The Cutprice Guignol

As we trudge through this period of Doctor Who purgatory, it struck me that I have left one of my Whovian series unfinished. I have covered all my favourite episodes from each Doctor’s era, and, with Ncuti Gatwa’s well and truly behind us, I figured it might be time to take a look back at this particular run of the show through a more positive lens.

Because…well, let’s be honest, it’s not an era of the show that I can imagine many people looking on with glowing optimism. I’ve covered most of my issues with this era in a retrospective here, if you somehow haven’t had enough of me ranting about Doctor Who over the years, but today, I’d like to put aside some of those dodgier episodes and focus on something a little more cheerful. While this era had some low lows, there were also some highs that are worth remembering – so let’s get into the best episodes from Ncuti Gatwa’s era of Doctor Who, in my entirely un-humble opinion.

The Church on Ruby Road

For all the goofiness inherent to a Christmas special, Ncuti Gatwa’s first full episode is still one of the high points of his run on the show. There’s just so much promise here, in his performance – I mean, that little “I’ve got no-one” moment? Come on – in his relationship with Ruby and her family, in the warm, bright, joyful energy that he brought to every inch of this episode. After a very strong introduction in The Giggle, I completely fell in love with him in the role here. Him, Angela Wynter, and Michelle Greenidge could have literally sat around sharing a cup of tea for the entirety of this episode and I would have loved it, but hey, there’s also goblins and a beloved presenter getting smushed by a Christmas tree.

Rogue

Is this episode just pure period piece silliness? Of course it is. But that’s primarily why I love it as much as I do. Even if Rogue’s arc didn’t go everywhere I had hoped it would, this introduction is a joy to watch, with Gatwa and Johnathan Groff just sharing the most delightful chemistry even against the backdrop of the alien-bird-people-but-also-it’s-Bridgerton backdrop. You’ll never convince me that Who isn’t at its best when it’s leaning into to a bit of camp and goofy monster effects, and this has it in droves. I also love any episode that gets into the history of the Doctor in some way, and I actually really enjoyed the way this self-reflection happened through the lens of Rogue’s knowledge of him. It’s been missold as some milestone for the show, when in truth, it’s just a really solid episode.

Lux

I thought I would end things on my very favourite episode of this era of the show, and that is, of course, Lux. This episode gets me excited, man – there’s just so much invention here, such a daring approach to the storytelling with this fourth-wall-breaking, hyper-meta climax that really shouldn’t work but somehow does. Alan Cumming is iconic as the titular cartoon villain, and Gabriel Byrne puts in one of the better guest performances in recent memory as the grieving owner of a cinema. It’s got horror, it’s got wit, it’s got a great sense of scale that matches the godlike nature of the main villain, and most of all, it’s got Gatwa right there in the middle of it, more than enough to anchor this completely out-there experiment on. This is the height of this era and, if you don’t agree, it’s because you felt a little too called out by those Doctor Who fans in this episode.

As always, I would love to hear if you agree with my takes on this – what episodes are your tops for this era? And which ones sit at the bottom of the list? Let me know in the comments below! 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 Variety)