Dr Who Meme

medium rob has posted a Dr Who Meme on his blog. Rather unfairly he wants us to choose only three of our favourite episodes from NuWho. Only, three, Rob? That's harsh... However, if you insist.

There is a bit of a theme going here, as all of them are by the same author (and not just because I used to share his surname). It's simply because for me Steven Moffat is King of Nu Who. He consistently, scares, thrills, delights and moves. Plus he's got my children doing all manner of spooky things from asking if I'm their mummy to abjuring me not to blink. It's quite something for a kids' tv show to tap so much into all our imaginations that I end up spooked by my own offpspring...

The first offering is a bit of a cheat, as it's a double parter, but I regard it as the same story, so first honours go to The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, for introducing us to scary gas mask child who was the first nuWho character to terrify the whole family, and for that wonderful ending when Christopher Eccleston revels in the fact that just for once, everybody lived. I loved the darkness and rawness of the new series when the ninth doctor was suffering from the loss of his planet and people in the Time War, and it felt like here he got a bit of compensation. I also loved the ending when he remembers how to dance (but I've already posted that one on the other place).




Second choice (but probably has to count as my favourite) is The Girl in the Fireplace. Once again Moffat does it with scary monsters - those sort of monsters under the bed would certainly give me nightmares - but also it's funny (I loved the incongruity of the horse and Mickey teasing Rose about the Doctor calling Cleopatra Cleo), moving, and has a tender love story to boot. Sophie Myles as Madame de Pompadour is stunning, particularly the moment when she tells Rose that the Doctor always comes with monsters, and the rapport between her and David Tennant is fabulous. I particularly like the fact that he is prepared to sacrifice himself to the slow path for her, and his pain when he realises he's come back several years too late for her. Love it, love it, love it. Don't think Moffat's really topped this yet...



And last but most definitely not least, the superlative Blink. Again, another great scary story - I will never ever look at statues in the same way again, and one which really creeped us all out. It also features David Tennant talking about timey wimey stuff (sigh), and a great warning: Whatever you do, don't blink! I also loved the absurdity of the end when Sally Sparrow finally meets the Doctor properly and he's wandering about with a bow and arrow. Priceless. Carey Mulligan as Sally Sparrow is just fantastic. Wouldn't she be great as the new companion? All in all another cracker from Steven Moffat. Let's hope he gives us more of the same in 2010...




And if I'd been left up to my own devices and not constrained by Rob, I'd also have added from Series 1: Father's Day for poignancy and brilliant you can't undo time kind of stuff, and The Parting of the Ways because I liked Bad Wolf, and I loved the way Christopher Ecclestone looks at Rose and says, Ah Rose, I had so much I wanted to show you (what can I say? I write romantic fiction). From Series 2 I'd have to add Tooth and Claw because I loved the werewolf and Doomsday for the hilarious meeting between the Cybermen and the Daleks, and bittersweet ending (which you should really have left alone Russell). In Series 3 I also loved the Human Nature/Family of Blood double parter. And finally, in Series 4. I thought Turn Left was stunning and The Stolen Earth had the best cliffhanger ever.

But as I can't include those, you'll have to make do with Moffat...