Doctor Who: Ranking the Top 5 Episodes

The Doctor Will See You Now

Fifteen years after the classic run’s series finale, Doctor Who was given a new lease on life. The beloved British series rebooted in 2005 with a younger Doctor, new Companions, and plenty of aliens still menacing Earth. 

The revived series traded serials for hour-long episodes and the occasional two-parter and holiday special. Because of the inherent difference between them, our list doesn’t include anything from the first 26 seasons since the modern 15 give us more than enough to rank. So what are the Top 5 Doctor Who Episodes? Let’s find out.

#5 Doctor Who Episode: Dot and Bubble

Starring: Ncuti Gatwa, Millie Gibson, Callie Cooke, Tom Rhys Harries

Doctor Who has never shied from social commentary. Aliens often stand in for bigotry, injustice, and celebrities like one-time competitor The Twilight Zone. This Doctor Who episode was planned for the Eleventh Doctor, but remains fresh a decade later with the Fifteenth.

Synopsis: Lindy Pepper-Bean lives in the utopian Finetime, spending most of her day on social media while a cellphone-esque Dot runs her life. The Doctor and Companion Ruby Sunday show her that giant slugs are killing everyone in Finetime and struggle to remotely save the combative Lindy. Can she escape? Where did the slugs come from?

Why This Episode?: Dot and Bubble makes The Doctor a supporting character in their own series. Callie Cooke carries this episode as overwhelmed influencer Lindy. She starts out dismissive and entitled, but slowly lowers her mask to show reprehensible true colors.

The giant slugs are painfully slow. A glacier could avoid them, but the Finetimers are so reliant on social media that Lindy can’t walk a straight line without instructions from her Dot. They walk to their deaths with both eyes open. The unsubtle commentary hides two plot twists that flip this Doctor Who episode on its ear. Both are foreshadowed well and can be deduced by attentive watchers.

#4 Doctor Who Episode: The Time of Angels

Starring: Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Alex Kingston, David Atkins 

Many Doctor Who fans were introduced to the show through reruns and followed the story out of order. The first Doctor Who episode that I ever watched features the perfect analogue to those fans.

Synopsis: Time travelling archeologist River Song tricks The Doctor into helping her and an army of crusaders hunt a Weeping Angel. She and The Doctor investigate a labyrinth the angel escaped into while Companion Amy is infected by an Angel, threatening to turn her into one of them. Can they stop the Angel? And why is it leading them further into the labyrinth?

Why This Episode?: The Weeping Angels were fantastic additions to the show, but the later The Time of Angels episode built on their abilities. They gain the power to create new Angels through any depiction, crawling into our world like The Ring’s Sadako. Viewers also get insight into their thoughts thanks to the polite sadist Angel Bob.

River is a highlight, constantly teasing The Doctor about a relationship that the time travelers shared differently. It’s in her past, but The Doctor’s future, leading to plenty of knowing remarks, chuckles, and asides. Their friendly bickering convinces Amy that the Doctor and River must be married, leading to her own teasing. Amy’s solo scenes with the Weeping Angels are some of Doctor Who’s most suspenseful moments in more than sixty years.

#3 School Reunion

Starring: David Tennant, Billie Piper, Elizabeth Sladen, Noel Clarke

It’s wise to remember your roots. You should always know where you came from and that your dye job isn’t showing. This Doctor Who episode is a love letter to the Classic series and one of the most famous Companions.

Synopsis: The Doctor, Rose, and Mickey go undercover at a school with children who are suspiciously advanced. Journalist and former Companion Sarah Jane Smith and her robotic dog K9 are already investigating the school and eventually realize The Doctor is involved. Can Companions new and old save the children?

Why This Episode?: Sarah Jane makes School Reunion come alive. Her past with the Doctor opens old wounds for both as they lament outliving loved ones and not having the chance to say goodbye. Rose and Sarah Jane try to one-up each other with references to past adventures. Rose is terrified that she’ll be abandoned like Sarah was.

Rose’s boyfriend Mickey Smith and K9 are an underrated duo. He slowly realizes he’s a third wheel to The Doctor and Rose, the comic relief. K9 bluntly confirms it while trying to inspire Mickey. Anthony Head has an enjoyable, ironic role as a space vampire that gets buried by the chemistry between the other characters.

Fun Fact: Elizabeth Saladin’s reprisal was popular enough to inspire a spin-off called The Sarah Jane Adventures, which brought back other former Companions to bolster new characters.

#2 Doctor Who Episode: Dalek

Starring: Christopher Eccleston, Billie Piper, Nicholas Briggs, Corey Johnson

Doctor Who’s revival brought the hero to a new generation that soon learned The Doctor needs an opponent who can push them to the limit. This Doctor Who episode reminded everyone why they feared the show’s earliest monsters.

Synopsis: The Doctor and Rose Tyler arrive at the base of billionaire alien collector Henry Statten. He coerces The Doctor into inspecting a robot he’s certain is alive. The Doctor discovers it’s a Dalek and demands Statten kill it while he can. The Dalek tricks Rose into freeing it and it goes on a rampage. Can it be stopped?

Why This Episode: Dalek reintroduces the titular monsters and rebuilds their reputation as an interstellar threat. A single Dalek is able to exterminate everything in its path without injury and demonstrates upgrades that nullify their Classic Who weaknesses, including force fields, a melee weapon, and the ability to fly.

The Dalek triggers The Doctor’s PTSD. The amicable time traveller is reduced to screaming death threats as they remember atrocities they committed during the Last Great Time War. Rose plays the mediator, trying to talk down the Dalek and keep The Doctor from going too far.

#1 Blink

Starring: Carey Mulligan, Finlay Robertson, David Tennant, Freema Agyeman

Some of the best Doctor Who episodes are Doctor-lite. That means the hero is unavailable for whatever reason and ordinary folks have to save the day. This was the first Doctor-lite episode of the revival.

Synopsis: Photographer Sally Sparrow breaks into a mansion to take pictures. Signs warn her by name to avoid the “Weeping Angel” statues. Several of Sally’s acquaintances begin disappearing as notes from the past guide her. With the help of film buff Larry Nightengale, Sally must stop the Weeping Angels from claiming the TARDIS.

Why This Episode: Doctor Who needed a new threat for a new age to match the monstrous menace of Daleks and Cybermen. Blink provided the Weeping Angels, aliens who send victims back in time to feed on their potential futures and turn to stone when they’re observed. So here’s my challenge to you, dear reader. Look at a clock. How long can you go without blinking?

Time travel is used cleverly as characters send information from the past to the future and vice versa. It culminates in a conversation between The Doctor and Sally where their recording answers her questions and responds to her statements. Sally and Larry develop into potential Companions over the adventure, but never get a chance to travel with the Doc.

What are your favorite episodes of Doctor Who’s revival? Tell us in the comments.

More Adventures in Time and Space

The Doctor Backstory: Who is the Time Lord?
Doctor Who Monsters: Ranking the Top 5

Jared Bounacos

Jared Bounacos has written for Movie Rewind since 2016.