The Fantasy Review’s list of Russell T Davies’ worst Doctor Who episodes.
I’m a big fan of Doctor Who and Russell T Davies’ other projects, but with so many episodes, there have to be some that just don’t land. Here is my list of Russell T Davies’ worst Doctor Who episodes.
#7 – Boom Town (Season 1, Episode 11)
Boom Town isn’t bad. It’s really not – I’m not lying to you – but it also isn’t good.
I know a lot of Doctor Who fans who will say nothing negative about Christopher Eccleston’s one and only season as the Ninth Doctor, but even they must admit there were a couple of less-than-great episodes.
The Slitheen were an… interesting addition to the show in the noughties, being expanded even more in The Sarah Jane Adventures, but Boom Town just fell a little flat.
You could see what Davies was attempting in the episode, showing us the many sides of the “enemies” in Doctor Who. Not everyone is 100% evil, and this adds some complexity to the idea.
But even for this show, Boom Town was too insane to take seriously, and didn’t really get across its ideas as well as it could have done. The Slitheen were more suited to SJA and worked much better on a younger children’ s show.
#6 – New Earth (Season 2, Episode 1)
David Tennant is a favourite Doctor to many, but his first full episode (not spent asleep while Jackie gets attacked by a Christmas tree) is messy. Cassandra is back, for some reason, and there are cats running a hospital and curing the sick by making clones ill.
It doesn’t make any sense, but there are some positives. The characters of the Doctor and Rose are the focus of the episode, seeing how the new Doctor interacts with his companion, and the other way around.
But great characters with a weird plot make for dull viewing, especially on a rewatch, and I have rewatched all these episodes a lot.
#5 – The Long Game (Season 1, Episode 7)
The best part of this episode is Simon Pegg. The worst part of this episode is Adam. And Simon Pegg.
The Long Game introduces us to the location of the Season 1 finale, but years before the Daleks invade. It is the Doctor’s interference here that causes the chaos to come.
This is an interesting idea, and one that really adds to the finale’s impact, but that doesn’t mean The Long Game is a good episode of Doctor Who.
Simon Pegg might be hilarious and talented, but his character on this is empty and dull. The whole clicking your fingers so a beam of information can go directly to your brain is insane, and should work on this show, but doesn’t.
I’m never enjoying myself if I’m rewatching The Long Game.
#4 – Space Babies (Season 14, Episode 1)
Ugh, so Space Babies when I first saw it wasn’t one of Russell T Davies’ worst Doctor Who episodes. However, on a rewatch I came to realise my initial viewing was clouded by a deep desire for this to be brilliant after several years of disappointing Doctor Who.
While Ncuti Gatwa’s two seasons as the Fifteenth Doctor have some absolutely brilliant episodes, Space Babies is not one of them.
There is a massive clash of tones here, with the hilarious babies talking to Ruby and the Doctor on one side, and the creepy monster made out of shot on the other. Overall, it’s messy, has nothing to say, and is sometimes just a bad re-working of The End of the World.
#3 – The Next Doctor (Season 4 Specials, Episode 1)
I remember waiting for what felt like forever for the season 4 specials to come out. The Next Doctor (such a clickbait episode title) was the disappointing start to some really great episodes.
The episode explores the character of the Doctor. Who is he? What does it mean to be the Doctor? Is it the TARDIS? Is it the sonic screwdriver? Or is it his heart, his friends, and his courage?
While the exploration of the character was interesting, the focus on that theme left much to be desired from the Cybermen-in-Victorian-London plot, featuring a giant cybermen… Why were these awesome enemies of the Doctor done so dirty?
#2 – Empire of Death (Season 14, Episode 8)
So, season 14 (or season 1, if you really want to do that to me) was a decent series, but the finale seems to be universally hated. And for good reason.
Davies brought back Sutekh, and there were so many clues and mysteries to resolve… HOWEVER:
- Sutekh was suddenly a big, cloudy, smokey dog-thing, wrapped around the TARDIS, ready to deliver plothole after plothole.
- None of the mysteries were resolved in a satisfying way – just look at what the mother was pointing at… what a pointless (get it?) mystery to drag us along with.
I haven’t rewatched this episode yet and I don’t want to. I will, but I don’t want to.
#1 – Love & Monsters (Season 2, Episode 10)
Look, you knew Love & Monsters would be number one on a list of Russell T Davies’ worst Doctor Who episodes. Sure, there can be great Doctor-lite episodes (Blink, 73 Yards, etc), but this is not one of them.
I don’t even see Love & Monsters as an episode of Doctor Who. It feels like a fanfiction story written by a child, and if it was presented to me like that, I’d accept it. But it’s not, so it’s the worst of the worst.
Everyone else already complains about this episode enough, but it has no elements in the story that make a Doctor Who story interesting, exciting, or emotionally engaging. It tackles no meaningful themes and the characters are of no interest.
The villain was designed by a child, I believe, which makes sense, but I still think the episode as a whole could have been better than it was, even with the same villain.
