Radio Times Celebrates Ten Years of nuWho while Poll Results Overlook Moffat Era

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Radio Times countdown to the tenth anniversary of nuWho continues with a staggering 280,259 voters having their say on the ten best episodes since 2005.

While it isn’t too hard to guess what came out on top (hint: it involves not blinking) and deservedly so; perhaps what is surprising is the lack of Moffat era episodes: no The Impossible Astronaut, no The Eleventh Hour, no Hide…

The only episodes from the post-2010 era to make the top ten are Vincent and the Doctor which was described as: ‘Clever, funny, strange and all with something to say, Vincent and the Doctor is everything that makes Doctor Who a show like none other,’ coming second and the 50th Anniversary special The Day of the Doctor which was praised for giving the show a new lease of life, in fourth place.

What’s more, all of the Moffat penned episodes for the Russell T Davies era have made the list. So as averages goes that’s pretty impressive, maybe more impressive than anything Moffat has done since?

The ‘winner’ if such things can be claimed, was described as ‘…beautifully written, performed, directed and scored – like everything else in Blink. Every line, every moment, every shot has purpose. No wonder Blink bagged a Best Writer Bafta for Steven Moffat and remains, eight years on, a stone-cold classic and the fans’ favourite.’

The full top 10:

10) The End of Time [5.37% of the overall vote]

9) Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead [6.09%]

8) Bad Wolf/Parting of the Ways [7.01%]

7) The Girl in the Fireplace [8.51%]

6) Army of Ghosts/Doomsday [8.61%]

5) The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances [9.99%]

4) The Day of the Doctor [13.28%]

3) The Stolen Earth/ Journey’s End [13.3%]

2) Vincent and the Doctor [13.7%]

1) Blink [14.3%]

Elsewhere, the site has several fascinating articles from 2005 and beyond, including this vintage interview from the Doctor Who-shy Christopher Eccleston which, depending on your view of Eccleston’s absence from the 50th anniversary, will either confirm or disprove your prejudices – like a Northern Rorschach test.

Choice quotes include his thoughts on taking on the role: “People are always telling me I’m too gloomy and can’t do comedy–so taking a part in Doctor Who is a gamble, and I find that exciting. It could sink my career, or take it to another level,” and his hopes for the show and its role in firing the imaginations of child: “What I really hope, though, is that Doctor Who will be watched by children and adults together. I remember when I was little, there was something uniquely revealing about watching TV with my mum, dad and two brothers. I was astonished at the way two working-class lads like my brothers just loved the surrealism in Monty Python. And with Boys from the Blackstuff, I saw out of the corner of my eye that my dad could hardly watch it because it was so painful for him. If we can get that sort of thing going on, that would be the ideal result for me.”

Stirring and passionate stuff, the whole interview, online for the first time since its publication in 2005, is well worth a read.

From one actor taking a leap into the unknown, to another literally singing and dancing his way into his childhood dream, John Barrowman, speaking in a 2005 edition of the Radio Times, shared his excitement at landing the role of pan-sexual Time Agent Captain Jack Harkness.

It’s fascinating now to look back at the embryonic Jack – free of the curse of immortality, with all of time and space to hit on, it seems like a million miles away from Children of Earth or even, shudder, Miracle Day.

A bona fide fan boy, Barrowman found out he’d landed the part after making a name for himself in such musicals as The Phantom of the Opera, Evita, Aspects of Love, Beauty and the Beast and, of course, that stint co-hosting Live and Kicking, while walking through Covent Garden: “I literally screamed and jumped around because I was so excited. After that, I had to keep pinching myself,” he said.

Not one to be upstaged by ‘Mr Musical Theatre’ even Christopher Eccleston tried getting in on the act: “He tries!” said Barrowman, “I’m sure Chris [Eccleston] was feeling intimidated because I was standing right there, Mr Musical Theatre! I could throw in a couple of tap steps and wing around there in five seconds! It was a difficult thing he did and he pulled it off.”

And finally, as Nine gave way to Ten, the Radio Times were once again there to preside key moments in the Doctors history as David Tennant donned his PJ’s in their exclusive behind the scenes look at The Christmas Invasion from 2005.

Given the closely guarded nature of the Doctor’s new personality; there’s scant information shared by the man himself – but as a blast from the past, it’s refreshing to catch up with the likes of Mickey, Rose and Jackie at this key juncture for the show – and judging by the lack of concern over the new Doctor, you may come away thinking this Tennant fellow might just catch on.

Taking stock of the bonkers world he’s about to give himself over to, Tennant said of his newest foes, namely deadly Santas and spinning Christmas trees: “They’re from another place. There’s always something disturbing about the very familiar when it goes off-centre. Like clowns – they can be very scary…That’s what’s great about the show – it brings the universe to a very domestic level.”

It’s that very domesticity that’s been missing from the show for a while but what never changes is the madness at the heart of everything: “Filming [for the new series] lasts 38 weeks. It’s relentless, certainly, but it’s not like a real job. Daily, it’s incredibly exciting because it’s so mind-expanding and bonkers!”

If only he knew what was to come!

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