Doctor Who backdrop
Action & Adventure•Drama•Sci-Fi & Fantasy

The Best Episodes of Doctor Who

Every episode of Doctor Who ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Doctor Who!

Binge this in 5d 3h•Peaking at 9.8/10

The Doctor is a Time Lord: a 900 year old alien with 2 hearts, part of a gifted civilization who mastered time travel. The Doctor saves planets for a living—more of a hobby actually, and

Airs on
BBC One
BestEpisodes
WorstEpisodes
BestSeasons
AllEpisodes

Seasons13

All12345678910111213

Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Click to reveal
    Doctor Who Season 3 Episode 10 - Blink
    9.8/10(27512 votes)

    #1 - Blink

    S3:E10

    Only the Doctor can stop the Weeping Angels, but he's lost in time.

    Director:Hettie Macdonald
    Writer:Steven Moffat

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  2. Doctor Who Season 9 Episode 11 - Heaven Sent (1)
    9.6/10(14631 votes)

    #2 - Heaven Sent (1)

    S9:E11

    Trapped in a world unlike any other he has seen, the Doctor faces the greatest challenge of his many lives. One final test. And he must face it alone.

    Director:Rachel Talalay
    Writer:Steven Moffat

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  3. Doctor Who Season 4 Episode 9 - Forest of the Dead (2)
    9.4/10(12460 votes)

    #3 - Forest of the Dead (2)

    S4:E9

    As the shadows rise, the Doctor forges an alliance with the mysterious River Song.

    Director:Euros Lyn
    Writer:Steven Moffat

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  4. Doctor Who Season 4 Episode 8 - Silence in the Library (1)
    9.3/10(12159 votes)

    #4 - Silence in the Library (1)

    S4:E8

    The Doctor and Donna land in a frightening position in the far future. While investigating a derelict library, the duo come face to face with the disembodied mind of a little girl, an archaeological team led by a woman from the Doctor's future, and swarms of flesh-eating creatures that are seen only as shadows.

    Director:Euros Lyn
    Writer:Steven Moffat

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  5. Doctor Who Season 5 Episode 10 - Vincent and the Doctor
    9.3/10(14296 votes)

    #5 - Vincent and the Doctor

    S5:E10

    Terror lurks in the cornfields of Provence, but only a sad and lonely painter can see it. Amy Pond finds herself shoulder to shoulder with Vincent van Gogh, in a battle with a deadly alien - saving the world has never been so ginger! But can even the Doctor save Vincent?

    Director:Jonny Campbell
    Writer:Richard Curtis

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  6. Doctor Who Season 2 Episode 4 - The Girl in the Fireplace
    9.2/10(14227 votes)

    #6 - The Girl in the Fireplace

    S2:E4

    On a seemingly abandoned spaceship in the 51st century, the Tenth Doctor, Rose and Mickey find time windows leading to 18th century France and a group of clockwork androids using them to stalk a young woman throughout her life.

    Director:Euros Lyn
    Writer:Steven Moffat

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 WORST Episodes of Doctor Who

    READ
  7. Doctor Who Season 2 Episode 13 - Doomsday (2)
    9.2/10(11578 votes)

    #7 - Doomsday (2)

    S2:E13

    Humanity is caught in the crossfire as the Cybermen and the Daleks wage war against each other. When the mysterious Genesis Ark opens, the Tenth Doctor is faced with an impossible decision: saving the world could mean losing Rose Tyler forever…

    Director:Graeme Harper
    Writer:Russell T Davies

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  8. Doctor Who Season 3 Episode 9 - The Family of Blood (2)
    9.2/10(11226 votes)

    #8 - The Family of Blood (2)

    S3:E9

    It's 1913, and war comes to England early as the terrifying Family hunt for the Doctor.

    Director:Charles Palmer
    Writer:Paul Cornell

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  9. Doctor Who Season 4 Episode 13 - Journey's End (2)
    9.2/10(10808 votes)

    #9 - Journey's End (2)

    S4:E13

    The Earth has been overwhelmed and the universe faces dominion by the resurgent forces of a terrifying and limitless empire led by one of The Doctor's greatest enemies. Aiding the Time Lord in a final battle are several of his closest allies and companions, but for one of them, a price will be paid...

    Director:Graeme Harper
    Writer:Russell T Davies

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  10. Doctor Who Season 1 Episode 10 - The Doctor Dances (2)
    9.1/10(10948 votes)

    #10 - The Doctor Dances (2)

    S1:E10

    After narrowly escaping the gas mask monsters, The Doctor, Rose, and Captain Jack try to stop the mutated people from infecting other victims. But it soon becomes apparent that one of the group may indirectly responsible for the virus. The answer lies at the bomb site, but time is running out...

    Director:James Hawes
    Writer:Steven Moffat

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  11. Doctor Who Season 4 Episode 10 - Midnight
    9.1/10(11507 votes)

    #11 - Midnight

    S4:E10

    While visiting Midnight, a beautiful and luxurious planet full of lavish and high-tech cities, a terrifying problem arises that leaves The Doctor powerless.

    Director:Alice Troughton
    Writer:Russell T Davies

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  12. Doctor Who Season 4 Episode 12 - The Stolen Earth (1)
    9.1/10(9518 votes)

    #12 - The Stolen Earth (1)

    S4:E12

    The Earth has been moved, and it's a race against time as Donna and the Doctor try to find it before the Daleks destroy everything; they head for the Shadow Proclamation and the Medusa Cascade. Meanwhile on Earth a veritable bevy of ex-companions join together to contact the Doctor and take down the Daleks. Can Captain Jack, Sarah-Jane, Martha Jones and Rose find the Doctor in time...

    Director:Graeme Harper
    Writer:Russell T Davies

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  13. Doctor Who Season 5 Episode 13 - The Big Bang (2)
    9.1/10(9495 votes)

    #13 - The Big Bang (2)

    S5:E13

    The Doctor is gone, the Tardis has been destroyed, and the universe is collapsing. The only hope for all reality is a little girl who still believes in stars.

    Director:Toby Haynes
    Writer:Steven Moffat

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  14. Doctor Who Season 10 Episode 11 - World Enough and Time (1)
    9.1/10(6825 votes)

    #14 - World Enough and Time (1)

    S10:E11

    Friendship drives the Doctor into the rashest decision of his life. Trapped on a giant spaceship, caught in the event horizon of a black hole, he witnesses the death of someone he is pledged to protect. Is there any way he can redeem his mistake? Are events already out of control? For once, time is the Time Lord’s enemy.

    Director:Rachel Talalay
    Writer:Steven Moffat

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  15. Doctor Who Season 1 Episode 9 - The Empty Child (1)
    9.0/10(11791 votes)

    #15 - The Empty Child (1)

    S1:E9

    After chasing an unexplained capsule through time, the TARDIS lands in London, during an air raid. Rose investigates when a small child wearing a gasmask, standing on a rooftop, continuously calls out for his mummy. After floating above the city on a barrage balloon, Rose is swept off her feet by another time traveller – Captain Jack Harkness. Meanwhile, The Doctor follows a teenaged girl to a meeting of the homeless children of the Blitz. Here, the child in the gasmask is terrorising them with a parade of strange events, constantly asking for his mother.

    Director:James Hawes
    Writer:Steven Moffat

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  16. Doctor Who Season 1 Episode 13 - The Parting of the Ways (2)
    9.0/10(10400 votes)

    #16 - The Parting of the Ways (2)

    S1:E13

    The fate of the Universe is hanging in the balance as the Dalek fleet begin their invasion of Earth. The Doctor must decide whether to sacrifice every human being on Earth in order to save every other living creature in the universe from the Daleks. Either way, he knows he must send Rose home...

    Director:Joe Ahearne
    Writer:Russell T Davies

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  17. Doctor Who Season 5 Episode 12 - The Pandorica Opens (1)
    9.0/10(9272 votes)

    #17 - The Pandorica Opens (1)

    S5:E12

    The Doctor's friends unite to send him a terrible warning; the Pandorica - which is said to contain the most feared being in all the cosmos - is opening. But what's inside, and can the Doctor stop it?

    Director:Toby Haynes
    Writer:Steven Moffat

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  18. Doctor Who Season 6 Episode 7 - A Good Man Goes to War (1)
    9.0/10(9623 votes)

    #18 - A Good Man Goes to War (1)

    S6:E7

    Amy Pond has been kidnapped and the Doctor is raising an army to rescue her as the drama continues. But as he and Rory race across galaxies, calling in long-held debts and solemnly given promises, his enemies are laying a carefully concealed trap. In her cell in Stormcage, River Song sadly acknowledges that the time has come at last – today will mark the Battle of Demons Run and the Doctor’s darkest hour. Both sides will make their sacrifices and River Song must finally reveal her most closely guarded secret to the Doctor.

    Director:Peter Hoar
    Writer:Steven Moffat

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  19. Doctor Who Season 10 Episode 12 - The Doctor Falls (2)
    9.0/10(6821 votes)

    #19 - The Doctor Falls (2)

    S10:E12

    “Without hope, without witness, without reward.” The Mondasian Cybermen are on the rise. It’s time for the Doctor’s final battle…

    Director:Rachel Talalay
    Writer:Steven Moffat

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  20. Doctor Who Season 3 Episode 8 - Human Nature (1)
    8.9/10(10258 votes)

    #20 - Human Nature (1)

    S3:E8

    England, 1913. A schoolteacher called John Smith dreams of adventures in time and space. The Doctor, along with Martha, heads to a boarding school, but what he finds is far from ordinary...

    Director:Charles Palmer
    Writer:Paul Cornell

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  21. Doctor Who Season 4 Episode 11 - Turn Left
    8.9/10(9786 votes)

    #21 - Turn Left

    S4:E11

    Whilst attending a carnival on the Chino-planet of Shan Shen, Donna is cajoled into having her fortune read, where her past is carefully examined. With the Doctor missing, Donna must work with Rose, a traveller from a parallel universe, to prevent darkness encompassing the whole of the universe.

    Director:Graeme Harper
    Writer:Russell T Davies

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  22. Doctor Who Season 6 Episode 4 - The Doctor's Wife
    8.9/10(9898 votes)

    #22 - The Doctor's Wife

    S6:E4

    The Doctor receives a distress signal from an old friend. Could there really be another living Time Lord out there? Hopes raised, he follows the signal to a junkyard planet sitting upon a mysterious asteroid in a Bubble universe, populated by a very strange family, as the time-travelling drama continues. The Doctor, Amy and Rory are given the warmest of welcomes by Auntie, Uncle and Nephew. But the beautiful and insane Idris greets them in a more unusual fashion – what is she trying to tell the Doctor? As the Doctor investigates, he unwittingly puts his friends in the gravest danger.

    Director:Richard Clark
    Writer:Neil Gaiman

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  23. Doctor Who Season 7 Episode 5 - The Angels Take Manhattan
    8.9/10(10032 votes)

    #23 - The Angels Take Manhattan

    S7:E5

    The Doctor’s heart-breaking farewell to Amy and Rory – a race against time through the streets of Manhattan, as New York’s statues come to life around them… With Rory’s life in danger, the Doctor and Amy must locate him before it’s too late! Luckily, an old friend helps them and guides the way.

    Director:Nick Hurran
    Writer:Steven Moffat

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  24. Doctor Who Season 5 Episode 1 - The Eleventh Hour
    8.8/10(10802 votes)

    #24 - The Eleventh Hour

    S5:E1

    The Doctor has regenerated into a brand new man, but danger strikes before he can even recover. With the TARDIS wrecked, and the sonic screwdriver destroyed, the new Doctor has just 20 minutes to save the whole world - and only Amy Pond to help him.

    Director:Adam Smith
    Writer:Steven Moffat

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  25. Doctor Who Season 6 Episode 1 - The Impossible Astronaut (1)
    8.8/10(9283 votes)

    #25 - The Impossible Astronaut (1)

    S6:E1

    Placing his life entirely in their hands, the Doctor agrees to search for the recipient of the fourth envelope - just who is Canton Everett Delaware the Third? And what is the relevance of their only other clue: 'Space 1969'? Their quest lands them - quite literally - in the Oval Office, where they are enlisted by President Nixon himself to assist enigmatic former-FBI agent Canton, in saving a terrified little girl from a mysterious spaceman.

    Director:Toby Haynes
    Writer:Steven Moffat

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

Best Episodes Summary

"Blink" is the best rated episode of "Doctor Who". It scored 9.8/10 based on 27512 votes. Directed by Hettie Macdonald and written by Steven Moffat, it aired on 6/9/2007. This episode scored 0.2 points higher than the second highest rated, "Heaven Sent (1)".