At the beginning of quarantine, I decided that the ideal way for me to cope with the pandemic was to completely regress back to the person I was in high school, sci-fi obsession and all. I ordered the first four seasons of the 2005 reboot of Doctor Who on DVD and settled in for a rewatch. In the simplest terms, returning to the campy, never-too-serious world of the RTD era (named for screenwriter Russell T. Davies) of Doctor Who felt like coming home. I had forgotten all but the broad strokes of many of the episodes, and I got to fall in love with this series and its characters all over again.
I started with Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor and watched all the way until the end of David Tennant’s run as the Tenth. These first four seasons are considered something of a golden age to much of the Doctor Who fanbase, as they laid the foundation for the show today. Here are some of my favorite episodes from these early seasons.
*here there be spoilers
- “Blink” (Season Three, Episode 10)
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I have to start with a classic. This may be one of the most unanimously loved, quoted, and watched episodes of NuWho in pop culture. Sometimes, episodes from the perspective of outside characters tend to shrink into the background of the season that they appear in (looking at you, “Love and Monsters”). However, Sally Sparrow and her friends are charming and clever, and their careful curiosity in the face of danger and mystery is sure to stick with viewers long after the episode is over. This episode also introduces one of the most iconic monsters to ever grace the show — the tragic and terrifying Weeping Angels. Delightfully creepy and full of suspense, “Blink” is a pillar of any Doctor Who rewatch.
- “The Stolen Earth” & “Journey’s End” (Season Four, Episodes 12 &13)*
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Let me paint you a word picture, alright? I am thirteen, and I am watching the opening credits roll across the screen for “The Stolen Earth,” the first of the two-part finale for season four of Doctor Who. Names are flashing across the screen, one after the other, marking the return of every companion from the earlier seasons. Rose, Martha, Jack, Mickey, Sarah Jane, and more are all back, and the stakes are higher than ever. In terms of sheer energy, these episodes are unmatched. These two episodes are just full to bursting of witty one-liners, high drama reunions, and heart-wrenching goodbyes. It has everything. We find out why all the bees are going missing, we get to see the Doctor and Rose reunited, Martha being awesome (as usual), and Donna standing up for herself and saving them all! Not to mention we get to meet Tentoo for the first time. It is a rollercoaster of emotion and a gorgeous tribute to the Russel T. Davies era of the show as both the production team and the audience gear up to say goodbye.
- “The Unquiet Dead” (Season One, Episode 3)
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This is one of my favorite stories in the series, hands down. What’s not to love? It’s a period piece and a ghost story (sort of), and we get an early insight into the Bad Wolf story arc. Gwyneth is a wonderfully written character, and a major theme of the series is established in this episode, as the plot culminates in a choice that only she can make. This theme is that everyone, no matter what they’ve been told, is important and that we all have the power to save the world. The Doctor and Rose are also fantastic (haha) in this episode. Because this is still early in the series, they are still building the trust and friendship that will carry them throughout their seasons together. However, by this episode, we can already see their influence on each other at work, from the way that Rose encourages the Doctor to be more compassionate to the adventurous spirit that the Doctor brings out in Rose. This is such a great episode and just one of the many reasons that it is absolutely criminal to skip Nine.
- “The Doctor’s Daughter” (Season Four, Episode 6)*
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Look, I have a thing for companion crossover episodes. Sue me. I was so excited to see Martha return in this episode, and for her to team up with Donna. Georgia Tennant (the actual daughter of the actor who played the Fifth Doctor in the original run of the show) plays the titular character of Jenny. She is a joy every time she’s on-screen, and I genuinely wish we could have seen more of Jenny in later episodes. Beyond the amazing, character-driven plot, this episode’s ending is bittersweet, as the Doctor once again ends a war only to find himself the last of his kind (or so he thinks). Luckily, the twist at the end of this episode leaves us with some hope. Writers Bring Back Jenny Challenge.
- “Bad Wolf” & “The Parting of Ways” (Season One, Episodes 12 & 13)*
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I’m not crying, you’re crying. “The Parting of the Ways” was the first time I ever had to say goodbye to a Doctor, and I was so not ready. Christopher Eccelston was fantastic (haha but this time I’m sad) in this episode. When the Dalek asks the Doctor if he will be a killer or a coward, and the Doctor answers “coward, any day,” it is a culmination of all of the healing and all of the learning that he has done since the first episode of the series. This is a man who is done with war, who has learned how to love the universe again, and who no longer feels alone. We finally learn what Bad Wolf has meant all season long, and watching Rose take the fate of the universe into her own hands is such a gorgeous way to manifest her stubborn devotion to doing the right thing and her complete inability to be told what she can and cannot do, even by the Doctor himself. It is such a powerful and iconic moment for her character. Both of these characters are at their strongest in this episode, and it makes for a jaw-dropping finale to Eccleston’s run on the show.
- “Midnight” (Season Four, Episode 10)
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Okay, I need y’all to appreciate me because it is taking so much willpower to not just list the entirety of season four here. I am really trying to keep to the highlights. But This Episode. THIS EPISODE. Look, I’m a sucker for capsule episodes in any show, but this one is in a class all its own. For the most part, the horror in Doctor Who episodes errs on the side of humor, with campy costumes and CGI. However, this episode takes a different approach, opting for the terror inherent to being trapped in a small space with a group of strangers while something you can’t see attacks you all from the inside out. The character dynamics in this episode are fascinating, and the creature’s manipulation of the space and people in the bus adds an extra edge of tension to the story. While it is totally different from most other episodes, it seriously pays off. This episode is best enjoyed very late at night or early in the morning, while you are by yourself in the dark, for maximum creepiness.
- “Partners in Crime” (Season Four, Episode 1)
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Can I just say I love Donna and go? Do I have to write more? Okay. This episode might just make this list because of the iconic pantomiming-through-the-window scene, where the Doctor and Donna reunite for the first time since “The Runaway Bride.” Their friendship is one of the best character relationships in this entire show, and I adore Catherine Tate’s acting in every episode she appears in. If you’re not punching the air when the Doctor and Donna finally cross paths after dancing around each other for the entire first act, you’re doing it wrong. This episode sets up part of the main arc of the season, and includes the first reappearance of Rose Tyler and our second introduction to Wilf!
- “The Impossible Planet” & “The Satan Pit” (Season Two, Episodes 8 & 9)
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“I’ve seen a lot in this universe. I’ve seen fake gods and bad gods and demi-gods and would-be gods –out of all that–out of that whole pantheon–if I believe in one thing, just one thing, I believe in her.” —the Doctor, “The Satan Pit.”
I think about this quote multiple times a week, I swear. Rose is such a strong and beautiful character, and watching her save herself and the Doctor (again) is a perfect representation of that theme that power means nothing in the face of determination and compassion. Even though their relationship is never technically canonized as romantic (that’s a rant for another day), the absolute trust that these characters share is the thing that keeps them winning, over and over again. They do really believe in each other, and it is evident throughout the whole plot. At no point is there any indication that either Rose or the Doctor 100% believes that the other isn’t going to make it out of the situation they’re in, even though the stakes are super high and they have no way to communicate for almost an entire episode. These episodes are so awesome, and they set the tone for the tragic ending of this season–these characters believe in each other so completely that they never consider that they might lose each other.
If you’re not dying to rewatch this series again by now, I don’t know what to tell you. Though these are the greatest hits, so to speak, of the early seasons (IMHO), there are plenty of other great episodes in this era of Doctor Who. Happy watching!