Tenth Doctor Review

Tenth Doctor

 

Tenth Doctor

Doctor: The Tenth Doctor

Companions: Sarah Jane Smith, K9, Rose Tyler, Jackie Tyler, Mickey Smith, Captain Jack Harkness, Donna Noble, Martha Jones, Wilfred Mott, River Song

The Tenth Doctor’s era was Doctor Who at its most broad and bombastic, with high-stakes stories thrilling while never losing sight of its complex interesting characters, with the Doctor going on a surprisingly dark character arc powered by David Tennant’s great performance.

The Review

Here’s the scores for the stories

The Waters of Mars: 10/10

Human Nature/The Family of Blood: 10/10

Blink: 10/10

Smith and Jones: 10/10

Midnight: 10/10

Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead: 10/10

The Christmas Invasion: 10/10

The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit: 10/10

Girl in the Fireplace: 9.25/10

The End of Time: 9/10

Rise of the Cybermen/Age of Steel: 9/10

42: 9/10

Partners in Crime: 8.75/10

Tooth and Claw: 8.75/10

The Fires of Pompeii: 8.5/10

New Earth: 8.5/10

Army of Ghosts/Doomsday: 8.5/10

Planet of the Ood: 8.5/10

The Stolen Earth/Journey’s End: 8.25/10

The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky: 8.25/10

The Next Doctor: 8/10

Planet of the Dead: 8/10

Utopia/The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords: 8/10

Gridlock: 8/10

The Shakespeare Code: 8/10

School Reunion: 8/10

The Idiot’s Lantern: 8/10

The Runaway Bride: 8/10

Turn Left: 8/10

The Unicorn and the Wasp: 8/10

The Doctor’s Daughter: 7.5/10

Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks: 6.75/10

Love & Monsters: 6.5/10

The Lazarus Experiment: 6/10

Fear Her: 6/10

David Tennant will likely remain the most popular Doctor of the new series, or at least it’s first twenty years. It’s easy to see why, the Tenth Doctor was handsome and charismatic and constantly charming. He’s the most immediately watchable Doctor, approachable, and oh-so human. Russell T. Davies’ approach to writing was to always focus on the characters, and with each season bringing a new main companion he had to develop arcs for Rose, Martha, and Donna. Rose’s arc ends well in Series 2, but has a less successful Series 4 comeback. The Doctor also then spends a lot of Series 3 being kind of a dick to Martha, which makes the whole season feel uncomfortable. By freeing the Doctor of any romantic issues by bringing on platonic best friend Donna, in Series 4 the performance of David Tennant finally completely snaps into place. With the RTD era being less sci-fi and more a broad show about relationships, it’s easy to see the wide appeal that this era of Doctor Who still has. Still, RTD has one last trick by shattering our faith in the Doctor in The Waters of Mars, but the Tenth Doctor affirms that he is truly the hero he was scared he wouldn’t be by sacrificing himself to save one man.

Now, his best moments.

5. “Rose Tyler…” as the Doctor says goodbye to the woman who saved him from his depression, the Doctor isn’t able to get out the words “I love you” in Doomsday. It’s a heartbreaking moment that lives on fourteen years later.

4. “I forgive you.” The Last of the Time Lords isn’t perfect, but after all the Master has been through, the Doctor still tries to help his oldest friend in the universe. The tension between Tennant and Simm is one of the things the Series 3 finale gets right, and there’s another similar moment in The End of Time that would get paid off beautifully in the Twelfth Doctor’s era.

3. “When the Doctor comes to call”. At the end of The Forest of the Dead, the Doctor thinks he witnessed the end of his wife, River Song’s life. As River Song gives one last narration, the Doctor realizes his future self (the Twelfth it turns out) is very very smart and embarks one last mad dash to preserve River’s consciousness. The smile as the Doctor snaps his fingers to open the TARDIS for the first time is heartwarming and perfect.

2. “The laws of time obey me!” The Time Lord Victorious comes out in The Waters of Mars, as the Doctor decides that with the Time Lords dead, he alone controls the laws of time. The Doctor has never been darker and more horrifying, and it is truly a shocking moment that unsettles our view of who the Doctor is.

1. “I could do so much more!” At the end of the Tenth Doctor’s life in The End of Time, his vanity still flows through. Ranting and raving at the injustice of it all, there is still no doubt. It would be the Doctor’s honor to save Wilf, and as he absorbs the radiation, the Doctor proves himself to be a true hero.

David Tennant brought his incredible acting chops to bring together the Tenth Doctor, a character more complex and complicated than he is often given credit for. Factoring in the spin-offs, the explosive popularity of Tennant, and a very widely appealing style from show runner RTD, the Tenth Doctor era represented a second peak of Doctor Who following peaks in the Fourth and First Doctor’s era. It’s hard not to see why, as the stories were frequently engaging, emotional, and rewarding. The song ended, but the story will go on.

8.25/10 A smashing era!