My List of the 8 Worst Doctor Who Episodes Since 2005
I grew up watching Doctor Who, since my mum made me watch Christopher Eccleston’s first episode, Rose, back in 2005. I’ve been hooked since and love this TV show. There have been a few episodes that weren’t great though…
Love and Monsters (Season 2, Episode 10)
Doctor: David Tennant
Why I Didn’t Like it:
They attempted to do a couple of episodes that didn’t really have The Doctor in them during David Tennant’s run: one was incredible (Blink, Season 3, Episode 10), and the other was pretty bad… That’s this one.
Sure, it’s light-hearted and an easy watch, but it didn’t feel like Doctor Who. The plot is all over the place and the bittersweet ending didn’t leave me wanting more of this kind of thing.
Fear Her (Season 2, Episode 11)
Doctor: David Tennant
Why I Didn’t Like it:
This has got to be one of my least rewatched episodes of Tennant’s run. This season has so many great solo episodes, like School Reunion and New Earth, but most of the great stories are in two parts, so these solo episodes got a little rushed over, I think.
There is very little tangible plot here to follow, except for a girl who’s a bit creepy.
The Unicorn and the Wasp (Season 4, Episode 7)
Doctor: David Tennant
Why I Didn’t Like it:
I love it when Doctor Who does an episode based on the plot beats of a different genre (Time Heist, with Capaldi, is a great example), but this murder mystery fell flat. Even for Doctor Who, a giant wasp is a bit too weird, and we weren’t given much to think about with the mystery – we were just told the facts. It could have been so much better.
Kill the Moon (Season 8, Episode 7)
Doctor: Peter Capaldi
Why I Didn’t Like it:
I have added this episode to this list because it’s the most forgettable of Peter Capaldi’s first season. I loved him as The Doctor, but that first season is hard to watch back. His next couple defintely get better though.
Kill the Moon made the Moon an egg, and lots of other weird stuff… The one thing that was great was the atmosphere – what they got right throughout Calapdi’s run was the creepy, horror-like vibes of the episodes. Back to scary Doctor Who!
The Return of Dr Mysterio (Season 9, Episode 14)
Doctor: Peter Capaldi
Why I Didn’t Like it:
Another example of another genre done badly. This was a New Year’s special, I think (or Christmas) and it was so dull. It was slow, lacked any interesting interactiuons between characters, and is totally forgettable.
Arachnids in the UK (Season 11, Episode 4)
Doctor: Jodie Whittaker
Why I Didn’t Like it:
As fun as it was to watch her in the role, Jodie Whittaker had a tough start to her run as The Doctor with very few enjoyable episodes in seasons 11 or 12. Arachnids in the UK is a good example of where it went wrong, writing-wise – they had these interesting concepts and got bogged down in the “message”.
I love a good bit of social commentary in my fiction, especially science fiction, and Doctor Who has always had it – but the writing just wasn’t up to scratch. Which is weird, because Chibnall wrote some of the best Doctor Who and Torchwood episodes in Russell T. Davies’s era.
Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror (Season 12, Episode 4)
Doctor: Jodie Whittaker
Why I Didn’t Like it:
Episodes with historical figures can be great, but this one was slow, disjointed, and ultimately felt like a waste of time to watch. Rosa was much better as a structured story (except for the weird timetravelling racist).
The Timeless Children (Season 12, Episode 10)
Doctor: Jodie Whittaker
Why I Didn’t Like it:
I’m not going to go on a rant about this, I promise! Sacha Dhawan’s Master is one of the best performances of the role – probably my favourite – but his charcater was dealt some pretty poor episodes. Spyfall was a lot of fun, and the reveal, with the matchbox!!!!!, had me so excited, but it went downhill from there untill his little dance number in The Power of the Doctor.
I’m all for changing the known history of The Doctor – who doesn’t like a cool reveal that changes everything? But there are so many plotholes, too many, for this to actually work in the canon as it stands. Maybe those holes can be fixed? I hope so. Maybe this will all be ignored? I wouldn’t mind that either. I guess we’ll find out in the coming years!
