This weekend , Doctor Who returns , continuing a rich history of time traveling and wild adventures . But which of the over 250 Doctor Who stories is the good , and which is the worst ? Here ’s our shot at rank every single medico Who story , in order of quality .
Note : this is free-base on seeing every Who story that ’s extant at least once , and in most cases multiple times . We receive disagreements , or even attempts to add up up with entire competing rankings . This is a conversation starter , rather than the last watchword .
For floor that were erase due to the BBC ’s laughable insurance of pass over its honest-to-god video shows , we listened to audio recordings , and in some cases watched “ telesnap ” reconstructions that practice be off - screen exposure . Sorry , no novels or large Finish story included here , because that would be an insane inclination !
And finally , this listing is divided roughly into five categories : Classics , Good Stories , Decent Stories , Below - Average Stories , and Disappointments .
Classics:
1 ) cave of Androzani ( 1984)- Yes , it really is that good . Peter Davison ’s final story as the Doctor is both thrilling and fascinating , thanks to a complex plot , intense execution and beautifully snitch action at law . The Doctor is dying from the first moments of the storey , and this is all about him making his final 60 minutes count .
2 ) Blink ( 2007 ) – You could reason that it deserves the top topographic point . This insanely imaginative news report about rock statues that can get you when you ’re not looking , and a DVD extra showing a missing time traveller dispensing cabalistic advice , is still unmatchable , even after years of imitation .
3 ) City of Death ( 1979 ) – Douglas Adams Colorado - wrote this witty taradiddle about an alien fracture in time , who is make duplicate Mona Lisas as part of a gambit to time - travel and erase world from history . The most fashionable classic Who , but also the cleverest .
4 ) The physician ’s Wife ( 2011 ) – The TARDIS is made flesh , and we finally get to the bottom of the Doctor ’s relationship with his time machine , in this intensely moving level .
5 ) Midnight ( 2008 ) – When the Doctor ’s gift for being the “ cleverest man in the room ” is release against him , he ’s at the mercifulness of human nature at its most revolting , in this misanthropic , scary account .
6 ) Vincent and the Doctor ( 2010 ) – Of all the “ meet famous citizenry ” stories , this is the most heart - breaking . An astonishing look at art and madness and what being able to see things that nobody else can see might do to someone .
7 ) Pyramids of Mars ( 1975 ) – justly revered , this tarradiddle about mummies and pyramids is a smashing good example of Tom Baker ’s Doctor coming up with three or four plans to defeat an ultimate threat … all of which fail . Sutekh is a fantastic scoundrel , and it ’s great that we ’ve never seen him since .
- The Ark in Space ( 1975 ) -Years before Ridley Scott ’s alien , a wasp creature pose its eggs inside cryo - preserved humans . The Doctor is at his wits ’ end fare up with plan after programme to try on and get the better of the Wirrn .
9 ) The Genesis of the Daleks ( 1975 ) – The Daleks ’ origins as space Nazis are amply displayed here , and the ethical public debate in this tarradiddle are absolutely judgement - boggling . Their Jehovah , Davros , is a schoolmaster manipulator who gives a human face to the Daleks , in his one really great outing .
10 ) daytime of the Doctor ( 2013 ) – Matt Smith ’s Doctor gather David Tennant ’s , along with a antecedently unknown variation played by John Hurt , and confronts the great crime he ever committed . The subplot ask a Zygon invasion and magic paintings is sort of disposable , but as a story about the doc facing up to himself it totally work out .
11 ) Turn Left ( 2008 ) – a fantastic alternate - universe of discourse write up where one small change wrecks everything , and we see just how stark thing could really get .
12 ) Dalek ( 2005 ) – A individual Dalek brings more risk , and more aroused intensity , than a whole fleet . The Doctor ’s arch - enemies have never been more iconic . Or tragical .
13 ) The Deadly Assassin ( 1976 ) – The Master returns and the doc ’s people are redefined always . The show ’s penchant for gothic horror and twisty intrigue is at its absolute skillful here , and Tom Baker seems determined to prove he does n’t involve a comrade , by giving enough of a performance for three time - travelers .
14 ) The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances ( 2005 ) – The creepy petrol mask people are a Brobdingnagian part of make this such a memorable epic — but a plenty of the magic also come from the introduction of Captain Jack , and the Doctor ’s determination to bring through absolutely everybody .
15 ) The Robots of Death ( 1976 ) – This is such a brilliant taradiddle , in which the alien robot - pendent order is beautifully depicted and thought - out . Mostly structure as a murder mystery , but it open up a ton of questions about identity element and subaltern relationship , with loads of witty dialog .
16 ) The Curse of Fenric ( 1989 ) – the “ drab Doctor ” story to terminate all “ dark Doctor ” stories — facing an ancient wickedness from the Dawn of Time , the Doctor is unforced to manipulate everyone , include his companion Ace . So much cleverness and creepy darkness , you could forgive the dodgy vampire effect .
17 ) Rose ( 2005 ) – The good foundation to the Doctor , this account is all about the mystery of the time traveller who brings dying in his aftermath . There ’s a reason why this story was such a catch launching to the novel serial .
18 ) The Waters of Mars ( 2009 ) – The real horror here is n’t the water zombies killing everyone on an isolated base — it ’s what materialise when the Doctor decides to project out the rulebook and do what he wants .
19 ) The Girl in the Fireplace ( 2006 ) – probably the best “ unstuck in time ” account , where the Doctor meets Reinette at various points in her life , and winds up shaping her life story only to lose her after they share an acute affaire .
20 ) A Christmas Carol ( 2010 ) – There are lots of clip - warping stories on this leaning , but this one uses temporal pokery in the service of a great story , where the Doctor prove to change a abrasive man to relieve his booster , only to find that it ’s not as simple as he ’d hop .
21 ) Listen ( 2014 ) – I ca n’t adjudicate if this is an all - time classic , or just a weird experimentation . The Doctor becomes obsessed with proving a weird possibility , which lead to a really strange geographic expedition of the nature of fear , and why we fear what we can not see . The final moments , where Clara sees a whole unexampled side of the Doctor , believably push it over the bound into “ classic . ”
22 ) The Christmas Invasion ( 2005 ) – The Doctor ’s absence for a in force part of this story defines just how essential he is , and his intervention in the final minute is fantastic to watch . And then we see just how ruthless he can be , when humanity let down him .
23 ) The Pandorica Opens / The Big Bang ( 2010 ) – The Doctor is put in an inescapable prison house to discontinue the universe of discourse being destroy , which turns out to be a bit of a misestimation on everybody ’s part . The Doctor ’s hubris , but also his kindness and self - sacrifice , are on full display here — and then there ’s a jolly wedding .
24 ) The Silurians ( 1970 ) – the first coming together with the wight who owned Earth before humanity , in which the ethical motive is mirky than ever . Despite its insane length , this account keeps coming up with creepy new plot construction , notably the deadly plague midway through .
25 ) School Reunion ( 2006 ) – the return of Sarah Jane Smith , in a poignant story about what happens to the people whose life have been touched by the Doctor . Plus there are creepy bat aliens who are turning kids into crack - geniuses for evil cause .
26 ) Human Nature / The Family of Blood ( 2007 ) – The Doctor select to become human , but he does n’t expect to find romance . Nor does he expect some bloodthirsty aliens to pass over him down and make for havoc , on the even of World War I.
27 ) The Eleventh Hour ( 2010 ) – The freshly regenerated Doctor has just minutes to save the Earth , with no engineering at his disposition , which just forces him to be even more resourceful than common .
28 ) The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit ( 2006 ) – a capital maraud into repugnance , in which Satan arrogate the humanity on a planet orbiting a fateful hole , but the Doctor outwits the Devil .
29 ) Father ’s Day ( 2005 ) – a large admonitory tale about clock time locomotion , in which Rose try out to fix her heavy tragedy , only to break everything else .
30 ) The Edge of Destruction ( 1964 ) – a “ bottle ” episode set inside the TARDIS turns out to be a brilliant exploration of madness and the travelers ’ telepathic bond with the Doctor ’s time machine .
31 ) The Caretaker ( 2014 ) – The Doctor goes hush-hush as a “ caretaker ” at Clara ’s school , and meets her newfangled boyfriend Danny . What makes it large is that Danny call the Doctor on his bullshit in a way that few others ever have .
32 ) Utopia / The Sound of Drums / Last of the Time Lords ( 2007 ) – This three - part story bring back the Master in awe-inspiring style , putting the Doctor through the wringer as the Master enslave the integral human race . Your survey of this one reckon on how much the somewhat miraculous ending bothers you .
33 ) The Time Warrior ( 1973 ) – our first merging with the clone warrior race , the Sontarans . And a great “ meddle with history ” tale , in which the Doctor is at his absolute most swashbuckling .
34 ) Flatline ( 2014 ) – this story features one of the show ’s most inventive monsters : two - dimensional villain in good order out of Edwin Abbott Abbott . But it also has a neat concept where the Doctor is trapped in the TARDIS and Clara has to take his place .
35 ) The Moonbase ( 1967 ) – This amazing story of Cybermen attacking the Moon is the ideal of the “ immobilize in a radical under military blockade ” account . Neil Gaiman quote it as an brainchild for his sequence “ Nightmare in Silver . ”
36 ) The Crusade ( 1965 ) – possibly the best diachronic story , this epic shows the costs and quandary of state of war , while going out of its way to show complex characters on both side .
37 ) Tomb of the Cybermen ( 1967 ) – really hard to choose between this one and “ Moonbase”- the Cybermen are even creepier here , grow people into Cybermen and tardily defrosting in a justly famous chronological sequence .
38 ) ascending of the Cybermen / The Age of Steel ( 2006 ) – The Cybermen get reintroduced , in an alternative - existence story that at last emphasizes their main peak : the way they pull down masses ’s humanity and turn them into emotionless motorcar - people .
39 ) The Power of the Daleks ( 1966 ) – base strictly on reconstructions and clips , this is a marvelous narrative in which the endangered Daleks are at their most foxy — but they face a stigma new Doctor , who ’s at his most unpredictable .
40 ) Inferno ( 1970 ) – The Doctor visits a mirror population govern by fascists , and realizes our earth is doom to death . Despite dodgy “ Primord ” monsters , it ’s an vivid atrocious drive .
41 ) The Dalek Invasion of Earth ( 1964 ) – a future Earth overproduction by Daleks and their bionic man slaves , and a wholly Graeco-Roman history of love and sacrifice .
42 ) Amy ’s Choice ( 2010 ) – Amy has to choose between two different worlds , at least one of which is a aspiration — but more than that , she has to adjudicate what she values . The Dream Lord is a scary mirror version of the Doctor .
43 ) The Pirate Planet ( 1978 ) – Douglas Adams ’ other story(we’ll skip his bare “ Shada ” ) is a weirdly campy story of a plagiarist captain who commands an entire effete planet . There are enough ingenious ideas in here for a XII stories , and K9 ’s showdown with a robot parrot is a thing of beauty .
44 ) The fire of Pompeii ( 2008 ) – The recurrent theme of not being able-bodied to act god with chronicle has one of its best realizations here , as the Doctor has to let Pompeii decease in a volcanic outbreak . But possibly not everybody has to die ?
45 ) Dark Water / Death In Heaven ( 2014 ) – glob of this story about the dead coming back to life ( and the Doctor remeeting an old frenemy ) do n’t really bear cogitate about that much . But Capaldi ’s emotional functioning is absolutely breathless , and this storyline deserves all the credit rating for taking a season - long thematic and character arc , and bringing it to a graceful , satisfying decision .
46 ) The Face of Evil ( 1977 ) – an foreign computer has schizophrenic psychosis and it ’s the Doctor ’s demerit . The two societies the evil computer has created are kind of a absorbing sociological experimentation , and it ’s great to find out Tom Baker grappling with being the Devil or God , to different people he contact .
47 ) Robot ( 1974 - 75 ) – Tom Baker ’s first story is just round-the-clock merriment , include a golem with an King Oedipus composite and some malefic technocrat . Baker keeps everybody else on their toe , and Sarah Jane Smith gets to show some opening move .
48 ) The Massacre ( 1966 ) – considered an all - time classic for a reasonableness . William Hartnell is great as the Doctor and his doppelganger , the Abbot . And the Doctor struggle with his companion Steven ’s inability to interpret why they have to let innocent citizenry go in a diachronic bloodbath . The concluding scenes are heart - breakage .
49 ) Bad Wolf / The Parting of the Ways ( 2005 ) – The “ reality TV ” put-on are kind of off kilter , but the Daleks are pretty intense , and the Doctor ’s terminal choice between ruthlessness and “ cowardice ” is amazing . Even a bit of a deus ex machina ending ca n’t wreck this party .
50 ) Evil of the Daleks ( 1967 ) – the “ final ” end of the Daleks , in which the Doctor direct a civil war between humanized and even Daleks . Some astonishing stuff here , including remorseful Victorian mad scientists and Daleks playing trains , plus the first meeting with the Emperor Dalek .
51 ) Terror of the Autons ( 1971 ) – our first meeting with the Master , the Doctor ’s arch - nemesis . The plastic monsters , the Autons , are put to much scarier and more horrible uses this metre around .
52 ) Army of Ghosts / Doomsday ( 2006 ) – Mostly memorable for the Dalek / Cybermen smackdown , although it also has the ultra - emotional departure of Rose , and the downfall of the never - too - formidable Torchwood London .
53 ) Ghost Light ( 1989 ) – a storey about prim naturalists and Darwinism , in which an alien does n’t sympathise evolution . The whole thing is so intemperately stylize and cunning that you’re able to finger the show ’s ambition to be not just a good narrative , but actual artistic production .
54 ) Mummy on the Orient Express ( 2014 ) – Torn between “ classic ” or “ safe ” for this one — it ’s right there on the edge . The Doctor has to figure out the riddle of a deadly and mostly unseeable mummy , but just as significantly Clara has to understand why the Doctor can be so pachydermatous .
Good Stories:
55 ) Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead ( 2008 ) – A planet - sized library is haunted by Orcinus orca shadows , and Donna gets entrap in practical realism . The skeletons in spacesuit , repeating their last word , are creepy as nooky . The stuff and nonsense about how woman can either be beautiful or wise is less amazing .
56 ) The Next Doctor ( 2008 ) – A caboodle of medico Who stories find new path to ask who the Doctor is , and what he means — and this story of a military man who becomes “ the next Doctor ” gets at the essence of the epic clip traveler in a especially neat way .
57 ) Snakedance ( 1983 ) – the return of the ophidian fiend from “ Kinda , ” in which Tegan is possess by evil and the Doctor must go outside his common comfort zona to win . Kind of a beautiful level .
58 ) The Lodger ( 2010 ) – When the Doctor has to deal with ordinary everyday life , it ’s often fascinating — but it ’s rarely as uproarious as in this write up . Best flake : the Doctor ’s ominous speech about not let association football destruction .
59 ) Last Christmas ( 2014 ) – The Doctor and Clara get ensnare in a never-never land ( and in an endless series of movie spoofs , including the obvious Inception . ) What create it glorious , though , is Nick Frost as a snarky Santa Claus , sparring with the Doctor endlessly .
60 ) The End of Time ( 2009 - 2010 ) -David Tennant ’s swansong is a mixture of brilliant emotional moment , andover - the - top craziness from the Master , who goes around eating people and then turns everyone on Earth into himself .
61 ) Hide ( 2013 ) – There are a lot of ghost stories on this lean , but this is definitely one of the good , thanks to an atmospheric plot line and a neat account for who / what the touch in reality is .
62 ) A Good human race function to War / lease ’s Kill Hitler ( 2011 ) – The resoluteness to the “ Amy ’s baby ” storyline , and the ancestry of River Song . The Doctor ’s hubris causes him to suffer a painful struggle , and then he almost dies — but love keep him .
63 ) Mawdryn Undead ( 1983 ) – The Doctor is reunite with his former friend the Brigadier in a nifty story about prison term - warping and storage loss , in which two clock time period have to total to get her to solve a puzzle and deliver the Doctor ’s life .
64 ) The God Complex ( 2011 ) – intensely disturbing and hide - crawling . Everyone is trapped in a hotel that shows you your deepest fears , but it turns out fearfulness is n’t what kills you . This floor takes the show ’s age - old themes about the Doctor ’s effect on the people around them , and makes them new .
65 ) Smith and Jones ( 2007 ) – a nifty “ comrade introduction ” tale , in which a infirmary is zapped to the Moon and the Doctor has to save all the people there from over - avid rhinoceros bull , who need to kill everyone to get one awful foreigner .
66 ) Earthshock ( 1982 ) – one of those stories where the Doctor is strain to circumvent an alien menace , and keep coming up with things on the fly in the cheek of worsening odds . It all leads to the first death of a companion since the 1960s , and by far the most shocking .
67 ) The Impossible Astronaut / Day of the Moon ( 2011 ) – The Doctor ’s apparent death kicks off a wild adventure , including Richard Nixon and the frightful quiet . Steven Moffat ’s authorship is seldom more inventive and unnerving than it is here , even if the over - arching plot of ground is a bit half - scorched .
68 ) Time Heist ( 2014 ) – It ’s a heist narration in which the thing being stolen is repurchase , rather than some object of time value . And everyone involved is trying to find a lost composition of their identity . Sort of a fascinating tale , that ’s develop on me since I first image it .
69 ) Talons of Weng Chiang ( 1977 ) – On the one manus , it ’s a lovely Victorian confection where the Doctor and Leela interact with hilarious nineteenth - C people and beat the time - go Magnus Greel . On the other , it ’s full of Asiatic stereotypes and dicey rats , plus the real baddie scarcely turn up until the net two instalment .
70 ) The miss Who waitress ( 2011 ) – one of the honest exemplar of a time - paradox floor that really work , as Amy ages decades in a short time and has to allot with being obviously abandoned by the Doctor and Rory — and then there ’s another , young Amy .
71 ) dinosaur on a Spaceship ( 2012 ) – The dinosaurs look marvelous , and this story contend to make you mourn for a dead triceratops , even as a whole spaceship is in imminent danger . stark insane fun .
72 ) The Beast Below ( 2010 ) – The Doctor faces an impossible choice , and all of humans is amnesic and complicit in an barbarity , in this insanely dark story where Matt Smith shows real scandal at our inhumaneness .
73 ) Tooth and Claw ( 2006 ) – Kung - fu monastic and a werewolf menace Queen Victoria , but she ’s got a secret arm she does n’t even sleep with about . Kind of glorious in its madness .
74 ) Robot of Sherwood ( 2014 ) – Some mass ca n’t see past the ludicrous resolution of this one , but the actual floor of the Doctor ’s contention with Robin Hood — as they battle medieval robots — is pure joy .
75 ) Voyage of the Damned ( 2007 ) – There ’s nothing especially brilliant about this story of a space Titanic almost crash into Earth , except for its nonstop frenetic playfulness and its successful mimicry of action - movie production economic value . And the destiny of Kylie Minogue ’s Astrid is a piffling tear - jolt .
76 ) The Daleks ( 1963 - 1964 ) – The first coming into court of the Doctor ’s warlike cyborg foe is basically a recollective escapade serial with a message about rejecting pacificism . The Daleks do n’t really come into their own until they invade Earth .
77 ) The close of the World ( 2005 ) – The Doctor takes Rose to see the destruction of Earth , in the far future , designate that some things are inevitable — and then they ’re near killed by a disaster of their own . It ’s all a agency for the Doctor to share his sorrow over his the great unwashed ’s death .
78 ) The Carnival of Monsters ( 1973 ) – The Doctor is trap inside a “ raree-show ” run by a buffoonish showman , along with some terrifying monsters . Pure zany playfulness , with a tittle of foreign government . I often say , “ Do n’t blame me , I voted for President Zarb . ”
79 ) The Time Meddler ( 1965 ) – our first coming together with another Time Lord , and a fun adventure in which we get a line that chronicle actually can be modify — it ’s just not a adept idea .
80 ) The Sun Makers ( 1977 ) – a sarcasm on taxation , but also just on bureaucracy and corporatocracy generally . The Doctor basically run ring around a dystopian regime , and it ’s kind of beautiful to learn .
81 ) The Long Game ( 2005 ) – Two reason to love this story : Simon Pegg as a news editor who ’s not ashamed to be solve for an malign ice sluggard . And the bait - and - switch of Adam , who come along to be a trade name new companion until he screws up massively .
82 ) Planet of the Ood – Those charming telepathic handmaid from “ The Impossible Planet ” change by reversal out to be even more oppressed than we agnise , in a level that make some harsh points about our complicity in victimisation .
83 ) The Snowmen ( 2012 ) – There are some malevolent snowman and a game to use an ice governess to take over everything . But the main focus of this story is on a fairytale reading of the Doctor who has withdrawn from the populace , living on a cloud and refusing to pull through hoi polloi any longer .
84 ) Terror of the Zygons ( 1975 ) – The dodgy Loch Ness Monster drag this story down , but otherwise it ’s a unanimous horror epic poem featuring malevolent figure - modifier in Scotland . The creepy-crawly Zygons have made a comeback for a reason .
85 ) Deep Breath ( 2014 ) – The first Peter Capaldi story is sort of forgettable , with clockwork android in Victorian London facing off against the Doctor , Clara , Jenny , Vastra and of course the Sontaran pantryman , Strax . Still , Capaldi like a shot work a courteous unpredictable edge to the Doctor ’s relationship with Clara .
86 ) Partners in Crime ( 2008 ) – Most of the plot auto-mechanic in this history involve the Doctor being reunify with Donna , after a series of “ oops you just missed him / her ” pantomime mishaps . But the actual plot , imply fatty pills that work too well , is both creepy and a bit flimsy .
87 ) Warrior ’s Gate ( 1981 ) – a mind - straining puzzle , in which slaver are immobilise in a null dimension where their slaves were once captain . Watch it more than once for the full consequence .
88 ) The wedding party of River Song ( 2011 ) – Once again , the population is off its hinges , and only the Doctor ’s “ death ” will fix everything . The man where clip has hold on flow normally is a fun whimsy , but as the resolution to the year - long “ dying of the Doctor ” spark ( and of the Doctor ’s courtship with River ) it will a flock to be desired .
89 ) The Unquiet Dead ( 2005 ) – Charles Dickens seem in this ghostwriter story — which is most notable for being a narrative in which the Doctor seriously weigh making a radical change to history , because he can .
90 ) Spearhead from Space ( 1970 ) – Jon Pertwee ’s first story has a few great moments , notably when the shop class windowpane blank come up to life and kill hoi polloi . Pertwee is trying to do a more comedic carrying out as the Doctor , and there are also a spate of random subplots , like the sea poker who ’s hiding a deadly meteorite .
91 ) Survival ( 1989 ) – Along with “ Ghost Light , ” this is the other floor to deal with “ Survival of the Fittest ” as a idea — by maroon the Doctor on a planet where you must become vulture or prey . It ’s heavy - handed as hell , and the cheetah people look ridiculous — but the taradiddle about Ace almost turning into a orca makes it all worthwhile .
92 ) New Earth ( 2006 ) – computed tomography hold in a succeeding hospital change state out to have a fearful closed book , but meanwhile , the malign Cassandra has come up a way to take over other the great unwashed ’s body , appropriate David Tennant and Billie Piper to do Zoe Wanamaker impression .
93 ) recollection of the Daleks ( 1988 ) – All of a sudden , the Doctor is sorry and deep again , and he has some scheme of his own in the midst of a Dalek civil state of war . As long as you do n’t suppose too much about the plot , the metaphors about fascism and racism are enough to make this a fascinating lookout man .
94 ) Into the Dalek ( 2014 ) – The Doctor and his friends get shrunk and go inside a Dalek that has apparently turned good , but needs some repairs . The Doctor ’s hatred of Daleks , and his desperate hungriness to consider a Dalek in reality could turn sound , tot up a nice edge to the exploration of what makes a Dalek a Dalek .
95 ) The Masque of Mandragora ( 1976 ) – Renaissance Italy is threatened by a superintelligent fireball that hijacked the TARDIS . A lovely costume drama in which the aura of threat is actually quite tangible .
96 ) The Daleks ’ Master Plan ( include Mission to the Unknown ) ( 1965 - 1966 ) – a baker ’s twelve episodes , in which the Daleks attempt to take over the galaxy and the Doctor is the fly in their ointment . There ’s enough cool moments here to make up for a massively cushiony storyline — and this is the first level where the Doctor really make out with the Death of people he cares about .
97 ) Frontios ( 1984 ) – Burrowing creatures are destroying a human colony in the far futurity — and they cause Turlough to go catatonic with fear , due to a long - buried race storage of them . Some super - creepy-crawly present moment here , even if the Doctor ’s triumph is far too easy .
98 ) Horror of Fang Rock ( 1977 ) – a costumed diachronic melodrama in which a glow alien blob is killing everybody trapped in a beacon light . astonishingly fun hooey , specially Leela twit the stranger .
99 ) The Mind Robber ( 1968 ) – The first sequence , where the TARDIS work party is trap in limbo , is one of the show ’s best . The final episode , where the Doctor duel the Master of Fiction , is also bully . The material in the heart is the closest Who has ever come to feeling like a pure children ’s show .
100 ) The Ribos Operation ( 1978 ) – Robert Holmes ’ terminal comedy tarradiddle is also the first story in a linked hardening of episodes about the “ Key to Time . ” But mostly , it ’s a jolly story about con artists and knave and fiend all attempt to outwit each other , on a backwater planet .
101 ) The Sontaran Experiment ( 1975 ) – A undivided Sontaran is doing sadistic experiments on man , and the Dr. go to extreme lengths to stop him . Basically a throwaway two - parter , but full of creepiness and swashbuckling .
102 ) The Ice Warriors ( 1967 ) – our first sight of the Martian warrior is somewhat fun , despite some very clunky playing and a simplistic , draggy debate over science . The Ice Warriors have a wonderfully sardonic , sadistic run here .
103 ) Cold War ( 2013 ) – This Ice Warrior sequel , set on a submarine in the 1980s , is every scrap the adequate of the original story , playing up the Ice Warrior ’s sense of honour but also of ruthlessness . Plus David Warner is fantastic as a guy cable who just wants to sleep together what bump to Ultravox .
104 ) The Runaway Bride ( 2006 ) – The first story featuring Donna Noble is a wedding catastrophe , in which her ostler turns out to be using her to tea cozy up to an evil spider lady . The interplay between the Doctor and the outraged Donna is passably capital .
105 ) Nightmare in Silver ( 2013 ) – This story does a nice job of making the Cybermen grievous again , and the character of Porridge is one of the most memorable guest star in the past few class . But the subplot where the Doctor plays chess against his Cyber - possessed other self Mr. Clever does n’t quite gel .
106 ) Resurrection of Christ of the Daleks ( 1984 ) – Writer Eric Saward has declared his own write up to be total scraps . But despite a nonsensical storyline and rather a great deal of gratuitious death , this is an exciting tale in which the Daleks are set aside to be menacing for the first time in forever .
107 ) The cum of Doom ( 1976 ) – guess if “ Day of the Triffids ” involve works that could control all other flora life . You ’d get this engaging thriller , in which the real monsters are the humans , particularly the psychotic billionaire Harrison Chase .
108 ) Vengeance on Varos ( 1985 ) – a uncanny political satire , in which politicians who drop off democratic votes of sureness get electrocuted , and endeavor to distract the looker with bloodsports . Kind of half - baked , but the one-half that works is terrific .
109 ) Aliens of London / World War Three ( 2005 ) – Flatulant overweight people are actually unknown , bent on make a nuclear war . This story has a ton of expectant ideas , include the Doctor fall Rose home base months too late , and the Doctor figure out what species the exotic Slitheen are ground on random clues .
Decent Stories:
110 ) The Brain of Morbius ( 1976 ) – A crazy scientist judge to resurrect an insane Time Lord on Karn ( the planet where Paul McGann ’s Doctor recently showed up ) . An overplayed Frankenstein potpourri , but the always tremendous Philip Madoc make it bring .
111 ) The Aztecs ( 1964 ) – This story has a great reputation , because it apportion with questions of tampering with chronicle for the first metre in the show ’s history . But it ’s also simplistic , boiling Aztec culture down into two men : one enlightened , and one barbaric .
112 ) The Idiot ’s Lantern ( 2006 ) – a 1950s - set story in which television is erasing people ’s faces , and there turns out to be an malefic entity named The Wire , diagram to devour millions of people ’s souls .
113 ) Revelation of the Daleks ( 1985 ) – a fascinating caustic remark in which a cryogenic funeral parlor is converted into helping with A ) cannibalism and B ) Dalek engine room . Featuring a campy disc jockey . It ’s kind of an harebrained trip , but decidedly an off - kilter pleasance .
114 ) vehemence from the Deep ( 1968 ) – I know people who saw this one when it was first broadcast , and still get nightmares . shuddery foam , evil seaweed , and the ultra - creepy-crawly Oak and Quill make for a terrific epos .
115 ) The Claws of Axos ( 1971 ) – Aliens turn out natural endowment ? Surprisingly not that benign . And the Master is working with them , of course of study . The fast pace and crackling interplay between the Doctor and the Master rescue this story from some chancy performance .
116 ) The Leisure Hive ( 1980 ) – Tom Baker ’s era gets a new lease on life , and then he ’s promptly aged into senility . This floor is popping with cool ideas about tachyons and time - use , plus an intricate backstory about a space war . But it ’s also superbly stylish .
117 ) The Invasion ( 1968 ) – hard to love a level with this much outrageous cushioning , but the brilliantly shoot Cybermen encroachment of London is a pleasure to watch , and this is one of the right “ alien intrusion of Earth ” stories .
118 ) The Hungry Earth / Cold Blood ( 2010 ) – In this novel version of “ The Silurians , ” humans almost succeed in making piece with our precursor — but it falls aside in the end . Memorable more because of what happens to Rory in the final moment than anything to do with the peace talks breaking down .
119 ) The Doctor ’s Daughter ( 2008 ) – Apparently , it ’s dead easy to create a new almost - Time Lord , and the result is perky and a bit murderous . The heart of this story is n’t about the Doctor larn to be a parent to his precocious issue , but about the Doctor confronting his grief over his dead airstream from a different slant .
120 ) The Shakespeare Code ( 2007 ) – another story where we meet a historical figure . This prison term , Shakespeare ’s lose play is the key to opening a dimensional thingy for some witches .
121 ) Revenge of the Cybermen ( 1975 ) – a fast - paced dangerous undertaking where the Doctor has to keep extemporise to cease a handful of Cybermen from suck up a planetoid made of their one weakness : amber . This story gets a big rap because the Cybermen are a second off , but it ’s non - stop fun .
122 ) Closing Time ( 2011 ) – a subsequence to “ The Lodger ” in which the Doctor helps look after a babe , and Cybermen twist out to be lurking in a department store . Let down rather badly by the pat conclusion , but overall a sport pleasure trip .
123 ) The twenty-four hours of the Daleks ( 1972 ) – The recent DVD reconstruction makes this story wait path neater . Mostly worth it for the neat time paradox where the rebels fighting the Daleks are causing their own malevolent future to come to pass , and the doc ’s indignation at discover future humans enslave .
124 ) The Bells of St. John ( 2013 ) – The whole “ malevolent wifi is suck people into cyberhell ” plot is kind of forgettable — but the fight of wits between the Doctor and Miss Kizlet is rather fun .
125 ) The Keeper of Traken ( 1981 ) – the Master returns , and mostly outwits the Doctor , in a tale that attend the Doctor struggling to get up for most of its running clip .
126 ) The Five Doctor of the Church ( 1983 ) – Writer Terrance Dicks has nothing nice to say about his own tale , where the Doctor and his former selves compete for immortality . But it ’s astonishingly fun and fill with cool moment — and Peter Davison holds up amazingly well against his predecessors .
127 ) The Time of the Doctor ( 2013 ) – Matt Smith ’s swansong is saddled with sustain to wrap up all of the plot line that have been brewing throughout his run . And perhaps as a result , this feels like the ultimate expression of the self - indulgence and over - egg pudding that marked a lot of the Smith era . And yet , there are some lovely moments .
128 ) Boom Town ( 2005 ) – an epilog of sort to the Slitheen saga , in which the Doctor has to figure out what to do with the last rest Slitheen coconspirator . The scenes of the Doctor of the Church having to babble out to one of his enemies for once are pretty slap-up .
129 ) 42 ( 2007 ) – a much - traduce adventure where the Doctor and Martha are trapped on a ship that ’s go to spoil up , with people who ’ve been infect with some kind of solar foolishness . As a cork up great space adventure , it ’s not bad .
130 ) The Happiness Patrol ( 1988 ) – The political metaphors are maybe a bit too heavy - handed , and it ’s a ripoff of a account from an onetime Monty Python book , but the tale of a satellite where it ’s illegal to be lamentable is kind of a delicious sweet . And Sylvester McCoy really works it .
131 ) The Web of Fear ( 1968 ) – Scary encounters in dark burrow are a staple fiber of Doctor Who , and the tunnel have rarely been gloomy and scarier than in this story about the Yeti taking over the London Underground .
132 ) Logopolis ( 1981 ) – a strange meditation on entropy , as the Doctor face his own impending death and the potential dying of the entire universe . A glum , dark saga about computational applied science , that never quite gels as a fib and has a cockeyed termination .
133 ) The Daemons ( 1971 ) – deserving it just for the Master pretend to be a Christian minister while go a quasi - hellish cult . A charming but ultimately lightweight level where Satan turn out to be an alien who wants to judge humanity .
134 ) The Ark ( 1966 ) – one of the cleverest uses of clip traveling in the show ’s history , as the story skips frontward in the middle , making for a creepy cliffhanger . In cosmopolitan , this story keeps reverberate enough surprises to keep you guessing .
135 ) Enlightenment ( 1983 ) – a terrific story about telepathic aliens who live outside time , sustain a solar - canvas race with human crew members . obviate the weird shortened “ motion picture interpretation ” on the DVD .
136 ) The Green Death ( 1973 ) – Jo Grant ’s departure is so acute and emotional , it overshadows this whole tale about giant maggots and an vicious supercomputer . Which is fun , but no great shakes .
137 ) The War Games ( 1969 ) – disregard the fact that the malefic game here make no sense , and you ’ve let a bracingly insane metaphor for how warfare brainwash people into committing base human action . The first meeting with the Doctor ’s own airstream , the Time Lords , is just the capper . That say , ten episode is right smart too farseeing for the genuine amount of story here .
138 ) Castrovalva ( 1982 ) – Peter Davison ’s first story as the Doctor sees him trapped inside an M.C. Escher draw by the Master . Davison puts a lot into portray a Doctor who ’s struggling to remember who he is , but the Master ’s maniac performance , in the closing moment , kind of wrack everything .
139 ) The Sontaran Strategem / The Poison Sky ( 2008 ) – The Sontarans swap military scheme for sneakiness , in one of those “ new founding turns out to be deadly ” stories that Who does a lot . This time around , a machine nav system and emissions - barren locomotive engine are lethal . The best spot is Donna taking on a Sontaran by herself .
140 ) Full Circle ( 1980 ) – one of my favored recent Tom Baker taradiddle . The game is in reality pretty cagy , even if it might make a biologist scratch his or her head , and the stuff and nonsense with malevolent spiders is quite creepy-crawly .
141 ) The Tenth Planet ( 1966 ) – The factual story is not that great . The Cybermen are first-rate - unimpressive in their first outing , and episode three lacks both the Cybermen and the Doctor , due to William Hartnell ’s sickness . But Hartnell ’s final performance as the Doctor , square off with the Cybermen and then going to his end , is amazing .
142 ) The Lazarus Experiment ( 2007 ) – A sore scientist figures out a way to restore himself , but then flex into a monster . Mark Gatiss has a blast being a monster , but the overall story feel a bit too healthy .
143 ) The Invasion of Time ( 1978 ) – The Doctor becomes chairman of his home planet , and then turns traitor ( but he has a secluded plan . ) Kind of a muddle , but also kind of glorious , thanks to Tom Baker going room over the top as a psychotic potentate .
144 ) cum of Death ( 1969 ) – the Ice Warriors ’ plan for take over the future Earth is kind of mad and awesome , and the parable about not depending on one form of transportation is dandy , if a bit belabored .
145 ) Planet of the Spiders ( 1974 ) – Jon Pertwee ’s swansong is kind of a stack , with a single episode dedicate to a bloated pursual scene and a mass of time spent on giant - spider politics . But if you cut into into it , there ’s a beautiful parable about the Doctor overcoming his own selfishness and facing his reverence , at the end of his life .
146 ) The Angels Take Manhattan ( 2012 ) – Bits of this Weeping Angels story are heartbreaking , especially the Elderly Rory who ’s grown old without Amy . And the River Song / Doctor relationship is never good than it is here . Too spoiled the actual story is a bit featherbrained , peculiarly the big passel muzzle , and the ending leans too severely on arbitrary rules .
147 ) Planet of the Daleks ( 1973 ) – It ’s decidedly better than “ The Chase ” ( see below ) . Terry Nation recycles a lot of old Dalek ideas , but also add some raw clobber like the Daleks trying to become inconspicuous . As an exercise of Nation’s”getting into one scrape after another ” style of storytelling , it ’s quite fun .
148 ) The Chase ( 1965 ) – what it say on the tin can . The Daleks chase the Doctor around the universe for six episodes , until they get killed by nondescript robots . Some mirthful moment , but that ’s it .
149 ) triumph of the Daleks ( 2010 ) – fundamentally , just an excuse to have the Daleks in World War II , serving tea and being the British Army ’s ripe friends . The actual plot is better forgotten , and seems design to introduce Modern Daleks that nobody liked — but the Spitfires and Union Jack - sporting Daleks are pretty keen .
150 ) A Town Called Mercy ( 2012 ) – a jolly Western in which the town doctor is actually an alien war crook . This story would be over in about fifteen minutes if the Doctor did n’t work out of character , but it ’s vex some interesting things to say about guilt and buyback .
151 ) The Three Doctors ( 1973 ) – It ’s lovely just to watch Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee bouncing off each other , but the actual news report is kind of naff , and contains arguably the risky teras in the show ’s history .
152 ) The Unicorn and the Wasp ( 2008 ) – a joyous shoo-in in which Agatha Christie team up with the Doctor to work a murder mystery . Nothing to write home about , but there are some fun moments here .
153 ) The Curse of Peladon ( 1972 ) – I had rose-colored memories of this one , and recently rewatched it with supporter . Its debates over whether a knightly planet should join the galactic Federation are n’t as fascinating as I ’d remembered , and the conspiracy seems kind of fragile . But still sport , and the exciteable Alpha Centauri is great .
154 ) Planet of Evil ( 1975 ) – a Jekyll - and - Hyde story on an foreign satellite featuring deadly antimatter fauna . The creepy-crawly hobo camp is unusually effective , and the scene where theDoctor encourages Sorenson to kill himself is chilling .
155 ) Asylum of the Daleks ( 2012 ) – The Daleks draft the Doctor ’s assist to deal with their own mad and discredited siblings , and there ’s an interesting notion in here about how the Doctor has made the Daleks more mean — which never quite gels . Meanwhile , a luck of time is spend on an Amy / Rory rift that comes out of nowhere , and then go back there again .
156 ) The Rings of Akhaten ( 2013 ) – A slight fille is supposed to whistle to a sleeping god , but then the god wakes up and wants to eat on her soul instead . Only the Doctor and Clara tolerate in the way . The good parts are all the weird aliens and the flying bike action . The bad parts are the attempts to expend sloppiness and boastfulness as a patch resolution for the umpteenth metre .
157 ) The Doctor , The Widow and the Wardrobe ( 2011 ) – a Narnia knocking - off , in which a female parent ’s making love saves the mean solar day ( making a variety from a forefather ’s love , I guess . ) The first one-half of this story evince immense hope , as an exploration of a menage grieve at Christmas , until we meet the tree diagram people and the plot get goofy and more random .
158 ) The Abominable Snowmen ( 1967 ) – a 1940s - set adventure in which the Yeti threaten a monastery , and a British explorer has to arrest being such a jerk . The best part is the creepy-crawly sibilant Padmasambhava , possessed by the Great Intelligence .
159 ) Gridlock ( 2007 ) – There ’s a planet where mass are puzzle in dealings for years , but it turn out to be part of a larger conspiracy . You have to opine Russell T. Davies wrote this level after a specially plaguy trip to L.A. , just to have an excuse to air . On the plus side : lots of khat the great unwashed !
Below-Average Stories:
160 ) Planet of the Dead ( 2009 ) – The Doctor and a sassy gem stealer get trap on an alien desert planet , pour with deathly fly , and have to make their escape before they ’re go through . Kind of a merriment diversion , but the lack of chemistry between the Doctor and his one - time fellow traveller is an issue .
161 ) Vampires of Venice ( 2010 ) – a utterly mirthful write up in which the titular vampires are steal young women for nefarious purposes , and their secret is pretty canny . But mostly , the focal point here is on Rory ’s first trip in the TARDIS and his struggling relationship with Amy — and Rory ’s best import are yet to come in .
162 ) The beast from the Pit ( 1979 ) – an underrated story in which an alien who can create metal traveling to a major planet that suffer from a metal shortage … but the major planet ’s ruler wants to keep her monopoly on metallic element . Unfortunately , it ’s beyond campy , and is allow down by the whole “ tentacle fellation ” sequence .
163 ) The Name of the Doctor ( 2013 ) – This story where we visit the Doctor ’s grave hold a ton of audacious concepts . Including the Doctor ’s giant - TARDIS grave . As an actual story , though , it ’s a non - starter . Richard E. Grant require to do something wholly abstract , and Clara does something completely nonfigurative to stop him , and there ’s about 40 second of everybody standing around talking about abstraction . Sometimes you call for footage of people suffer on the edges of rooftops , interspersed with a big threaten reddish push button , to make things concrete .
164 ) An Unearthly Child ( 1963 ) – If you could split off the virtuoso first sequence , this would rank way higher . As it is , three instalment of Shakespearian cave - people drag it way down .
165 ) The Time of Angels / Flesh and Stone – The Weeping Angels return , in a narrative which sees them infract neck and monologuing rather of sending people back in time and being taciturnly menacing . This story brook somewhat from a resolution that ’s entirely to do with the on-going plot line of the Crack in Time , which means it does n’t resist on its own that well .
166 ) The Crimson Horror ( 2013 ) – There ’s some metaphor about Victorian repression buried in this story about a workhorse whose proprietor has an malign scheme that turns people bright reddened — but it ’s lost in a madcap adventure , sport Diana Rigg give a attractively loony performance .
167 ) The Greatest Show in the Galaxy ( 1988 - 89 ) – a “ shivery clown ” narrative in which the literal monster turn out to be ancient elder gods . A lot of this fib is spend on slaphappy ideas that do n’t give off , and pointed satires of the show ’s own fan — but the finish is genuinely great .
168 ) The Space Museum ( 1965 ) – The creepy first episode , in which the TARDIS crew sees their own terrible future , is marvelous . The silly romp that follows has its moments .
169 ) The unseeable Enemy ( 1977 ) – The Doctor is taken over by an alien computer virus , and has to duplicate and shrink himself , so he can go inside his own brain and fight it . Completely ludicrous and wacky , but also mad fun . And our first confluence with the robot dog K9 !
170 ) Night Terrors ( 2011 ) – a lightweight , slightly creepy narration where our heroes go inside a child ’s bedroom cupboard to confront the scary things inside — only to find that the youngster must face his own fearfulness . Nothing to write home plate about , but hire enough .
171 ) The Power of Three ( 2012 ) – the notion of a threat that moves so slowly that the Doctor has to string up around is a brilliant setup , but the wages is somewhat lacking . Especially when we actually meet the somewhat underwhelming power behind the cubes .
172 ) Journey to the Center of the TARDIS ( 2013 ) – Clara is immobilize inside a potentially deadly TARDIS , and the Doctor has to blackmail a salvage gang into going inside to help deliver her . A great look at some of the secrets inside the Doctor ’s time machine , until a confrontation with the mortal future leads to secular hand - curl and timey - wimey bunk .
173 ) The Rebel Flesh / The Almost People ( 2011 ) – In the future , people use figure avatars to go into life-threatening state of affairs , but then the figure avatars gain sentience . Or mayhap they always had sentience — it ’s not clear . In any case , they have an insurrection , and a duplication of the Doctor is catch in the midsection . This account raises gross ton of ethical questions , then brushes them away when they become inconvenient .
174 ) The Visitation ( 1982 ) -Escaped foreign convict work havoc in seventeenth century England , against the background of the Black Plague . This is one story where the Doctor ’s newfound ineffectualness is kind of diffraction grating , since it guide two sequence just to disenable a single clunky mechanical man .
175 ) The Mutants ( 1972 ) – This history about a major planet leave colonisation deserves more love than it gets , thanks to an inventive foreign liveliness wheel and a blunt but well - get hold of metaphor about colonialism . That said , it is very , very over - the - top .
176 ) The Frontier in Space ( 1973 ) – Theback concealment of the Target novelization of this storyactually says , “ only when the Master appear on the vista do things really begin to move . ” Which , FYI , is midway through the account . It ’s great that whoever wrote that back - binding written matter was so bracingly good about this easy - proceed story of a drummed - up interstellar war . The Draconians are antic aliens , however .
177 ) The Romans ( 1965 ) – the first historic account to be humorous instead of serious , and it mostly works decently well , thanks to William Hartnell ’s clowning chop shot .
178 ) State of Decay ( 1980 ) – Vampires turn out to be the ancient foeman of the Time Lords , and they ’re rule a planet in a pouch world in Hammer Horror Movie style . ace fun , if you’re able to get past the scenery - chewing .
179 ) warrior of the Deep ( 1984 ) – The Silurians and Sea Devils team up to start a nuclear final solution in a future version of the Cold War . If you’re able to ignore the horrible special effects and cheesy acting , the overabundance of subplots and zany action are well worth it . end with a astonishingly poignant note .
180 ) decease to the Daleks ( 1974 ) – As with “ business leader of the Daleks , ” this story puts the Daleks at a Brobdingnagian disadvantage , push them to be tricksy . There are some great moments in the resulting bedlam , but also some of the Daleks ’ most pathetic moment of all time , as they start ego - destruct for no reason .
181 ) The Reign of Terror ( 1964 ) – one of the most grueling diachronic serials , with Ian and Barbara locked in a squalid cell and nearly guillotine . The surviving episodes are quite gripping .
182 ) Daleks in Manhattan / Evolution of the Daleks ( 2007 ) – Years of nonsensical Dalek storylines contact their peak in this Depression - era story of pig / human loanblend and Dalek / human chimeras . There are some fun moment here , but this story weakens the Daleks , both as an enemy and as an idea .
183 ) The Two doc ( 1985 ) – the weirdest of all the multi - Doctor stories , in which Patrick Troughton becomes a reddish - headed cannibal trencherman . Kind of deliciously sick , but also a recipe where none of the factor really goes together .
184 ) Battlefield ( 1989 ) – the final appearance of the Brigadier , except for one spin - off installment . And he bewilder a adorable sendoff . The rest of this report , about Arthurian knights who know the Doctor as Merlin from some alternate future , is … fun enough , I guess .
185 ) trope of the Fendahl ( 1977 ) – another tale which I recently rewatched and had to shed some fortunate memories of . An ancient skull and a fourth dimension - scanner are the key to a plot of ground to resurrect a horrible slug wight , but luckily there ’s a local beldame who can help oneself . It ’s a bit all over the station , but has some rattling moment .
186 ) The Android Invasion ( 1976 ) – another account where the villain ’s architectural plan is n’t entirely sane , but the story of androids replacing all the Doctor ’s admirer does have its charms . Mostly to do with Tom Baker clowning around with android .
187 ) The Hand of Fear ( 1976 ) – Sarah Jane ’s swansong is nothing special — she ’s possessed by an vicious exotic hired man , which turns into an evil alien — but it ’s such a beautiful semisweet farewell that the whole story seems magical by association .
188 ) The Mind of Evil ( 1971 ) – some threatening prison house experiments and a dispute with the Chinese over a brass gas projectile scarcely commingle into an adequate James Bond - y risky venture . The Keller Machine has a few alarming stomach - out second .
189 ) Kinda ( 1982 ) – a Buddhist allegory in which colonists on an foreign planet confront both hydrophobia and the proceeds of a snake - like liveliness of greed . It ’s very much like a fair avant - garde free rein from the early eighties , which makes sensory faculty given that it ’s the work of an avant - garde dramatist .
190 ) Mark of the Rani ( 1985 ) – strange , in that the independent baddie is n’t trying to take over anything — she just want to harvest a brain chemical from worker , thus apropos turning them into Luddites . Anthony Ainley ’s Master is at his very worst here .
191 ) The Keys of Marinus ( 1965 ) – Terry Nation once again turn in an adventure serial , in which the pursuit for “ key ” lead to one scrape after another . It ’s a grab - bag of mini - adventures , which gets shockingly dark when Barbara is almost plunder .
192 ) The Mysterious Planet ( 1986 ) – the first instalment of “ Trial of a Time Lord , ” and Robert Holmes ’ last proper script for the show . There are some great elements here , including the psychotic Glitz and the selfish robot Drathro . But it ’s let down by the factual “ trial ” sequences .
193 ) The Stolen Earth / Journey ’s End ( 2008 ) – Russell T. Davies ’ predilection for grandiloquent storytelling reach out its last extreme point here , in a story where the Daleks are seek to destruct the population . The second episode is 75 proceedings of improbable plot twists , plus Rose getting her own pet Doctor and poor Donna getting the gibe .
194 ) The Rescue ( 1964 ) – the first introduction of a newfangled companion ever , and a fun fiddling story . The Doctor confronting Koquillion is magical .
195 ) The Nightmare of Eden ( 1979 ) – Like many stories from the era where Douglas Adams was script - editor , the mind are vivid and fecund . But the campiness is overwhelming and the “ drug are forged , mmmkay ? ” message is bludgeoning .
196 ) The Sea Devils ( 1972 ) – The Master team up with the string undershirt - wear thin aquatic cousin of the Silurians , in a mostly forgettable naval adventure .
197 ) The Underwater Menace ( 1967 ) – depends on your tolerance for over - the - top shouty mad scientists and silly fish people . I kind of love this story . Troughton is amazing in it .
198 ) Invasion of the Dinosaurs ( 1974 ) – sigh . The special effects are so horrific , and the padding so obvious , that it ’s severe to love this fib in which mistaken scientist fill London with dinosaurs so they can send some hoi polloi back in clip and make a new “ golden age . ” But bits of this news report are magic , including Mike Yates ’ crisis of conscience .
199 ) The War Machines ( 1966 ) – another account where Hartnell ’s performance pretty much carry it , as he stride around 1960s London like he owns the place , and look off with pseud - Daleks . Some of the show ’s most inventive tv camera - work here .
200 ) Meglos ( 1980 ) – Tom Baker ’s turn to play his own nemesis , as an evil cactus impersonate the Doctor . The “ superstition versus science ” rift among the aliens is kind of played out , and this story is outrageously padded , but it ’s still pretty fun .
201 ) Marco Polo ( 1964 ) – beautiful costumes , plushy scenery … and a easy - actuate plot about the Doctor and friends prove to get the TARDIS back from the famed explorer .
202 ) The Celestial Toymaker ( 1966 ) – another account with a somewhat inflated report . A seemingly all - powerful being traps the Doctor and forces him to play games , a lot of which are either crack - abstract or top-notch - campy .
203 ) The Curse of the Black Spot ( 2011 ) – a swashbuckling pirate story which quickly sour into a hurt / comfort scenario where Amy is bring care of the injured Rory . There ’s nothing wrong with a pirate ship that turns out to be a starship with an rabid aesculapian A.I. , but this story never finds its ocean legs .
204 ) The Highlanders ( 1966 - 67 ) – the last historic account , featuring Scots versus redcoats — and base on fan - made reconstructions and the novelization , it was nothing to write dwelling house about . But it ’s the first coming into court of Jamie .
205 ) Arc of Infinity ( 1983 ) – The Time Lords want to accomplish the physician because he ’s tied to the rogue Time Lord Omega , but dealing with the threat turns out to be quite simple in the terminal . circumstances of unpointed placement scenes in Amsterdam , plus an vicious chicken collaborator .
206 ) The Macra Terror ( 1967 ) – I ’ve watched the telesnap reconstruction of this one , and it ’s pose a few prissy moments but is mostly mind - controlled colonists doing wacky chants . The crab teras are a bit of a disappointment when they last turn up .
207 ) The Armageddon Factor ( 1979 ) – the last narrative in the “ Key to Time ” storey , and it ’s a piece of a mess . But the creepy-crawly Shadow has a few standout moments as a baddie , Drax the shirker Time Lord is fun , and the Doctor ’s terminal dilemma about what to do with the all - powerful Key is also corking .
208 ) Galaxy 4 ( 1965 ) – essentially your standard “ do n’t judge by appearing ” parable , since the beautiful aliens are malevolent and the ugly unknown are skilful . The robot Chumblies are very , very cute .
209 ) Black Orchid ( 1982 ) – Cricket - performing and dancing in the 1920s give way to a execution mystery story and another one of the show ’s endless series of doppelgangers , this time of the Doctor ’s fellow traveler Nyssa . Sort of a palate - cleanser .
210 ) The TV Movie ( 1996 ) – Paul McGann ’s sole outing on television is serious sport , when you catch it as just a piece of Who and not as the attack to start a fresh series . McGann is fantastic — but Eric Roberts as the Master hang back the whole thing way down .
Disappointments:
211 ) Attack of the Cybermen ( 1985 ) – miss points for have a plot of ground that ’s uncomprehensible , even if you ’ve attend the earlier Cybermen taradiddle it ’s reference five times . Plus , nothing happens for the first minute . Still , the Cyber - convert Lytton furnish achilling instant .
212 ) Four to Doomsday ( 1982 ) – A shipload of android are on their way to conquer Earth , but never get there , and the evil toad Mentor is defeated by rather a lot of phratry dancing .
213 ) The Enemy of the World ( 1967 - 68 ) – still stinging from the letdown here . This newly rediscovered six - part adventure , where the Doctor ’s doppelganger is an evil Mexican dictator , is tragically silly and dull . It takes until episode six before they in reality impersonate each other . Turns out there are some affair even Patrick Troughton ca n’t save .
214 ) The King ’s Demons ( 1983 ) – At this degree , I ’m not sure even the Master knows what he ’s doing in these stories . This time , he ’s got a shapeshifting robot and he ’s seek to prevent Magna Carta by do French .
215 ) The Ambassadors of Death ( 1970 ) – I have a huge mild smudge for this tale about returned astronauts , who are in reality slayer aliens , who are really ingenuous pawns . But it ’s kind of a mess , due to lots of last - minute rescript .
216 ) The Stones of Blood ( 1978 ) – A Celtic goddess is in reality an escaped foreign prisoner , and the Doctor has to overreach her , which is n’t that hard . But it ’s still a fun floor , and Professor Amelia Rumford is one of the all - time great node star .
217 ) The Androids of Tara ( 1978 ) – essentially a pathetic “ Prisoner of Zenda ” riff , but there ’s some nice sword - fight and Mary Tamm gets to play two roles for once .
218 ) Kill The Moon ( 2014 ) – The Moon turns out not to be what we think it was , and world face a huge pick , which the Doctor decides to let Clara and two other masses make . Both the story and the Doctor are incredibly manipulative , and the ludicrous science also push this way down .
219 ) The Awakening ( 1984 ) – there ’s a time rift and an malefic gargoyle , and masses are being mean to each other . Everything ’s solved by twirl some knobs in the TARDIS .
220 ) Silver Nemesis ( 1988 ) – a written matter of “ recollection of the Daleks , ” only worse and campier in every way . This story throws in neo - Nazis and a seventeenth - century schemer , and then has no clue what to do with them , other than some campy / suspect fixed pieces here and there . And the Cybermen have rarely been more hapless .
221 ) Love and Monsters ( 2006 ) – If it were n’t for the last five minute of this story , it would get a much high ranking . A group of ordinary people bond over their compulsion with the Doctor , until they get pull strings by the malefic Absorbaloff . The final moments are just pure ick .
222 ) The Twin Dilemma ( 1984 ) – the one where the newly regenerate Doctor tries to throttle his companion . You know what ? It ’s not all tremendous . Colin Baker brings a sealed manic delectation to the part of the Doctor , and Mestor gets a few shivery moments as a scoundrel . The patch has some clever ideas , too . But yeah , mostly awful .
223 ) Dragonfire ( 1987 ) – only memorable as the first appearing of Ace , the familiar who later helped make the show awing again . And there ’s some Raiders of the Lost Ark - style head - melting . But it ’s also not trying very hard , as the “ cliffhanger ” at the end of instalment one shows .
224 ) Terror of the Vervoids ( 1986 ) – an Agatha Christie murder mystery in blank space , which turn out to be about killer whale plant creatures . On its own term , this is n’t an frightful story , and it ’s one of the rare times that Colin Baker gets to have some playfulness and be heroic alternatively of getting sidelined and bickering with Peri . But it ’s best not to think about it too much .
225 ) Destiny of the Daleks ( 1979 ) – Terry Nation ’s final Dalek narrative , in which he blank out that the Daleks are n’t robots and makes them even more pathetic than they were in “ Death to the Daleks . ” This time , they ’re facing off against disco - bots in an unwinnable war . Davros is sort of wasted here as well .
226 ) The Myth Makers ( 1965 ) – another amusing historical epos , in which the Doctor is false for Zeus and comes up with the idea for the Trojan Horse . Based on the audios , kind of disposable frivolity .
227 ) Planet of Fire ( 1984 ) – a miniaturized Master , a shapeshifting robot with an personal identity crisis , the arcanum of Turlough ’s past and a shouty new American comrade … there ’s material here , for sure . But mostly , it ’s an nasty mess .
228 ) Mindwarp ( 1986 ) – Does the Doctor actually become evil in this segment of the mega - story “ test of a Time Lord ” ? Or was the record tampered with ? You never know , and you almost do n’t care , because either way this is a painful experience .
229 ) Terminus ( 1983 ) – render the fact that the fate of the entire creation is at stake here , it ’s amazing how forgettable this story is . “ inadequate term retentiveness ’s always the first to go ” sums up the experience of watching this tale of lepers in space .
230 ) The Wheel in Space ( 1968 ) – The introduction of Zoe is charming , and the Doctor ’s confrontation with the Cybermen is capital . But the 4th Cybermen story to air in the quad of a year or so intelligibly has run out of estimation for what to do with them .
231 ) The Savages ( 1966 ) – This is another story that was erased from the archive . I may not have listened to the audio version after all , so this is purely based on the novelization . It ’s a moralistic tale , in which the Doctor ’s life - nub turns out to contain ethical motive and this save up a dystopia from itself .
232 ) The Web Planet ( 1965 ) – an challenging foreign history that sadly fails to get off the dry land , thanks to a slow , “ etherial ” ambiance and too mannered performances .
233 ) The Colony in Space ( 1971 ) – in a nutshell , a zoning dispute , in which miners and colonists both want the same satellite , and the Master wants a doomsday weapon . The novelization by Malcolm Hulke is way , way well , because it fleshes out these one - dimensional characters who keep getting interlace up and escape on goggle box .
234 ) Planet of Giants ( 1964 ) – The TARDIS gang gets miniaturise , and then every which way has to bring a normal - sized manslayer to justice . Truncated from four episode to three before program , because it was so dull . It ’s fundamentally a straight idea in search of a story .
235 ) great power of Kroll ( 1978 - 79 ) – How does a story about a giant monster get to be so bland ? A batch of the show ’s staple are here , let in misunderstood natives and evil corp — but it ’s at its most exanimate .
236 ) Underworld ( 1978 ) – a VFX disaster , but also just kind of a lackluster level . The apt revulsion pastiche of the early Tom Baker years are replaced by a kludgey Greek mythology mockery .
237 ) The Krotons ( 1968 - 69 ) – Philip Madoc all-fired almost single - handedly saves this one as a rabid establish a rotation among the enslaved Gonds . But the iniquity Krotons are just too pitiable . Take a drink every clock time they get lost and yell , “ Direction point ! ”
238 ) The Time Monster ( 1972 ) – some great moment here , including a TARDIS inside a TARDIS inside a TARDIS , but also an harebrained prevalence of fluff as the Master start to seem play out as a villain .
239 ) Paradise Towers ( 1987 ) – kind of a precious but downy story in which the perfect construction render to kill the masses who have the temerity to assay and live there . Just recall , Red Kangs are the best Kangs .
240 ) In The Forest of the Night ( 2014 ) – A sorting of companion objet d’art to “ Kill the Moon , ” where once again manhood has to make a choice for its own survival . Unlike “ Kill the Moon , ” this one lacks anything to recommend it , and is just a dull , confusing pile of gimcrackery .
241 ) The Smugglers ( 1966 ) – Like “ The Savages , ” this is one I have n’t really picture / listen much of , because all copy were efface . The novelization construct it seem like a irksome old - timey pirate epic .
242 ) The Dominators ( 1968 ) – so deplorable . foreigner with massive shoulder - pads boss everybody around , but their robots are always be given out of battery life . The peace - loving aboriginal are cherubic , but this tarradiddle never really gets going .
243 ) The Monster of Peladon ( 1974 ) – The political metaphor about striking mineworker was highly topical in 1974 , but this narration drag vastly and feels like a ill-conceived sequel to “ Curse of Peladon . ” Sarah Jane Smith teaching a young queen about empowerment does have its moments , though .
244 ) The Faceless Ones – Aliens supercede masses with doppelgangers on board an plane , which is n’t enough of a patch to prolong six installment . Ben and Polly wander out of the tale midway through , and you wish you could too .
245 ) Time Flight ( 1982 ) – The Master traps a Concorde special K on prehistorical Earth , as part of a plan so complex that even he seems not to understand it . The worst of the scenery - manducate Anthony Ainley Master tale .
246 ) Delta and the Bannerman ( 1987 ) – the Welsh doo - greaseball one , where a greaser eats royal jelly to become a female monarch bee ’s married man . If you take it on its own term , it ’s fundamentally fine — but not anything you ’d require to look out over and over .
247 ) The Gunfighters ( 1966 ) – As with “ Delta , ” fans have try on to rehabilitate this comedy Western melodious , but it really is both campy and dull , and when it aired , it had the lowest audience appreciation in the show ’s history .
248 ) The Horns of Nimon ( 1979 ) – another kludgey Greek mythology medley , and one of the most over - the - top stories in the show ’s history . There are some fun ideas here , including the Nimon life-time cycle , but they ’re buried under fatuity .
249 ) The Space Pirates ( 1969 ) – How can a show call “ Space Pirates ” be so deadening ? There should be rum and swashbuckling and parrot and walking the plank . Instead , there ’s avuncular ore prospectors and fussy quad pig , and utterly dull betrayals .
250 ) The Sensorites ( 1964 ) – This chronicle about telepathic aliens and crazy humans is where the strain of crank up out 44 instalment a year starts to show . The Sensorites are among the worst aliens ever boast on Who .
251 ) Time and the Rani ( 1987 ) – the bad regeneration account , and overall , kind of an embarrassment . The plot of land revolve around a giant space brain , Albert Einstein , and pinkish branch - heater .
252 ) Fear Her ( 2006 ) – A picayune girl whose squiggles descend to life release out to be bind to an outlander that misses its swarm , just as the girl lose her stagnant sire — but luckily , the Olympics happen .
253 ) The Ultimate Foe ( 1986 ) – The mega - story“Trial of a Time Lord ” crash to an ignominious end , as the Doctor ’s prosecuting attorney turn out to be an alternative future Doctor . ( ? ! ) The final installment of “ Trial ” is one of the most baffling thing we ’ve ever seen .
254 ) Timelash ( 1985 ) – Yes , this really is the worst story of all time . Just awful . Avon from Blake ’s 7 is Richard III , and the Loch Ness Monster ( again ! ) is an vicious dictator who need to espouse Peri . Oh , and H.G. Wells is a tooshie .
Thanks to Meredith for the pictures , and to Alasdair for the feedback .
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