Doctor Who’s “Best Episode Ever” Question Isn’t Even A Debate Any Longer

Warning: Spoiler ahead for Doctor Who season 15, episode 2, “Lux.”Doctor Who season 15, episode 2, “Lux,” is an installment of the show unlike any I have ever seen, but it’s actually a much older episode that “Lux” solidifies as the long-running sci-fi’s finest effort. Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor’s encounter with Mr. Ring-a-Ding (Alan Cumming) in Doctor Who season 15’s second episode becomes incredibly self-aware for one scene in particular, and it settles the long-running debate about which is the greatest Doctor Who story of all time.

Mr. Ring-a-Ding turns out to be “Lux,” the God of Light in Doctor Who‘s Pantheon. Fifteen and Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) being trapped in Lux’s realm leads to some very trippy encounters, and perhaps the trippiest of all is their conversation with “real-world” Doctor Who fans. The meta moment shows the Doctor and Belinda stepping out of a TV and into a reality where the Time Lord’s adventures are nothing more than a series of sci-fi stories. The fans in question are more than happy to announce which of the Doctor’s exploits is the best.

Lux’s Doctor Who Fans Are Unanimous That “Blink” Is The Best Episode

Steven Moffat’s 2007 Doctor-lite episode has been awarded the crown

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When Fifteen questions the Doctor Who viewers in “Lux” about which adventure they all liked the most, they all share the opinion that the only acceptable answer is Doctor Who season 3, episode 10, “Blink.” The Weeping Angels’ debut first aired in 2007 during David Tennant’s time as the Tenth Doctor. “Blink” has consistently remained part of the conversation regarding the best Doctor Who episodes and showrunner Russell T. Davies has now essentially canonized that it sits atop the list.

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Davies hasn’t just plucked “Blink” out of thin air when writing this “Lux” scene. I’ve been in many discussions with other Doctor Who fans about which episode is best, and “Blink” is the only installment that consistently comes up in every version of the conversation I have. It also has a thoroughly impressive score of 9.8/10 on IMDb, which is an average of over 25,000 people rating the installment. That doesn’t just make it the highest-rated episode of the modern era, but also Doctor Who‘s original run from 1963 to 1989.

Why “Blink” Is Such A Great Doctor Who Episode

Moffat’s original concept and terrifying monsters have made “Blink” tough to beat

There aren’t many other Doctor Who episodes like “Blink,” so it stands apart from its competitors, at least in part, for that very reason. The Weeping Angels have become Doctor Who mainstays since appearing in “Blink,” and they’re arguably the only villains that have accomplished that feat since the Daleks, the Cyberman, and the various iterations of the Master. The Angels are built on a simple but well-executed concept, and they manage to be truly terrifying in a way that transcends the show’s family-friendly format.

“Blink” is also the first time the Doctor offers the now-immortalized “Timey-wimey” explanation. Ten’s summary of the events at the heart of “Blink” is perfectly delivered. It’s tough to accurately describe which episodes fall into the “Timey-wimey” category, but “Blink” definitely belongs there. The idea of the Doctor having a two-way communication with present-day Earth despite his end of the exchange being pre-recorded is an incredible twist. All elements of “Blink” stand out on their own, and combine to make a perfect example of the perfection that Doctor Who is capable of achieving.

The Awkward Truth About “Blink” Being Doctor Who’s Best Episode

The Tenth Doctor’s screen time in “Blink” is minimal

As well as being the show’s best offering, “Blink” is also one of Doctor Who‘s Doctor-lite episodes. This is a production technique used to ease the show’s filming schedule. The result here is that Tennant’s Doctor barely features. Instead, he has only a handful of scenes, as the actor was busy filming another season 3 episode. Instead, the “Blink” cast is led by Carey Mulligan as Sally Sparrow. Therefore, it’s a little uncomfortable to admit that a Doctor Who script intentionally crafted to hide the busy schedule of the show’s lead actor ultimately resulted in such an incredible installment.

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Of course, the Doctor is still needed for “Blink” to work. He may have an incredibly reduced and unorthodox role, but the episode is still highly recognizable as a Doctor Who story. Doctor-lite episodes aren’t always guaranteed to be a success, but they often stand out for how creative the writers need to get in the absence of the show’s biggest star. For example, Doctor Who‘s season 14, episode 4, “73 Yards,” placed Millie Gibson’s Ruby Sunday in the spotlight, but it surprisingly became one of the run’s best episodes – despite Gatwa’s limited availability.

Source: IMDb

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  Doctor Who
  

  
  

  5/10

  Release Date

  December 25, 2023
  

  Directors

  Douglas Camfield, David Maloney, Christopher Barry, Michael E. Briant, Barry Letts, Michael Ferguson, Richard Martin, Peter Moffatt, Pennant Roberts, Lennie Mayne, Chris Clough, Ron Jones, Paddy Russell, Paul Bernard, Michael Hayes, Timothy Combe, Morris Barry, Gerald Blake, Graeme Harper, Waris Hussein, Rodney Bennett, Mervyn Pinfield, Hugh David, John Gorrie

  
  

  
  

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  Doctor Who
  

  Release Date

  2005 – 2022-00-00

  Directors

  Graeme Harper, Euros Lyn, Douglas Mackinnon, Jamie Magnus Stone, Charles Palmer, Rachel Talalay, Joe Ahearne, James Strong, Jamie Childs, Saul Metzstein, Toby Haynes, Wayne Che Yip, Nick Hurran, Richard Clark, James Hawes, Daniel Nettheim, Colin Teague, Keith Boak, Azhur Saleem, Adam Smith, Andrew Gunn, Nida Manzoor, Lawrence Gough, Paul Murphy

  
  

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    Jodie Whittaker

    The Doctor

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