The Ultimate Guide was a documentary made by BBC Events Production in London which aired on BBC Three in the run-up to the 50th anniversary of the Doctor Who. It gave a broad overview of the show's history, and interviewed many people involved in its production over the years, including five of the actors who portrayed the Doctor: Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann and David Tennant — as well as the current executive producer and head writer Steven Moffat.
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I knew I said it was going to be on a very special day, but the day before The Star Beast isn't so unimportant to remind y'all about the last time Russell T. Davies reintroduced Who to people, is it? And if you've got the time, if you want to check out the other parts of this ranking marathon-review thing here's the link below;
https://letterboxd.com/drashleywho/tag/modern-who-ranking/reviews/
Previously on the Modern Who rankings…
The modern era reaches its peak in terms of popularity with the pairing of David Tennant and Catherine Tate being the zeitgeist of late 2000s British science fiction - they’re so powerful they’re the ones spearheading this year’s anniversary trilogy instead of the usual multi-Doctor story - and (barring…
For any newcomers, you can read previous parts of the ‘modern Who rankings essays’ here;
https://letterboxd.com/drashleywho/tag/modern-who-ranking/reviews/
Previously on the Modern Who rankings…
The most divisive era the show has had since its return in 2005 (and possibly ever) marks its end with seeds of disappointment scattered amongst a fundamental continuation of the breathless audacity which began in series twelve. Whittaker’s Doctor has an arc which has an unsatisfactory conclusion at the end of the huge six-parter but leaves on a highly positive note before regenerating into David Tennant…who was also the Doctor at number 7. And 11/10 previously. It’s all turning into a big ball of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff at this point.
7. SERIES THREE (2007)
The Runaway Bride to…
…So you’re all probably wondering why it’s taken me so long to return to these Modern Who rankings. Well, after doing the series five review back in mid-May, I’d had the realisation that if I was doing them at the speed I was at, I’d end up finishing it in late-July/early-August and it wouldn’t have felt right not to post the top five closer to the build-up of the 60th anniversary in November. Rather than rush through it, I figured I’d wait a bit before returning to it, and before I do, I’ll direct you to the previous instalments of this Who ranking series so we’re all up to date. Bear in mind they are a bit long so you…
For any newcomers, you can read previous parts of the ‘modern Who rankings essays’ here;
https://letterboxd.com/drashleywho/tag/modern-who-ranking/reviews/
Previously on the Modern Who rankings…
For New Who’s 15th anniversary, Chris Chibnall makes his ultimate stamp on the show’s canon with the Timeless Child, an audaciously bold reimagining of the Doctor’s origins that polarises the fanbase to this day so of course I love it. Not only that but it’s the strongest out of the three seasons he helmed with a heightened scope and ambition not present in series eleven and which continues into Flux to The Power of the Doctor. I’m sure it’s controversial to rank series twelve as high as I did and number 4 is another case of me going…
For any newcomers, you can read previous parts of the ‘modern Who rankings essays’ here;
https://letterboxd.com/drashleywho/tag/modern-who-ranking/reviews/
Previously on the Modern Who rankings…
The most divisive era the show has had since its return in 2005 (and possibly ever) marks its beginning with seeds of excellence and experimentation scattered amongst a fundamental risk-free series. Whittaker’s Doctor immediately makes a strong impression but she isn’t challenged nearly enough despite some very strong historicals, though her companions get some good character depth (barring Yaz) and the New Year special with the Daleks shows a much more refined approach that’s persistent throughout the remainder of her tenure, which is highlighted as we reach number 8…
8. SERIES THIRTEEN (2021-2022)
The Halloween Apocalypse to The…
For any newcomers, you can read previous parts of the ‘modern Who rankings essays’ here;
https://letterboxd.com/drashleywho/tag/modern-who-ranking/reviews/
Previously on the Modern Who rankings…
A six year old boy is taken on a trip of a lifetime that changes his life forever with a lonely god and his working class companion at the helm. Nearly seventeen years later, he comes back to where that trip began and finds that the first season he watched on television doesn’t entirely hold up to scrutiny despite some excellent highs. At number 9 is another introductory season for a Doctor, and it’s not Eccleston since putting series one so low is heresy since it’s brilliant, though this one is certainly up North…
9. SERIES ELEVEN (2018)…
For any newcomers, you can read previous parts of the ‘modern Who rankings essays’ here;
https://letterboxd.com/drashleywho/tag/modern-who-ranking/reviews/
Previously on the Modern Who rankings...
Steven Moffat finally gets rid of the Ponds who’ve felt like tagalongs for the first half of series seven before giving us a brief moment of hope with a Christmas special of alien snowmen, Richard E. Grant and Jenna Coleman’s smashing East End accent. Unfortunately, what transpires next is a near-complete botching of the 50th anniversary season with (The Night/Day of the Doctor notwithstanding) barely a single classic episode showing up. What may have caused this season to sink so much? Read on as we venture into Lake Silencio for number 12…
12. SERIES SIX (2011)
The Impossible…
Out of all the Doctor Who reviews I’ve done, very few of them appear to be ones of the modern series, mostly because it’s only the specials that've been posted on Letterboxd. All of that is about to change, though; for the 60th anniversary of the show coming in November, I’m going to embark on possibly the longest piece I’ll ever write; a full-on ranking of every series of New Who. I know I posted a short ranking in the description of my list of all the modern series stuff on here but in this series of essays I’ll be going through each season in-depth and exploring every episode. This won’t all be published in one go since it’s that…
Right, so I probably need to say something before moving on; no, this will probably not be completed before the anniversary (number one will probably drop in December) but at least I can say with confidence that number two will appear on a very special day. For anyone who just dropped by, as usual here’s the link to previous entries to this giant Modern Who ranking/review monolith;
https://letterboxd.com/drashleywho/film/doctor-who-the-ultimate-guide/reviews/
Anyhoo, forwards with number three!
Previously on the Modern Who rankings…
I finally get to gush about the Peter Capaldi era which for me has never been topped before or since, and even when series ten doesn’t quite manage to be on the same level as its previous two seasons it speaks…
For any newcomers, you can read previous parts of the ‘modern Who rankings essays’ here;
https://letterboxd.com/drashleywho/tag/modern-who-ranking/reviews/
Previously on the Modern Who rankings…
Russell T. Davies bows out his immensely successful reinvention of Doctor Who by throwing everything and the kitchen sink, and the end results are quite a mixed bag of emotional high-points and narrative lows, though The Waters of Mars is a nigh-perfect highlight of how good he can be when firing on all cylinders and hopefully the sort of story we get when he comes back. In some way, it reminds this fellow critic of how his introductory Doctor began, fittingly as we reach number 10…
10. SERIES TWO (2006)
The Christmas Invasion to Doomsday
Truth be told,…
Previously on the Modern Who rankings…
David Tennant’s second series as the Doctor is where it gets footing of its own with a compelling Doctor/companion dynamic and a second half which is a peerless run of masterpieces that show that Who can not only be great sci-fi but event drama television in its own right. Martha Jones was, is and will always be a deeply overlooked and undervalued companion that deserves far more. The golden age of Who continues further as we reach number 6, where a new pair of hands gives the show a fairytale feel…
6. SERIES FIVE (2010)
The Eleventh Hour to A Christmas Carol
In my mind, there are two areas where the Eleventh Doctor era…
For any newcomers, you can read previous parts of the ‘modern Who rankings essays’ here;
https://letterboxd.com/drashleywho/tag/modern-who-ranking/reviews/
Previously on the Modern Who rankings…
After proving the world that Doctor Who can have a future without Russell T. Davies, Steven Moffat tarnishes a lot of the audience’s faith by offering a mixed bag of a semaphore season with a badly-mishandled story arc and character assassinations aplenty, and the end result had lows so detrimental it completely derailed a promising era. This doesn’t look good for the Eleventh Doctor era, and at number 11, is it going to be a case of three strikes and it’s out?
11. THE 2009 SPECIALS (2008-2010)
The Next Doctor to The End of Time
No, because the…
