The Best New Doctor Who Episode: Series 4

[Woody]

And so the competition begins. 9 days until the television release of Deep Breath. 7 seasons of New Who, and quite a few specials. 9 polls. 9 days. 1 champion. Let us begin.

(Oh, and by the way, I will be offering my own personal commentary on my choices)

For this first poll:

Episode 1: Rose: While this episode does hold a special place in my heart, as it was my first episode of Doctor Who, as well as being a new beginning for the show, I found its climax... unsatisfying. 7/10

Episode 2: The End of the World: A decent episode, but it was a bit predictable. And the villain was not all that intimidating, honestly. But it does get bonus points for the first appearance of the Face of Boe. 8/10

Episode 3: The Unquiet Dead: I actually didn't watch this one. 0/10

Episodes 4 & 5: Aliens of London/World War Three: A very interesting episode, especially the idea of aliens faking aliens. No complaints, other than Mickey getting the beginnings of his redemption story. I still hate that he got redeemed. He was such a jerk in Rose. 9/10

Episode 6: Dalek: One of my absolute favorites of this season. It explores the dark side of the Ninth Doctor and the scars the Time War left on him. The scene near the end between Rose and the Doctor is simply chilling. "Well, it's not the one pointing a gun at me." 10/10

Episode 7: The Long Game: Okay, my biggest problem with this one is that they TOTALLY RUINED ADAM. He could have been an amazing companion, and they just wasted him, and replaced him with Jack Harkness, who just... gets on my nerves. Overall, not a bad episode, but ehhhhhhh... I just... 7/10

Episode 8: Father's Day: Such a bittersweet episode. This one is close in the running for my vote. It showcases a different kind of Doctor/companion relationship, one where the Doctor is actually mad at his companion. And Pete's sacrifice at the end... awww, just awww 10/10

Episodes 9 & 10: The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances: Okay, who doesn't love this episode? It's the practically the perfect episode. A creepy villain, an impending danger other than the villain, a mysterious girl, and everybody lives! Jack actually wasn't too bad in this episode, and I would have liked him, if he hadn't become gay and gross later on. 10/10

Episode 11: Boom Town: This episode was mostly talk. Not that that's a bad thing, I actually quite enjoyed the Doctor's psychological discussion with Margaret. But the ending just felt rushed. And Mickey. Mickey, Mickey, Mickey. He is NOT the victim here. >_> 8/10

Episodes 12 & 13: Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways: And the conclusion to the Bad Wolf saga. I enjoyed this quite a bit, but Jack... Jack ruined it for me. His TV show was just... disturbing. But the rest of it was great. 9/10

So, it comes down to Dalek, Father's Day, and The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances. While I love Dalek and Father's Day, I just have to give my vote to The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances.

[SirWhit]

Dalek. It really shows the Doctor as a post-war, traumatized soldier.

Just one thing. I don't understand how you liked Aliens of London/World War Three. The farts just ruined it for me.

[Shadowpaw]

[Woody]

Dalek and The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances have tied for first place, with Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways 1 vote behind. This means that the former two will both enter the final competition.

And now on to Series 2!

My personal commentary:

Episode 1: New Earth: I absolutely despise this episode. May I say that the Cassandra-Doctor was absolutely disgusting? Not to mention that the Doctor is very inconsistent, one minute he's screaming at Cassandra to "Get out of her!", and the next he seems perfectly fine with it. The only redeeming thing about this episode is the reappearance of the Face of Boe. 2/10

Episode 2: Tooth and Claw: I quite enjoyed this episode... I'm not sure why. But I love this quote: "You want weapons? We're in a library! Books! The greatest weapons of all!" 9/10

Episode 3: School Reunion: I love this one. The chemistry between Rose and Sarah Jane is simply priceless. And the villains were quite interesting, as well as the threat that they posed. The only thing that holds this episode back is, once again, Mickey. 9/10

Episode 4: The Girl in the Fireplace: A marvelous episode. That is all I can say 10/10

Episodes 5 and 6: Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel: While I enjoyed this episode, I can't say I loved it. And this is the worst of Mickey's redemption. 7/10

Episode 7: The Idiot's Lantern: I found this one hard to follow. How exactly does an alien woman thingy trapped inside a television steal people's faces? But this quote is fabulous: "They took her face and just chucked her out in the street. As a consequence that makes this simple... very, very simple. Because now, Detective Inspector Bishop, there is no power on this earth that can stop me!" 8/10

Episodes 8 & 9: The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit: I did not watch these episodes. 0/10

Episode 10: Love and Monsters: Nor this one.

Episode 11: Fear Her: I love this one. Rose having to save the Doctor is just brilliant. As well as the Doctor's Olympic Torch run. They needed to do that for reals. 10/10

Episodes 12 & 13: Army of Ghosts/Doomsday: I love the idea of Daleks vs. Cybermen, but it was very much underplayed. I also thought the idea of Pete and the others being able to come back was... unrealistic. 7/10

So my vote comes down to The Girl in the Fireplace vs. Fear Her. I think The Girl in the Fireplace is the obvious choice.

EDIT: Oi vey. Can a mod please delete the poll?

[Shennifer]

Every episode is listed twice; someone could fix that.

Also, about your commentary, you said you didnt' watch the Satan Pit/Impossible Planet episodes. I get why, and I used to be rather scared of them myself. But I do think they were well done, and even thought-provoking.
And I like that Mickey got "redeemed". It was good for him to stay in that parallel world, he really came into his own.

[SirWhit]

School Reunion isn't listed, but I vote for that one. I honestly haven't watched much of series 2, mainly because I'm not a big fan of Rose.

[Woody]

I apologize for the poll. For some reason, the ToO has some kind of poll glitch that does that when you edit a poll, so a mod has to delete the poll, then you can create a new one.

[The Kings Daughter]

"New Earth", good plot I think, (face of Boe!), but ugh, gross. :/

"Tooth and Claw" Very good, amusing, and I love the development of Sir Robert.

"School Reunion" SARAH JANE AND K9. Also a good plot, believable characters. Good scene when Ten is tempted to give in. (and the pool scene).

"The Girl in the Fireplace" apart from the whole 'the king has two ladies' thing it's really sweet, The Doctor and his new found friend, the little girl Reinette. And heartbreaking. And.."I'm the lord of time." Oh, and bananas again.

"Rise of the Cybermen" "The Age of Steel", not my favorite so I haven't really re-watched them to form an opinion.

"The Idiot's Lantern" Good plot. Also,

The Doctor: They did what?
Bishop: I'm sorry?
The Doctor: They left her where?
Bishop: Just... in the street.
The Doctor: The street. They left her in the street. They took her face, and just chucked her out and left her in the street. And as a result, that makes things... simple. Very, very simple. Do you know why?
Bishop: No.
The Doctor: Because now, Detective Inspector Bishop, there is no power on this earth that can stop me!

and poodle skirts.

"The Impossible Planet" "The Satan Pit" It felt like Davies atheism came into this one, and I didn't care for it anyway, so.

"Love & Monsters" Really gross and why-would-you-make-an-entire-episode-about-this feeling. Kind of like the Slitheen are borderline why-would-you...
I'm going off of my opinion from two and a half years ago. I haven't watched it since that first time.

"Fear Her" brilliant. Not my favorite, but still good. A bit like "Night Terrors" in that the kids have the powers causing the problem/plot.

"Army of Ghosts" "Doomsday" F.E.E.L.Z. that is all. Or, wait, here (I promise it's not clips from these episodes.):




you're welcome.

Favorite? Umm, I'll say The Girl in the Fireplace. Clock people and French people.

[Woody]

Maybe in time for the finale?

Vote for your favorite episode of Series 2 now!

[Shennifer]

I was torn between angsty and fun, so I chose angst. Voted for Doomsday, though if I had it my way I would've voted for Army of Ghosts as well, seeing as it's a two parter

[Woody]

Oh my, I did accidentally separate those. Never post a poll when you're in a rush(or lose your temper while making a door sign)

All votes for Army of Ghosts will be added to votes for Doomsday at the end of the poll, thus counting them as a two parter Or you could just make it easy on my arithmetic and vote for Doomsday as a vote for the two parter.

[Blitz]

Le Post monsieur.

[Woody]

And The Girl in the Fireplace wins! With School Reunion and Army of Ghosts/Doomsday just behind it with one vote each. The Girl in the Fireplace will enter the final competition.

On to Series 3, then!

My commentary:

Episode 1: Smith and Jones: A decent episode. Not my favorite, but it has a few good scenes. The setting of a hospital was quite interesting, though I found the idea of a single MRI machine destroying the Earth a little... unconvincing. 7.5/10

Episode 2: The Shakespeare Code: Okay, this episode is actually really good for plot, but CREEPS. Shakespeare was quite enjoyable, and I'm glad they decided to go with a younger version of him, instead of the way he is typically portrayed. 9/10

Episode 3: Gridlock: This episode was good, but not great. I think the Macra were underplayed as not as huge a threat as they were, and the different threats seemed very unrelated. I mean, where did the Macra come from? And what about Bliss? When did it come about? Also, the Face of Boe seemed a little cheesy. 7/10

Episodes 4 & 5: Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks: I don't understand why this episode gets so much hate. I thought it was actually quite good. A human Dalek discovers morality, turning its underlings against it? That doesn't seem so unbelievable and outrageous to me. 8/10

Episode 6: The Lazarus Experiment: A good concept, but a lot of questions were left hanging. Why did Lazarus turn into that- thing? And why does it have the instinct to kill? Wouldn't it still have Lazarus's brain? 8/10

Epsiode 7: 42: It's been a while since a saw this one, but from what I remember, it was very good. I liked the idea of a real-time episode, and I loved the series of doors they had to get through. That was fun. And the sun being alive and controlling people! Rather sinister... 9/10

Episodes 8 & 9: Human Nature/The Family of Blood: I quite love this one. The Doctor having no idea who he really is. Not to mention I loved his journal. And the threat was very interesting. One question though: How did they control the scarecrows?(This may have been answered, but it's been a while) Anyways, the family's final punishment is very interesting, and certainly shows the Doctor's dark side. 10/10

Episode 10: Blink: Oh, how I love this one. Seriously, who doesn't? This one is, in my opinion, easily one of the best episodes ever, and I'm nearly certain it will make it to the final competition. First of all, the introduction of the Weeping Angels. "Don't turn your back, don't look away, and DON'T BLINK. Good luck." Brilliant villains, they make. The nicest killers in the universe, yet so deadly. And who could forget, one of the Tenth Doctor's best quotes: "People tend to assume that time is a straight progression of cause to effect, but actually, it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly, timey wimey... stuff." And this episode certainly has plenty of wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff, which I absolutely love. I love it when Doctor Who utilizes its capability as a time travel show to use time travel to put events just a bit out of order, until they all come together. 10/10

Episode 11: Utopia: This episode was good, but I didn't really feel a sense of threat. It kinda felt like there was no purpose other than to get to "Utopia", which I found a little strange. Although the reveal of the Master was quite awesome. But Jack... >_> Oh, how I hate Jack. And now he's unkillable! URGH 8.5/10

Episodes 12 & 13: The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords: This was certainly a decent finale. The Master was certainly menacing. One thing though: So he made up Utopia, then somehow turned everyone who came there into evil little black spheres? That seems just a bit... weird. And the poor Doctor. He spent nearly the whole episode as a shriveled little thingy. And when he came back... Ugh, don't get me started. 8/10

So it seems, that for me, it is between Human Nature/The Family of Blood and Blink. I think Blink is the obvious choice. Vote for your favorite now!

[Wakko]

I haven't seen much of Series 3 yet, but Blink is definitely my favorite.

[Woody]

And Blink wins with two votes to Human Nature/Family of Blood's one! It will enter the final competition.

On to Series 4!

My commentary:

Episode 1: Partners in Crime: I love the scene where Donna and the Doctor keep just missing each other. And the scene where they first see each other. But the enemy in this episode didn't seem to be enough of a threat to me, and the episode just didn't quite work. 7/10

Episode 2: Fires of Pompeii: This episode was quite amazing. It was wonderful to see a companion wanting to save everyone, and the Doctor having to refuse her. And then they end up causing Vesuvius to erupt. This episode would have a perfect rating, if not for that stupid "household gods" ending >_> 9/10

Episode 3: Planet of the Ood: Generally good episode, but I kind of dislike the Ood. They're just strange. Anyways, 8/10

Episodes 4 & 5: The Sontaran Stratagem: I loved seeing Martha again, and this episode was very, very fun. I absolutely enjoyed it. However, the resolution to the Wilf-trapped-in-car-filled-with-poisonous-gas cliffhanger was pathetic. 9/10

Episode 6: The Doctor's Daughter: An OK episode, but not as epic as its title suggests. But the "man who never would" scene is fantastic. 8/10

Episode 7: The Unicorn and the Wasp: I think this one's gonna get my vote. I LOVE this episode. I love it when the Doctor has to solve a mystery, and in this episode he solves two. One, the murders, and two, Agatha's disappearance. As the Ninth Doctor would say, absolutely fantastic! 10/10

Episodes 8 & 9: Silence in the Library/The Forest of the Dead: I think I made that statement about which episode would get my vote a bit too soon. I forgot about this one for a moment. RIVER! RIVER RIVER RIVER! Seriously, River is amazing. Not to mention the Vashta Nerada, likely my favorite villain ever. Why does every creature fear the dark? Because the dark is not empty, of course. And River's line at the end. And in the middle. And everywhere *goes into a River quoting craze*

"You know when you see a photograph of someone you know, but it's from years before you knew them. It's like they're not quite finished; they're not done yet. Well, yes, the Doctor's here. He came when I called just like he always does, but not "my" Doctor. Now, my Doctor, I've seen whole armies turn and run away, and he'd just swagger off back to his TARDIS and open the doors with a snap of his fingers. The Doctor in the TARDIS. Next stop: everywhere."

"When you run with the Doctor, it feels like it'll never end, but however hard you try you can't run forever. Everybody knows that everybody dies and nobody knows it like the Doctor, but I do think that all the skies of all the worlds might just turn dark if he ever, for one moment, accepts it. Everybody knows that everybody dies, but not every day. Not today. Some days are special. Some days are so, so blessed. Some days, nobody dies at all. Now and then, every once in a very long while, every day in a million days, when the wind stands fair and the Doctor comes to call, everybody lives."

Okay. I'm done now. 10/10

Episode 10: Midnight: I don't quite understand why this episode gets so much praise. I found it rather boring, personally. But the psychological aspect was at least interesting. 7.5/10

Episode 11: Turn Left: I love paradoxes. And alternate realities. And Donna. And Rose. And this episode. 9.5/10

Episodes 12 & 13: The Stolen Earth/Journey's End: I love a good Daleky finale. And character returns. Except Mickey, I hate Mickey. And Jack. And Jackie. Okay, maybe I don't love character returns, but I loved seeing Sarah Jane. AND THE DONNA FEELZ. 8.5/10

So for me, the answer is Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead. What's your favorite episode of Series 4? Vote in the poll!

[Shennifer]

I wish I could just vote for the entire season because I love all of it. Unfortunately I can't, so in the end I voted for The Stolen Earth/Journey's End.
Even my least favorite eps are growing on me.

The thing with Midnight is that even though it is different from a lot of other episodes, it has a villain you can't see and who possesses someone and makes the people doubt who's good and bad, and it reveals some of the worst of human nature because we can assume so much when we're scared

[~JCGJ~]

Silence in the Library/Forrest of the Dead, hands down.

When I first began watching through the entire new series, my friend told me to skip these two, and then go back and watch it after I'd seen the Angels take Manhattan in Season 7. She told me that the Doctor met a character named River Song in those episodes, but she told me no more than that.
So, when I finally went back and watched these two episodes, the emotional weight of it all hit me harder than most, as I had already gotten to know River (and, as it turns out, she's become my favorite character) before I watched her "die."