I've just re-watched the first series of Doctor Who, having not seen the majority of the episodes in several years. The Slitheen are a little bit sillier than I remembered, but as a whole - what a way to bring the show back!
Chritopher Eccleston was 'fantastic' throughout, and it really was a shame that he didn't make at least one more series. I feel they were just scratching the surface with his Doctor, plus as good as his work was in year one, Russell T Davies definitely delivered some outstanding scripts over the following years that in Eccleston's hands could've been magic.
Still we have 13 episodes, 10 stories, and I have to pick a top 5. Well I don't have to, I want to, and I hope you agree with at least some of my choices. I'll discount the Slitheen stories, they are fun but they aren't top 5 material. Bubbling under is the Mark Gatiss penned, The Unquiet Dead, but I'll start my top 5 with the first episode, Rose.
5. Rose
It's so obvious now isn't it? Looking back this was exactly the right way to kick of a new series of Doctor Who, attract a massive audience and yet still keep 42 years worth of canon intact. Do it through the eyes of an average young girl. She meets this stranger, the Doctor, for the first time along with millions of other children (and adults) who also know nothing about him. They all learned about his past and his alien heritage at the same time as Rose. If this episode hadn't have nailed it quite the way it did then there's a chance we might not have had David Tennant, Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi. We owe so much to Russell T Davies. As brilliant as Eccleston was as the lone Time Lord (and I love the "Lots of planet's have a North" line"), the credit for this performance has to go to Billie Piper. What a triumph it was for her. Hands up who thought she'd suck? Yep, I think a lot of us did, but she really showed us how wrong we were.
4. Bad Wolf/The Parting Of The Ways
From the opening episode to the closing episode, and the end of a very satisfying story arc. I've got to say, I prefer the second part of this 2-part story. Saying that the closing line of Bad Wolf when Eccleston delivers the line "I'm gonna rescue Rose Tyler right from the middle of the Dalek fleet. Then I'm gonna save the Earth, and then, just to finish off, I will wipe every last, stinking Dalek out of the sky!" just summed up his era perfectly. The Parting Of The Ways upped the drama, with the "Emergency Protocol One" monologue being one of the best scenes of Eccleston's time as the Doctor. He was fantastic, there is no doubt about that.
3. The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances
This one really has it all and feels slightly different to all the other episodes of the series. Visually it looks amazing, the shots of Rose hanging above war ravaged London are breathtaking, and the CGI work on the gas masks is very impressive. It gave us the classic "Are you my Mummy?" line and introduced us to fan favourite, Captain Jack. It's scary, funny and delivers a piece of history to boot.
2. Father's Day
I love it when they play with the concept of time itself on Doctor Who. Watching the Doctor and Rose as they see themselves was great, and then when Rose interfered with her Dad's demise, well it was all a bit Back To The Future 2. And that's my favourite of the 3 movies. Eccleston delivers again, his disgust at his companions doing was a very different emotion for a Doctor to show, I liked it. These things have consequences, and boy, did he let Rose know! It's a very dark, and quite mature story, the Reapers look amazing, and all in all it was a close call between this and my chosen number 1.
1. Dalek
If you have yourself any doubt as to why Davies cast Eccleston, just watch his performance in this. The anger and venom in his delivery as he addresses the lone Dalek is the stuff of legend. Billie Piper brings her A-game too, and is the perfect Yang to the Doctor's Yin. This was just the right way to bring the Daleks back into Doctor Who, any other story involving multiple pepper-pots wouldn't have been anywhere near effective. But breaking t down to a one on one type scenario delivered, in my opinion, possibly the finest Dalek story we've seen since 1975, and it may be many years until it's topped.
So what do you think are the best Christopher Eccleston Doctor Who stories?
Why not give us your top 5 in the comments below.
Next time it's the turn of the Eighth Doctor, Paul McGann.
If you'd like to have your top 5 Doctor Who stories from Sylvester McCoy's era featured then contact us at warpedfactor@live.com.
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