8 Doctor Who Episodes You'll Like Even if You Hate Doctor Who

[DrStrangelove]

8 Doctor Who Episodes You'll Like Even if You Hate Doctor Who

Check out eight of the best episodes of the popular series Doctor Who. We can't include all of the greatest episodes but we can give you eight of them. So check these out and tell us which episodes we missed.

Read Full Article

 

[Gizmo1990]

I like Doctor Who and I can honestly say that on that list the only ones I enjoyed were School Reunion, The Doctor's Wife and The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances but to each their own I guess.

 

[deth2munkies]

Waters of Mars > pretty much any one on that list. It really doesn't have a lot to do with the doctor, but is one of the most emotionally impactful episodes there is.

 

[Tanis]

No love for the classics?
Seriously?

Also:
I'd replace 'Rose' with 'Waters of Mars' or even

 

[Veldel]

No love for the classics?
Seriously?

Also:
I'd replace 'Rose' with 'Waters of Mars' or even

It's a shame that none ever post classic stuff on DW or think that the new companions are the only ones worth mentioning.

My Favorite Doctor is still the 3rd one Jon Partwee.


Water of Mars beats anything on this list if new who.

 

[Josh123914]

Waters of Mars > pretty much any one on that list. It really doesn't have a lot to do with the doctor, but is one of the most emotionally impactful episodes there is.

HNNGGGG- This! *Points fingers*.

It works really well as a tragedy, and perfectly encapsulates why the Doctor always travels with someone.

 

[The_Darkness]

Blink is there. Good. That's all I was looking for

BTW, Waters of Mars... doesn't work for me.

Oh, the main plot is fine, the aim of breaking a fixed point, the Doctor going over the edge, etc etc etc all work beautifully. It's the finale that bites me.

Spoiler

There's a world of difference between (A) Adelaide mysteriously dying on Mars in a self-sacrifice, or (B) committing suicide on Earth.

Case (A) naturally leads into the timeline as we see it, as explained. It's an inspiring move. Adelaide goes out into space, finds something dangerous, and is willing to sacrifice herself to contain it. That's what her family knows, and that's what inspires them to keep pushing into space.

Case (B): Her family will find Adelaide's dead body in her home. They will hear a tale from the survivors about the Doctor. Or, if there's a cover story, that cover story will have to explain a magical instantaneous return to Earth. Either way, they'll know that Adelaide got back to Earth and then killed herself for no clear reason. That's... far less inspiring. It really shouldn't fix the timeline.

Alternatively, even if the family does get the whole story - she killed herself because the timeline said she had to? (And I read that as dangerously close to "because the plot says so".) That's... confusing at best, and circular logic at worst. It lacks the "self-sacrifice in space against the unknown" aspect that made her original death so inspiring. Again, it shouldn't fix the timeline.

Adelaide is an intelligent woman. I feel that she would realise all of this. She's on Earth. She quite clearly didn't self-sacrifice to blow up the base. So history is already damaged beyond repair. So... what's her motivation for killing herself?

(Minor extra nitpick - there's a thrown in bit about a Dalek not killing her during "The Stolen Earth" because it recognised her death as a fixed point. But, in "The Stolen Earth", the Daleks were trying to destroy everything. Timelines, multiverses, all of it. That hardly feels like the time to be respecting fixed points...)

 

[PlasmaCow]

Nevermind Waters of Mars (good though it is), why the heck isn't Midnight on that list?!?!
A very understated episode that relies entirely on claustrophobia and the intense interaction between two actors. It doesn't even matter to the story who the Doctor is, just that he's smart, curious and a threat to the entity.

 

[Drake Barrow]

I'll jump on the "casual Who viewer and I knew all of these" bandwagon as well. Either that makes this a great list or a not-so-great one. I'm surprised that Human Nature/Family of Blood didn't get on this list, but I guess it requires more familiarity with the Doctor than the others episodes do.

I am glad that we got a couple of Eccleston episodes mentioned, though. I know I'm a distinct minority, but I liked Eccleston's Doctor a lot.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

Blink is good. Though, I did like the one where they met Shakespeare.

 

[Proverbial Jon]

...and this is exactly why purely subjective lists of things are a waste of time; the resulting lists are far from definitive and no one will ever agree on the content... so naturally I'm going to join in.

No love for the classics?
Seriously?

I was also surprised at this; especially when the Escapist as a whole seems to embrace the whole series. The article didn't even mention they were sticking to the new series.

Honourable mentions should go to:

- Genesis of the Daleks
- Tomb of the Cybermen
- The Ace Trilogy (Ghostlight, The Curse of Fenric and Survival)
- Logopolis (Mostly for the regeneration, possibly the most interesting and creative one yet.)

 

[ryukage_sama]

No love for the classics?
Seriously?

How many stories featuring the first 7 doctors actually finished in a single episode? The 8th doctor had a single (not-beloved) TV movie, but most of the older stories were told of the course of a 4-6 episodes. That does not make for a good introduction to the franchise.

As someone who has seen a significant amount of Doctor Who without becoming a fan, I most enjoy the ones that are most representative of the science fiction genre, which rarely seem to be the most character driven/fan favorite episodes.

 

[Something Amyss]

Vincent and the Doctor is the typical starfuck episode. It seems there's a mandatory 1 or 2 per season. Meet some famous person, talk about how they were the most brilliant ever, move on.

The God Complex is probably supposed to be disconcerting or something, but it struck me as campy and disjointed. I would also think it's too "Doctor-ish" to attract non-Doctor fans.

"Rose" is a great episode. The one time Rose actually proved to be useful without some sort of asspull machina.

School reunion doesn't strike me as a very good choice for the list (though I like it) unless you really want to know what Giles has been up to.

Same with The Doctor's Wife, but replace "Giles" with "Neil Gaiman."

This list strikes me more as "episodes to introduce people to Doctor Who." As such, I'd rather see "Dalek" on there than several of the above. However I don't know that I agree with the intended purpose

I'd replace 'Rose' with 'Waters of Mars' or even

Oh Waters of Mars. The special that made me laugh so hard I thought I'd die. And then made me no longer sad at the thought of Tennant leaving.

Blink is good. Though, I did like the one where they met Shakespeare.

Expelliarmus!

The Shakespeare Code was fun, I'll give it that.

How many stories featuring the first 7 doctors actually finished in a single episode? The 8th doctor had a single (not-beloved) TV movie, but most of the older stories were told of the course of a 4-6 episodes. That does not make for a good introduction to the franchise.

I mostly agree, but keep in mind that for decades, it was the only format of the show, period. They'd tweak the format, but the show was mostly serial and in nature and therefore the only way to introduce it. And to introduce someone to "Classic" Who, it's still pretty much necessary. Not to mention, while I do agree this seems more like an intro list, only one of the entries mention that and neither of the titles suggest it.

As a "can't miss" list, the lack of classic love is disappointing, and the same is true to a lesser extent for people who "hate" Doctor Who.