Doctor Who Top 10 - the Noughties

The decade when Who returned to TV, and somehow against all odds conspired to become not only more popular than ever before, but at times more popular than anything else on UK television, full stop. How did it manage this? Well, it was more carefully honed than ever before for starters - no longer would storylines stumble along without any sign of prior fore-thought. Important audiences were also expertly targeted. The climate was also right - in the aftermath of massive franchises like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and an endless slew of superhero films, the general public was more attuned to the ways of the geek than ever before, more easily accepting of outlandish concepts and more prepared to indulge the inner nerd. Thankfully, while it had been off air, Who had been in hands of a large number of fan writers, who had painstakingly analysed over many years what did and didn't work about the show. The very best of those writers were now experienced enough in the media to take advantage of having the show back, and came up with some of the very best Who created to date. These are my picks of the Russell T Davies/David Tennant/Christopher Eccleston era.

1. Silence in the Library
Year: 2008
Episodes: 2
Regulars: David Tennant, Catherine Tate
Notable Guest Stars: Alex Kingston
Writer: Steven Moffatt
Director: Euros Lynn

It strikes me as odd that this appears to be Steven Moffatt's least well regarded Tennant script. I think it's magnificent - it adds layers of intrigue and character development to the Doctor, has an evocative setting, a brilliant guest star, high production values and a superb new species of villain. To my mind it is also the story which demonstrates all the best aspects of Tennant's version of the Doctor, and is quite possibly his best acting performance in the role. Not to be outdone, Catherine Tate is absolutely brilliant as Donna, veering from sarcastic to empathetic to lovelorn to distraught, in a way which again makes a complete mockery of the fears that many people, myself included, had when she was cast in the role.

2. Human NatureYear: 2007
Episodes: 2
Regulars: David Tennant, Freema Agyeman
Notable Guest Stars: Jessica Hynes
Writer: Paul Cornell
Director: Charles Palmer

Adapted from one of the very best 90s Doctor Who novels, it's a shame in a way that this dramatisation puts a nail through the concept of the tie-in novels being a part of the canon, and that this story is no longer associated so much with the Seventh Doctor for whom it was devised. However, it is such a brilliantly realised adapatation that we would really be the poorer for it not having been made. Along with Blink and Turn Left, it has the odd distinction of being one of the most well-regarded Tennant stories, without really featuring much of the 10th Doctor at all. Tennant is superb as John Smith though, and it is almost disappointing when he reverts to his normal self at the end. Possibly the most moving Who story ever made.

3. Blink

Year: 2007
Episodes: 1
Regulars: David Tenant, Freema Agyeman
Notable Guest Stars: Carey Mulligan
Writer: Steven Moffatt
Director: Hettie MacDonald

The most highly regarded New Who of all, Blink is well on its way to becoming a cult television classic. The star of the show is definitely the then unknown Carey Mulligan, now, sadly for us, unlikely to ever reprise her role as her career heads for the stratosphere. If you ever wanted to show a non-fan why Who at its best is such great television, show them this - if this can't convert them, nothing will.

4. The Waters of Mars

Year: 2009
Episodes: 1
Regulars: David Tennant
Notable Guest Stars: Lindsay Duncan
Writers: Russell T Davies, Phil Ford
Director: Graeme Harper

AKA the one where the Doctor goes mad, and bad, and the point where in narrative terms the writing is on the wall for the Tenth Doctor. A very dark and affecting episode, with a marvellous cast and set, and no happy ending in sight.

5. The Parting of the Ways

Year: 2005
Episodes: 2
Regulars: Christopher Eccleston, Billie Piper, John Barrowman, Noel Clarke, Camille Coduri
Notable Guest Stars: Jo Joyner
Writer: Russell T Davies
Director: Joe Aherne

The end of the road for Christopher Eccleston's Doctor, in the story where Rose becomes Jean Grey and wipes out the Daleks (or does she?) Quite odd when you analyse it to think that Eccleston is barely in it at all, but that was the story of his Doctor really - perpetually overshadowed by his co-star in acting and script terms. The story itself is a real cracker, tense, dark and satisfying, and for once I am willing to forgive RTD's penchant for deus ex machina endings. Emotionally, this one works, and all his other series finales are a long way behind this story. Tennant makes a quirky debut at the end.

6. Utopia

Year: 2007
Episodes: 1 (or 3, depending on your preference)
Regulars: David Tennant, Freema Agyeman, John Barrowman, John Simm
Notable Guest Stars: Derek Jacobi
Writer: Russell T Davies
Director: Graeme Harper

We knew the Master was coming back in the form of John Simm, it was hard to avoid that knowledge. What we didn't expect was that he was coming back initially as Derek Jacobi in the guise of kindly old Professor Yana. The realisation that the plot threads from Human Nature have a greater significance to the ongoing storyline than previously realised, and the 10 minutes which follow, are Doctor Who at its most thrilling, and it has a really fantastic cliffhanger into the next story, which is tragically completely wasted in the opening seconds of the next episode.

7. The End of the World

Year: 2005
Episodes: 1
Regulars: Christopher Eccleston, Billie Piper
Notable Guest Stars: Zoe Wannamaker, Yasmin Bannerman
Writer: Russell T Davies
Director: Euros Lynn

Only the second episode of the revival after the decent but not spectacularly great "Rose" - this for me was the first sure footed episode of the new production. It ticked a number of boxes I was quietly delighted about - it introduced the idea that Gallifrey had been destroyed and that the Doctor was suffering survivor guilt (concepts which appeared to tie in with the previous few years of tie-in novels, rather than simply cherry picking the bits they wanted and ignoring the rest); it demonstrated that the characterisation of the Doctor and Rose was going to have an unusual level of depth compared with earlier series; it demonstrated that the series was willing to come up with some decent new alien designs; the show looked gorgeous, and the whole production had a pleasant McCoy style feel to it somehow in places. It might be nobody's favourite episode, but it'll always be close to my heart.

8. The Girl in the Fireplace

Year: 2006
Episodes: 1
Regulars: David Tennant, Billie Piper, Noel Clarke
Notable Guest Stars: Sophia Myles
Writer: Steven Moffatt
Director: Euros Lynn

Tennant's first year in the role was decidedly patchy, but it still contained this little gem, another example of Steven Moffatt's range and extraordinarily high strike rate. The Doctor falls in love in this graceful, funny and lyrical episode, featuring another great guest star performance, and a memorable new monster.

9. DalekYear: 2005
Episodes: 1
Regulars: Christopher Eccleston, Billie Piper
Notable Guest Stars: Corey Johnson
Writer: Robert Shearman
Director: Joe Aherne

Bizarrely, fan favourite writer Robert Shearman's only televised Doctor Who story, a loose adaptation of elements of his own "Jubilee" CD story. The first TV Dalek story in nearly 20 years had a lot riding on it, trying to keep the revived show's momentum going and to re-establish an enemy which had, like the show itself, slipped from respectability into the realms of comedy stand up routines. To say that this is the most effective portrayal of Daleks as a dangerous enemy would be an understatement. The lone Dalek here is devastating and terrifyingly relentless and unstoppable, and the light the show casts the Doctor in is unexpected and impressive.

10. The Shakespeare Code

Year: 2007
Episodes: 1
Regulars: David Tennant, Freema Agyeman
Notable Guest Stars: Dean Lennox Kelly
Writer: Gareth Roberts
Director: Charles Palmer

To finish, not a "Turn Left" or an "Empty Child", but a much lighter and fluffier, and more personal choice. "The Shakespeare Code" is pure Doctor Who-as-entertainment, lively and fun, and easy to dip into for a casual viewer. Like David Tennant, I have a great fondness for the Bard, and this romp on the set of the Globe is packed with not particularly subtle Shakespearian in jokes, and is a simple delight from start to finish.