10 Best Doctor Who Episodes to Revisit Before Watching The Ncuti Gatwa Season

On May 11, the first two episodes with the new Doctor, the magnificent Ncuti Gatwa, were released. We invite you to dive into nostalgia and travel through time without the TARDIS recalling the best episodes of the cult series.

1. The Day of the Doctor – A Special Episode

In honor of the fiftieth anniversary of Doctor Who, the BBC prepared a special surprise for fans in the form of a special episode in which not only David Tennant's Tenth and Matt Smith 's Eleventh faced each other, but also the darker incarnation of the Time Lord that both later tried to erase from their lives – the War Doctor who participated in the Time War between the Time Lords and the Daleks. It was he who had to destroy them both, to end the endless suffering.

But The Day of the Doctor is not just fan service, but an important twist in the overall plot of the series. In the anniversary episode, the Tenth and Eleventh unite all the incarnations of the Doctor to save Gallifrey, hiding their home in a temporary pocket somewhere at the edge of the universe.

2. The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances – Season 1, Episode 9-10

The Ninth Doctor, played by Christopher Eccleston, and his companion Rose find themselves in London during an air raid. It is during this period that a capsule of alien origin falls.

On the street, the Doctor meets a girl, Nancy, who tells him not to answer the phone when it rings in the TARDIS. The Doctor ignores her, of course, and to his surprise he hears the voice of a boy on the phone, looking for his mother.

And most importantly, this episode marks the first appearance of Mr. Charming aka Captain Jack Harkness, played by John Barrowman.

3. The Girl in the Fireplace – Season 2, Episode 4

One of the Tenth Doctor's first adventures with Rose and her boyfriend Mickey. The characters find themselves on an abandoned space station, where they discover a medieval fireplace. But the most amazing thing happens when the Doctor meets a girl who lives on the other side of the fireplace.

The Girl in the Fireplace is one of the few Doctor Who episodes to feature a real historical figure – Madame de Pompadour, the mistress of the French King Louis XV.

4. Blink – Season 3, Episode 10

Perhaps the only episode where the main character is not the Doctor or even his companion, but a complete stranger. A girl named Sally Sparrow accidentally wanders into an old mansion, where she stumbles upon a strange message addressed to her.

Blink is an episode enjoyed even by those who have never seen Doctor Who. Many of today's fans began their acquaintance with the show with it. So if you are still unsure whether to embark on an endless journey through time and space, just turn on this episode.

5. Last Christmas – Season 9, Episode 0

The Doctor Who series is also wonderful because it delights its fans with Christmas specials. Unfortunately, not every episode is to the fans' taste. And yet, Last Christmas did what others couldn't. It conveys the spirit of everyone's favorite holiday without taking away from the atmosphere of the series.

In this episode, the Twelfth Doctor is played by Peter Capaldi. He and his companion Clara find themselves on a polar base under attack by evil dream crabs who attach themselves to people's faces and send them into sleep.

6. Heaven Sent – Season 9, Episode 11

After surviving a terrible tragedy, the Twelfth Doctor finds himself teleported to an empty castle that is to become his personal hell. This place quickly becomes a prison with no way in or out, and it will take the Doctor a long time to understand who sent him to this place and why.

One of the most emotional and dramatic episodes filmed with the Twelfth Doctor's participation. And if the Doctor played by Capaldi has left many indifferent in the past episodes, in this case even the most unsympathetic viewer will not be able to tear himself away from the screen.

7. Vincent and the Doctor – Season 5, Episode 10

One of the most popular and touching episodes of Doctor Who introduces viewers to Vincent van Gogh, an outstanding artist who lived in poverty during his lifetime, had difficulty selling his paintings, and experienced mental health problems.

In the story, the Doctor and Amy spend time at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, but in the painting The Church at Auvers they notice an ominous figure that should not be there. To understand the situation, the two travel to Provence at the end of the 19th century.

8. Silence in the Library – Season 4, Episode 8

In the episode Silence in the Library, Alex Kingston makes her first appearance as River Song, one of the key characters of Doctor Who.

The plot begins with a strange message that leads the Doctor and Donna to the largest library in the universe. There they meet Professor Song: apparently she has known the Time Lord for a long time, but he sees her for the first time in his life. River even has a TARDIS-shaped diary containing the Doctor's entire timeline.

And yet the main mystery is not River, but microscopic creatures that eat flesh and always hide in the shadows – the Vashta Nerada.

9. Turn Left – Season 4, Episode 11

The series tells what would have happened to the Doctor's companion Donna had she never met the Time Lord and helped him fight the aliens. Simply put, how one small event can change the course of an entire life. The main villain of the episode is a trickster beetle that feeds on time and influences human destiny.

For fans of the series, this episode is also significant because it is the first time in a long time that the Doctor's first companion after the reboot, Rose Tyler, appears in the episode – she helps Donna put everything back in its place.

10. Midnight – Season 4, Episode 10

The Tenth Doctor takes a tour of a mysterious planet called Midnight. The Doctor intends to go to Sapphire Waterfall, but an unexpected incident changes all his plans. An unknown hostile creature gets on the bus and takes possession of one of the passengers. This is only part of the problem, however, as the other tourists also begin to show aggression towards the Doctor.

Midnight gives the audience a chance to take a breath and forget about science fiction for a while. This is an absolutely Hitchcockian episode, filmed in the best traditions of a psychological thriller.