Top 5 Favorite Science Fiction Shows

  Since Middle School I have been a fan of science fiction. I remember reading Asimov and Heinlein and this was also when I became a Trekkie as I’d watch “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” and “Star Trek: Voyager” on the television whenever they were on. I love how science fiction shows can give humanity hope for a brighter future and how they explore philosophical concepts and first contact between civilizations. It was from here that was I was inspired to explore my Top 5 Favorite Science Fiction shows and what makes them favorites of mine.

Honorable Mentions to “Firefly,” “Stargate SG-1,” and “Bablyon 5” who didn’t make the list but are still shows I greatly enjoy.

So without further ado here are my Top 5 Favorite Science Fiction Shows:

5th) Farscape

 Created by Rockne S. O’Bannon and produced by the Jim Henson Company and Hallmark Entertainment, “Farscape” is easily one of the most creative science fiction shows out there. When John Crichton is thrown through a wormhole to an unknown part of the Milky Way he must work with a group of prisoners on the living ship Moya and deal with the threats of the reptilian Scarren and the fascist Peacekeepers. My introduction to the show was it’s ending with “Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars” when I saw it on television and it sold me on the show as I went back and watched the prior seasons. This show does creative things with the mind and perspective as at one point the villain Scorpius installs a neural chip in Crichton’s head, giving us the character Harvey who is trying to get the wormhole technology that is trapped away. The characters in this are amazing with my favorite member of the Moya crew being D’Argo. Scorpius is also one of the best villains in science fiction and I can see why they kept him around as a character. The reason I don’t rate this show higher is it does have trouble with character consequences as death sometimes doesn’t mean that much sometimes, which brings down the show even though it is still very much a favorite.

4th) Doctor Who

 ”Doctor Who” is the only show on this list that is still going on currently that I’ve included. I have no idea when it will end as it could hypothetically go on forever. It has already been around since the 1960s. This is a show that where I am a fan of both the Classic and New as both have their pros and cons. This is a show that is so creative in both the enemies the Doctor faces and what is done with time travel and the TARDIS. My introduction to the show was with the 9th and 10th Doctors of the Davies Era and I consider David Tennant my Doctor and his 10th Doctor is one of my favorites. This is a show I’ve written a bit about already on the blog so I’ll share some of my posts below that capture so many of the things I love about this show. I’m excited to see what Ncuti Gatwa as the 15th Doctor brings and what the future holds for this show.

Top 5 Favorite Enemy Factions in “Doctor Who”

“Doctor Who” Doctors Tier List

“Doctor Who” Regenerations – Worst to Best

Doctor Who – The Doctors’ First Adventures from Worst to Best

3rd) Battlestar Galactica

 Developed by Ronald D. Moore, “Battlestar Galactica” is easily one of the most heavy hitting science fiction shows out there. This was a show that went deep on politics and religion as it gave us humanity trying to survive extinction from the Cylons. What keeps me from rating the show higher is the ending didn’t entirely work and some of the reveals weren’t set up and were done more for shock value than making logical story sense. I also think some of the soap opera drama could be tedious. This still has some amazing characters though with my favorites being Gaius Baltar, Number 3, Number 6, Tory Foster and Romo Lampkin. I do think the ending was good but flawed and I appreciate everything this show did. This was a show I loved watching during college and would watch it as episodes were being released. It even had some decent spin-offs in “Caprica” and “Blood and Chrome” that fleshed out the universe further.

2nd) Star Trek: The Next Generation

 ”Star Trek: The Next Generation” is one of my earliest memories of great science fiction television as I remember watching it on Spike TV in 6th Grade for the first time. The show’s hopefulness and how it used science and empathy to solve problems inspired me and I cared about Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D. This was a series that started out weak with Season 1 and 2 having a lot of bad episodes and a crew that acts detached from their humanity. Luckily that is fixed and even in those earlier seasons there are still memorable episodes. My favorite characters were Gowron and Data with Data getting some amazing character development as he explores what it means to be human and Gowron being a nice contrast to Worf in analyzing the Klingons and how they approached honor and politics. The characters stories would be continued in the films and “Star Trek: Picard.” The films aren’t good except for “First Contact” but I do think “Picard” season 3 is great and I loved seeing where these characters ended up even though “The Next Generation’s” “All Good Things…” is one of the best finales in television and wrapped up this show amazingly. This is one of the 2 “Star Trek” shows I’m most likely to go back to and re-watch.

1st) Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

  ”Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” is the best of “Star Trek.” This is a show that goes deeper into politics and religion and was clearly where Ronald D. Moore got inspiration for his re-imagining of “Battlestar Galactica” as he was one of the main writers on this show. This is a show I love because it is “Star Trek” that isn’t as human-centric as “The Next Generation,” “The Original Series” and even “Voyager” and “Enterprise.” We get to know the diverse array of aliens and factions that make up this universe and out of that get so many memorable characters. Captain Sisko is my favorite of the “Star Trek” captains and my other favorite characters are Dukat, Damar, Weyoun, Garak, Gowron and Major Kira. Dukat is one of the best science fiction villains and this show gave us one of the best story arcs in television with the Dominion War storyline that covered multiple seasons. To me this show represented the best of “Star Trek” as even in the horrors of war it still gave hope and showed the best of what people could be. This is a show I always love coming back to and is the best I’ve seen that science fiction television has to offer.

Captain Benjamin Sisko – An Exploration of Why He is My Favorite Captain in “Star Trek”

The 15th Doctor – Christmas Special 2023 – “The Church on Ruby Road” – A Good Story with a Great Doctor

 ”The Church on Ruby Road” is a solid introduction to Ncuti Gatwa’s 15th Doctor. The story itself never reaches the level of great due to one of the story choices and early pacing but it is still an episode I’d recommend as it is still a good episode.

  The episode was was directed by Mark Tonderai and written by Russell T. Davies.

  Ruby (Millie Gibson) finds herself dealing with bad luck and goblins as the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) enters her life.

SPOILERS ahead

The Pros:

The Goblins – The goblins have a cool design, looking like Jim Henson creature creations with the Goblin King as a large goblin as their leader as they are clearly evil as they try to kill and eat humans. They are a good threat and their flying ship and ability to travel through time was also a neat puzzle for the Doctor to solve.

The Time Travel – We have time travel in this as after the goblins are originally defeated they go to when Ruby was first abandoned by her mother at the church as a baby to eat her instead. The fact that both the goblins and Doctor time travel was used well.

Ruby – Millie Gibson does a great job as Ruby. She reminds me a bit of Rose as she figures out the Doctor is a time travel and a bit of Clara with her mysterious origins and connection to the Doctor. Hopefully her story is handled better than Clara but it is starting with promise. I liked her adopted mom and grandma and the fact that they fostered kids showed how good of people they were. Ruby also wanting to find her birth parents is a powerful motivation driving her story forward.

The Doctor – Ncuti Gatwa is fantastic as the 15th Doctor. He’s the first Doctor we see dance at a club and also moves the stupid timeless child plot forward where he says he is an orphan too and doesn’t know where he’s from. I’m curious where his story is going to go but he is a wonderful Doctor as he is filled with warmth towards everyone and a captures the Doctor’s brilliant problem solving ability as he figures out the goblins’ language of luck.

The Potential Mysteries – Ruby’s neighbor Mrs. Flood knows what a TARDIS is and of course the mystery of who Ruby’s parents are are mysteries to be explored this season. As well as who is the Beep the Meep’s Boss and the person who stole the golden tooth holding the Master.

The Cons:

Pacing at the Beginning – It takes a while for us to see what the Doctor is up to and for us to finally see the goblins fully. This episode is nearly an hour and could have cut out about 10 minutes to get us to the plot quicker as it really drags at the start.

The Bad Timeline – In the bad timeline where Ruby was eaten by the goblins her adopted mom Carla is only taking in foster kids for the money. This is completely opposite of the woman we had gotten to know and it made no sense that having Ruby in her life made her foster 33 kids versus 6. I hated what the bad timeline implied as it went against the characters we had come to know.

  Outside of the character actions that made no sense in the bad timeline and pacing at the beginning this was a good Christmas special and I can’t wait for the rest of Ncuti Gatwa’s 15th Doctor’s story. He is a great Doctor and I’m excited to see where his and Ruby’s story goes as there are a few mysteries from the 14th Doctor specials and a few in this episode that can still be explored.

Final Score: 8 / 10

The 14th Doctor – 2023 Special 3 – “The Giggle” – The Reason for the Doctor

“The Giggle” is a great episode of “Doctor Who” with one really stupid idea I didn’t like. This episode has a great character work and a great antagonist though and is easily the best of the 3 2023 Specials. Suffice to say I’m excited to see what comes next and definitely recommend the episode.

The episode was written Russell T. Davies and directed by Chanya Button.

A mysterious puppet is driving everyone in the world mad as a mysterious enemy from the Doctor’s past returns.

SPOILERS ahead

The Pros:

Kate Stewart and UNIT – Kate Stewart and UNIT are back as the ones who have a way to protect themselves from “The Giggle” that is driving everyone mad. She does a great job and it was great seeing UNIT figure out what was going on as they worked with Donna, Mel and the Doctor to figure out that the puppet’s laugh was causing all of humanity to fight themselves.

Mel – The classic companion Mel is back and is working for UNIT. She’s great and I liked how she mentioned adventuring for a bit after leaving the Doctor before returning to Earth and working for UNIT and settling down. She’s got great chemistry with Donna and the Doctor and I like that the Nobles take her into their family at the end.

Donna – Donna is in this figuring things out as she figures out that the notes causing people mad are a laugh. We also see her call the Doctor out for not talking about his past companions after she meets Mel and she is the one who convinces the Doctor to settle down for a bit and to live. Tennant and Tate are amazing together and this was a great closing of their story.

The Celestial Toymaker – Neil Patrick Harris plays the 1st Doctor’s villain known as the Celestial Toymaker or the Toymaker. He is a fantastic villain who lives to play games and win. This is what drives him through the episode as we learn about all the beings he defeated in the Universe (he is from a different one) including the Master who he put in a golden tooth in his mouth. He is defeated but may return as he threatens the Doctor that his legions are coming and we hear about “The One Who Waits” who scared even the Celestial Toymaker. He is such a fun villain and I hope he returns as rewarding as his defeat was given all the chaos and hurt he caused.

The 14th Doctor – David Tennant’s 14th Doctor is facing the fact that by defeating the Celestial Toymaker in the past he let the Toymaker into his universe. It is such a cool followup from that as eventually the 14th Doctor settles down as he experiences a Bigeneration as the 15th Doctor comes out of him and together they defeat the Celestial Toymaker. In the end he settles down with the Nobles and goes on adventures with them as the 15th Doctor gets his own TARDIS as a prize for defeating the Celestial Toymaker. I’m curious what they’ll do with him now and if he has anymore regenerations or if he’s just mortal now. I really wish they’d answered that question.

The 15th Doctor – Ncuti Gatwa is fantastic as the 15th Doctor who is the one who is wiser than the 14th Doctor as he suggest the 14th Doctor stop running and rest for a while. He has great chemistry with the 14th Doctor, Mel and Donna and I can’t wait to see his next adventures. This was a great introduction to the character as we see him comfort has past incarnation and how quickly he gets ready to go on his next adventure in his TARDIS.

Why the Doctor Fights – In this the Doctor fights for connection and family as we the 14th Doctor voices this as he has settled down as a member of the Nobles and become their Uncle. It is a touching scene and really how if the show were to end a way to end the Doctor’s overall story.

The Cons:

Bigeneration – Regeneration always had consequences and was the death of that current Doctor. This the 14th still stuck around and the 15th Doctor came out of him. Regeneration is all about death so the 14th Doctor should have died. Now there are so many stupid questions like how it happened in the first place and if the 14th Doctor has other regenerations now. I really wish he’d just died as his last line before he was about to regenerate was great.

I hated bigeneration, regeneration should mean death and the closing of the Doctor’s story and it is never explained or justified within the narrative but I still think the episode was great due to the wonderful characters and the facing of the Celestial Toymaker. I can’t wait to see what adventures come next for Ncuti Gatwa’s 15th Doctor and what Russell T. Davies will do next.

Final Score: 9 / 10

The 14th Doctor – 2023 Special 2 – “Wild Blue Yonder” – Good Ideas Ruined by Pacing

“Wild Blue Yonder” is a special with a lot of neat ideas but is brought down by horrendous pacing. This is an episode that should have been shorter and gotten to the main conflict faster. If it had done it would have been good rather than enjoyable. Still, it is worth a watch and is fun even if I wouldn’t consider it good.

The episode was directed by Tom Kingsley and written by Russell T. Davies.

The TARDIS abandons the Doctor and Donna on a mysterious space ship.

SPOILERS ahead

The Pros:

The Mystery – The core mystery of the episode works with Donna and the Doctor trying to figure out why the TARDIS left due to hostile action. The ship appears to be empty so it leaves a good mystery to be figured out in regards to what happened, especially as a word is spoken every once in a while that transforms the ship.

The Not-Things – The Not-Things are from the void and take the form and memory of the Doctor and Donna. They are terrifying villains who work really well as creatures that just want to wreak havoc in the universe as the ship is at the edge of the universe. They were influenced by all the wars in the galaxy that made them so hateful of everything.

Donna – Donna is great in this as she is tackling her self-esteem over nearly breaking the TARDIS by the coffee spill. She is the one who figures things out at key moments and we see her relationship with the Doctor developed further as she just wants to get home to her family. She calls Wilfred being there waiting for them at the end when the TARDIS disappeared.

The Doctor – The Doctor is great in this as we learn he carries the weight of the Flux and everyone it killed as well as not knowing where he is from as in this it hints that he thinks he might not be from Gallifrey. David Tennant is great in this especially in his conversations with Donna as he is doing all he can to solve the mystery of the ship and get her home.

The Cons:

Pacing – This episode could have been 30 minutes and would have been better for it. It takes a long time for the reveal of the Not-Things and once that happens the pace picks up but it still drags as we get fake outs with the Not-Things pretending to be the Doctor and Donna. This hurt the episode a lot and kept it from being good.

This episode could have been good if the pacing had been a lot tighter as the core mystery and villains worked it was just the execution that was terrible. I was glad to Wilfred at the end of the episode though and can’t wait to see him in the last of the 2023 Specials.

Final Score: 7 / 10

The 14th Doctor – 2023 Special 1 – “The Star Beast” – The Return of Tennant and Davies

“The Star Beast” doesn’t feel a Special with a multi-Doctor story but it is still feels like a really good series opener as Russell T. Davies is clearly back in form and David Tennant and Catherine Tate feel like they never left and are believable in the growth they are in now. The new characters are also good too. Suffice to say this is well worth checking out and is a good story, especially if you are a fan of Tennant and Davies.

The special was directed by Rachel Talalay and written by Russell T. Davies.

An alien spaceship crash lands in London leading to the Doctor’s (David Tennant) reunion with Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) and her family as they must protect the Meep from an invading force.

SPOILERS ahead

The Pros:

The Cinematography – The cinematography is beautiful in this with a lot of long shots that really give scale to the ships, events and houses. It brings the story to life so well and keeps the tone of the mystery as well.

The Soundtrack – Murray Gold is back and once again does a fantastic job. The moments of drama and reflection are captured so well. The soundtrack stands out a lot more than the Chibnall era and is better for it.

Beep the Meep – Beep the Meep is a fun twist villain as before it is setup that the Meep is being hunted for it’s fur until it is revealed that it was a lie and the creature is just mad and destructive as it’s motivation as the Meep tries to destroy London in it’s escape. I hope Beep the Meep returns as the villain was a lot of fun and worked really well.

The Nobles – The Nobles are a fantastic family, even Donna’s mom is alright this time around and seems to have grown as a person. I’ll get into the other Nobles below though who had a bit more going on than Donna’s mom Sylvia.

Shaun – Shaun Temple is Donna’s husband and he is a great and supportive guy. I really enjoyed the character and how well he adapted to seeing aliens for the first time as well as helping the Doctor when he was in need. Karl Collins does a good job.

Rose – Rose is Donna’s trans daughter played by Yasmin Finney and she is great. She is trying to support her family with toys she makes and we learn that the Meta-Crisis carried on through Donna to her and all her toys are from Donna and Doctor’s Series 4 adventures. In the end she lets go of the Time Lord energy with Donna and helps stop Beep the Meep. I hope we see more of her later in “Doctor Who” post the Specials.

Donna – Catherine Tate’s Donna Noble is one of the best companions in “Doctor Who” as she doesn’t put up with the Doctor’s crap. In this we face the end of Series 4 as her memory is brought back and DoctorDonna returns in order for the Doctor, Rose and Donna to stop Beep the Meep from destroying London. It is great to see her return and in the end she joins the Doctor for one last adventure.

The Doctor – The Doctor is back with Tenth Doctor’s face but all the memories of the Eleventh to Thirteenth Doctor so is a bit wiser than the Tenth Doctor was. He spends much of the episode trying to figure out what is going on with the Wrath Warriors and the Meep and trying to save Donna and her family. He has some powerful moments with Donna and David Tennant is truly back in the role. It’s a shame we are only getting him for the 3 Specials.

The Cons:

The Wrath Warriors – We don’t really learn much about them except that they are trying to bring in Beep the Meep. We meet two of them and learn one of them has a family but besides their design not enough was done to really bring them to life.

The Coffee Spill – Donna lost her job from spilling coffee on a computer and she dumps coffee on the TARDIS console. I hated this has it was an entirely avoidable problem that just makes Donna look bad. I was hoping another thing would cause the TARDIS to go haywire.

This was a really good episode that was nearly great. Everything with Donna and her family worked as did all the interactions with the Doctor. The only downside keeping it from being great is the story around the coffee spill and outcome of it and how underdeveloped the Wrath Warriors were. Looking forward to the next 2 Specials.

Final Score: 8.9 / 10

The 10th Doctor – Series 4, Episodes 13 and 14 – “The Stolen Earth” and “Journey’s End” – Reunions, Daleks and the Tragedy of Donna Noble

In preparation for the “Doctor Who” 60th Anniversary episodes with both Tennant and Donna returning I decided to go back to the last time they were together and the episodes that defined the tragedy that looks like will be defining The 60th Anniversary episodes.

The episodes were directed by Graeme Harper and written by Russell T. Davies.

When the Earth disappears the Doctor (David Tennant) must find who stole it with Donna (Catherine Tate) as Donna is haunted by a mysterious prophecy.

SPOILERS ahead

The Pros:

The Soundtrack – Murray Gold’s amazing soundtrack is on full display in this. The tragedy of what happens to Donna, leaving Rose, the threat of the Daleks and so much more are enlivened in the soundtrack. This is Murray Gold at his best.

Great Use of the Ensemble Cast – The ensemble cast was amazing in this and I’ll be talking about the stand-out performances among them below.

Wilfred Mott – Wilfred is fantastic in these episodes knowing the threat is going on before he never knows what it is as well as his empathy and looking after the Doctor. It makes sense that he’d be 10’s final companion in his regeneration adventure. R.I.P. Bernard Cribbins, you were fantastic.

Harriet Jones – Penelope Wilton is back and is the one to pull together all those who know the Doctor in order to contact him so he can find Earth. She sacrifices herself to do so and is easily one of the biggest heroes of the story whose initial fears about the Earth being invaded ended up being right.

Captain Jack Harkness and Torchwood – We get Jack, Ianto and Gwen and all of them are great as we see them helping Harriet and later Jack helping the Doctor on the Crucible Dalek Ship. They add a lot too as we see how well their team works with others and unlike the show, none of them die.

Sarah Jane Smith – Elisabeth Sladen has always been amazing as Sarah Jane Smith and I loved seeing her back in action helping Harriet Jones and later the Doctor. She gets to catch up with the Doctor at one point too as he learns she’s a mom and her son and K-9 helps bring Earth back.

Rose Tyler – Billie Piper is great though this is one of her weaker performances as Rose since a lot of it is just pining after the Doctor. Still when she is allowed to help in the plot she’s great and I liked when she got over her jealousy and got ot know the Doctor’s other companions she hadn’t met yet.

Martha Jones – Freema Agemon’s Martha is one of my favorite companions and the reasons why are on full display here as she is trusted with a super-weapon to stop the Daleks that will also destroy Earth. She is a constant help and is easily the most active of the companions we meet outside of Captain Jack Harkness, Donna and Rose.

Davros and the Daleks – Davros and the Daleks are such a great threat in this. They have a reality bomb that will wipe out anything and Davros continues to get under the Doctor’s skin and attempts to draw parallels between them being creators of destructive beings. What Davros misses is that all the Doctor and his companions do is to save lives while Davros and the Daleks kill only conquest. In the end they are defeated by Doctor Donna, The Meta-Crisis Doctor and the Doctor with Davros refusing to be rescued by the Doctor, calling him a destroyer of worlds.

Dalek Caan – Dalek Caan firest appears to be helping Davros and the Daleks until is shown he helped created the Meta-Crisis Doctor and Doctor Donna to destroy the Daleks as he saw how evil the Daleks and their genocide well.

The Meta-Crisis Doctor – The Meta-Crisis Doctor is a human hybrid Doctor born of the war against the Daleks and commits genocide against them to fulfill Dalek Caan’s prophecy. David Tennant plays this Doctor who has elements of Donna’s personality in him really well. He’s charming and ruthless and works in the story. I honestly hope he shows up in the 60th Anniversary episodes. When there were first rumors of Tennant’s return I was hoping it’d be as this Doctor and not a return of 10.

Donna Noble – Catherine Tate is amazing as Donna and I’m glads she’s returning in the 60th Anniversary episodes as she is one of the better companions the Doctor has had. In this we see her become Doctor Donna and save countless worlds and the universe. Sadly to save her life the Doctor steals all those memories so the Time Lord energy doesn’t burn her up.

The Doctor – David Tennant is so good as the Doctor who has grown so much over the course of his run. He strives always for mercy, even against Daleks and him contrasted with the Meta-Crisis Doctor. We also see how detached he has become from loss, from his taking Donna’s memories to not saying good-bye to Rose. He is the Doctor alone after the amazing reunion with all his friends and past companions to defeat his old foe once more.

The Doctor Remembers Everyone Lost – One of the powerful moments is the Doctor remembering all the guest companions who have died since Davies’s run. It is a powerful flashback and illlustrates the guilt the Doctor carries forward through all his adventures.

Loss and Tragedy – Loss and tragedy are a running theme in this. From the Doctor remembering everyone he lost during Davies’s run to Harriet Jones and finally wiping Donna’s memories of their adventures. Tragedy and loss run through these episodes and strengthen them.

Okay:

The Shadow Collective – The Shadow Collective shows up and helps the Doctor and Donna find where the missing planets are and say that the Doctor should lead them to war against whomever took the planets…and the Doctor leaves them. Besides giving Donna the prophecy of her end and helping the Doctor I wish they’d done more. They are still okay.

The Cons:

Rose Being Jealous – Rose is jealous of Martha and the others when she listening is on the conference call with Harriet Jones and the Doctor. It sucked seeing her pining for the Doctor as her main trait during all of that and the jealousy that came with it.

The Fake-out Regeneration – I hate the fake-out regeneration. It isn’t well explained until later as being an actual regeneration for the Doctor but it cheapens the 10th Doctor’s later death given he’s now already died once and resurrected and creating a human version of himself. It’s like no matter what happens, even getting shot by a Dalek the Doctor is unstoppable and that hurts the story.

Victory Through Techno-babble – Doctor Donna and the Meta-Crisis Doctor and the Doctor defeat the Daleks through techno-babble. This and taking away Donna’s agency are what make “Journey’s End” slightly worse than “The Stolen Earth.” There needed to be more logic to the Dalek defeat.

The Doctor Taking Away Donna’s Agency – I hated the Doctor for this and this is a big reason I think 10 can never be my favorite Doctor. 12 never did this and that is why I consider him the better Doctor in the end. Donna deserved to die as Doctor Donna if she wanted to, it was her decision to make not the Doctor.

The ensemble cast is on full display in this and the reunions work really well for a 2 episode story. The tragedy also works too even though it makes me hate the Doctor for what he did. This is a really good 2-parter and I can’t wait to see how the 60th Anniversary episodes pay-off on this finale with the Doctor and Donna’s story continued.

“The Stolen Earth” Score: 8.7 / 10

“Journey’s End” Score: 8.5 / 10

Final Score: 8.6 / 10

“Doctor Who” Regenerations – Worst to Best

As we have now had the 13th Doctor’s Regeneration it is time for the updated list of the Doctor and their regenerations.

For the score it really depends on how personal the regeneration is the story it takes place in, what it means to the Doctor, how it is brought about and if there is any intention behind those bringing about the regeneration or the Doctor in how he faces it.

SPOILERS ahead

13th) The 3rd Doctor – “Planet of the Spiders”

This is the worst of the “Doctor Who” regeneration stories and it is a shame because Jon Pertwee’s 3rd Doctor is one of my favorite Doctors. In this the enemies are space spiders called Eight-Legs and they force the Doctor’s regeneration. They have no personal connection to the Doctor and the only good performances outside of Pertwee’s portrayal of the Doctor are the Brig and Sarah Jane Smith who witness the regeneration. There are also white actors in “Yellow Face.” This is a terrible serial and one you should skip. Jon Pertwee deserved a so much better story.

Final Score: 4 / 10

The 3rd Doctor – Season 11, Serial 5 – “Planet of the Spiders” – Bad Action and Writing Only Elevated by Performances

12th) The 7th Doctor – “Doctor Who: The Movie”

“Doctor Who: The Movie” is a bad film and part of why it is bad is how it handles the 7th Doctor’s regeneration. It isn’t purposeful as the Master escapes and sets up the Doctor to get shot, which the Master couldn’t have predicted. The 7th Doctor is sleepwalking through it all too, which is a shame as he was the chessmaster Doctor and strategist and we get none of that here. The Master forcing the regeneration is an accident and the 7th Doctor has no purpose or preparation. It is simply a regeneration that happens setting the tone for a bad film.

Final Score: 5 / 10

12 Days of Doctors – The 8th Doctor – “Doctor Who: The Movie” – Paul McGann Should Have Got a Series

11th) The 5th Doctor – “The Caves of Androzani”

Much like the 3rd Doctor and the Eight-Legs enemy he has no personal connection with the 5th Doctor has no connection to the civil war happening in this serial and he is poisoned by accident. The only reason it isn’t lower is he is risking his life to save his companion Peri and he is the one good person in the entire story so it says something about the Doctor in that way. This still isn’t a serial I’d recommend watching though. There are no compelling characters and it depends entirely on the dark tone and action to carry it outside of Davison’s charisma.

Final Score: 6.4 / 10

The 5th Doctor – Season 21, Serial 6 – “The Caves of Androzani” – The Doctor in the Middle of a Story of Betrayal and Revenge

10th) The 10th Doctor – “The End of Time Part 1 and 2”

David Tennant’s 10th Doctor was my first Doctor and he is one of my favorites. This is a story that drags and the Master’s plan and motivation do not work. We get some good Time Lord lore and story but it is never explained and the inconsistent tone and so many moments of nonsense keep this story from being enjoyable. The 10th Doctor at least got some great conversations with Wilfred and his last good-byes to his past companions keeps me from rating it lower.

Final Score: 6.5 / 10

The 10th Doctor – Doctor Who Specials – “The End of Time Part 1 and 2” – Terrible Pacing and Plot With Moments of Profound Connection

9th) 11th Doctor – “The Time of the Doctor”

“The Time of the Doctor” is a mess with quite a bit of “tell over show” and the Doctor being a creep. It still ends up being an enjoyable story though for how it wraps up the plot threads of the crack in reality, Trenzalore and the Silence and for the support characters like Handles and Orla Brady’s Tasha Lem who elevate the score. It also is short compared to “The End of Time Parts 1 and 2” which makes it work as it doesn’t waste time. It isn’t good but it is a flawed and enjoyable mess with the Doctor defending the Time Lords from the Daleks and going into the unknown with new regenerations as his were coming to an end.

Final Score: 7 / 10

The 11th Doctor – Doctor Who Specials – “The Time of the Doctor” – The Missed Opportunities of Trenzalore and the Problem of Prophecies

8th) The 4th Doctor – “Logopolis”

“Logopolis” is a story that doesn’t take time to reflect on the stakes of it’s own story as Nyssa’s father is killed and possessed by the Master and Logopolis is destroyed, setting off the destruction of the universe. But it works because of how personal the stakes are and that the Master and Doctor do work together to fix the Master’s mistake until his inevitable betrayal. The 4th Doctor’s last act is saving the universe making his distance from is companions through the serial all the personal as it was him grappling his his mortality. Tom Baker does an amazing job it is just the lack of exploration of all that was lost and slow start that keeps the serial from being good.

Final Score: 7.5 / 10

The 4th Doctor – Season 18, Serial 7 – “Logopolis” – Story is Cluttered but the Master and Doctor Relationship Works

7th) The 6th Doctor – “The Sixth Doctor: The Last Adventure”

Colin Baker was smart to have Big Finish Productions and their audio-dramas tell his last story as his relationship to his companions through time and the Valeyard, his future darker self is explored. There are 4 1 hour long audio-dramas and the 6th Doctor’s stubborn is used for good as we see him at his most empathetic. In the end he chooses death and his regeneration to stop the Valeyard from replacing him and it illustrates just how good he was. It also is what ties into the first 7th Doctor serial as the events of the last audio-drama set it up. The reason it isn’t higher is some of the stories needed more development of the characters.

Final Score: 8.3 / 10

The 6th Doctor – Big Finish Productions – “The Sixth Doctor: The Last Adventure” – The Valeyard and the Doctor and the Final Confrontation

6th) The 2nd Doctor – “The War Games”

“The War Games” suffers the most from padding and length, it is a 10 episode serial. This doesn’t stop it from being a really good story as it is a rogue Time Lord in the War Chief pulling people from different eras of history that forces the Doctor to call on the Time Lords and be judged for his interference in history, leading to his exile on Earth as the 3rd Doctor. It is deeply personal too as his companions forget all but their first adventure with him and whenever they tried to escape or fight back the Time Lord’s power was too much. This regeneration is a tragedy that only the Doctor’s fight for good keeps from being worse as they Time Lords think he should still be around to fight evil. Patrick Troughton is one of my favorite Doctors and this serial captures that so well.

Final Score: 8.7 / 10

The 2nd Doctor – Season 6, Serial 7 – “The War Games” – An Introduction to the Time Lords and a Farewell

5th) The 13th Doctor – “The Power of the Doctor”

Like most Chibnall stories this one is a bit overstuffed and convoluted but what it gets right it does brilliantly. In this we see the Doctor’s relationship to past and current companions and they are key to the plot and saving her as well as us getting more time with the Master and finally getting to see the CyberMasters in action. The regeneration itself is really peaceful too and is the Doctor putting her best foot forward for creating a new future. A big reason I’m not rating this story higher is there was no reason for the Daleks to be in this plot and some of the details are missing in the overall story. Still it is a really good regeneration story. Jodie Whittaker really gave her Doctor a good send-off.

Final Score: 8.8 / 10

The 13th Doctor – “The Power of the Doctor” – Doctor Who Specials – A Reflection on Legacy and the Companionships of the Doctor

4th) The 9th Doctor – “Bad Wolf” and “The Parting of the Ways”

The 9th Doctor’s regeneration is powerful as it is his facing the Time War and to not be the destroyer he was during it. It is his him choosing healing and “Bad Wolf” and “The Parting of the Ways” tell that story well. The only reason I don’t rate it higher is “Bad Wolf” is a it too pop culture referency in the game shows and we never fully explore and know if the Daleks destroyed all humans on Earth. The Dalek Emperor and self-hating human-made Daleks is compelling though. The Doctor regenerating to save Rose is great though as are his last words recognizing how fantastic both of them were.

Final Score: 9 / 10

The 9th Doctor – Series 1, Episodes 12 and 13 – “Bad Wolf” and “The Parting of the Ways” – The Time War’s Transformations

3rd) The 1st Doctor – “The Tenth Planet”

“The Tenth Planet” is the 1st Doctor’s regeneration and works so amazingly given footage was lost so had to be animated to go with audio and Hartnell was sick so the story had to work with the Doctor not in the last parts of the story beyond voice over. The fact that this works speaks to how well Hartnell’s Doctor worked. This story introduces the Cybermen and their actions are what bring about his regeneration as they are an overwhelming threat that are only one through the Doctor outsmarting them. His acceptance of his death is powerful and the only reason I don’t rate it higher is due to the Doctor’s companion Polly being sidelined. She should have been as active in the plot as the other companion Ben.

Final Score: 9.5 / 10

The 1st Doctor – Season 4, Serial 2 – “The Tenth Planet” – Survival and Change and the Introduction to the Cybermen

2nd) The 12th Doctor – “Twice Upon a Time”

Peter Capaldi’s 12th Doctor is my favorite Doctor and this story is the introspection of his Doctor on full display as he is choosing whether to regenerate or not after all he’s lost as well as him looking back on his past through the lens of the 1st Doctor he is with. This is a deeply personal episode and it gets so much right. I wish he hadn’t got the memory of Clara back though as that was consequence of the adventures. The critique of the past doesn’t always work but the Doctor’s regeneration is intentional with kindness at the core with Capaldi’s monologue for who he hopes the 13th Doctor will be. I loved this and even though all the past reflection doesn’t always work, the core story does. 12th’s regeneration brought about by the death of his companions by the Cybermen and the death of the Master who was now his friend and ally in Missy from Simm’s Master would leave this Doctor broken so him choosing regeneration meant something.

Final Score: 9.6 / 10

The 12th Doctor – Doctor Who Specials – “Twice Upon a Time” – Reflecting, Critiquing and Honoring the Old to the New to Bring the 13th Doctor

1st) The 8th Doctor – “The Night of the Doctor”

Much like how personal the 12th Doctor’s regeneration is, the 8th is is even more-so. It is only kept from perfection by us not getting enough time with the potential companion Cass and not getting any hints of what the 8th Doctor has been up during the Time War. In this we have the Sisterhood of Karn return as the Doctor must choose who he wants to regenerate to be as he chooses to be a warrior and no longer a Doctor as we see the Daleks and Time Lords have no doubt lead to the loss of potential companions and friends like Cass so he must no longer be a Doctor to change it. It is an amazing performance and I am still hoping for that Paul McGann mini-series to see what lead up this universe changing moment.

Final Score: 9.8 / 10

The 8th Doctor – Doctor Who Specials – “The Night of the Doctor” – The Cost to Ending the Time War

Here is what the next regeneration stories bring.

Here is my prior list:

“Doctor Who” Regenerations – Worst to Best

The 10th Doctor – Doctor Who Specials – “The End of Time Part 1 and 2” – Terrible Pacing and Plot With Moments of Profound Connection

“The End of Time Part 1 and 2” are not a good regeneration story. This is a shame as the 10th Doctor was my first Doctor and one of my favorites but the story is so much happenstance and chance for moving forward and drags throughout both parts. It is really Bernard Cribbin’s Wilfred and David Tennant’s conversations that keep the story from being bad as at times Davies gives us profound moments of connection, even if it is in a terrible plot.

The episodes were directed by Euros Lyn and written by Russell T. Davies.

As the Doctor seeks to escape his regeneration he is pulled back into danger when his old Nemesis the Master returns as forces beyond them both plot.

SPOILERS ahead

The Pros:

The Cinematography – There are great moments of cinematography in this and it is a good looking two-parter, especially with the wide cinematic shots. Sadly it doesn’t boost the story at all.

The Soundtrack – Murray Gold is putting in some of his best work with this special as he elevates scenes from the conversations with Wilfred to the Doctor’s farewell. His music from these episodes are songs I stilll come back to.

Rassilon – Timothy Dalton is wonderful as Rassilon and his desperate plot to save his people from annihilation in the Time War is compelling. His plan for the Time Lord to ascend isn’t explained well but I liked how well he played the desperate leader seeking to stave off annihilation. I hope we see this version of Rassilon again as Dalton has presence and he owned all his scenes.

Wilfred – Wilfred is the Doctor’s companion in this and is there to remind the Doctor of his mortality, given Wilfred is old. He is also Donna’s grandfather so he is the Doctor’s way of checking up on how she is doing after the events of the Series 4 finale where the Doctor wiped her memory of him to save her life. They have so many great conversations and Wilfred keeps the Doctor good as being alone is when he went selfish and cruel during he specials and it is Wilfred saving another that gets Wilfred trapped, leading to the Doctor sacrificing himself to save him. Bernard Cribbins is amazing and is such a good companion.

The Doctor – The Doctor facing his coming “death” and regeneration is the theme of the Doctor’s story these two episodes and when he is talking to Wilfred it is done well. The Doctor is afraid but driven to write the wrongs in stopping the Master and later the Time Lords. David Tennant is giving his all and his final act of sacrifice and his good-byes to his companions are memorable as his his returning the Time Lords back to the Time War to save time from being destroyed. I wish he’d gotten a better story as the themes are all great and Tennant is amazing as video.

Discussions of Mortality and Humanity – We have some amazing discussions of mortality in this, from the Time Lords fear of death leading to time’s eventual annihilation to the 10th Doctor willingness to finally regenerate showing he can change unlike the Time Lords and Master. The 10th Doctor describes humans as giants and you see how much he cares for humanity. These conversations are the best parts in episodes that aren’t good.

The Doctor’s Good-byes – The Doctor says good-bye to Martha, Jack, attends Donna’s wedding and gives her the winning lottery ticket and even meets the ancestor of the woman he was with him “Human Nature” and “Family of Blood” before seeing Rose one last time before he regenerates into the 11th Doctor before saying he, “Doesn’t want to go.” It is a sad and a powerful good-bye.

The Cons:

The Pacing – These episodes are really slow with a lot of wasted time of characters running around or sitting around. These were bad as there wasn’t talking or character moments, it was just burning time to get to the point.

The Action – The action isn’t good. You have the Master turning skeletal and eating people and random gunfights shot in darkness so you can’t see anything. The action is really bad in this.

Tonal Whiplash – You have the Time War and the Master’s madness and trauma attempted being explored with bad jokes and the Master turning everyone into him and at one point a bunch of older folks working wit Wilfred to find the Doctor. There is no consistent tone so it hurts the dramatic scenes which are well written some of the time.

Tell Over Show – Rassilon is telling us the story via prophecy and explaining the plot and this “tell over show” is constant through both episodes. This is part of what makes the pacing feel so awful most of the time.

The Master and his Nonsense Plot – The Master exploits a random Vinvocci “Immortality Gate” that a corrupt billionaire is using and turns everyone on Earth into him except the Doctor, Donna and Wilfred. The plot is dumb and all random chance. The Master is just eating everything, including people and feels like a bad joke. This version of the Master feels like “Doctor Who: The Movie” where all we have is bad camp trying to be scary but just coming off as gross. This was one of the worst Master portrayals.

The Problem of Prophecy – The entire plot is prophecy with the Ood saying it the Time Lords having and with it all choices are made less as the Doctor’s agency is stolen, as is the Master with him being made a weapon of he Time Lords. This hurt the plot overall in both parts.

The Master and Doctor relationship is mostly wasted in this as so much time is wasted to gt the point. What keeps the story from being bad are the moments of profound connection between Wilfred and the Doctor and I liked the Gallifrey plot, even if it wasn’t explored enough. For this reason I would recommend checking out the good-bye scenes and conversations but you this two-parter isn’t worth it as a whole.

“Part 1” Score: 6 / 10

“Part 2” Score: 7 / 10

Final Score: 6.5 / 10 Only reason it isn’t rated lower is because of those profound moments of connection between characters who deserved a better story.

The 9th Doctor – Series 1, Episodes 12 and 13 – “Bad Wolf” and “The Parting of the Ways” – The Time War’s Transformations

We continue the lead up to the 13th Doctor’s regeneration story with the 9th Doctor’s regeneration story in the two-part story “Bad Wolf” and “The Parting of the Ways.” These episodes were better tan I remember and I do recommend them both, though they get off to an uneven start they end up giving a great payoff to the Time War and how it changed characters. Christopher Eccleston is amazing and is one of my favorite Doctors, so I’m glad he got more than a singly episode to tell this story.

The episodes were directed by Joe Ahearne and written by Russell T. Davies.

When the Doctor finds himself trapped on a mysterious and deadly game show he must find out who is controlling the Controller of the games and save Jack and Rose.

SPOILERS ahead

The Pros:

Resistance to the Daleks and the Game – We learn by the end of “Bad Wolf” that the Controller saw the Doctor as her way to fight back against Dalek enslavement. It is powerful and her final acts of resistance are echoed later in characters like Lynda who could have been potential companions and the people working the games who fight back. All die except for Jack who is brought back by the Bad Wolf Entity.

Jack Harkness – Jack Harkness shows he is a good guy in this and his affection for Rose and the Doctor when he kisses them both when he goes to fight the Daleks, which he believes to be going to his death. He also frees himself from the deadly game show on his own too and supports the Doctor in his mission to destroy the Daleks. All of this makes the Doctor leaving him behind when he is resurrected all the more tragic.

Rose and the Bad Wolf Entity – Rose needs rescuing in “Bad Wolf” but in “The Parting of the Ways” she is the one saving the Doctor as she figures out the power of the Time Vortex and uses it to become the Bad Wolf Entity, closing the time loop of the season. She saves the Doctor and is there for his regeneration as we are left wondering how much she remembers as the Bad Wolf Entity which was basically Rose and the TARDIS as one. I wish she remembered more as when she is the Bad Wolf her and the Doctor have full understanding of each other.

The Cost of the Time War – The Daleks ruin 100 years of human history to make more Daleks from humans and the Doctor is left with the choice to wipe out all humanity and the Daleks or let the Daleks win. The echoes of what the Time War has done is still real and causing death this series and it accumulates in the Doctor against the Dalek Emperor.

The Dalek Emperor and Daleks – The Dalek Emperor is fascinating as he fell through time and survived the Time War and believed himself to be a God because of it as he made his self-hating Daleks created from dead humans worship him. It is personal too as he wants to make the Doctor like him and doesn’t care if he dies. This is a fascinating faction of Daleks who are transformed from surviving the war that wiped out all Daleks and Time Lords.

The Doctor – The Doctor is wonderful as always in this. He nearly has a new companion in Lynda who he inspires to fight the Daleks and for the first time this series chooses not to destroy. We see him beginning to heal when he refuses to fire the weapon that will wipe out humans and Daleks. This leads to the Bad Wolf saving him and wiping out the Daleks and the Doctor saving Rose by absorbing the time vortex so she won’t burn up. His regeneration is short and powerful as he tells Rose she was fantastic, and that he was too.

The Cons:

Introduction of the Games – There is some awkward direction of the game shows as they get setup and it takes a while to establish the stakes which hurts the tension as a lot of the side characters are pretty one-dimesional. This part of the scrip in “Bad Wolf” needed work.

Some of the Soundtrack – Back to bad in the games. The first game has loud techno music that is just awful. It makes no sense in the context of the show and I don’t why Murray Gold thought it was a good idea. Murray Gold’s music is usually amazing but there were some bad choices at times in these two episodes.

The State of Earth and Humanity at Story’s End – Is anyone left on Earth? We see the Daleks bomb all the continents and kill everyone on the satellite. What was the point? Human colonists are referenced once but more was needed as the Dalek victory feels so complete. Who did the Bad Wolf save in the end besides Jack and the Doctor?

This is one of the better regeneration stories for “Doctor Who.” “Bad Wolf” is good even if the characters and game show setup doesn’t always work. It keeps tension well and “The Parting of the Ways” is a great episode with the Daleks forming a religious cult around their Emperor and being made from humans as is the Doctor choosing not to destroy. He is finally no longer defined by being “The oncoming storm” and destroyer. For these reasons and more I highly recommend this two-part story.

“Bad Wolf” Score: 8.5 / 10 Is good with tension but some of the side characters aren’t well written and the pop culture references of the reality games is a tired trope.

“The Parting of the Ways” Score: 9.5 / 10 Great way to wrap up the Dalek Emperor and Doctor story but not perfect due to the ambiguity if any of humanity on Earth is even left after the Dalek invasion.

Final Score: 9 / 10 Solidly great regeneration story for the Doctor.

The 8th Doctor – Doctor Who Specials – “The Night of the Doctor” – The Cost to Ending the Time War

“The Night of the Doctor” shows the power in a short and concentrated story. This is something “Doctor Who” has rarely done given that with Classic and Modern “Doctor Who” excess has always been a problem. This is a story that doesn’t have that and might be the best regeneration story because of it. It was watching this episode that made me wish Paul McGann’s 8th Doctor had gotten a mini-series and because that is unlikely to happens makes me look forward to listening to his adventures on Big Finish Productions. I highly recommend checking this episode out as it is better than the special it is leading into and is “Doctor Who” at it’s best.

The episode was directed by John Hayes and written by Steven Moffat.

During the Time War the Doctor attempts to save a pilot named Cass but her fear keeps her from joining him as they crash upon the planet Karn.

SPOILERS ahead

The Time War – We never see the Time War outside of Cass’s reaction to seeing Daleks and Time Lords as the same but we also have the Sisterhood of Karn telling us it will undo all reality so from this we get just how high the stakes are this episode for whatever choice the Doctor makes.

Cass – Cass wants to see the universe and that was why she became a pilot. She was the potential companion who never happens because of how the Time War has made her hate both the Time Lords and the Daleks. She doesn’t even listen to the Doctor she’s been scarred so much from the Time War.

The Sisterhood of Karn – They have returned from Classic “Doctor Who” and they bring the Doctor back to life so he can choose his regeneration. They remind him of his responsibility and they are key to him seeing that he can’t keep running as if the war doesn’t end all things will end. They work really well in driving the plot and being authority the Doctor doesn’t hate.

The Doctor – Paul McGann deserved and deserves a mini-series as the Doctor and this mini-episode shows why. He gives us more pathos than we get from a lot of Doctor serials and episodes and this short story is near perfection over the terrible film that first introduced his Doctor. He is the Doctor driven by empathy and relationship and him choosing become the War Doctor is huge. This episode fully captures that choice and shows he will risk everything to save the universe.

The Cons:

Length – Cass could have got more development as well as the episode showing us more of the adventures 8th might have been on prior. Because of this lack of history I can’t say the episode is perfect but it is close. It really should have been at least 20 minutes not 7 minutes in length.

I love this episode and it might be my favorite Doctor regeneration. If you haven’t seen this I highly recommend checking it out. Paul McGann deserved a mini-series but I’m glad he at least got this story to fully canonize his Doctor and give him what is probably the best regeneration in the history of “Doctor Who.”

Final Score: 9.8 / 10

Also here is the 7th Doctor’s regeneration story in “Doctor Who: The Movie” which also was the 8th Doctor’s introduction to “Doctor Who.”

12 Days of Doctors – The 8th Doctor – “Doctor Who The Movie” – Paul McGann Should Have Got a Series