Doctor Who is a science-fiction show that originally began in 1963, with a reboot – referred to as “New Who”, or the modern era – that started in 2005. The show centers around the title Doctor, who travels through time and space in a police box called the TARDIS with various companions. The Doctor frequently regenerates into a new form, allowing for different actors to continue the character. It’s been nearly 60 years since the character’s debut, and so far, 13 actors have taken on the iconic role. Peter Capaldi starred as the 12th Doctor from 2014 to 2017. His take was more mature and serious than the reboot’s previous youthful iterations. He also brought a sharp wisdom and deep emotion through many standout episodes. Here are the 12th Doctor’s best episodes, ranked.
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9 The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Inversion
BBC Studios
This two-part episode sees the planet invaded by the shape-shifting alien Zygons. When one of the Zygons takes Clara’s (Jenna Coleman) form, the Doctor must work with the organization UNIT to stop them. The Zygons are a classic Doctor Who villain, and it’s exciting to see them in this. The two-part episode also has a memorable finale. Rather than a big fight, the Doctor persuades the Zygons away from the battle with a powerful and emotional anti-war speech that shows all the pain he’s been through, which the Nerdist considers one of the best modern-era monologues.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
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8 The Magician’s Apprentice/The Witch’s Familiar
Another two-part episode, this one starts with Clara and Missy (Michelle Gomez) – an iteration of the villainous Master – teaming up to find the Doctor. It ends with the Doctor on the planet Skaro, which is home to the Daleks, one of his main enemies. There he meets the Daleks’ creator Davros, who is dying, and asking the Doctor for help – with the revelation that the Doctor saved Davros as a boy and unwittingly created his own enemy. It’s an exploration of the Doctor’s character as he must decide what to do, and a great way to bring back such a classic villain.
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7 Flatline
In this episode, the Doctor is stuck inside the TARDIS, which is shrinking. With Clara on the outside, she must take on the Doctor’s role and investigate aliens from another dimension, who are turning people into 2D graffiti. The concept is absurd yet fun, and there’s a lot of laughs in the Doctor instructing Clara from inside the toy-sized TARDIS. It’s a strong episode that switches the dynamic and lets Clara be the hero in a great moment.
6 Face the Raven
Much of Clara’s time as companion was based around trying to be like the Doctor, and this episode explores that with deadly consequences. After a friend, Rigsy, has a death counter tattoo placed on him, Clara tries to help by having the tattoo transferred to her. When there’s no way to undo Clara’s actions, she bravely faces her fate and stops the Doctor from intervening, as he often does. It’s a great, emotional episode and a fitting ending for the Doctor’s companion.
5 The Husbands of River Song
This episode focuses on the relationship between the Doctor and River Song (Alex Kingston). According to ScreenRant, River made her first appearance in season four, where she died. This episode takes place just before she goes to her eventual death. On the planet Darillium, the Doctor and River spend over two decades together, peacefully sharing in a romance that so often got cut short by danger in previous seasons. It’s funny but also deeply emotional, and serves as a beautiful end to their love story.
4 Mummy on the Orient Express
This episode is a great mash-up of past and future, as the Doctor and Clara are on a 1920s-style train that travels through space. The ride is interrupted, however, when a mummy begins killing passengers. Only the person claimed as the mummy’s victim can see it, and they will die in 66 seconds. The Doctor defeats the mummy when he recognizes it as a soldier and offers it surrender, so that it knows the war is over. It’s a suspenseful episode, with mystery and a bit of horror, that also deepens Clara and the Doctor’s friendship.
3 Listen
In this episode, the Doctor becomes convinced that there are monsters hiding in the darkness that are only noticeable in silence. When he fails to find the monsters, he is thrust back into his own timeline, where we encounter him as a child. It’s a softer, vulnerable side of the 12th Doctor we haven’t seen, and a great exploration of him as a character. Clara also meets the young Doctor and gives him a beautiful speech about using fear to be brave. It’s a unique take on monsters and how kindness helps overcome fears.
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2 World Enough and Time
This, along with the continuation, “The Doctor Falls,” serves as the 12th Doctor’s epic conclusion. Along with companion Bill (Pearl Mackie, who was great despite her short run) and friend Nardole (Matt Lucas), the Doctor must save a colony ship and take on not one, but two versions of the Master. It also features the Cybermen, with their original design. In a big twist, they turn Bill into a Cyberman, while the Doctor is unable to help. In the continuation, the Doctor starts a resistance against the Cybermen and saves his companion. Though he would appear in one final Christmas special, this epic episode is a powerful and emotional ending to Capaldi’s run as the Doctor, and a showcase of just how much he brought to the role.
1 Heaven Sent
Trapped in a castle alone for billions of years, this episode lets Capaldi truly shine and show off his incredible talents. With no one else except for a wraith planning to kill him, the Doctor must get out of this alone, and finally finds his escape: he must punch through a wall of a mineral 400 times harder than diamond. He has to send himself back through the same loop over and over, punching through the wall bit by bit, until he emerges bloody and victorious. He is completely vulnerable, brave, and determined the whole episode, with an intensity that Capaldi perfectly captures. It’s his best performance as the character, and it makes for his best episode.
