Doctor Who 50th Anniversary: Top 50 Doctor Who Stories 10 to 1

Here we are on the eve of the 50th Anniversary.  We have counted down the top 40 so far and now we will reveal the top 10.  I'm sure some of these will be of no surprise to you but who knows maybe they will. so without further ado here are the Top 10 Doctor Who stories from the Top 50 list.

10. The Enemy of the World 

Written By David Whitaker 

Directed By Barry Letts 

Why It’s In The Top 50:

The Enemy of the World is a pretty awesome story.  Patrick Troughton plays two roles in this story as he also plays the villainous Salamander.  How cool is that for a story.  You have the main actor playing both the hero and the villain.  It is a pretty cool concept that worked really well and you could tell Patrick Troughton enjoyed doing something different.   Plus he played such a wonderful villain that you forget he was also The Doctor.  Plus the way the two characters played cat and mouse pretending to be the other was pretty interesting to watch.  Plus the ending is one that is pretty chilling also.  Plus the swerve at the end is pretty good and one that is strange as you see someone that looks like The Doctor dying.  The story is pretty good also as it was a departure to the base under siege theme that had been going on with The Monster Season as this time it seems more James Bondish or the Steed and Peel Avengers series as The Doctor, Jamie and Victoria  try to stop a madman from taking over the world.

9. Vincent and The Doctor 

Written By Richard Curtis 

Directed By Jonny Campbell 

Why It’s In The Top 50:

This story is just a wonderful but sad story that makes you think and take notice of the way things are.  Dealing with the mental illness theme The Doctor and Amy meet up with van Gogh at one of his more troubling times.  Amy takes a shine to him as he is her favorite painter and she tries to help him.  They even go as far as bringing him to present day to see how famous he will become.  What is sad is that Amy so wanted to help him and make him feel better but she fails as van Gogh still takes his life because of his illness.  Vincent and The Doctor is a very touching story one of the few stories like this in Doctor Who’s history.  Matt Smith gives a good performance and the speech he gives Amy at the end is one of the best in his era.  Plus there is a monster in it even if it is invisible most of the time.

8.  The Dalek Invasion of Earth

Written By Terry Nation 

Directed By Richard Martin 

Why It’s In The Top 50:

Why it’s the return of The Daleks and this time they are on Earth.  The Dalek Invasion of Earth is a story that is really well written and with so many great moments.  It is scary because the Daleks are on Earth and cruising along landmarks we recognize.  But for me the highlight is The Dalek coming out of the Thames.  That scene is truly a classic.  I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the historical aspect of this story.  The Dalek Invasion of Earth is the first story where a companion leaves the TARDIS.  Susan leaves her grandfather as The Doctor locks the doors on her and helps in making her decision to stay with David. One of the most famous speeches is also in this story as Hartnell gives us a smashing performance of the “One Day I Will Come Back” speech.  This story is quite the gem of the First Doctor’s era and the best in my opinion.

7.  The Daemons 

Written By Guy Leopold 

Directed By Christopher Barry 

Why It’s In The Top 50:

The Daemons is the ultimate UNIT and Master story.  It’s an all-around great story with everyone in the UNIT family playing an integral part.  You have The Master using black magic and witch craft to try and gain knowledge and power from the alien Azal.   The story is fun to watch and really well written.  I mea how could you not like The Brigadiers famous line “Chap there with wings. Five rounds rapid.” I just love how all the aspects they put into it came together and worked. Best part was seeing The Master getting captured by The Doctor and UNIT and the look of defeat on The Masters face tells it all.  Jon Pertwee is exceptional in The Daemons and I believe he gives us his best performance as The Doctor.  The Daemons is clearly the best story and one of the best all time in Doctors Who’s history as it is just one of those stories that they got right.

6. Remembrance of the Daleks 

Written By Ben Aaronovitch 

Directed By Andrew Morgan 

Why It’s In The Top 50:

It is just one of the best Dalek stories ever and definitely the best one from the 80’s plus it has the Special Weapons Dalek.  This story in a way reboots the series as we see a different take on The Doctor as they make him more mysterious and darker.   There were seeds of it in Dragonfire but in Remembrance we see it full blown as new aspects were added to The Doctor’s mythology.  We also for the first time see the Daleks go up steps for the first time as we see them elevate up the steps in the cellar.  Many consider that this story should be the 25th anniversary story as there were more nods to the past in this story than in the actually anniversary story Silver Nemesis.  What is also shocking is that The Doctor destroys Skaro and many believe that is the first shot fired in the Time War.

5. The Tomb of the Cybermen 

Written By Kit Pedler & Gerry Davis 

Directed By Morris Barry 

Why It’s In The Top 50:

It is just the best Cybermen story ever and one of the best Doctor Who stories of all time.  It is one of the stories that Patrick Troughton shows a long range of his acting abilities as the Doctor from mischievous clown to super serious to a caring person he does it all in The Tomb of the Cybermen.  Love the scene where Victoria and The Doctor have a heart to heart talk about family.  It is such a wonderful heartfelt scene and one of the best in Doctor Who’s history. Plus it is a really scary story that plays of the paranoid feelings of the exhibition that are looking for the tombs.  Plus you have the added bonus of Kleig who is a megalomaniac and wants to use the Cybermen and their secrets to help take over the earth.   There are so many twists in this story that makes it all the more enjoyable to watch.  The Tomb of the Cybermen introduces us to the Cybermens new home Telos, Cybermats and of course The Cyber Controller.  I love the scene when the Cybermen are coming out of the tombs themselves.  A very chilling, pardon the pun, moment that just builds to the excitement of the story and the reaction to the actors makes it that much more enjoyable and awesome.  The Tomb of the Cybermen is a true classic and is definitely the best story during Patrick Troughton’s era and perhaps one of the best stories in Doctor Who’s 50 year history.

4. Dalek

Written By Robert Shearman 

Directed By Joe Ahearne 

Why It’s In The Top 50:

Dalek is one of the best if not the best Dalek stories of all time.  This story reintroduces the Daleks back into the new series of Doctor Who but with a different twist. Here you have a Dalek who is alone and is the last of the Daleks.  What happens is that he gets corrupted by Rose’s DNA and starts to act like a human.  He shows emotions and when you watch the scene when the sunlight hits his mutant form you could see him show emotion of delight of what he sees.   We also see a different side of The Doctor.  An aggressive side where he is bent on killing that last Dalek.  It takes a few words from Rose to snap him out of it and see what he is doing.   It is an all-around great story and is head and shoulders above the rest of the stories in Christopher Eccleston’s era and one of the best in the new series period.

3. Genesis of the Daleks 

Written By Terry Nation 

Directed By David Maloney 

Why It’s In The Top 50:

It is the ultimate Dalek story and is the best story that Terry Nation has written for the show.  It shows how the Daleks came about and was a true origin story.  We see what madman would make such a creation and we see how far Davros would go to see them become a reality.  Plus you get to see the true evilness of The Daleks as they start to think on their own and disobey Davros and then eventually turn on him at the time and believing they had killed him.   Genesis of the Daleks is just an all-around great story with lots of great lines none better than The Doctor saying “Have I the right” and has The Doctor second guessing himself if he should exterminate The Daleks himself. Genesis of the Daleks is a true masterpiece that gives us an origin story and more insight into how evil the Daleks were in the earlier stories.

2. Blink 

Written by Steven Moffat 

Directed by Hettie MacDonald 

Why it’s in the top 50:

It’s written by Steven Moffat the Robert Holmes of the new series. Well he was during the 9th and 10th Doctor’s era.   Sally Sparrow saves day and starts cult affection about her.  Actress Carey Mulligan portrayal of Sally Sparrow was the highlight of this story and of season 3.  The Weeping Angels are pretty cool and have garnered the title of the best new bad guy for Doctor who as they returned for a rematch with Matt Smith‘s 11th Doctor a couple of times.  This is an adaptation of a Steven Moffat story “What I Did On My Christmas Vacation by Sally Sparrow” which appeared in the Doctor Who annual of 2006 and features the 9th Doctor.  Just an all-around perfect story that is filled with sadness and joy and it sure is one of the scariest and creepiest stories ever in Doctor Who.  Blink is probably the best story of New Who and so far has not been matched in the new series yet.

1. The Caves of Androzani 

Written By Robert Holmes 

Directed By Graeme Harper 

Why It’s In The Top 50:

What can be said about this story that hasn’t been said? Voted by the fans as the best Doctor Who story ever in Doctor Who Magazine The Caves of Androzani is everything that is right with the classic series when they take the time and do it right.  It is the best regeneration story ever and Peter Davison gives one of his best performances as The Doctor during his era.  Robert Holmes gives us a gritty violent story and Graeme Harper takes chances that works out really well and gives a new dimension to the story.  The story is an all-around perfect story with action and classic lines.  We see The Doctor being truly heroric sacrificing everything to save Peri.  Just the way they did this whole story was nothing like we have seen in the classic series at all and hasn’t been duplicated since. A classic story that has survived the test of time and so far there hasn’t been a story that comes close.