NuWho 10th Anniversary: What Is Your Favourite Series 1 Story? [POLL]

Philip Bates is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

This year, Doctor Who has been back on our screen ten whole years. It feels like yesterday that the TARDIS materialised once more; suitably, it also feels like forever.

So join us as we celebrate a decade with the Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Doctors. Let’s find out which serials are our favourites, and shine a light on the underrated ones too. Watch us run.

And then vote on your favourites. At the end of the year, we’ll find out which serials showcase our beloved show at the height of its game.

First, we take you all the way back to 2005. Series 1. A leather-jacket-wearing alien instructs us: “Run.” Plastic comes alive. There’s a face in a jar. A lone Dalek screams. Time is changed. And there’s a blue box that can go anywhere in space. And did I mention it also travels in time…?

Jonathan Appleton: Father’s Day

The episode that confirmed for me that, though many things remained unchanged, the new series really would be a very different beast from the old, what with those emotional blows to the gut we were delivered in Paul Cornell’s script. Viewed at this distance the plot seems endearingly simple now: Rose wants to see her Dad just one time and be there when he meets his early death, only it all goes wrong… Sure, it’s not perfect. The Doctor is surely naive to think she could just stand and watch. Some parts (such as the empty TARDIS) don’t make much sense. And the Reapers are a bit disappointing. But as a piece of simple (in the best sense) storytelling that was both sad and joyous it was a real highlight of Series 1 for me.

Barry Rice: The Empty Child/ The Doctor Dances

I know I’m in the minority here, but I’ve always found the first series of Doctor Who to be very disappointing. So much so that I didn’t even finish it at the time and waited several years before going back to play catch-up.

There are a few gems hidden in that first series, though, and the brightest of them all is the two-parter, The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances. As an adult, I never experienced any of those “hide behind the sofa” moments from the classic series; but even as an grown man, these two episodes are deeply unsettling. The image of that small boy with his permanent gas mask and creepy “Are you my mummy?” chant have become iconic. The Doctor himself jokingly repeats the line in The Poison Sky and again in Mummy on the Orient Express.

The episode also features the first appearance of future Torchwood star Captain Jack Harkness, one of my favorite characters in all of Who-dom. In another sign of things to come, both episodes were written by future showrunner Steven Moffat, and are indicative of the darker, more macabre flavor he would bring to the show.

Drew Boynton: Father’s Day

Back in 2005, I watched and re-watched the first three episodes (nearly wearing out a DVD that a friend made for me), marvelling at how good they were.  Then a bit later, I got my friends and family hooked on watching Doctor Who again by showing them the brilliance of The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances.  For me, though, there’s one episode that finally stands above the rest: Father’s Day.  Paul Cornell’s script is not only full of heart and emotion, but it sets up some rules of time travel (“Don’t touch the baby!”) that I wish Steven Moffat would’ve followed more closely in his time as showrunner.

Father’s Day is a great episode with terrific (and heartbreaking!) performances that makes me tear up almost every time I watch it.  And it also makes me sad that Cornell somehow didn’t turn into a contributor for every series…

Becky Crockett: Rose

It’s the one that restarted it all! I like the strangeness of it – where else will you see a dummy arm attacking someone and a person turning into living plastic make perfect sense?

While I don’t love that Rose so easily dumps Mickey, in just that first episode you really do get to know the Doctor, Rose, Mickey and even Jackie quite well in one short hour and want to see more.

Philip Bates: The Empty Child/ The Doctor Dances

Series 1 will forever remain close to my heart: it introduced me to the Doctor. I love the Autons; I love the Slitheen; I love the Daleks; I love the Ninth Doctor. And I particularly love The Empty Child/ The Doctor Dances.

This two-parter is a perfect example of everything. It’s scary, and clever, and beautiful. It’s adult and childish. It’s Doctor Who through and through. It’s no surprise that it comes from the pen of my writing inspiration and current showrunner, Steven Moffat, but let’s not forget the direction. James Hawes delivers memorable, understated images on fantastically dressed sets. The balance of light and dark evokes the haunting yet fun script.

The character interaction is exquisite too, as Moffat is given the task of introducing Captain Jack – a character brimming with energy and intrigue. Some of the layers were sadly forgotten in subsequent appearances in both Who and Torchwood, but here he is, acting as a Turlough-esque anti-hero long before the audience knew he’d be joining the TARDIS.

It’s tough to point out specifically what makes a Doctor great, so here’s what makes Christopher Eccleston’s Time Lord so fantastic: he’s the Doctor. Top that off with a moonlight serenade with a smart blonde in a union jack top and we have a winner.

Nick Kitchen: The End of the World

Hands down, my favourite episode from Series 1 has to be The End of the World. I have a feeling I may be in the minority here, but this encapsulates all that Doctor Who is/was prior to the Time War retcon in The Day of the Doctor. This episode, more than the preceding Rose or any of the other serials, set the tone for what we could expect from modern Doctor Who and gave us the Last of the Time Lords motif that defined NuWho all the way through the anniversary year.

While it’s been argued that Doctor Who works better when it’s not tied to an arc or something guiding the Doctor, I would contend that the narrative works better when the Doctor has a motivation (guilt from double genocide, curiosity – i.e. most of the Matt Smith era – etc.).

The episode also gave us our first taste of what NuWho would do with a new companion’s first off-Earth adventure and it didn’t disappoint. Rose (and the audience, which I’m sure had many that were new to Doctor Who) learned more about the Doctor as well as experienced the danger and excitement involved with running off with a Mad Man with a Box. While Series 1 had some excellent stories and moments, this is the one I’d identify as the best of the initial run.

Joe Siegler: The Empty Child/ The Doctor Dances

My favorite for Series 1 is the two parter, The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances. Why? Just watch it.

Oh, you want more detail? Well, it mixes what I liked best about Doctor Who all in one place. That would be horror, comedy, adventure, and some “Doctor observes the humans” remarks (“Mauve”), and you have a winner.  Not to mention the comedy of the piece – some of it cheeky. Couple it with what would be regarded as a “Happy Ending” (no not THAT way) – I’m talking about “Everyone Lives!”, and you have a clear front runner for best story of the series.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about the introduction of Capt Jack Harkness, a character I’d love to see return.  And yes, Moffat – I want to see him come back for the hell of it – proper character servicing be damned.  I want him to come back again!

Are you my Mummy?

In many ways Aliens of London/World War III are the yang to the ying that is Empty Child/Doctor Dances.

Andrew Reynolds: The Unquiet Dead

The first and probably best of the celebrity historical episodes, The Unquiet Dead is neither overtly reverential or simplistic when it comes to dealing with the complexities of Charles Dickens as he nears the end of his life.

It says something about the early confidence of show that the episode chooses to expand its storytelling horizons with nothing more complicated than a dispute with a theatrical agent – it’s impossible to imagine the show as it is today using this as little more than colour to its main plot – here Dickens’ life, such as it is at that point, is vital to the story. It helps that you have Simon Callow in the role, an actor who had at least a decade’s worth of experience playing the great man – and he’s the perfect straight man for both Eccleston’s fanboy exuberance and his strictly business seriousness.

Some of the best moments are when the Ninth Doctor cannot hide his frustration at Dickens’ amateur sleuthing; giving us a clear indication that what could have been a rudimentary ‘sceptical support player discovers true nature of universe’ plot will be driven by character, not convention.

It’s here that we first get a sense of this new Doctor’s morality. There is no sugar coating it; if, like Dickens, you attempt to contextualise the events unfolding before your eyes, you will be shot down – the Doctor, in his current frame of mind, has no room for anyone’s interpretations of, in this instance, the nature of ghosts.

It speaks volumes that the Doctor never replies to Dickens’ worry that his life has been indirectly devoted to ignorance – in the Doctor’s mind, it’s not about holding your hand; it’s about saving as many lives as possible – a beautifully clever way of saying that this new show will not indulge you with its cleverness.

Alasdair Shaw: Bad Wolf/ The Parting of the Ways

It was close. I’m a Moffat fan, so The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances very nearly got my vote. Instead I went for The Parting of the Ways. Mainly because I’m a regeneration man. Although there were other reasons.

The Doctor deciding not to wipe out the Dalek fleet for one, showing that he’d moved on from McCoy: “Coward. Anyday.”

The very first death of Captain Jack and a kiss that proved to be significantly less controversial than one in 1996: “I wish I never met you, Doctor. I was much better off as a coward.”

The Daleks actually being a viable threat. Christopher Eccleston’s fear was contagious to the point where even behind the couch wasn’t a safe haven.

But like I said, it’s the regeneration that cements the top spot as far as I’m concerned. In a mere handful of moments the Ninth Doctor conveys the fear, wonder, and uncertainty that comes with regeneration. Tennant did a fantastic (sorry) job with The End of Time, but what he took two episodes to achieve Eccleston did it in a single scene.

“You were fantastic. And you know what? So was I!”

Those are a few of our favourites from Series 1. Now it’s your turn! Vote below for your favourite, and we’ll find out the overall winner later this year…

Take Our Poll

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