Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Doctor Who - 20th Anniversary For The Revived Series

It feels like only yesterday after a nine year absence that Doctor Who had returned to BBC1. Twenty years later, we're only a few weeks away from a new series.

On March 26th 2005, Doctor Who returned to the screens with it's first episode, simply titled Rose. The episode introduced both the 9th Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) and his companion, Rose Tyler (Billie Piper). In their first adventure together, they found themselves saving London from an Auton invasion. It was a simple introduction for the characters and the start of proving that a show that ran for twenty six seasons between 1963 to 1989 could work yet again for a modern audience. Since that episode, it's been one hell of a rollercoaster ride for the show.


Let's cut to 2025 where in seventeen days time, we'll be seeing the 15th Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) meeting with Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) during The Robot Revolution. It's the start of an interesting new arc while some others are due to be resolved. Right now, there's some concerns about the show's future, the release of this upcoming series and spin-off, The War Between The Land And The Sea but for now, let's bask in the fact that this revived show has ran for nearly as long as it's original run, boasted spin offs such as Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures and Class as well as cultivated a generation of new talent both in front of and behind the cameras. With the likes of Russell T. Davies, Steven Moffat and Chris Chibnall, the show has certainly been brought to new heights.

Then there's the Doctors themselves. Christopher Eccleston. David Tennant (x3). Matt Smith. John Hurt. Peter Capaldi. Jodie Whittaker. Jo Martin. Ncuti Gatwa. All of them have taken the character in different and fascinating directions and while I do have my favourites, all of these actors deserve equal praise for what they've done with the Doctor. The Lonely Traveller. Raggedy Man. The Timeless Child. The Last Of The Time Lords. They're proof as to why the Doctor remains one of the most fascinating and enduring characters of all time. Long live the Doctor.

Then there's the companions themselves. Rose Tyler (Billie Piper), Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman), Donna Noble (Catherine Tate), Amy Pond (Karen Gillan), Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill), Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman), Bill Potts (Pearl Mackie), Nardole (Matt Lucas), Graham O'Brien (Bradley Walsh), Ryan Sinclair (Tosin Cole), Yasmin Khan (Mandip Gill), Dan Lewis (John Bishop), Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) and now Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) as well as the various recurring allies and guest companions throughout the last twenty years.


Now it's time in my opinion for the Top 20 best stories in the revived series. In my opinion obviously, feel free to disagree.

1: The Day Of The Doctor (2013)
2: The Stolen Earth/Journey's End (2008)
3: Human Nature/The Family Of Blood (2007)
4: World Enough And Time/The Doctor Falls (2017)
5: The End Of Time (2009-2010)
6: The Eleventh Hour (2010)
7: The Power Of The Doctor (2022)
8: The Doctor's Wife (2011)
9: Bad Wolf/The Parting Of The Ways (2005)
10: Blink (2007)
11: The Name Of The Doctor (2013)
12: Army Of Ghosts/Doomsday (2006)
13: Last Christmas (2014)
14: Face The Raven (2015)
15: The Giggle (2023)
16: Fugitive Of The Judoon (2020)
17: The Angels Take Manhattan (2012)
18: Village Of The Angels (2021)
19: Rogue (2024)
20: The Woman Who Fell To Earth (2018)

I'm not going to rank either Doctors or companions, so you get my Top 20 stories instead. It wasn't an easy list to compile and wanted every era fairly represented but hopefully you like it.


Series 15 of Doctor Who will air on BBC1/iPlayer/Disney+ from April 12th.

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