The Best Episodes of Doctor Who Season 1

#1 Fan Favorite
8.1/10(2538 votes)
#1 - An Unearthly Child
S1:E111/23/1963
After discussing a strange pupil, Susan Foreman, teachers Ian and Barbara follow her to a junkyard. They meet her grandfather, the Doctor, and force their way inside a police box with frightening results.
Director:Waris Hussein
Writer:Anthony Coburn
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Director:Waris Hussein
Writer:Anthony Coburn
7.6/10(1761 votes)
#2 - The Dead Planet
S1:E512/21/1963
Time Unknown, Planet Unknown. The TARDIS lands in an eerie petrified forest overlooking a magnificent steel city. The Doctor wants to explore the city – but what's waiting there?
Director:Christopher Barry
Writer:Terry Nation
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Director:Christopher Barry
Writer:Terry Nation
7.6/10(1552 votes)
#3 - The Survivors
S1:E612/28/1963
The dead planet is not uninhabited after all. The Doctor is about to meet what will become his greatest enemies... And he and his crew are dying of radiation sickness.
Director:Christopher Barry
Writer:Terry Nation
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Director:Christopher Barry
Writer:Terry Nation
7.6/10(1494 votes)
#4 - The Escape
S1:E71/4/1964
Imprisoned on Skaro by the scheming Daleks, the Doctor and his companions work to escape their clutches.
Director:Christopher Barry
Writer:Terry Nation
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Director:Christopher Barry
Writer:Terry Nation
7.5/10(1447 votes)
#5 - The Ambush
S1:E81/11/1964
The time travellers work desperately to both escape the Dalek city and prevent a bloody massacre.
Director:Christopher Barry
Writer:Terry Nation
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Director:Christopher Barry
Writer:Terry Nation
7.5/10(1376 votes)
#6 - The Rescue
S1:E112/1/1964
Time is running out as the Doctor and his companions try to defeat the Daleks before they wipe out all life on Skaro.
Director:Christopher Barry
Writer:Terry Nation
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Director:Christopher Barry
Writer:Terry Nation

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7.5/10(1026 votes)
#7 - The Day of Darkness
S1:E306/13/1964
Tlotoxl's machinations result in both Susan and Ian being arrested. With the TARDIS once again trapped inside the tomb, the travellers' only hope for escape lies with Autloc and Cameca.
Director:John Crockett
Writer:John Lucarotti
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Director:John Crockett
Writer:John Lucarotti
7.4/10(1036 votes)
#8 - The Bride of Sacrifice
S1:E296/6/1964
While the Doctor tries to find a way back to the TARDIS, Tlotoxl continues to plot Barbara's downfall and sees an opening when Susan questions Aztec custom.
Director:John Crockett
Writer:John Lucarotti
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Director:John Crockett
Writer:John Lucarotti
7.3/10(1177 votes)
#9 - The Temple of Evil
S1:E275/23/1964
The TARDIS arrives on Earth landing in 16th century Aztec society. Barbara goes off exploring - despite the Doctor's orders not to wander off - and is taken away by the high priest Autloc who believes she is the reincarnation of the goddess Yetaxa. They believe it is a sign that the rains - which are late - will now come. The high priest of sacrifice Tlotoxl recruits Ian to lead their army but he finds he has a rival in Ixta. Ian is less than comfortable with his role when he learns that they are to deliver the human sacrifice to the high priest at the rain ceremony. The Doctor emphasizes that they must not interfere with Aztec rituals, something that does not sit well with Barbara.
Director:John Crockett
Writer:John Lucarotti
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Director:John Crockett
Writer:John Lucarotti
7.3/10(1051 votes)
#10 - The Warriors of Death
S1:E285/30/1964
Barbara tries to change the course of history - and Ian fights for his life.
Director:John Crockett
Writer:John Lucarotti
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Director:John Crockett
Writer:John Lucarotti
7.2/10(1405 votes)
#11 - The Expedition
S1:E91/18/1964
The time travellers have escaped from the Daleks, but left a vital piece of the TARDIS behind. Getting it back will mean pushing the Thals to mount a dangerous operation.
Director:Christopher Barry
Writer:Terry Nation
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Director:Christopher Barry
Writer:Terry Nation
7.2/10(677 votes)
#12 - The Roof of the World
S1:E142/22/1964
The TARDIS experiences a total power failure and is stranded in the Himalayas in the 13th century. The travellers are forced to join the caravan of the famous explorer, Marco Polo, in order to survive -- but Polo, fascinated by their claims that the TARDIS can fly through the air, seizes it on behalf of Kublai Khan in the hope that presenting the Khan with such a fabulous gift will convince him to let Polo return home to Venice. The travellers are forced to accompany Polo on his long trek across Asia to the Khan's court, but their many attempts to reclaim their property are foiled -- not just by Polo, but by the war lord Tegana, who is apparently on a mission of peace but has entirely different plans for dealing with Kublai Khan...
Director:Waris Hussein
Writer:John Lucarotti
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Director:Waris Hussein
Writer:John Lucarotti
7.2/10(972 votes)
#13 - The Velvet Web
S1:E224/18/1964
The Doctor and his friends arrive in the apparently idyllic city of Morphoton but Barbara soon begins to realise there is more to their hosts than meets the eye.
Director:John Gorrie
Writer:Terry Nation
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Director:John Gorrie
Writer:Terry Nation
7.1/10(592 votes)
#14 - Assassin at Peking
S1:E204/4/1964
Tegana finally makes his move to assassinate the Khan, giving the Doctor and his friends an opportunity to thwart his plans and regain the TARDIS.
Director:Waris Hussein
Writer:John Lucarotti
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Director:Waris Hussein
Writer:John Lucarotti
7.1/10(1022 votes)
#15 - The Sea of Death
S1:E214/11/1964
The alien world of Marinus. Perfect peace has reigned here for decades due to the mind-controlling influence of a machine known as the Conscience. But now a race known as the Voord have developed an immunity and Arbitan, keeper of the machine, has been forced to scatter the vital control keys around the planet. Now he needs the help of the time travellers to get them back - it will be an extraordinary journey, with perils every step of the way...
Director:John Gorrie
Writer:Terry Nation
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Director:John Gorrie
Writer:Terry Nation
7.1/10(924 votes)
#16 - Sentence of Death
S1:E255/9/1964
The group are reunited with the Doctor in the city of Millennius where Ian faces trial for murder after the fourth key is stolen.
Director:John Gorrie
Writer:Terry Nation
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Director:John Gorrie
Writer:Terry Nation
7.1/10(960 votes)
#17 - The Keys of Marinus
S1:E265/16/1964
The Doctor and his friends must locate the real murderers and the fourth key before heading off for a final confrontation with the Voord
Director:John Gorrie
Writer:Terry Nation
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Director:John Gorrie
Writer:Terry Nation
7.0/10(1363 votes)
#18 - The Ordeal
S1:E101/25/1964
Ian, Barbara and the Thals struggle through the caves to reach the Dalek city. Will they get there in time? Is there even a way through the treacherous caves? And what are the Daleks planning?
Director:Christopher Barry
Writer:Terry Nation
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Director:Christopher Barry
Writer:Terry Nation
7.0/10(619 votes)
#19 - The Singing Sands
S1:E152/29/1964
Tegana sabotages the party's water bags, leaving them in dire need of fresh supplies.
Director:Waris Hussein
Writer:John Lucarotti
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Director:Waris Hussein
Writer:John Lucarotti
6.9/10(1248 votes)
#20 - The Brink of Disaster
S1:E132/15/1964
The TARDIS is adrift, the crew turning on each other. Only by working together can they find their way out before they are destroyed.
Director:Frank Cox
Writer:David Whitaker
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Director:Frank Cox
Writer:David Whitaker
6.9/10(596 votes)
#21 - The Wall of Lies
S1:E173/14/1964
The Doctor's group manage to rescue Barbara from the Mongols but once more Marco remains unaware of Tegana's involvement.
Director:John Crockett
Writer:John Lucarotti
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Director:John Crockett
Writer:John Lucarotti
6.9/10(585 votes)
#22 - Mighty Kublai Khan
S1:E193/28/1964
The Doctor, Ian and Barbara are forced to surrender to Tegana and Marco, leaving both of them the opportunity to gain possession of the TARDIS.
Director:Waris Hussein
Writer:John Lucarotti
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Director:Waris Hussein
Writer:John Lucarotti
6.9/10(956 votes)
#23 - The Screaming Jungle
S1:E234/25/1964
The search for the second key takes the travellers to a jungle where Ian and Barbara come under threat from rapidly growing plants.
Director:John Gorrie
Writer:Terry Nation
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Director:John Gorrie
Writer:Terry Nation
6.9/10(889 votes)
#24 - Strangers in Space
S1:E316/20/1964
The 28th century. The TARDIS materialises on a spaceship orbiting a planet known as the Sense-Sphere, whose natives, the Sensorites, have trapped the ship's human crew in a state of paralysis.
Director:Mervyn Pinfield
Writer:Peter R. Newman
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Director:Mervyn Pinfield
Writer:Peter R. Newman
6.9/10(732 votes)
#25 - A Land of Fear
S1:E378/8/1964
The TARDIS lands during the French Revolution, where Ian, Barbara, and Susan become caught up in the politics of the day. When they are arrested and set to be executed, the Doctor must take on the disguise of a public official to try and save their lives.
Director:Henric Hirsch
Writer:Dennis Spooner
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Director:Henric Hirsch
Writer:Dennis Spooner