As we say goodbye to the Eleventh Doctor in the Doctor Who Christmas special, we rank Matt Smith’s best Doctor Who episodes. What will make it to number one?
The upcoming Doctor Who Christmas special means that it is almost time to say goodbye to Matt Smith, but we aren’t ready to let go just yet. “The Time of the Doctor” will see Matt Smith regenerate into Peter Capaldi, but all of Capaldi’s likeable qualities can’t make up for the heartbreak that we are anticipating.
Related: Why Matt Smith was the real loser in the Doctor Who Christmas Special
In compiling our list, we have combined the two-part Doctor Who episodes into a single entry. Every fan has their own favourite episodes, so make sure to tell us in the comments what your favourite Matt Smith Doctor Who episodes are. For more Matt Smith and Eleventh Doctor appreciation, you can check out the Eleventh Doctor’s best quotes.
The Doctor Who Christmas special, “The Time of the Doctor” airs today, December 25, on BBC One at 7:30 p.m. GST in the United Kingdom. It will air in the United States on BBC America at 9 p.m. ET.
As much as we enjoy seeing Matt Smith modelling various types of hats, not even this amazing example could make up for the lack of plot, and of general sense, found in “The Curse of the Black Spot.” This was one episode where the experimentation with different genres just didn’t work out for the Doctor Who team.
Another ultimately lacking offering exists in “The Rings of Akhaten.” The chemistry between Matt Smith and Jenna Louise Coleman was good, the plot was okay, but the episode was awful. We know that the writing team can give us so much more than this – a forgettable episode that gave us nothing of substance, either for the characters or for the season ahead.
We almost ranked this higher, for the pure ridiculousness of it (also, the best title). But when you come down to it, this was far too simple of an episode with far too many characters in it. The cartoon villain and the completely undeveloped characters are flaws that not even Matt Smith riding a dinosaur can make up for. But on the positive side, we did get to see him riding a dinosaur.
“The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe” was the weakest Doctor Who Christmas special that aired during Matt Smith’s time as the Doctor. The Narnia-inspired episode started well, and Smith gave a delightful performance (as always). But the weird trees and the ending made this feel lazy and lacking. The base was there, but it could (and should) have been so much more.
“Victory of the Daleks” is a great example of how not to do a historical episode. We were so excited to see Winston Churchill and the realisation of the London Blitz, but the episode was flat. It didn’t make the most of the elements it had, and seemed more focused on the Dalek facelift than it was on plot and character development. The return of the Daleks should have been brilliant, but here it just wasn’t good enough.
It’s safe to say that vampires were not the best villains ever used on Doctor Who. The setting was wonderful, and it was exciting to see the Doctor interacting with Amy and Rory properly for the first time. But there was a sense that this was an episode that reused and recycled elements from previous episodes, and it wasn’t the best vehicle to show off Matt Smith’s talents.
If we ignore the obviously audience-baiting title, we are still left with not much of an episode. The reveal that Mels was actually River Song was the crux of “Let’s Kill Hitler,” and that much we did enjoy. But the chosen time period could have been utilised much more, and in hindsight we can’t help but see the episode as simply a method to establish the robot replicas that would become so critical in the season finale.
You have to give it to them for trying. Season 7 of Doctor Who was so concerned with trying out different genres that it isn’t surprising not every attempt worked out. “A Town Called Mercy” had a cool premise and a fantastic location, but we weren’t entirely sold on the moral dilemma that the Eleventh Doctor faces. There is a lot of material to work with in the Western genre, if only they could just pull it off.
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