Doctor Who: Ranking the top 10 David Tennant episodes

8. “Midnight” Season 4, Episode 10

It’s rare that the Doctor ventures out by himself, sans companion. But it happens in season 4’s “Midnight.” While Donna relaxes on the titular planet, the Doctor goes on a side trip to see some waterfalls. But the trip takes a turn for the worst when an unseen danger puts everyone on the bus at risk.

I like this episode because, once again, David Tennant brings out a side of the Doctor we hadn’t seen before. You see, without a companion, it’s pretty difficult for the Doctor to get others to trust him. More often than not, the Tenth Doctor is rambling on about something or other, and if you didn’t know any better you would think there’s something the matter with him.

Tennant does an amazing job in “Midnight” as he attempts to balance the Doctor’s mission to get these folks to trust him while simultaneously trying to do what the Doctor does: save the universe. Given that we never actually see the threat onscreen, this episode relies heavily on sound, and I think Tennant does an incredible job selling this unseen threat.

I’m also always impressed whenever Doctor Who manages to bring in a brand new group of characters we’re never going to see again and gets us to care for them. In this case, part of the reason it works so well is because Tennant does such a good job reacting to the newcomers; we may not know these people, but they matter to the Tenth Doctor, so they matter to us.