doctor with the right balance of attitude and brains and a little less doe-eyed admiration. Actually, that experiment would probably wind up creating a mess, but you probably see what I'm getting at.
However, I need to stress that while I've put these seasons in the preferred order of 4-5-1-2-3, I do so reluctantly. Every season has been fun and exciting. Every season has also had disappointments and sloppy writing plastered over with fast talk. I'd happily watch another ten episodes from any season of Doctor Who.
Season one then follows, with Chris Eccleston returning the franchise to television and a string of wacky tales as the show struggled to find its footing with "Dalek" proving the new series could be powerful and moving.
Season two comes next, with an amazing conclusion. Sure, the whole business of a romance between the Doctor and one of his companions felt strange and new, but that's exactly why I loved it ... it broke with tradition and explored something new.
Finally, there's season three. I don't hate Martha Jones, but there's no question she couldn't hold her own against Rose and Donna. It was nice to see a smart, educated companion traveling in the TARDIS, but she lacked strong character traits. Perhaps if we could strap Martha and Donna into rocket sleds and slam them into each other, we'd be able to get the perfect companion to the Doctor with the right balance of attitude and brains and a little less doe-eyed admiration. Actually, that experiment would probably wind up creating a mess, but you probably see what I'm getting at.
However, I need to stress that while I've put these seasons in the preferred order of 4-5-1-2-3, I do so reluctantly. Every season has been fun and exciting. Every season has also had disappointments and sloppy writing plastered over with fast talk. I'd happily watch another ten episodes from any season of Doctor Who.
1. Series 3 - this is my favourite as it just had an outstanding run of great episodes. These include Gridlock, Blink, Human Nature/Family of Blood, Utopia/The Sound of Drums/Last of the Timelords. What I enjoyed was the moodier, darker atmosphere of the series which was also offset with the Doctor's comedic qualities. There was something more complex going on in this season more than the previous two.
2. Series 1 - out of all the new Doctors, Eccleston is my favourite but this series comes second because he wasn't always given the best scripts to work with. However, of the ones that I loved, I found them to be some of the most memorable in the series. These include Dalek, Father's Day, The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances and Bad Wolf/Parting of the Ways.
3. Series 4 - while I enjoyed The Fires of Pompeii, I thought this season was off to a weak start. But the second half of the season was the strongest that the show has ever been. I'm talking everything from Silence in the Library to Journey's End - just flawless. But it also gave us some of the worst, namely The Doctor's Daughter and Voyage of the Damned.
4. Series 5 - I actually really enjoyed this series but it was let down A LOT by Big Bang. I won't go into specifics as I have already done an epic review in the episode's thread, but it basically came down to plot convenience and lack of tension in the plot. I just wasn't moved or convinced which cost the ability for me to have any intellectual or emotional investment of what was going on. But, I thought The Pandorica Opens was one of the greatest set-ups for a finale ever, perhaps that's what made this so disappointing. But, outside of the closing episode, a pretty brilliant year with some memorable episodes including Amy's Choice, The Lodger, The Beast Below, The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood and The Pandorica Opens
5. Series 2 - my least favourite and not only because I prefer the other ones but because I actually didn't like the direction of this season. Tennant's Doctor was too comedic, Rose was too clingy, the stories lacked the grit and tension of series 1 and the final two parter under delivered the promise of the trailers and interviews. Totally forgettable, just a boring year.
Ranking of the Tennant Specials
I thought it would be better to have these as separate from the core series given that they stand quite independently rather than an ongoing arc (with some minor threads going on).
1. The Waters Of Mars - my favourite episode of all time. Brilliantly written, expertly performed and totally chilling (excuse the pun on the latter). I've never seen the series go here and i'm glad it did. I love it when a story makes the audience question the motives and nature of the protagonist that we've grown to love. This did it flawlessly.
2. The End of Time Part 2: while the first installment was underwhelming, it was good to see some of the stronger moments saved for this one. I especially loved the "so much more!" speech by Tennant.
3. The End of Time Part 1: I just couldn't digest everything that was happening here. Extremely enhanced abilities of The Master, forced camp humour juxtaposed with brooding, sombre scenes and the mass cloning, it just didn't come together that well. But I enjoyed The Doctor's and Wilf's discussion on mortality.
I won't bother listing the others as I actually didn't like them.
2. Series 1 - out of all the new Doctors, Eccleston is my favourite but this series comes second because he wasn't always given the best scripts to work with. However, of the ones that I loved, I found them to be some of the most memorable in the series. These include Dalek, Father's Day, The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances and Bad Wolf/Parting of the Ways.
3. Series 4 - while I enjoyed The Fires of Pompeii, I thought this season was off to a weak start. But the second half of the season was the strongest that the show has ever been. I'm talking everything from Silence in the Library to Journey's End - just flawless. But it also gave us some of the worst, namely The Doctor's Daughter and Voyage of the Damned.
4. Series 5 - I actually really enjoyed this series but it was let down A LOT by Big Bang. I won't go into specifics as I have already done an epic review in the episode's thread, but it basically came down to plot convenience and lack of tension in the plot. I just wasn't moved or convinced which cost the ability for me to have any intellectual or emotional investment of what was going on. But, I thought The Pandorica Opens was one of the greatest set-ups for a finale ever, perhaps that's what made this so disappointing. But, outside of the closing episode, a pretty brilliant year with some memorable episodes including Amy's Choice, The Lodger, The Beast Below, The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood and The Pandorica Opens
5. Series 2 - my least favourite and not only because I prefer the other ones but because I actually didn't like the direction of this season. Tennant's Doctor was too comedic, Rose was too clingy, the stories lacked the grit and tension of series 1 and the final two parter under delivered the promise of the trailers and interviews. Totally forgettable, just a boring year.
Ranking of the Tennant Specials
I thought it would be better to have these as separate from the core series given that they stand quite independently rather than an ongoing arc (with some minor threads going on).
1. The Waters Of Mars - my favourite episode of all time. Brilliantly written, expertly performed and totally chilling (excuse the pun on the latter). I've never seen the series go here and i'm glad it did. I love it when a story makes the audience question the motives and nature of the protagonist that we've grown to love. This did it flawlessly.
2. The End of Time Part 2: while the first installment was underwhelming, it was good to see some of the stronger moments saved for this one. I especially loved the "so much more!" speech by Tennant.
3. The End of Time Part 1: I just couldn't digest everything that was happening here. Extremely enhanced abilities of The Master, forced camp humour juxtaposed with brooding, sombre scenes and the mass cloning, it just didn't come together that well. But I enjoyed The Doctor's and Wilf's discussion on mortality.
I won't bother listing the others as I actually didn't like them.
4- Tennant at his best with his best companion, the only clunker is probably The Unicorn and the Wasp, a show that's funny naturally going out of its way to be funny just falls really, painfully flat.
5- A fantastic Doctor, a wonderful companion, a wonderful companion's boyfriend (eventually) Some really good episodes, you just feel the season fell a little short which I only put down to a new production team finding their feet.
Ok kid, here's where it gets tricky...
3 But only just and only by virtue of some of the best episodes of the series since it returned; namely Human Nature/The Family of Blood/Blink/Utopia. Let down by some really poor offerings (Daleks, 42, The Lazarous Experiment and Last of the Time Lords. Seriously whenever I start to feel that Big Bang wasn't actually that good I try and remember what we've had to put up with before.) Also let down by the weakest new Who companion as well. Freema isn't the greatest actress in the world, and standing next to 'eat the scenery' Tennant didn't help, then the poor gal got landed with a terrible character. She was insipid and too fawning, and she never really convinced as a Doctor in training.
1 Eccleston was a great Doctor. Very different but very good. He had a great companion in Rose. Unfortunately much like 5, its really apparent that the production team are finding their feet.
2 There are some good episodes this year; tooth and claw, School Renunion, The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit, and as finales go Doomsday is probably RTD's best/least annoying (giant vacuum cleaner aside). On the downside there are some of the worst episodes the new series has done (New Earth, Fear Her, about 30% of Love and Monsters) one poor episode in The Idiot's Lantern, although its an enigma, I couldn't tell you why I don't like it, it just feels poor...not helped by Fear Her retreading much of its ground a few episodes later. Beyond all this though is has Ten and Rose. Oh dear lord, even beyond Martha's lovesick puppy schtick the giggling schoolgirlish antics of Tennant and Piper grate beyond words. Seriously, the Doctor is 900, not 12! Actually that's a bit unfair on 12 year olds. Piper managed to pretty much kill off a character I'd really loved in Series 1, whilst Tennant was trying way too hard and (oddly given their relative ages) seemed way younger in his first year in the part than Matt Smith. Seriously if any season was going to make me give up the show it would have been this one.
The specials. This is tricky as most I've only seen the once, or maybe twice. anyway...
The Christmas Invasion-Loved it. Great story (of the kind that still had some originality back then) and when Ten wakes up he's just brilliant (better than he is in most of season 2 curiously)
The End of time part 2- Ok so the ending does go on a bit,but I still think its sweet, and misteps like Martha/Mickey and Jack (I know ya did bad stuff, Jack, but don't worry I forgive you, now shag this bloke I...er I mean RTD, quite fancies) are more than made up by the Wilf/Sylvia scene, Jessica Hynes and Billie Piper, who unlike the end of season 4 actually remembers how to play Rose at her best. I didn't want Ten to go either (note this feeling lasted until about Smith checked his nose out and said he'd had worse...)
The End of Time pt 1. Ok so it is a lot of set up, still great though. Simm's Master is much more fun here, and Dalton's narration is great. Even though I think most of us knew what was coming, the return of the Timelords still sends a shiver down your spine.
The Next Doctor (well until the giant transformer showed up) The first half of this is RTD at his very best. The mystery of Jackson Lake, the delicious Miss Hartigan, the victorian setting, cybermen in the snow...then RTD jsut pisses it all away, sidelining Jackson Lake so that the Doctor can save the day/Lakes son. I'm surprised he didn't have to take over from santa as well...and the cringeworthy three cheers at the end....Jackson Lake should have been the hero, that he wasn't is one of the biggest shames of the new series.
Voyage of the Damned. Kylie in a french maid's outfit...there was anything else?
The Runaway Bride. I spent the first half hour hating Donna Noble with a passion, by the end when the Doctor asks her along I was begging her to go. I don't recall liking it very much though.
Planet of the Dead. Would have been a quite good episode, stretched to an hour and orphaned at Easter this essentially feels a bit pointless. I'd love to see Lady Cristina and Lee Evans back again though.
Waters of Mars. a great set up, scary looking monsters, yet it all seems so pointless. 59 minutes spent setting up the Doctor Victorious so that Tennant can go bad for all of 30 seconds...then come to his senses.
5- A fantastic Doctor, a wonderful companion, a wonderful companion's boyfriend (eventually) Some really good episodes, you just feel the season fell a little short which I only put down to a new production team finding their feet.
Ok kid, here's where it gets tricky...
3 But only just and only by virtue of some of the best episodes of the series since it returned; namely Human Nature/The Family of Blood/Blink/Utopia. Let down by some really poor offerings (Daleks, 42, The Lazarous Experiment and Last of the Time Lords. Seriously whenever I start to feel that Big Bang wasn't actually that good I try and remember what we've had to put up with before.) Also let down by the weakest new Who companion as well. Freema isn't the greatest actress in the world, and standing next to 'eat the scenery' Tennant didn't help, then the poor gal got landed with a terrible character. She was insipid and too fawning, and she never really convinced as a Doctor in training.
1 Eccleston was a great Doctor. Very different but very good. He had a great companion in Rose. Unfortunately much like 5, its really apparent that the production team are finding their feet.
2 There are some good episodes this year; tooth and claw, School Renunion, The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit, and as finales go Doomsday is probably RTD's best/least annoying (giant vacuum cleaner aside). On the downside there are some of the worst episodes the new series has done (New Earth, Fear Her, about 30% of Love and Monsters) one poor episode in The Idiot's Lantern, although its an enigma, I couldn't tell you why I don't like it, it just feels poor...not helped by Fear Her retreading much of its ground a few episodes later. Beyond all this though is has Ten and Rose. Oh dear lord, even beyond Martha's lovesick puppy schtick the giggling schoolgirlish antics of Tennant and Piper grate beyond words. Seriously, the Doctor is 900, not 12! Actually that's a bit unfair on 12 year olds. Piper managed to pretty much kill off a character I'd really loved in Series 1, whilst Tennant was trying way too hard and (oddly given their relative ages) seemed way younger in his first year in the part than Matt Smith. Seriously if any season was going to make me give up the show it would have been this one.
The specials. This is tricky as most I've only seen the once, or maybe twice. anyway...
The Christmas Invasion-Loved it. Great story (of the kind that still had some originality back then) and when Ten wakes up he's just brilliant (better than he is in most of season 2 curiously)
The End of time part 2- Ok so the ending does go on a bit,but I still think its sweet, and misteps like Martha/Mickey and Jack (I know ya did bad stuff, Jack, but don't worry I forgive you, now shag this bloke I...er I mean RTD, quite fancies) are more than made up by the Wilf/Sylvia scene, Jessica Hynes and Billie Piper, who unlike the end of season 4 actually remembers how to play Rose at her best. I didn't want Ten to go either (note this feeling lasted until about Smith checked his nose out and said he'd had worse...)
The End of Time pt 1. Ok so it is a lot of set up, still great though. Simm's Master is much more fun here, and Dalton's narration is great. Even though I think most of us knew what was coming, the return of the Timelords still sends a shiver down your spine.
The Next Doctor (well until the giant transformer showed up) The first half of this is RTD at his very best. The mystery of Jackson Lake, the delicious Miss Hartigan, the victorian setting, cybermen in the snow...then RTD jsut pisses it all away, sidelining Jackson Lake so that the Doctor can save the day/Lakes son. I'm surprised he didn't have to take over from santa as well...and the cringeworthy three cheers at the end....Jackson Lake should have been the hero, that he wasn't is one of the biggest shames of the new series.
Voyage of the Damned. Kylie in a french maid's outfit...there was anything else?
The Runaway Bride. I spent the first half hour hating Donna Noble with a passion, by the end when the Doctor asks her along I was begging her to go. I don't recall liking it very much though.
Planet of the Dead. Would have been a quite good episode, stretched to an hour and orphaned at Easter this essentially feels a bit pointless. I'd love to see Lady Cristina and Lee Evans back again though.
Waters of Mars. a great set up, scary looking monsters, yet it all seems so pointless. 59 minutes spent setting up the Doctor Victorious so that Tennant can go bad for all of 30 seconds...then come to his senses.
5 and 2 are tied for first place.
4
1
3
Although season 3 had the brilliant Blink and Human Nature/Family of Blood, I never really warmed to Martha Jones as a companion and that rather colored my view of the season.
I placed 2 at the top, tied with 5, because the chemistry between Tennant and Piper was utterly perfect, and the season was marked with examples of true experimentation and risk-taking. From Girl in the Fireplace (still my all-time favorite Doctor Who episode) to the underrated and charming Love & Monsters, and even the "failed experiment" of Fear Her, there's just something about the season that remains really appealing to me. Doomsday is still the most emotional episode of Doctor Who, bar none.
As for the specials:
The Waters of Mars
Voyage of the Damned
The End of Time
Planet of the Dead
The Next Doctor
The Christmas Invasion
The Runaway Bride
Waters of Mars gets the #1 spot again because of its risk-taking, showing us a Doctor out of control. Voyage of the Damned gets #2 because of all the specials it was the only one that actually felt like a true standalone movie. The Runaway Bride gets the bottom spot because it's not really that memorable to me, and while I liked Donna a lot in Season 4, in the special she was just annoying.
Alex
4
1
3
Although season 3 had the brilliant Blink and Human Nature/Family of Blood, I never really warmed to Martha Jones as a companion and that rather colored my view of the season.
I placed 2 at the top, tied with 5, because the chemistry between Tennant and Piper was utterly perfect, and the season was marked with examples of true experimentation and risk-taking. From Girl in the Fireplace (still my all-time favorite Doctor Who episode) to the underrated and charming Love & Monsters, and even the "failed experiment" of Fear Her, there's just something about the season that remains really appealing to me. Doomsday is still the most emotional episode of Doctor Who, bar none.
As for the specials:
The Waters of Mars
Voyage of the Damned
The End of Time
Planet of the Dead
The Next Doctor
The Christmas Invasion
The Runaway Bride
Waters of Mars gets the #1 spot again because of its risk-taking, showing us a Doctor out of control. Voyage of the Damned gets #2 because of all the specials it was the only one that actually felt like a true standalone movie. The Runaway Bride gets the bottom spot because it's not really that memorable to me, and while I liked Donna a lot in Season 4, in the special she was just annoying.
Alex
Yep, I agree with this. I loved Chris but the scripts were pretty "meh."
Seasons 4 and 5 are a very close call for me, but I really got emotionally attached to Donna, but don't really care about Amy; in fact, I think I like Rory better (probably completely alone on that one
). The tones of the seasons are very different (of course) but so far, I've been fairly pleased with the new Doctor.I think the weakest episode of the entire revival is either 'The Runaway Bride' or 'Fear Her', so 2 is in last place for me. I mean, 2 had 'Doomsday', 'The Satan Pit', and 'Girl In The Fireplace', but it also had 'Love And Monsters', 'Fear Her', 'New Earth', etc.
No, it's a fairly common opinion. I think Rory's a lot easier to like however, his character is overall fairly simple IMO. Amy's a lot more complex, is a lot tougher to write for and so of course isn't always written well. But when she is, I feel it's much more rewarding.don't really care about Amy; in fact, I think I like Rory better (probably completely alone on that one
As to how I'd rank the series, I have to put 5 at the top of my list for getting me so involved in the show, but I'm not sure how I'd rank the RTD era as I've kinda put the first two out of mind and 3/4 I've got an incomplete view of.
Put me in the group that loves Rory more than Amy. Not only that, but Rory makes Amy better. I'm not a huge fan of the character overall, but I love the way she looks when she looks at Rory. You can tell she really loves him.
1. Season 1. This season did the impossible by not only bringing a 42 year old series back to us, but by infusing it with a freshness that made it feel like nothing else on TV. And while some viewers ding it for episodes like "Aliens of London," "World War Three," & "Boom Town," I don't think the season had a single misstep. Okay, the farting Slitheen were a little too silly but I love the bits in "Aliens of London" where Rose has to deal with the fall-out of her year-long absence. These are the kinds of obvious emotional issues that the original series had never addressed, and it was so gratifying to see the new series tackle them with such earnestness. "Boom Town" has that great dinner table scene with the Doctor & the Slitheen woman. And the Rose/Mickey B-plot breaks my heart. Not to mention all of the universally regarded excellent episodes here, like "Dalek," "Father's Day," "The Empty Child," "The Doctor Dances," "Bad Wolf," & "The Parting of the Ways."
2. Season 4. Mostly because of Catherine Tate. I'm a huge fan of her sketch comedy show. Here, she demonstrates her mastery of both comedy & drama and the careful blend between the 2 that Doctor Who requires. Plus, because she's able to handle the comedy side of things, it occasionally allows Tennant to CALM THE FUCK DOWN! All of the episodes are solid (although "The Doctor's Daughter," "Turn Left," & the end of "Journey's End" all went a little over the top). I loved "The Unicorn & the Wasp." River Song was an excellent addition. "Midnight" was a brilliant bottle show that creeps you out and takes the Doctor well out of his comfort zone (which is always a good choice for the series, IMO). The massive Dalek invasion in "The Stolen Earth"/"Journey's End" is way too over the top. And I don't think the Doctor clone coda added anything useful to the Rose Tyler storyline. However, I'm a big Torchwood fan and a huge sucker for crossovers in general, so I give it a thumbs up.
3. Season 2. At this time, I shall yield the floor to the honorable Gep Malakai.
4. Season 5. Don't get me wrong. I love Matt Smith. He's my favorite of the 3 modern Doctors by far. In fact, he's currently competing for my all-time 1st place against Patrick Troughton & Tom Baker. However, I think most of the episodes this season were very weak. While the character moments are brilliant, there's a certain blase approach to a lot of the perfunctory alien plots, particularly in the beginning in "The Eleventh Hour," "The Beast Below," & "Victory of the Daleks." However, when the show experiments with more emotionally driven stories like "Amy's Choice" or alternate story formulas like "The Lodger," it hits a home run. There just aren't nearly enough of those this year. Still, I'm very hopeful for Season 6. Give Matt Smith some better stories to work with and I fully expect his next year to shoot up to the top of this list.
5. Season 3. It's got 3 great episodes in it-- "Human Nature," "The Family of Blood," & "Blink." It's got a few average episodes-- "Smith & Jones," "The Shakespeare Code," "Utopia," "The Sound of Drums," and most of "Last of the Time Lords." However, most of the middle of the season, from "Gridlock" through "42," was mired in mediocrity. I wouldn't mind if some of those episodes were lost in a 1970s style purge (particularly if the celluloid sacrifice would allow us to resurrect some lost Troughton episodes). I wanted to like Martha, but she was such a dull, one-note character. She never got the chance to truly establish herself because she was lost in the shadow of Rose (which is a shame, because I think Martha is a lot cuter and Mickey is a lot better off).
I think hesitation is exactly the right word for what the writers were feeling at the time. Occasionally, they just went for it, like with "The End of the World." But mostly, I think they were afraid to really explore alien worlds; afraid that cynical 21st century audiences weaned on 24 & The X-Files had lost a taste for campy, outlandish locales in their sci-fi.
Agreed. I think one of the reasons why I like Matt Smith so much is because the writers don't ask you to suck his dick. (Well, maybe a little bit at the end of "The Big Bang.") And even if you did suck Matt Smith's dick, I don't think he'd notice. And I love him for that.
Agreed. Hell, if RTD had any balls, he would have carried through dark Doctor for the rest of "The End of Time." Want to soften the blow of Tennant's departure? Take the character to such extremes that the audience is supposed to hate him at the end.
1. Season 1. This season did the impossible by not only bringing a 42 year old series back to us, but by infusing it with a freshness that made it feel like nothing else on TV. And while some viewers ding it for episodes like "Aliens of London," "World War Three," & "Boom Town," I don't think the season had a single misstep. Okay, the farting Slitheen were a little too silly but I love the bits in "Aliens of London" where Rose has to deal with the fall-out of her year-long absence. These are the kinds of obvious emotional issues that the original series had never addressed, and it was so gratifying to see the new series tackle them with such earnestness. "Boom Town" has that great dinner table scene with the Doctor & the Slitheen woman. And the Rose/Mickey B-plot breaks my heart. Not to mention all of the universally regarded excellent episodes here, like "Dalek," "Father's Day," "The Empty Child," "The Doctor Dances," "Bad Wolf," & "The Parting of the Ways."
2. Season 4. Mostly because of Catherine Tate. I'm a huge fan of her sketch comedy show. Here, she demonstrates her mastery of both comedy & drama and the careful blend between the 2 that Doctor Who requires. Plus, because she's able to handle the comedy side of things, it occasionally allows Tennant to CALM THE FUCK DOWN! All of the episodes are solid (although "The Doctor's Daughter," "Turn Left," & the end of "Journey's End" all went a little over the top). I loved "The Unicorn & the Wasp." River Song was an excellent addition. "Midnight" was a brilliant bottle show that creeps you out and takes the Doctor well out of his comfort zone (which is always a good choice for the series, IMO). The massive Dalek invasion in "The Stolen Earth"/"Journey's End" is way too over the top. And I don't think the Doctor clone coda added anything useful to the Rose Tyler storyline. However, I'm a big Torchwood fan and a huge sucker for crossovers in general, so I give it a thumbs up.
3. Season 2. At this time, I shall yield the floor to the honorable Gep Malakai.
The only difference between his opinion & mine is that I hate "Love & Monsters" and "Fear Her." By far, they are the worst episodes the series has ever done. However, there are more than enough good episodes here to counterbalance it. While the ending of Rose's storyline in "Doomsday" is a bit angsty, it's earned angst. "The Impossible Planet"/"The Satan Pit" was the 1st time I really felt that the new series was doing a story that would have felt equally at home during the Tom Baker years. And then you have "School Reunion," cementing the fact that the new series is set in the same continuity as the old series.
4. Season 5. Don't get me wrong. I love Matt Smith. He's my favorite of the 3 modern Doctors by far. In fact, he's currently competing for my all-time 1st place against Patrick Troughton & Tom Baker. However, I think most of the episodes this season were very weak. While the character moments are brilliant, there's a certain blase approach to a lot of the perfunctory alien plots, particularly in the beginning in "The Eleventh Hour," "The Beast Below," & "Victory of the Daleks." However, when the show experiments with more emotionally driven stories like "Amy's Choice" or alternate story formulas like "The Lodger," it hits a home run. There just aren't nearly enough of those this year. Still, I'm very hopeful for Season 6. Give Matt Smith some better stories to work with and I fully expect his next year to shoot up to the top of this list.
5. Season 3. It's got 3 great episodes in it-- "Human Nature," "The Family of Blood," & "Blink." It's got a few average episodes-- "Smith & Jones," "The Shakespeare Code," "Utopia," "The Sound of Drums," and most of "Last of the Time Lords." However, most of the middle of the season, from "Gridlock" through "42," was mired in mediocrity. I wouldn't mind if some of those episodes were lost in a 1970s style purge (particularly if the celluloid sacrifice would allow us to resurrect some lost Troughton episodes). I wanted to like Martha, but she was such a dull, one-note character. She never got the chance to truly establish herself because she was lost in the shadow of Rose (which is a shame, because I think Martha is a lot cuter and Mickey is a lot better off).
I think hesitation is exactly the right word for what the writers were feeling at the time. Occasionally, they just went for it, like with "The End of the World." But mostly, I think they were afraid to really explore alien worlds; afraid that cynical 21st century audiences weaned on 24 & The X-Files had lost a taste for campy, outlandish locales in their sci-fi.
Agreed. I think one of the reasons why I like Matt Smith so much is because the writers don't ask you to suck his dick. (Well, maybe a little bit at the end of "The Big Bang.") And even if you did suck Matt Smith's dick, I don't think he'd notice. And I love him for that.
Agreed. Hell, if RTD had any balls, he would have carried through dark Doctor for the rest of "The End of Time." Want to soften the blow of Tennant's departure? Take the character to such extremes that the audience is supposed to hate him at the end.
OK, having just finished Season Five...
1. Season Three. Best companion. Best villain. Best running storyline. Every episode aside from Lazarus was good. Amazing finale (if you can swallow the cop-out end).
2. Season Two. Definitely a few clunkers but a lot of great episodes like the Beast 2 parter and the finale.
3. Season Four. I don't find Donna as wonderful as most. And the season had no sense of direction with its ultra-subtle storyline. There weren't terrible episodes but there weren't any particularly great ones until the finale which I absolutely adored.
4. Season Five. I love the new Doctor but I didn't love his stories. After a promising beginning with the first five episodes, the rest of the season was pretty ho-hum. And the finale was very good, but I'm still disappointed it didn't resolve the actual story.
5. Season One. I really, really loved Eccelson as the Doctor, and it was so magical to have the show back finally. That said, the stories were not the strongest. And they never went to a frickin' alien planet.
1. Season Three. Best companion. Best villain. Best running storyline. Every episode aside from Lazarus was good. Amazing finale (if you can swallow the cop-out end).
2. Season Two. Definitely a few clunkers but a lot of great episodes like the Beast 2 parter and the finale.
3. Season Four. I don't find Donna as wonderful as most. And the season had no sense of direction with its ultra-subtle storyline. There weren't terrible episodes but there weren't any particularly great ones until the finale which I absolutely adored.
4. Season Five. I love the new Doctor but I didn't love his stories. After a promising beginning with the first five episodes, the rest of the season was pretty ho-hum. And the finale was very good, but I'm still disappointed it didn't resolve the actual story.
5. Season One. I really, really loved Eccelson as the Doctor, and it was so magical to have the show back finally. That said, the stories were not the strongest. And they never went to a frickin' alien planet.
Season One - The original and best, IMHO. The long development time by Davies and Gardner really paid off and they caught lightining in a bottle. Equivalent to Season Three of TNG when Pillar and Berman were fresh creative talent.
Season Five - A breath fresh of air in general, a few bland clunkers, but NuWho is going in the right direction. Moffat just proved himself to be a solid show runner, instead of comprehensibly acing RTD. Matt Smith is a credible successor to Eccleston and Tennant.
Season Three - Tennant's best season but not without its missteps (a Dalek mask with penises). In the Tennant era you couldn't get much better than "Human Nature", "The Family of Blood", "Blink", and "Utopia".
Season Two - A bit bland and predictable with "New Earth", "The Idiot's Lantern", and "Fear Her", but there's "Doomsday", "School Reunion", "The Girl in the Fireplace", and "The Impossible Planet". And "Love and Monsters" is a daring episode.
Season Four - When things went off the rails a bit. Wilf and Donna on hindsight were more involving, multilayered companions than Rory and Amy. The RTD formula was very successful and kept around for a reason, but was clearly running ragged with a psychotic, disjointed, but formulaic season finale like "Journey's End", brainless romps like "Partners in Crime", and bland, mushy affairs like "The Doctor's Daughter". Episodes like "The Sontaran Stratagem" and "The Fires of Pompeii" were predictable if very solid. "Silence in the Library", "Turn Left", and "Midnight" were great though.
The Specials - Encapsulates what is great and what sucks about the Tennant Era. A rather mixed bag in general.
Season Five - A breath fresh of air in general, a few bland clunkers, but NuWho is going in the right direction. Moffat just proved himself to be a solid show runner, instead of comprehensibly acing RTD. Matt Smith is a credible successor to Eccleston and Tennant.
Season Three - Tennant's best season but not without its missteps (a Dalek mask with penises). In the Tennant era you couldn't get much better than "Human Nature", "The Family of Blood", "Blink", and "Utopia".
Season Two - A bit bland and predictable with "New Earth", "The Idiot's Lantern", and "Fear Her", but there's "Doomsday", "School Reunion", "The Girl in the Fireplace", and "The Impossible Planet". And "Love and Monsters" is a daring episode.
Season Four - When things went off the rails a bit. Wilf and Donna on hindsight were more involving, multilayered companions than Rory and Amy. The RTD formula was very successful and kept around for a reason, but was clearly running ragged with a psychotic, disjointed, but formulaic season finale like "Journey's End", brainless romps like "Partners in Crime", and bland, mushy affairs like "The Doctor's Daughter". Episodes like "The Sontaran Stratagem" and "The Fires of Pompeii" were predictable if very solid. "Silence in the Library", "Turn Left", and "Midnight" were great though.
The Specials - Encapsulates what is great and what sucks about the Tennant Era. A rather mixed bag in general.
Oh yeah if we rank the Specials I put them quite lowly. A very disappointing end to his era. There wasn't a single one that I didn't have a major problem with. "The End of Time" was just horrifically anti-climatic. To bring back the Time Lords for only thirty seconds?! To bring back RASSILON but only mention it in passing?!
Right now I'd say..
5
3
2
1
4
the 4.5 specials
Interesting that everyone feels so differently and yet is so civil.
5
3
2
1
4
the 4.5 specials
Interesting that everyone feels so differently and yet is so civil.
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