Doctor Who Series 9 Episodes Ranked Worst To First [1]

Series 9 of Doctor Who recently finished with the Christmas special, The Husbands of River Song. Very similar to my first post, I will be ranking the episodes of Series 9 worst to first, however this time I will be including the Christmas special. So, without any further ado, here goes:

13. The Husbands of River Song

The Husbands of River Song is a very strange episode of Doctor Who. Following the Doctor and River running from a headless robot through space, the episode was very strange and very original. Completely different in tone to the previous Christmas special, Last Christmas, this episode was full of jokes and fun. Many people hated it, thinking that it was too light-hearted and story was appalling, but I thought that, as it is the first jokey episode of Doctor Who since The Girl Who Died, this made for an excellent piece of comedy.

The ending of the episode was the part of it that reached the most success. With the Doctor taking River Song to the Singing Towers of Garillium for their last dinner together, the Doctor ended up crying because he knew what was in store for River Song next: her death. (I will probably be doing a post about River Song's complete timeline now that her story is complete).

This episode was overall a very well-done masterpiece, with a lot of humour and jokes. And, with the ending being so heartbreaking, this episode will go down as one of the best Christmas specials of Doctor Who yet.

Score: 8.5/10

12. Sleep No More
 
Sleep No More was the 10th and worst episode of Series 9. This is because the story was a bit dull in places and had quite an unsatisfying ending. However, except for these few flaws, this episode was brilliant.

Full of outrageous action, brilliant effects and creepy monsters that are grounded into realism, this episode is the only episode of New Who so far which has been entirely told as a Found-Footage. The way the cameras are used are brilliant, and when an explanation for the camera's existence is given, it is both extremely smart and very confusing.

The final scene with the scientist telling the story turning out to be one of the nefarious Sandmen is by far the best scene in the whole episode. Giving us a very creepy view of what life would be like if the Sandmen ruled the earth, also seemingly setting up the return of the Sandmen.

The episode was a very creepy and very good one, but was the worst of the series, mainly because it didn't seem to fit into the series as a whole. However, except for that, this episode was very, very good.

Score: 9/10

11. Before the Flood

Before the Flood, the 4th episode of the series is also one of the worst. However, it is not bad. It is a brilliantly-told story, let down only by the effects and the main villain having next-to-nothing to do for the whole episode.

The last episode left off with the Doctor's ghost revealing itself to Clara and her friends. The Doctor and his friends had gone back in time to solve the mystery of why the ghosts existed and who was creating them in the first place. The episode used the idea of having one time zone affect another brilliantly, having the ghosts of people who died in the past appearing in the future. The episode also focused a lot more on the Doctor, as he tried to come to terms with the fact that he had to die to save his friends in the past.

The way the episode was done was also brilliant, especially the scene where one of the ghosts is dragging an axe along the floor behind his to-be victim who is deaf. The effects are widely varying, as the ghosts completely authentic and creepy, while the Fisher King being pushed away by the flood does not.

Overall, this episode is let down by the SFX and its villain the Fisher King. However, except for that, this episode is really a massive achievement by the BBC.

Score: 9/10

10. The Woman Who Lived

A very strange episode of Doctor Who, The Woman Who Lived is an episode of Doctor Who with very little action and a lot of talking. Written by Torchwood writer Catherine Tregenna, this episode was accepted by many as brilliant and by others as absolute rubbish. I am one of the former. I believe that this episode puts across very well the torment that Ashildr, or Lady Me as she calls herself in this episode, feels. This episode puts a lot of pain and realism into immortal life.

The story of the Lion King Leandro is not a good one, and is one of the worst monster stories of all time for Doctor Who. However, that can be put aside for the brilliance the rest of the episode shows, e.g. the interaction between the Doctor and Lady Me.

I highly recommend the book The Legends of Ashildr, a short story collection about Ashildr's long life. It really shows the pain of Ashildr's life, and makes this episode feel a lot more real and personal.

This episode is a brilliant one and really gives a sense of adventure and excitement, while also making for a sad and personal episode.

Score: 9/10


That's all from me now, but Part 2 will be up tomorrow and part 3 on 2nd January 2016. Thank you for reading and have a happy new year.