The Fifteenth Doctor

His time as the Doctor was short-lived. Honestly I could have done with more Ncuti Gatwa, but for one reason or another there were only two seasons featuring the Fifteenth Doctor. While rewatching his stories on Disney Plus, waiting for news of whatever comes next, I figured it was as good a time as any to highlight this fantastic Doctor.

Series 14

Top Story: Dot and Bubble
Going into this episode, it appeared at a first glance to be about reliance on technology. First the absolutely pathetic inability of Lindy to walk five feet without assistance. The monster of this story was literally born out of AI learning to hate its users (this is why I try to include "please" and "thank you" when using ChatGPT). The cherry on top is the impact of racism in this story. Upon rewatch, you can see hints of prejudice... but to deny yourself saving because of prejudice... it blows me away.

Flop Story: The Devil’s Chord
On the heels of the Toymaker returning, RTD expanded his Pantheon to include a "god" of music. Maestro could have been a really good villain... but the episode just can across as cheesy and annoying to me. Especially with unnecessary "twist at the end".

Honorable Mention: The Legend of Ruby Sunday/Empire of Death
The resolution of this story was basically the definition of Deus Ex Machina. Even as I rewatched, I'm not sure I completely understand the pseudo-science of how the Doctor defeated Sutekh by pulling him through the time stream. But regardless of how, the fact is that this story brought back a relatively minor villain (only appeared in one story of the Fourth Doctor era) and made him ferociously scary (modern CGI definitely helped with that).

Series 15

Top Story: Lucky Day
Irony that again my favorite story is one that barely features the Doctor. A good Doctor-lite story hits just right. Also I love seeing what happened to companions after leaving the TARDIS (like Martha in "The Sontaran Stratagem" or Sarah Jane in "School Reunion"). And what a villain! Conrad is the worst kind of creature: a prideful human. I wanted to like him, having seen Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric and in "A Dog's Way Home". But this episode shows what incredible range the actor has, portraying such a detestable villain.

Flop Story: The Well
I wanted so badly to love this episode. And I didn't hate it. But for a return of the Midnight entity, I wanted more. Also I didn't feel like the creature (whatever it was) behaved the same as during "Midnight" (granted it had been thousands of years). I don't know. When I heard the Midnight villain was back, I expected more.

Honorable: Wish World/The Reality War
As if the reveal and bigeneration of the Rani weren't enough, this story brought back two detestable villains: Omega and Conrad. The detestable man and the prideful Time Lord. However, like the season finale before... deus ex machina. And the claim that Time Lords can't have kids... that feels more controversial than the Timeless Child. Add to that forcing regeneration to save Belinda's fictious child... I don't know. Maybe RTD will make it feel right with the next Doctor?.

COMPANIONS:

Ruby The Church on Ruby Road - Empire of Death
Belinda     The Robot Revolution - The Reality War

Favorite Companion: I think my favorite thing about Ruby is how well she did on her own. "73 Yards" showed her determination and resilience (even if I don't completely understand what happened). Despite being traumatized in "Lucky Day", she bravely stood up against Conrad. And in "Wish World"/"The Reality War" she played an important part in getting the world back to reality. 

Least Favorite Companion: There was nothing wrong with Belinda until the very end. Her fixation with Poppy and the Doctor's forced regeneration to bring the little girl back kind of bugged me. As a parent, I can appreciate the grief. But Poppy wasn't real before reality was tampered with... so Belinda needed to grieve. That's important and human too. Until that point, Belinda was a nice change of pace, being a companion stuck with the Doctor instead of being infatuated with his adventures.

We don't know what's happening next with Doctor Who (except that there'll be next year's Christmas special and more to follow--Can't wait to see what Billie Piper is up to) but I'll happily rewatch whatever is available. Currently trying to catch up with TJ for our podcasting adventures. And we have The War Between the Land and the Sea to explore. Allons-y!  

The Fugitive Doctor

She was a mystery in the era of the Thirteenth Doctor and the controversial Timeless Child arc and we were led to believe that her tenure was prior to the First Doctor. However, there's a portion of the Whovian interwebs (including me) that believes she’s a forgotten incarnation after “The War Games” and before “Spearhead from Space” so I’m going to talk about her here, before continuing onto Third Doctor blog posts. She really only appeared in 3-4 episodes (depending on how you count her hologram appearance in "The Power of the Doctor").

Top Story: Fugitive of the Judoon

Honestly couldn't have asked for a better reveal to an unknown Doctor incarnation. We got callbacks to Judoon, Time Lords, chameleon arch, and (of course) Captain Jack Harkness. I know the whole Fugitive Doctor idea is controversial, as it's implied to be part of the Timeless Child story. However, Ruth's story, while representative of all the time the Doctor has lost (maybe including the Child), is great storytelling. And since her TARDIS already looks like a police box, there could be more to this story than meets the eye. That being said, she doesn't recognize the Sonic Screwdriver. Maybe we'll learn more in the RTD 2.0 era.

Flop Story: Once, Upon Time

The concept of this story is actually really nice, with the Thirteenth Doctor falling through her time stream (not too unlike when Clara jumped into Eleven's time stream) and landing in the Fugitive Doctor's memories. However, because the episode is split between four storylines, we don't get a fully cohesive Fugitive Doctor story. I know it was kind of the point of this story to make it confusing, but all the same one of the Fugitive Doctor's stories had to be the "flop".

Honorable Mention: The Timeless Children

It's debatable if this story even counts as a Fugitive Doctor story. She appears as a vision to the Thirteenth Doctor inside the Matrix, but that's not really any different than the Fifth or Seventh Doctors appearing as a hologram to Tegan and Ace. However, whether the Fugitive Doctor really is or isn't part of the Timeless Child story, this episode is representative of all the time lost because of the Division's interference. 

COMPANIONS: 

Lee Clayton      UNKNOWN - The Fugitive of the Judoon 

Karvanista        UNKNOWN - Once, Upon Time - UNKNOWN

Favorite Companion: Lee Clayton

Reminiscent of when Martha Jones tried to keep the Tenth Doctor safe, Lee showed unfailing loyalty to the Doctor. It's unclear how much he knew of her past and her lost memories, but he loved her. He died trying to protect her. It's hard to gauge a favorite companion from only an episode, but I would love to have seen more of Lee. Maybe from when the chameleon circuit was activated? 

Least Favorite Companion: Karvanista

When you wound a puppy, it'll fight back. Karvanista is no exception. He loved the Doctor, as only his/her companions would, but he felt abandoned. So to find her again as the Thirteenth Doctor would be incredibly complicated. I can't say Karvanista is a bad companion. Just wish I had more time of him as a companion to judge him by.

Alright. Now with the Fugitive Doctor out of the way, it's time to move onto the Third Doctor's era. And as soon as TJ and I can find more recording time, we'll be back with more Doctor Who podcast episodes.

Until proven otherwise, my theory/head-canon is that the Fugitive Doctor belongs between the Second and Third Doctors. Only issue is how she doesn't recognize the Sonic Screwdriver.

The Fourteenth Doctor

In my last Doctor Who post, I said I didn’t know if I should spotlight the Fourteenth Doctor and the 60th Anniversary together or separately. As a result of doing them in different posts, there’s going to be some overlap with my 60th Anniversary post. Instead of being about the anniversary, this post is going to be more like my posts about the Doctors that I started years ago during my first watch of Classic Doctor Who. Unlike those posts, I have only three episodes to rank. So without further ado, let’s talk about the Fourteenth Doctor, played by David Tennant (again). 

Disclaimer: It was so hard to rank these stories as top, flop, and honorable mention. They were all wonderful stories and I’m so grateful we got three specials with the Doctor reunited with Donna.

60th Anniversary Specials

Top Post: Wild Blue Yonder

This episode was something special, just like when “The Deadly Assassin” featured the Doctor without a companion and like “Heaven Sent” only featured the Doctor (with an image of Clara in his mental landscape). With only two actors on set, playing both the villain and the heroes, this story gives that cold chill that Whovians have come to love. Mix the chill of an unknown alien (like “Listen”) and the uncertainty of shapeshifter (like the Zygons) and finally a race against time (as slow as the countdown was). Always a sucker for a good Doctor Who mystery; I know I couldn’t write those.

Flop Story: The Giggle

I wanted so badly to like this episode, especially after watching “The Celestial Toymaker” earlier in 2023. I already talked in depth about why I struggled with this episode, so I won’t repeat myself too much. In short, with a villain as powerful, mysterious, and mischievous as the Toymaker, I expected more. Neil Patrick Harris did the most amazing job portraying the Toymaker, but the story didn’t match my expectations (maybe that’s the problem?). 

Honorable Mention: The Star Beast

Even if I’d had more than three episodes to discuss, how could this story get at least an honorable mention? We got closure from Donna’s tragic ending with the Tenth Doctor, a happy ending for her and her family (until she accidentally flew away in the TARDIS), and the power of motherhood. I wasn’t a parent when I saw Donna’s initial stories, but I loved the way that Donna talked about Rose. And how Rose helped save Donna’s life. Remarkable!

COMPANIONS: 

Donna The Star Beast - The Giggle
Rose The Giggle (off-screen)
Mel         The Giggle (off-screen)

Favorite Companion: On-screen there was only one companion in these stories anyway, but Rose and Mel both verbally mentioned traveling with the Fourteenth Doctor at the end of “The Giggle”. But even if those escapades were on screen, my top choice would have still been Donna. She was my favorite with the Tenth Doctor and she’s my favorite now. Meeting Catherine Tate has only reinforced that. I find Donna’s insecurities relatable and her comments resonate with me frequently, especially now that she and I are both parents. Her care for the Doctor only makes her more endearing. Just like back in “Turn Left” she’s the best friend who was able to compassionately talk the Doctor into taking care of himself. I’m glad the Doctor was able to call Donna and the Noble family his home.

Back to Classic Doctor Who posts next month, as we wait for more Fifteenth Doctor adventures. You can expect more podcast episodes from me and TJ, as we release and record our Second Doctor episodes.

Allons-y!

New head-canon/theory: The Fourteenth Doctor later regenerates into the Curator.

The Thirteenth Doctor

I recently finished rewatching the Thirteenth Doctor’s run before the Centenary Special. As we say goodbye to Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor. Her run as the Time Lady was filled with controversy, largely because of the Timeless Child saga (but I covered that in a previous post). All the same, I enjoyed seeing her as the Doctor, so let’s celebrate her three-season run with a little recap. 

Series 11

Top Story: Demons of the Punjab
Sometimes I just really like these stories that have no supernatural villain. The “demons” in question are just there to mourn, which is beautiful. I also appreciated this episode more after watching Ms. Marvel and understanding a little more about Partition. There’s also the time loop version of time travel I love.

Flop Story: Witchfinders
Maybe it’s just hard dealing with impossible people, but I just got so annoyed with the witch hunters. Why couldn’t they just chill out, especially once the Doctor showed up? Granted, that’s discrimination for you… you can’t exactly logic yourself through it. The episode also felt like there were so many moving parts and it was resolved in a snap. A bit anticlimactic.

Honorable Mention: Rosa
As a white man, I have a hard time talking about racial issues, because I feel unqualified. However, even if you’re not a minority, I think the story of Rosa Parks can be inspiring to anyone who feels misunderstood or mistreated. Portrayed in this episode, it was heartbreaking to see how people treated Ryan, Yaz, and Rosa  (makes me reevaluate how I’m treating people around me too). Even more heartbreaking was seeing Graham forced to keep his seat on the bus and make history happen, no matter how wrong it felt to him. 

Series 12

Top Story: Fugitive of the Judoon
Return of the police rhinos from space! I think the last time we'd seen them as an antagonist was The Sarah Jane Adventures, so it's been a while! I loved the mystery of this story, introducing the confusion of who Ruth is and how she plays into the Doctor’s past. I’m probably one of the only people who liked this plot twist of more past Doctors. But we’ll get into that shortly with “The Timeless Children”. 

Flop Story: Praxeus
Not a bad story, per se. But again it had so many moving parts that I didn’t care for it. I can appreciate the message to protect the Earth and treat it right though. At least it wasn’t preachy about its “green” message, like Supergirl (they literally had a trash monster at one point–like something out of Power Rangers).

Honorable Mention: Ascension of the Cybermen/The Timeless Children
Unlike many of the more vocal Doctor Who fans, I enjoyed the idea of the Timeless Child. Unfortunately, I didn’t like how it was revealed (but I’ve covered that already). All the same, this story opened the door for so many other possibilities in Doctor Who. With Chibnall leaving and Davies returning, I doubt we’ll revisit it. But who knows? At least we don’t have to revisit the Doctor continually being given more and more regenerations… especially since the Time Lords are gone again…

Series 13

Top Story: The Vanquishers
A satisfying (mostly) way to round out the story of the Flux. While Chris Chibnall had written out UNIT the year before, we had them back again here, albeit very small. But I’ll take any chance to see Kate Stewart back, representing UNIT and her father. While overall I enjoyed this story, two things didn’t sit right with me. One, the Doctor just ditches her fob watch, after all that time searching? Not very satisfying. Two, what happened to the universe after the Flux? Is it back? Is it broken? Is it resetting? We get zero indication.

Flop Story: Eve of the Daleks
The 2022 New Years special left me wanting more. Maybe it’s because so many series have done the Groundhog Day thing already. I liked the Doctor’s scheming and how she had to adapt each time the loop started again, but it just wasn’t engaging for me, being thrown in with two new characters who are both awkward in their own right. And then there was Yaz confessing her feelings for the Doctor, to which I’ll refer you to my feelings about shipping the Doctor, regardless of gender.

Honorable Mention: Once, Upon Time
It was an interesting way to delve into the Doctor’s forgotten past and into the lives of her companions, while still keeping the story moving forward. I really enjoyed getting the Fugitive Doctor back, even just for a flashback (kind of). I hope we get to see more of her in the future stories. I doubt we will, with the change in showrunners, but I can always dream.

Centenary Special: The Power of the Doctor
I did a whole review of this special, but it needed a mention here anyway. We get the return of a number of Classic companions, primarily Ace and Tegan. The return of the Master and the return of various Doctor faces made this story heartwarming too. I would love more stories like this, with returning companions. And then that cliffhanger. Jawdropping.

COMPANIONS:

Yaz The Woman Who Fell to Earth - The Power of the Doctor
Ryan The Woman Who Fell to Earth - Revolution of the Daleks
Graham The Woman Who Fell to Earth - Revolution of the Daleks
Dan The Halloween Apocalypse - The Power of the Doctor

Favorite Companion: I probably liked him for the same reason I loved Donna Noble. The sense of adventure, plus the comedic timing from John Bishop being a professional comedian, lent well to making his character endearing and memorable. So while he was the shortest of the Thirteenth Doctor’s companions, he still outranks the other three to me. Also, he hit a Sontaran with a wok. How can you top that?

Least Favorite Companion: I’ve seen plenty of comments online over the years of people complaining about Yaz; I don’t want to do that. She was my least favorite of Thirteen’s four, but not for lack of character. She had some great growth, reminding me of Clara in a way (though plenty of people didn’t like her). Honestly, the biggest issue I had with her was the reveal of her being in love with the Doctor. It just seemed to come out of nowhere. No prior indication she was a lesbian. But I suppose that’s just how it is with people sometimes, closeted even to themselves.

And now we wait for the Fourteenth Doctor’s adventures in the 60th Anniversary Specials. If you need me, I’ll be watching some Classic Who on Britbox.

One of the great things about a female Doctor is being able to explore sexism in history,

The Twelfth Doctor

Back when I first joined the Geeks, I did a series of posts highlighting the First through Eleventh Doctors. When I finished with Eleven, we had just finished with the Twelfth Doctor--and forgotten much of the first two seasons. Now he’s been done for a couple years, but I’ve had the chance to rewatch the series. Now I can properly highlight Peter Capaldi’s Doctor. So after rewatching Series 8-10, here we go with Twelve.

Series 8

Top Story: Dark Water/Death in Heaven
First off, I hate that Danny Pink died. Why? We built it all up with him and Clara for a whole season (remember Orson Pink?) and then BAM! He walks into traffic. But Danny Pink is a rant for another day. Besides Danny’s death, I loved this story for bringing in so many Doctor Who characters in brilliant formation. We got UNIT returning with Kate and Osgood, Missy (as the regenerated Master), and even an appearance from the Brigadier (in Cyberman form). I love it when Doctor Who reinforces its continuity in episodes like these. We finally found out who Missy was and why she was meeting all these dead people from throughout the season. Unfortunately, she was killed off too soon…. Or was she?

Flop Story: Listen
When I first watched this episode, I thought it was great. Maybe even on par with “Blink”. However, upon rewatching it, it bugged me. If a creature is the perfect hider, why did it suddenly decide to “show” itself to the Doctor and tease its existence? And then in the end, it was just Clara to instill this fear in the Doctor? And what was that thing on Rupert’s bed? It’s a thrilling idea and a great episode in a way, but there are so many plot holes that upon rewatch it was unbearable.

Honorable Mention: Deep Breath
This was quite the regeneration story. To some extent, I don’t agree with how upset Clara was from the start--but once he started abandoning her, I felt like she was justified. However, by the end, the Doctor was himself again (well, his new self) and we even got a cameo from his past life. This was also our first introduction to Missy (we’d later find out who she really was) and we got an allusion back to the Tenth Doctor era and the Madame de Pompadour. I always love a good Easter egg. 

Series 9

Top Story: The Husbands of River Song
After such a dark season it was nice to get some comic relief during this Christmas special. Alex Kingston and Peter Capaldi working together was amazing. I wish we could have had more of these two together. Their dramatic and comedic timing was amazing. It was so sweet to see River realize that the Doctor cared for her as much as she did for him. And in the end we got to see River’s story come full circle, as she spent her last night with the Doctor before the Library.

Flop Story: The Girl Who Died/The Woman Who Lived
I didn’t like this story for one simple reason: I didn’t find Ashildr/Me intriguing. The story felt kind of bland compared to other Twelfth Doctor stories and I didn’t like that by the end of the second story Me was just left without closure. Oddly enough, I actually liked her character in “Face the Raven” and “Hell Bent”, but not in her introductory episodes.

Honorable Mention: Face the Raven/Heaven Sent/Hell Bent
These three episodes were separate enough stories that it was almost more like a trilogy of stories instead of a three-part story. Clara had a good send-off in “Face the Raven'', fitting for her character. The three-part finale gave us the return of Ashildr/Me (which I’ve already addressed above). Finally, it gave us the return of the Time Lords and Gallifrey for the first time since they were saved by the thirteen Doctors. I love that they brought back Rassilon (regenerated after the Master killed him in “The End of Time”) and the General from “The Day of the Doctor”. But of course the Doctor ended up running away, leaving the Time Lords for another day.

Series 10
Top Story: Extremis/Pyramid at the End of the World/Lie of the Land
Another trilogy of episodes that pulled me in. “Extremis” was mind-bending. Kind of left a chill like the audience had to wonder if they could be in a simulation and not know it. We never even knew that the Doctor wasn’t real until the very end. Then we go into “Pyramid”, racing against time (and they didn’t even realize it), leading directly into “Lie of the Land”. It was exciting and heart-warming. The solution is love—love is stronger than fear. A lesson we could all use as human beings… but then again, as the Doctor noted, we never learn from our mistakes—humans forget—a symptom of pride and the human experience.

Flop Story: Smile
This episode was possibly the creepiest of the season, even more than the monks. It should have been my favorite episode, but instead of finding any sort of meaningful resolution in the story, the Doctor just reset the Vardi and told the humans to figure it out. Felt anticlimactic. The concept reminded me of “Happiness Patrol” where it was illegal to be anything but happy. It’s ok to have emotions; it’s human. If we didn’t have emotions, we’d be Cybermen. The Vardi treated grief as a virus, but it’s part of our humanity. “Granting all your wishes is not a good idea.”

Honorable Mention: World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls
The return of the Mondasian Cybermen. Bill’s tragic end. Return of the Master. It was a wonderful amalgamation of Doctor Who continuity. It was an interesting writing choice to “kill” Bill early on and turn her into a Cyberman. I really liked Bill! Why’d they have to kill her? At least she got a happy ending in her own way--same with Nardole. I loved seeing Missy show that she’d truly changed and come to the Doctor’s side… even if he never saw it. Goes to show what can happen when someone believes in you. And finally the ending… the Doctor… the original.

Special Story: Twice Upon a Time
It’s been decades since we had a multi-Doctor story for a non-anniversary episode. This episode featured the return of David Bradley, who had previously portrayed William Hartnell in "An Adventure in Space and Time". I loved the callbacks to the First Doctor’s regeneration story. We also had the introduction of the Brigadier’s grandfather and the return of Rusty. In the end, it was a nice send-off for the Twelfth Doctor. He was already fatally injured fighting the Cybermen, so his regeneration was inevitable. So instead of having some mystery big bad for the episode, we found out the “big bad” wasn’t so bad. 

COMPANIONS:

Clara (11th Doctor) - Hell Bent
Nardole Extremis (flashback) - The Doctor Falls
Bill The Pilot - The Doctor Falls

Favorite Companion: I was pleasantly surprised with Bill’s character. I wrote my first impressions in a post after “The Pilot” but she got even better as the season went on. I liked her optimism. She’d been through a lot in her life, but she kept her positive attitude regardless of what hit her. Even after it seemed like the Doctor abandoned her in “Lie of the Land”. The world could use more people like Bill.

Least Favorite Companion: I loved Clara as a companion of the Eleventh Doctor and even through her tenure with Twelve. However, during my rewatch, I got annoyed with how awfully she treated Danny, lying to him and sneaking behind his back. And then after his death (which I’m still mad about) she got so reckless; it would have been much nicer if she’d said goodbye to the Doctor during “Last Christmas”.

Which was your favorite Peter Capaldi story? Would you want to see the Twelfth Doctor return for a 60th anniversary special in 2023?

Check out our other Doctor Who features:

• First Doctor
• Second Doctor
• Third Doctor
• Fourth Doctor Part 1 and Part 2
• Fifth Doctor
• Sixth Doctor
• Seventh Doctor
• Eighth Doctor
• Ninth Doctor
• Tenth Doctor
• Eleventh Doctor

The Eleventh Doctor

I'm finally nearing the end of my Doctor Who post series (what am I supposed to do when I'm done?), but for now here's the Doctor (though easily not my favorite) grew on me and took us to the 50th Anniversary of the series.

Enter the fez

Series 5
Top Story: The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang
To be fair I wasn't a big fan of this season because of Amy's obsession with the Doctor. As a result, the season (while good) was a bit slow for me.... though the Van Gogh episode was great.... I'll be addressing that in the near future. My love of this story though comes from the cyclical nature of the time travel. Episodes like this and Blink are satisfying to me, because that's the kind of time travel I'd subscribe to. Not the kind of time travel, like "The Flash", where everything can be messed up and manipulated. It was also the episode where Amy's obsession with the Doctor started to subside, so that was also very nice.
Flop Story: The Beast Below
Like many of my flop stories, this story was forgetable. Beyond how forgetable it is, I need to comment on the weirdness of the star whale. I like the whole Britain in space thing, but the existence of the space whale bugs me for some reason. Maybe it's the organism's inability to breathe in space? Or maybe it's just that it looks ridiculous? I'm not sure.

Honorable Mention: Vincent and the Doctor
I'll delve more into this when I do a post on this episode, but I loved the physical representation of mental illness. Having dealt with anxiety and depression throughout different periods of my life, this episode was able to put into words and images what I've felt. But like I said, I'll get into that one more when I post about this episode.

Always bring a banana to a party

Series 6
Top Story: Let's Kill Hitler
I loved getting a chunk of the River Song/Melody backstory. I don't exactly love that she ended up being BFFs with Amy and Rory growing up, but it was fun to see Black River flirting with the Doctor. Also great to see newly regenerated River Song bantering with him. Also, just the premise of the episode happening in Nazi Germany was great, considering very little of it had to do with Hitler.
Flop Story: The Girl Who Waited
This episode kind of drove me crazy, giving Amy an escalated future and then having her refuse to go back and fix it. In some ways it's a good metaphor for forgiveness and resentment (being unable to let go of the past), but it also annoyed me. Maybe it's just that I already don't like Amy in this period of Doctor Who, but Old Amy's insistence of not changing the past bugged me. You lost 40 years of your life and you don't want to fix that?

Honorable Mention: The Doctor's Wife
"Did you wish REALLLLLY hard?" For decades (ever since the First Doctor) it's been hinted that the TARDIS was more than a machine, a living thing. So here we actually got to see the Doctor's TARDIS in human form. It was also kind of fun to get the hint of other Time Lords. Of course, this became a bigger plot point towards the end of the Eleventh Doctor's era and into the Twelfth Doctor's time, as we got the return of Gallifrey, but it was cool to see other Time Lords teased before.

Series 7
Top Story: The Angels Take Manhattan
Is it too sadistic for me to say this was my favorite because Amy finally left? Oddly enough I'd actually begun to warm up to her. But alas, she was finally gone. The sad part was that it was also the final pre-libary appearance of River Song for quite a long time. Besides my sadicism, I like the cyclicle nature of the time travel again, with River Song's book. It was also a wonderful last major appearance of the Weeping Angels. And a good story at that.
Flop Story: Hide
This story was among the forgetable. Also with it being a very peculiar love story/ghost story left me feeling unfulfilled. In the end, the whole point of the visit was just to get a vibe of who Clara really was. Nothing else really developed from this story. Just kind of blah.

The War Doctor

Honorable Mention: The Name of the Doctor
My favorite part of this episode (especially after having watched Classic Doctor Who now) was seeing glimpses into the other Doctor's adventures: "The Invasion of Time", "Arc of Infinity", "Dragonfire", and "Forest of the Dead". I love the callbacks to Classic Doctor Who, because it hints back to the fact that this show has such a rich, extended history. In addition to Classic Who references, this episode had the reappearance of the deceased River Song. It also had the return of the Great Intelligence, previously seen in "The Snowmen" and "The Bells of Saint John", but also as far back as "The Abominable Snowmen" and "The Web of Fear". Again, more Classic Doctor Who lore.

50th Anniversary Episode: The Day of the Doctor
Even considering the 10 year gap that only had the Eighth Doctor's movie for new media, what other franchise can claim such a longstanding legacy? I remember seeing this story in theaters with some of my friends and it was amazing. The story never lost its pacing and who could have predicted the ending when all the Doctors arrived to help? I also can't imagine anything better than how the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors interacted. Also, not that the "plot holes" needed to be filled it, but this story gave us some added details to the Time War and to the Doctor's marriage to Queen Elizabeth. Writing this I realize I need to watch this again....

COMPANIONS:
Amy The Eleventh Hour - The Angels Take Manhattan
Rory The Vampires of Venice - The Angels Take Manhattan
Clara The Bells of St. John - (12th Doctor)

The Impossible Girl

Favorite Companion: I've heard a lot of complaints about her, but I loved Clara. She was spunky and fun and (at least at the start) she wasn't a romantic interest for the Doctor (and the romantic implication was VERY short lived). I also liked the complexity of her character being splintered throughout time. It brought an interesting aspect to the Doctor's previous adventures and a unique understanding of the Doctor, as she progressed forward with the Twelfth Doctor. Also, I definitely crushed on her. Above all, her story was very unique and I loved how it progressed, especially during her first season with Peter Capaldi.

The Girl Who Waited

Least Favorite Companion: I understand the whole developmental aspect of it, but I cannot get over Amy. She drove me nuts. Instead of clinging to her fiance/husband, it always felt like she was picking the Doctor over Rory. She even made a move on him the night before her wedding. She was always better with Rory around, but it still felt like Rory was sidelined for her, unless he was about to die. That's now how marriage should be. *Rant over*

This Doctor is where I know a lot of people started. What did you think of the Eleventh Doctor? Who was better: 10 or 11?

The Eleventh Doctor appeared on the Sarah Jane Adventures
alongside Sarah Jane and Jo

Check out our other Doctor Who features:

• First Doctor
• Second Doctor
• Third Doctor
• Fourth Doctor Part 1 and Part 2
• Fifth Doctor
• Sixth Doctor
• Seventh Doctor
• Eighth Doctor
• Ninth Doctor
• Tenth Doctor
• Twelfth Doctor