Doctor Who on Tor.com   
      Our Favorite Eleventh Doctor Episodes of Doctor Who   
      Emily Asher-Perrin, Ryan Britt, Chris Lough and Sarah Tolf   
      December 20, 2013 11:00AM   
      
      Best Doctor Who episodes Eleventh Doctor   
      
      Doctor Who has been one hell of a rollercoaster under Matt Smith and   
      Steven Moffats reign. The quality of the episodes themselves has been   
      markedly variable, as reflected in our own reviews, and for a little   
      while the staff here was worried that wed always be down about the   
      show, or that we were chronicling the decline of the series.   
      
      Even if that had been the case (the 50th anniverary episode and its   
      surroundings celebration did a huge, wonderful job at rejuvenating the   
      series), Doctor Who is still the best damn sci-fi show on television.   
      As we stand here, mere days from the fall of the Eleventh, were   
      feeling thankful for all the sheer oddity that his episodes have added   
      to the series as a whole. We pick our favorites below!   
      
      
      Emily:   
      
      Best Doctor Who episodes Eleventh Doctor   
      
      Vampires of Venice   
      
      This episode is simple, clever and absolutely hilarious, which is   
      always how Who operates at its best. If you can say that your episode   
      involves the Doctor jumping out of a bachelor party cake and flashing a   
      library card as credentials, youve already knocked it out of the park.   
      But the emotional moments of this episode resonate beautifully as   
      wellRory Williams has the distinction of being the first companion to   
      truly call the Doctor out on his bullshit, taking him to task for   
      making people want to impress him and therefore endangering their   
      lives. The defeating of the villain is really a sidenote to this tale,   
      one that sees Rory on the outside looking in as Amy and the Doctor jump   
      around in frenzied excitement over alien vampires. Its the beginning   
      of building the trio into a team, a great historical period, and   
      features some measured posturing against the queen mother where the   
      Doctor is concerned. A romp, but a meaningful one.   
      
      
      Best Doctor Who episodes Eleventh Doctor   
      
      Amys Choice   
      
      To begin with, there is no real villain in this episode, which is   
      always an exciting story choice. We do, however, get a glimpse of just   
      how dangerous the Doctors dark side can bewhile we had seen his   
      proper rage come to the forefront during Davies era, we had never been   
      subjected to how insidious and deceitful that aspect of the Doctor was,   
      nor how it could endanger the lives of his companions. The episode is   
      sharp in how it effectively shows Rory and Amys domestic bliss as a   
      little too blissful (read: boring), a very realistic fear for a couple   
      just about to be married. But more importantly, everything that this   
      episode accomplishes is in the title; with the Doctor powerless, for   
      the first time ever, he truly puts the most important choice into a   
      companions hands. He lets Amy decide how they go out even though that   
      decision could kill them, and acknowledges that the choice should be   
      hers after what shes suffered. Its a real growing up moment for the   
      both of them, and one of the aspects to their relationship that made   
      Amy a very special companion.   
      
      
      Best Doctor Who episodes Eleventh Doctor   
      
      The God Complex   
      
      A perfect example of misunderstood alien life being made out as the   
      baddie, one of the best sort of dilemmas Who provides. Its   
      particularly satisfying when the Doctor himself misreads a situation,   
      proving that 1000+ years of travel in time and space should never give   
      you right to presume anything. While the plot takes place in a   
      hotel-looking space, it is effectively a several people stuck in a   
      room sort of plot, and the extra characters the tale provides are all   
      incredibly interesting in their own right, which is essential in those   
      stories. But most importantly, the episode still manages to move   
      forward Amys emotional arc, examining her attachment to the Doctor,   
      and just how deeply it has damaged her. (One of the more fascinating   
      aspects of Amys tenure as a companion is how her connection to the   
      Doctor may have actually done her more harm than good, which is rare   
      for the people who fill those running shoes.) The Doctors decision to   
      ask her to let go of him is one of Elevens more heroic moments.   
      
      
      Ryan:   
      
      Best Doctor Who episodes Eleventh Doctor   
      
      The Lodger & Closing Time   
      
      My close friends and readers of Tor.com know Im something of a fickle   
      Doctor Who fan. I either find myself being a total apologist for the   
      show, or more recently, a hipster hater. (Which at least comes with the   
      privilege of $1 IPAs at Mission Dolores before their weekly   
      shuffleboard tournament.)   
      
      I do miss David Tennant and it has taken me probably longer than it   
      should to warm to Matt Smith. Smith may be a better comic actor than   
      Tennant, though, and I love funny! To that point, some of my favorite   
      Doctor Who episodes have always been the funniest, which is why I   
      absolutely love both episodes with James Cordens Craig: The Lodger,   
      and Closing Time.   
      
      Written by Gareth Roberts, The Lodger originally saw life as a short   
      comic strip, which featured Mickey Smith and the Tenth Doctor.   
      (Famously, Moffats Blink also began life as a comic adventure   
      featuring a different Doctor than the aired version.) Both of these   
      episodes operate on a low-stakes maybe there are aliens in your   
      neighborhood principle, which helps humanize and undercut some of the   
      more preposterous Doctor Who baggage. The big epic Doctor Who episodes   
      can be fun, but juxtaposing a centuries-old badass like the Doctor into   
      a boring domestic situation is automatically comic gold. Whether hes   
      just impolitely dominating everyone at football or working (somewhat   
      incompentently) at the mall, the idea that a seemingly weird (but   
      human-looking) guy is actually there to save the entire planet from   
      your living room or local dressing room is awesome.   
      
      Further, I dont mind Amy and Rory at all, but I sort of love Craig and   
      Sophie (Daisy Haggard) more. Theres real pain when he just takes off   
      at the end of Closing Time, leaving Craigs place for the big stakes   
      stuff. You really get the sense Craig is an actual person, a real   
      character with a life on Earth whos life was changed for the better by   
      the Doctor. This doesnt mean the Doctor isnt SUPER annoying when he   
      shows up, sending Craig on super inconvenient adventures. But the image   
      of a pudgy guy with a baby strapped to his chest running to help save   
      the universe is awesome. And thats what good Doctor Who is all about:   
      regular people getting empowered to do battle with monsters, aliens,   
      and stuff that goes bump in the night.   
      
      
      Chris:   
      
      Best Doctor Who episodes Eleventh Doctor   
      
      A Christmas Carol and The Snowmen   
      
      Its downright criminal how good these episodes are. Steven Moffat is   
      often at his best when hes not feeling compelled to write towards a   
      larger story arc and these two Christmas episodes, especially A   
      Christmas Carol, come off as stories that the writer felt a personal   
      desire to tell. That care comes through in the weight that he gives to   
      the characters in these episodes.   
      
      Former showrunner Russell T. Davies also did his best work under the   
      same kind of focus (For example, Turn Left is a total mess of a plot,   
      but it comes off brilliantly because of the care RTD took with Donnas   
      story.) but Steven Moffat is possibly the most clever plotter the show   
      has ever had, and when he really cares about a story hes able to merge   
      the horrifying, the daffy, and the dramatic into a single story that is   
      greater than the sum of its parts. When that happens, its utter magic.   
      This is how good Doctor Who can be. This is how good it should be. This   
      is how good ALL television should be. When the show achieves this kind   
      of transcendence, like it does in A Christmas Carol and The   
      Snowmen, its difficult to watch it come down from that.   
      
      
      Best Doctor Who episodes Eleventh Doctor   
      
      Hide   
      
      I got the same feeling from Hide and although the episodes following   
      it have been entertaining, none have quite reached the zenith that this   
      one did.   
      
      I also adore it for being an episode thats simply impossible to   
      explain, much like the show itself. You just have to watch it, which   
      makes it an experience.   
      
      
      Sarah:   
      
      Best Doctor Who episodes Eleventh Doctor   
      
      Vincent and the Doctor   
      
      This one seems to divide the fanbase more than I would expect. Sure,   
      its a little overly sentimental and a bit predictable and the Krafayis   
      doesnt make much sense, but I couldnt care less. This episode is all   
      about the FEELS, and that is perfectly okay. Functionally, it serves as   
      a bit of a break in the immediate aftermath of Cold Blood, and gives   
      the Doctor a much needed chance to work through his guilt over not   
      saving Roryclearly dragging Amy all over the galaxy on a whirlwind   
      tour of vacation spots isnt doing the trick. So when the Doctor tells   
      Amy that they cant save everyone, the lesson is for his own benefit as   
      much as hers. This episode also gets major props because van Goghs   
      madness isnt played for laughs. Its instead very real and terrifying   
      when he suddenly orders the Doctor to leave, and just as heartwrending   
      when he later breaks down at the museum. And that bit where he explains   
      the colors of the sky? Im tearing up just thinking about it.   
      
      
      We could go on! The Girl Who Waited was definitely on this list, but   
      we ran out of room. The Day of the Doctor is also one of our   
      favorites, but isnt really an Eleventh Doctor affair. What are your   
      favorite Eleventh Doctor stories?   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
      Emily Asher-Perrin once popped out of a wedding cake but cant remember   
      how she got in there in the first place. You can bug her on Twitter and   
      read more of her work here and elsewhere.   
      
      Ryan Britt is a longtime contributor to Tor.com and solely responsible   
      for the slow degradation of Doctor Who. (Sorry, guys.)   
      
      Chris Lough is the Production Manager at Tor.com and remembers every   
      black day he ever stopped you, Ryan.   
      
      Whenever Sarah Tolf sees Tony Curran pop up in other shows or movies,   
      she STILL wants to give Vincent all the hugs. Sigh.   
      
      
   --- Mystic BBS v1.10 A38 (Linux)   
    * Origin: Cyberia BBS | Cyberia.Darktech.Org | Kingwood, TX (1:106/324)