Russell T Davies might as well be part of the furniture when it comes to Doctor Who at this point. He wrote the first episode of the revival with Christopher Eccleston and he’s showrunner on season 14 with Ncuti Gatwa.
Since 2005, Davies has written a total of 45 episodes of Doctor Who, as well as having credits on Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures. His undeniable talent has brought us a lot of incredible stories and moments, but I’ve done my best to narrow it down to the ten best episodes he’s ever written.
10. Gridlock
David Tennant as the Doctor, alongside Martha as his companion, travel to the city-state of New New York on New Earth, coming face to face with a huge drug problem and traffic like you’ve never seen before.
Martha ends up kidnapped by Milo and Cheen, a couple who are on the verge of welcoming a baby into the world, because they need a third person in their vehicle in order to use the Fast Lane. Usually, this wouldn’t be a problem, except even in the Fast Lane it’s going to take six years for them to reach their destination.
Cue the Doctor, car hopping through the truly insane multi-level traffic where people have made their homes inside their cars, with some bizarrely heartwarming moments and no end of interesting people to meet. Not to mention the giant crabs who populate the space below the traffic.
9. Voyage of the Damned
Three words to sum up this episode of Doctor Who are “Titanic in space”. With a guest appearance from Kylie Minogue as Astrid, Voyage of the Damned sees residents of the planet stop orbiting Earth in order to observe “primitive cultures”. They’re here to see the celebration of Christmas, on board a replica of the doomed cruise liner which sank in 1912.
With a terminally ill captain with suicidal intentions, the replica of the Titanic is no less doomed than the original it was based on, so the Doctor must set out to save those on board with the help of Astrid. Eventually, he saves the ship, but must face saying goodbye to Astrid. This episode is also the first time we’re introduced to Wilf, Donna’s Granddad and a favorite character for many.
8. Bad Wolf
Maybe I’m biassed, but this episode has so many British references in it that I can’t help but love it. Not least, the android version of Anne Robinson, who hosted the fondly remembered real-life version of The Weakest Link, which was much less deadly than the one depicted in Bad Wolf. Then there’s the lethal version of What Not to Wear, with android versions of Trinny and Susannah.
This is also the episode which introduces us to the concept of Bad Wolf, a message spread through time by Rose herself, which went on to be the name of the production company responsible for not only Doctor Who, but also shows like Dope Girls and The Winter King.
7. The Christmas Invasion
The first episode with David Tennant as the Doctor, The Christmas Invasion was (as the name suggests) the Christmas special in 2005. It aired on Christmas Day with an initial audience of 9.84 million.
This is the episode which sees the Doctor’s hand forcibly removed from his body during a sword fight with the leader of the Sycorax, which falls to earth as he regrows a new one because he’s got “just enough residual cellular energy”. The original hand goes on to play a vital role much later when Donna touches it, absorbs the energy within and ends up becoming Doctor Donna during Journey’s End. It also explains why, in Torchwood, Captain Jack Harkness is a little overly attached to the hand he keeps in a jar.
6. Midnight
I’ve written about Midnight before, but I really cannot express enough how much I love this episode. It’s creepy, suspenseful, and it really does have you on the edge of your seat.
Midnight sees the Doctor separated from Donna, who was in desperate need of a break by that point, on a tour of the planet Midnight. The planet as a whole is uninhabitable due to massive levels of radiation from its nearest star. However, while Donna makes the most of a Spa on the surface, the Doctor chooses to take a shuttle tour to see a waterfall made of Sapphires.
Spoiler alert, he doesn’t get to see the waterfall and everything goes horribly wrong, resulting in multiple deaths and a lot of fear all around.
5. Rose
Rose was the first episode of the Doctor Who revival back in 2005, starring Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor and Billie Piper as his companion. While Eccleston only remained with the show for one season, Piper went on to become a long-serving companion to not just him, but also Tennant when he took over the role.
I have such fond memories of Rose, the episode as well as the character, because it re-awoke my love for Doctor Who in a way that I seriously was not expecting. It obviously wasn’t just me, either, with 10.81 million viewers tuning in to see the glorious return of the Doctor.
4. The Legend of Ruby Sunday
I was hesitant to include anything from season 14 on this list, but The Legend of Ruby Sunday is an exception I’m willing to make. The culmination of an entire season of clues interwoven so subtly that they were barely noticed, leaving me kicking myself for not realising where the story was headed.
After six episodes of slow pacing and questionable choices, things suddenly start to make sense in The Legend of Ruby Sunday in an explosive way. On top of everything else, the reintroduction of a legendary enemy, Sutekh, definitely earns this episode a place on this list.
3. Turn Left
Turn Left is an interesting take on what most people would know as the Butterfly Effect. What would happen to your life if you just made one choice differently? Would it become something unrecognizable? Would you prefer a different life to the one you have now? If you had the chance, would you do something differently or go through everything to get to the point you’re at right now?
That’s the point of Turn Left, with Donna choosing to go a different way and things ending up oh so differently. Rose even appears to Donna in order to save her life from a disaster the Doctor is no longer around to save her from. It’s a ‘Doctor-lite’ episode, which usually rank among my least favorites, but this one is special because it sparks thought and forces the audience to get philosophical.
2. The End of Time
The final appearance of David Tennant as the tenth Doctor, and the introduction of Matt Smith to the role, The End of Time sees the Doctor facing off against his nemesis, The Master. This episode holds a huge spot in my heart because of one thing — Wilf.
The Doctor has already wiped Donna’s memory of his existence in order to save her life after the events of Journey’s End, and Wilf shields himself from a plot by The Master to turn all humans into clones of himself. In the end, Wilf is the only person The Doctor can turn to for help.
At the end of this episode, The Doctor takes a tour around everyone he has ever known with the face he currently has, something which is guaranteed to leave you in floods of tears. But the hardest goodbye of all is with Wilf.
1. The Star Beast/Wild Blue Yonder/The Giggle
Not one episode, admittedly, but we can class two of these as bonus entries on the list. These three episodes are among those I would gladly watch time and again.
The reappearance of David Tennant and Catherine Tate as the formidable duo so beloved by fans. The introduction of Rose Noble and Beep the Meep, the first sprinkling of hints about what was to come in season 14, bringing back old enemies like the Toymaker (played so perfectly by Neil Patrick Harris) and the massive shock of bi-regeneration – of course these three 60th anniversary special episodes deserve to be top of this list.
