The Cutprice Guignol

This era of Doctor Who holds a very special place in my heart, because it was during Matt Smith’s run on the show that I started writing about Doctor Who on the regular (and, if you make me think about how long ago that was, I’m calling the police at once).

But there’s no doubt that this was kind of a strange era in the show’s history. While David Tennant’s run had grown Doctor Who’s popularity, it was Matt Smith’s that took it over the edge and into worldwide fame and notoriety; it was really odd, as a long-time fan, to go from having to seek out forums to talk about the latest episodes to overhearing people excitedly discussing it in the pub at random, you know?

And it felt like the tone of the show shifted here, with Steven Moffat (*shakes fist wildly*) took over from Russel T Davies and shifted the show into something on a grander scale, something with huge, over-arching stories and characters who served as giant cogs in the plot machine rather than the very human people we’d seen up until this point. And that’s got it’s upsides and downsides for me; at it’s worst, there’s an affectation to this era I find really grating, a tonal “wahoo!” goofiness that rubs me up the wrong way (and the less said about the female characters, the better). But there’s also some real triumphs here, and that’s what I’d like to talk about today. Without further ado, let’s get into the best of Matt Smith’s run on Doctor Who!

Nightmare in Silver

Kicking off with my most needlessly controversial choice – I truly adore this Neil Gaiman-penned Cyberman episode. It’s truly one of the most gloriously batshit episodes of the entirety of New Who to date, a high stakes battle-of-wills between Matt Smith’s Doctor and…Matt Smith’s Doctor with a face applique on? Jenna Coleman does a good job managing the more literal part of this episode, while Matt Smith plays chess for his own body against a character nicknamed Mr Clever. To see the show go down such a pulpy, over-the-top route for these classic villains really worked for me, and Matt Smith is clearly having an outrageous amount of fun here. The galactic theme park backdrop is just the cherry on top of this creative exercise in how much Hannibal-esque nonsense they could sneak under the radar before someone started paying attention, and I, for one, am here for it.

The Pandorica Opens

You know I, of all people, am reluctant to give Steven Moffat credit, but sometimes, you’ve just got to hold your hands up, put down your grudge for a minute, and applaud brilliance, you know? My wig entered orbit during the first part of the fifth season’s finale, a superb, inventive, and utterly stunning reflection on the Doctor’s place within this universe and how it relates to the myriad villains we’ve encountered over the course of New Who’s run. It’s so ambitious but immaculately-conceived, with cinematic direction from Toby Haynes bringing it together and kicking this era into undeniable high gear. I still think this is just a magic piece of storytelling for the show, with a fantastic twist, great performances, and a sense of scale that we hadn’t really seen in New Who up until this point.

The God Complex

It’s not often Doctor Who does outright psychological horror, but when it does, it rarely betters the incredible The God Complex. This is, for me, up there in the best-ever episodes of the show, a simple premise that really allows for a delve into the psyches of the characters we’ve come to know and love. From the incredible monster design to the excellent one-shot supporting characters, every detail of this comes together beautifully to tell this profoundly sad and affecting story about what scares us, and why. Genuinely unsettling and claustrophobic, it’s simple, short, and still one of the most impressive pieces of storytelling in Steven Moffat’s back catalogue.

What are your favourite episodes of this era? How does it stack up to other runs on the show for you? Let me know in the comments!

If you’d like to read my other Doctor Who articles, you can check them out here (and take a look at my books if you’re feeling curious!).

(header image via Radio Times)