Doctor Who: Making Sense of Rankings
By David Hill
There is nothing quite like a rankings list to fuel discussion. That is especially true when it comes to ranking every episode written by Steven Moffat for Doctor Who.
Not everyone has the same tastes. My love of Scandinavian Viking folk metal may not translate for everyone else (although, this song is flat out amazing). Likewise, should electronic dance music be your forte, we just cannot be friends. Doctor Who, with everything that it has to offer, is the same way – not everyone enjoys the same shows, characters and concepts.
Naturally, any list ranking the Doctors, episodes, or companions is subject to the personal tastes of the person ranking it. Yet, these lists often create discussion and debate, with some rankings that make one shake their head in disbelief. Such is the reaction I had when it came to this recent article ranking every episode that Steven Moffat has written for Doctor Who.
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There are some good points. Blink, a personal favorite, was considered Moffat’s greatest work thus far. Heaven Sent, The Day of the Doctor and The Empty Child all crack the top ten, among other favorite episodes, crack the top ten. The Beast Below and The Bells of St. John are considered to be among the worst efforts from Moffat. Given the generally universal appreciation, or disdain, for these episodes, that seems fairly realistic.
However, there are other episodes that are ranked in strange places. Let’s Kill Hitler is considered to be the worst episode written by Moffat on this list, and while it may not be an all time great production, it is still important to the story of River Song. Dark Water and Death in Heaven, which may have been the two best episodes of Series Eight, ranked 28th and 26th respectively. Yet, The Girl in the Fireplace cracked the top ten? Really?
Yes, just like everything else, rankings are subjective, and not everyone will agree with where different shows on Doctor Who are ranked. But sometimes, one has to wonder what other people saw that led them to judge something so differently than one’s own tastes.