Doctor Who’s 60 best episodes of all time, ranked

As the adored sci-fi franchise turns 60, Michael Hogan looks back at the greatest episodes from the past seven decades, from the first ever story, ‘An Unearthly Child’, to favourites such as ‘Blink’ and ‘Frontier in Space’

Time Lords Jodie Whittaker, David Tennant, Jon Pertwee, Christopher Eccleston and Patrick Troughton (BBC)

Come out from behind the sofa and have a slice of timey-wimey, wibbly-wobbly birthday cake.

It probably hasn’t escaped your attention that Doctor Who celebrates its 60th anniversary today. There’s been a galaxy of special programming to mark the milestone, climaxing this Saturday with the first of three anniversary specials on BBC One.

With former showrunner Russell T Davies – creator of many all-time classic episodes during his Noughties tenure – returning to take the reins of the beloved sci-fi franchise, anticipation is higher than ever. He also persuaded David Tennant and Catherine Tate to make their eagerly awaited Tardis comeback for a trio of all-new adventures. They’ll then hand the sonic screwdriver to the next Doctor, played by Ncuti Gatwa, in time for the festive special.

We’ve marked this TV event by picking and ranking the 60 best episodes from the past six decades of adventures in time and space. Our comprehensive selection spans 13 Doctors, dozens of Tardis companions, all manner of alien threats and precisely 60 years. They’re all available to watch via BBC iPlayer’s “Whoniverse” hub, but be warned: it’s bigger on the inside than the outside.

60. Eve of the Daleks (2022)

Doctor: Jodie Whittaker

A high point of the patchy Jodie Whittaker era. It begins with a shock as the Doctor and her companions are killed by “Executioner Daleks”. If they can escape an ever-shortening time loop, they’ll survive. Smart, high-stakes sci-fi, like an intergalactic Groundhog Day.

59. Spearhead from Space (1970)

Doctor: Jon Pertwee

The Third Doctor’s first story, the first made in full colour and the first to feature recurring villains the Autons: plastic mannequins pose as toys and shop dummies before lurching into deadly life.

58. School Reunion (2006)

Doctor: David Tennant

This Tennant romp doesn’t just feature the fan-pleasing returns of classic companion Sarah Jane Smith and robo-dog K9, but it also has an excellent villain: Anthony Head as a flying alien scavenger disguised as a headmaster. You see, teachers are evil monsters after all.

Tennant is returning as the Doctor (BBC)

57. The Mind of Evil (1971)

Doctor: Jon Pertwee

One of the Master’s most dastardly schemes sees him hijack a mind-altering nerve gas as part of a plan to start World War III between China and America. Gung-ho military fun with a high body count.

56. The Web of Fear (1968)

Doctor: Patrick Troughton

Yetis on the London Underground? Count us in. When the Second Doctor’s Tardis lands in Covent Garden, the city is deserted due to a deadly fungus. The tapes of this retro Troughton classic were thought missing for decades but were miraculously rediscovered in 2013.

55. The Mind Robber (1968)

Doctor: Patrick Troughton

An early example of the show’s boundary-pushing psychedelic tendencies. Troughton’s Tardis crew are lost in the Land of Fiction alongside Rapunzel, Gulliver, Medusa and an actual unicorn. Delightfully daft.

54. The Curse of Peladon (1972)

Doctor: Jon Pertwee

As a planet agonises over whether to join the Galactic Federation, alien delegates start being assassinated. An elegantly gripping allegory for the UK entering the EEC. Yep, it’s basically about Brexit.

53. Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways (2005)

Doctor: Christopher Eccleston

Eccleston was a short-lived but superb Doctor and his emotional swansong packs a serious punch. Killer gameshows, Daleks harvest humans, Billie Piper in her pomp and a landmark regeneration – it has the lot.

Eccleston as the Doctor in 2005 (BBC)

52. Frontier in Space (1973)

Doctor: Jon Pertwee

The Daleks employ the mercenary Master to provoke a 26th-century galactic war so that they can capitalise on the chaos. Sophisticated space opera with brilliant production design, it’s one of later Doctor Peter Capaldi’s boyhood favourites.

51. Terror of the Zygons (1975)

Doctor: Tom Baker

The Loch Ness monster is textbook Doctor Who territory. This gripping yarn sees alien shapeshifters the Zygons try to take over the Earth using a giant cyborg sea monster.

50. The Lodger (2010)

Doctor: Matt Smith

A rare romcom episode. The 11th Doctor moves in with guest star James Corden to investigate a mystery in the flat upstairs – and inadvertently matchmakes his new landlord with his best friend, played by Daisy Haggard.

49. The War Games (1969)

Doctor: Patrick Troughton

Troughton’s subversive swansong uncovers an alien plot to kidnap human soldiers from throughout history, making them fight each other and creating a galaxy-conquering “super-army” from the victors.

48. The Seeds of Doom (1976)

Doctor: Tom Baker

A gripping riff on B-movie horror. Scientists at an Antarctic base awake a frozen parasitic pod, which then turns them murderous. Baker battles plant monsters and a crazed millionaire botanist.

47. A Good Man Goes to War (2011)

Doctor: Matt Smith

"Demons run when a good man goes to war…” The episode that solves the riddle of River Song’s true identity is poetic and positively packed with monsters.

46. Horror of Fang Rock (1977)

Doctor: Tom Baker

The Fourth Doctor and companion Leela investigates the murder of a lighthouse keeper on a mist-shrouded island. A traumatisingly tense, highly atmospheric Edwardian horror unfolds.

Baker was the Doctor from 1974 to 1981 (BBC)

45. Dalek (2005)

Doctor: Christopher Eccleston

Eccleston’s Doctor believes he’s the sole survivor of the apocalyptic Time War – until he and Rose chance across the last Dalek in the universe, hidden in a collection of alien artifacts. A grown-up thriller, all set in an underground bunker.

44. Stones of Blood (1978)

Doctor: Tom Baker

An ancient stone circle in rural England turns out to be prison cells for alien criminals. Well, until druid sacrifices splash them with blood and they begin to awaken. Folk horror meets futurism.

43. Image of the Fendahl (1977)

Doctor: Tom Baker

An out-and-out horror story that gave many viewers bad dreams. When scientists perform tests on an ancient skull found buried in Kenya, it seems to wake from its dormant state, sparking all manner of supernatural scariness.

42. Carnival of Monsters (1973)

Doctor: Jon Pertwee

Pertwee’s Doctor is shrunk inside a “miniscope” machine and put on display alongside other aliens by a travelling showman. Ingenious and suspenseful, it can be read as a satire on reality TV.

41. Rosa (2018)

Doctor: Jodie Whittaker

Rise up! Written by Malorie Blackman, the best historical episode of Whittaker’s tenure takes her to Alabama circa 1955, where a time-travelling criminal tries to stop the civil rights movement. Boiling Point’s Vinette Robinson is quietly superb as Rosa Parks.

Whittaker as the first female Doctor (BBC)

40. The Time Warrior (1973)

Doctor: Jon Pertwee

The debut of the Sontarans sees a spud-headed alien soldier crash-land in medieval England. He forms an alliance with local bandits, swapping futuristic weaponry for materials to repair his ship. Cue castle sieges and ye olde capers.

39. Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead (2008)

Doctor: David Tennant

A vintage Tennant-era episode. Full of tense foreboding, it is set in a planet-sized library with something deadly lurking in the shadows. Shhh.

38. Planet of Evil (1975)

Doctor: Tom Baker

Answering a distress call from an unexplored jungle planet, the Doctor finds geologists being picked off by a murderous anti-matter monster. Clever and creepy. Think Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde meets Predator.

37. The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit (2006)

Doctor: David Tennant

Set on a ship hovering by a black hole, this cushion-clutching story sees the introduction of spaghetti-faced aliens the Ood, crew members possessed by “the Beast” and the revelation that the villain is the Devil itself.

36. The Ark in Space (1975)

Doctor: Tom Baker

A favourite of Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat. In the far future, insectoid lifeforms the Wirrn lay eggs inside humans, taking over their bodies and absorbing their knowledge. Adult horror, like a proto-Alien.

35. The Doctor’s Wife (2011)

Doctor: Matt Smith

The Doctor has long called the Tardis “old girl”. Writer Neil Gaiman took this idea and ran with it, as the ship’s soul is magically transferred into the body of Suranne Jones. It’s electrifying when Smith’s Doctor speaks to his trusty craft for the first time.

Smith was the Doctor from 2010 to 2013 (BBC)

34. Inferno (1970)

Doctor: Jon Pertwee

A cautionary alt-history tale inspired by a real-life drilling project. When the Earth’s crust unleashes toxic green slime, Pertwee’s Third Doctor is transported to a parallel Britain ruled by a fascist regime.

33. The Robots of Death (1977)

Doctor: Tom Baker

Agatha Christie meets Isaac Asimov in this stylish nerve-jangler. The crew of a sand-mining spaceship are being slaughtered by the blank-faced robots who do their menial work. Art deco design with dystopian chills.

32. The Eleventh Hour (2010)

Doctor: Matt Smith

Fish fingers and custard? Smith makes a wittily eccentric debut as the 11th Doctor. So does Karen Gillan as companion Amy Pond. A giddy ride with a fairytale feel, a giant eyeball, and cameos from Patrick Moore and Olivia Colman.

31. Turn Left (2008)

Doctor: David Tennant

What if a seemingly minor decision alters the trajectory of the entire universe? That’s what happens when Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) is tricked into creating a world without the Doctor. Characters die, Earth becomes a military dystopia and the stars go out. A sci-fi Sliding Doors.

30. World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls (2017)

Doctor: Peter Capaldi

Capaldi was always destined to play the Doctor. His last story is a fitting farewell. An origin story for the Cybermen sees companion Bill Potts (Pearl Mackie) tragically converted into one, the Master meets his Missy incarnation and the First Doctor appears for a bonus cameo. Haunting, epic, emotional.

29. The Aztecs (1964)

Doctor: William Hartnell

One of the first Who stories to tackle the morality of time travel and altering history. When William Hartnell’s Tardis team lands in 15th-century Mexico, a classy period drama unfolds. But should they stop the Aztecs from making human sacrifices or would that be interfering?

28. The Power of The Doctor (2022)

Doctor: Jodie Whittaker

Whittaker saves her best for last. An unexpectedly emotional thrill ride sees five previous Doctors and a host of former companions help her fight the unholy alliance of the Master, Cybermen and Daleks. There is still time for a disco-dancing Rasputin and a regeneration twist.

27. The Green Death (1973)

Doctor: Jon Pertwee

An ahead-of-its-time eco-horror memorable for three things: giant maggots, Pertwee’s Doctor disguised as a milkman and the heartbreaking exit of popular companion Katy, leaving the Time Lord bereft.

Pertwee as the Doctor and Troughton as the Doctor’s ‘other self’ (BBC)

26. Rose (2005)

Doctor: Christopher Eccleston

The reboot episode whisks the show into the 21st century and establishes Nu-Who. Shop worker Billie Piper is rescued from murderous Auton mannequins by Eccleston. When she asks why this time-travelling alien has a northern accent, he brilliantly replies: “Lots of planets have a north.”

25. The Brain of Morbius (1976)

Doctor: Tom Baker

A Frankenstein-flavoured gothic horror with a surgeon harvesting corpses to construct a new body for a Time Lord war criminal’s mind. Campaigner Mary Whitehouse slammed it as “some of the sickest, most horrific material ever seen on children’s television”. Recommendation indeed.

24. The Stolen Earth/Journey’s End (2008)

Doctor: David Tennant

This epic crossover story sees Tennant’s Doctor recruit characters from Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures to defeat the Daleks. Full of spectacular action, it ends with a poignant farewell to companion Donna (Catherine Tate). She returns this week after 15 years.

23. The Curse of Fenric (1989)

Doctor: Sylvester McCoy

A rare entry on our list from the era of McCoy’s Seventh Doctor. This sophisticated story combines aquatic vampires, Norse gods and Second World War code-breaking into a terrific treatise on the futility of war. Guest star Nicholas Parsons excels as a vicar who has lost his faith.

22. The Day of the Doctor (2013)

Doctors: Numerous

The 50th anniversary special was a blockbusting homage to Who history. David Tennant teams up with Matt Smith. Billie Piper returns and so do the Zygons. Joanna Page plays Queen Elizabeth I. John Hurt appears as secret incarnation The War Doctor, Tom Baker pops up for a cameo and Peter Capaldi’s “attack eyebrows” make their debut. Phew.

21. Earthshock (1982)

Doctor: Peter Davison

After seven years off our screens, the Cybermen make a surprise return in this standout Peter Davison story. The metallic monsters plan to wipe out Earth with a bomb aboard a deep space freighter. Cue dinosaurs, props scavenged from the set of Alien and the most shocking ending in Who history.

Peter Davison played the Time Lord from 1981 to 1984 (BBC)

20. Midnight (2008)

Doctor: David Tennant

“He will knock four times.” A claustrophobic frightener finds Tennant’s Doctor trapped aboard a tourist shuttle with an unseen monster outside. The locked room riddle turns truly scary when passenger Lesley Sharp is possessed and begins copying everyone’s words.

19. The Invasion (1968)

Doctor: Patrick Troughton

One of the best Cybermen stories. A megalomaniac electronics tycoon allies with the silvery soldiers to take control of Earth. All action, atmospheric and notable for marking the debut of Unit, the alien-fighting military taskforce.

18. Army of Ghosts/Doomsday (2006)

Doctor: David Tennant

Arguably the most heartbreaking episode in Who history begins with “ghosts” appearing across Earth. After a Cybermen vs Daleks war, the Doctor and beloved companion Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) tragically wind up trapped in separate universes. Don’t, you’ll set me off again.

17. City of Death (1979)

Doctor: Tom Baker

Co-written by the great Douglas Adams, this audacious Paris adventure takes in an art heist across time, multiple Mona Lisas, Leonardo da Vinci himself and a scenery-chewing alien villain. The tongue-in-cheek tone is irresistible.

16. Remembrance of the Daleks (1988)

Doctor: Sylvester McCoy

Novelist Ben Aaronovitch penned this fan-pleaser, packed with thrills, spills and in-jokes. McCoy’s Doctor lures the Daleks to Earth for his own manipulative purposes. It satirises racism, introduces the “Special Weapons Dalek” and restores the flagging franchise’s magical mystery.

Sylvester McCoy was the Doctor from 1987 to 1989 (BBC)

15. Heaven Sent (2015)

Doctor: Peter Capaldi

Basically a one-man play, magnetically performed by Capaldi. The 12th Doctor is trapped in an endless, empty castle, pursued by a cloaked monster. The true nature of his imprisonment is gradually revealed. A beautifully crafted puzzle box of an episode.

14. Vincent and the Doctor (2010)

Doctor: Matt Smith

Written by Richard Curtis, this deeply moving historical episode sees Smith’s Doctor help struggling artist Vincent van Gogh track down an invisible monster that only he can see. A nuanced metaphor for mental health. The gut-wrenching gallery ending is gorgeous.

13. The Deadly Assassin (1976)

Doctor: Tom Baker

Inspired by The Manchurian Candidate, this conspiracy thriller takes the Fourth Doctor back to Gallifrey, where he is framed for murdering the president. A dark web of Time Lord intrigue is spun and, with its “mind matrix”, it is way ahead of the Wachowski siblings’ sci-fi franchise.

12. The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances (2005)

Doctor: Christopher Eccleston

“Are you my mummy?” It is deeply creepy when the Doctor lands in Blitz-era London, pursued by a ghostly boy in a gas mask. Companion Captain Jack Harkness swaggers onto the scene. Richard Wilson guest-stars. We even get a happy ending: ”Just this once, everybody lives!"

11. The Sea Devils (1972)

Doctor: Jon Pertwee

The Tardis might be stuck on Earth but it doesn’t matter in this cinematic sea-faring adventure. Pertwee’s Doctor rides speedboats, hovercrafts and submarines as he battles marine monsters and old foe The Master. Almost Bond-esque.

10. Listen (2014)

Doctor: Peter Capaldi

What if, like in your youthful nightmares, there really is something hiding under your bed? This spine-tingling Capaldi episode spins that simple idea into a moving meditation on childhood, memory and the nature of fear. Superb psychological horror from one of Steven Moffat’s finest scripts.

9. The Dæmons (1971)

Doctor: Jon Pertwee

Doctor Who has always done folk-horror well. This Pertwee yarn is among the best examples. Wicker Man-style pagan activity in a village called Devil’s End leads to the Master summoning an ancient horned alien to do his bidding. Entertainingly scary, especially the killer gargoyle.

8. Human Nature/The Family of Blood (2007)

Doctor: David Tennant

Exciting and poignant in equal measure, this stunning tale sees Tennant’s Doctor forced to alter his biology and temporarily turn human to evade a clan of intergalactic hunters. He promptly falls in love with Jessica Hynes’s Joan Redfern, while scarecrows come to life and war looms.

7. The Pyramids of Mars (1975)

Doctor: Tom Baker

This gothic horror sees Baker’s Doctor and companion Sarah Jane up against one of the show’s all-time most terrifying villains: Ancient Egyptian death-god Sutekh, with his army of robot mummies.

6. The Talons of Weng-Chiang (1977)

Doctor: Tom Baker

The Chinese stereotyping hasn’t aged well but this Sherlock Holmes-style romp is a bona fide classic. Baker’s Doctor dons a deerstalker to battle futuristic supervillains, giant sewer rats and a terrifying killer doll in Victorian London.

5. The Girl in the Fireplace (2006)

Doctor: David Tennant

A rare Whovian venture into romance, inspired by The Time Traveler’s Wife. As the Doctor rides horses and battles clockwork androids in 18th-century Versailles, he falls in love with the famed French courtesan Madame de Pompadour (Sophia Myles). Tender, thoughtful and deeply touching.

4. An Unearthly Child (1963)

Doctor: William Hartnell

The landmark episode where it all began. When two worried teachers find that troubled pupil Susan lives in an East End scrapyard with her oddball grandfather, they get kidnapped in his police box time machine and lost in the Stone Age. Incredibly bold for the time, it kickstarted one of the all-time great TV franchises.

Hartnell as the Doctor in the first series of ‘Doctor Who’ (BBC)

3. Genesis of the Daleks (1975)

Doctor: Tom Baker

This knotty origin story for the Doctor’s arch foes introduces Davros, the power-crazed scientist who created the Daleks. Was the Doctor justified in committing genocide to halt their rise to domination? Baker’s Doctor agonises, “Have I the right?” soliloquy is impressively philosophical for teatime TV. Criticised as too violent and scary, Whitehouse dubbed it “teatime brutality for tots”.

2. The Caves of Androzani (1984)

Doctor: Peter Davison

A favourite of hardcore fans, it’s been hailed as the greatest ever regeneration episode. David Bowie was offered the role of masked villain Sharaz Jek, a drug trafficker at war with the mining mogul who’d betrayed him. Violent, riveting and a helluva sign-off for the Fifth Doctor. Actor Davison said that if all the stories were going to be this good, he would’ve stayed a series or two longer.

1. Blink (2007)

Doctor: David Tennant

Don’t turn your back. Don’t look away. And, most of all, don’t blink. A Doctor-lite episode made on a tight schedule with a shoestring budget shouldn’t have worked this well. But thanks to a luminous young Carey Mulligan, Steven Moffat’s peerless script and the debut of all-time great villains, the Weeping Angels, it’s the best ever. A small but perfectly formed horror film. Deadly statues sneaking up on you tapped into a primal fear. With its poignant portrayal of ageing, it was slyly affecting, too. Blink and you’re dead. Good luck.

All episodes are available on BBC iPlayer. The 60th anniversary specials premiere on BBC One and Disney+ from Saturday 25 November