Getting Acquainted With “Doctor Who” – Five Iconic Ninth Doctor Stories

To prepare for Doctor Who’s arrival on Disney+ in 2023, and as Laughing Place’s resident Doctor Who expert, I wanted to do a series of articles to get Disney fans acquainted with the world of the traveling Time Lord. Following a failed attempt to permanently bring the show back in 1996, we finally got the reboot the show deserved in 2005 – with Christopher Eccelston as the Ninth Doctor and Russell T Davies at the helm of the show. Sadly, Eccleston only ended up sticking around for one season, but it’s a testament to the actor and the writing that we got to see a full, well-executed character arc for the Ninth Doctor over the course of the season.

But who is the Doctor, you might ask? Well he’s a traveling Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. The line that best sums up the Doctor, no matter his portrayal is “Never cruel, never cowardly.”

In these articles, I will introduce you to what I think are the five stories from each Doctor that best represent that era, and also serve to move the show’s mythos forward. Could Doctor Who adapt and survive in the 21st century, and was Russell T Davies the right man to do it? Let’s find out…

Rose

As the first episode of the brand-new version of Doctor Who, there was a lot riding on “Rose.” When compared to many incredible episodes that followed, “Rose” is nothing too spectacular. But when you look at it from the perspective of launching a new era for the show, it’s almost perfect. Before being introduced to the Doctor, we meet Rose Tyler (Billie Piper), the first companion of the revived series. The classic era of the show was known for companions with lesser depth and character development, something which did begin to change towards the end of its run. In fact, you could almost say that Sophie Aldred’s Ace was somewhat of a prototype for Rose. She is an independent woman, with a family around her – albeit, far from a perfect one. And she perfectly challenges the Doctor, and in the case of this season, gets him to change.

You see, the Doctor here is a different man than he was in the classic series. Russell T cleverly introduced the conceit of the Time War – making the Doctor the last of his kind (the Time Lords), and therefore erasing a lot of backstory baggage and making the show far more accessible. And of course, we get our first look at Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor in this story. While the Doctor is clearly still out there to save civilizations, he seems more detached than he ever was before. Still, Eccleston portrays him with such a lightness, that when darker moments come, such as towards the end of the story, it's all the more poignant.

We also get the return of a classic series monster, not seen since the 1970s: the Autons – shop-window dummies brought to life by the Nestene Consciousness. Some iconic imagery from their previous appearances is recreated, but they serve as more of a backdrop to the story of the Doctor meeting Rose. Once the day is saved, the Doctor invites Rose to travel with him, and we get our first TARDIS reveal of the revived era. “Rose” truly was a magical way to start off the show – keeping just enough classic elements around while squarely bringing the show into the 21st century.

Dalek

The Doctor and the Daleks. You can’t have one without the other. But with the show returning in a weekly format for the first time in 16 years, it was important to get things right. Six weeks into season 1, we get the aptly titled “Dalek.” Adapted from a Doctor Who audio play called “Jubilee,” writer Robert Shearman sets out to prove just how terrifying one simple Dalek can be. And boy does he succeed with that! This last surviving Dalek of the Time War takes down an entire pseudo-military base, while simultaneously proving to audiences that many of the Daleks’ so-called weaknesses were a thing of the past. The toilet plunger arm can now suck someone’s face to death, and of course, stairs are no problem (even though 1988’s “Remembrance of the Daleks” already showed the pepper pots going upstairs.”)

Perhaps the best part of “Dalek” is the interaction of the Doctor with the Dalek. They both believe themselves to be the very last of their kind. When the Doctor initially meets this Dalek, unaware of what it is, he tries to comfort it. But as the lights go on, you immediately see the absolute terror and panic from the Doctor, as you hear the Dalek say “Doctor… THE DOCTOR!” Fortunately, for now at least, the Dalek is powerless. That is until a touch from Rose reinvigorates it. However, that touch transferred some human DNA into the Dalek, and rather than be seen as impure, the Dalek kills itself when the Doctor can’t.

A Dalek has never been more terrifying, and the audience has never felt more trapped or claustrophobic than in this effort. A truly brilliant reintroduction that cemented the Daleks place in the modern series for years to come!

Father’s Day

One thing that Doctor Who did quite successfully during its first few seasons back was to bring in more drama, character and backstory to the companion’s life. Said drama reached its peak in season 1 with “Father’s Day,” an episode with an extremely interesting conceit. Rose asks the Doctor to visit 1987, the year her father died, so she can see him alive. Of course, things don’t go quite as planned, and Rose can’t stand back and watch her father be killed. And so she saves him, creating a paradox with vicious reapers roaming the streets. Nothing can be put right until her father is gone.

And that’s where “Father’s Day” shines, in the relationship between Rose and her father, Pete (Shaun Dingwall), who doesn’t know her. But they are still able to form a connection. When the aforementioned reapers actually get the Doctor, it's Pete who saves the day, by realizing the situation that he is in and sacrificing himself. This was a story unlike anything seen in Doctor Who before, and that made the new era all the richer for it.

The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances

This two-part story introduced one of the series most prolific writers, Steven Moffat, a man that would go on to run the show a few seasons later. Known for his mind-bending stories with time travel twists, quirks and moments that make you go “huh?” – his first outing for the show is a little more simple, yet still full of his wonderful writing style.

The titular “Empty Child” (seen in the photo above) is one of the simplest, yet creepiest “monster” designs in the history of the show. Gently lurking towards our heroes and supporting cast with the eerie question “are you my mummy?” What makes it even scarier is the ability to transform others into the same type of creature, brilliantly explained away as a scientific nanobot that thinks humans look like this, as the story takes place during the Blitz of World War II. One particularly haunting scene showcases the brutal transformation into the gas-mask creature. The time period is beautifully realized, with dark and moody direction, and wonderful costuming.

The two-parter also introduced an important character for the next few seasons of the show, Captain Jack Harkness, played by John Barrowman. Although some sad things have been revealed about Barrowman’s personal life since, there’s no denying how fun this time traveler is. He’s showcased here as the antithesis to the Doctor. Someone who uses time travel for personal monetary gain, no matter the consequence. It’s through his eventual travels with the Doctor that he develops and becomes a better person. Captain Jack even goes on to lead his own spin-off series, Torchwood.

Bad Wolf / The Parting of the Ways

Big spectacle season finales have become a tradition of the revived series of Doctor Who, and it all started with “Bad Wolf” and “The Parting of the Ways.” The way this story starts out in “Bad Wolf” is completely different from where it ends up in “The Parting of the Ways.” It begins as an extremely ahead of its time critique of reality TV, with life-or-death versions of popular shows such as Big Brother and The Weakest Link, set in the far future. Losing contestants are eradicated, seemingly killed. But it turns out their fate is much worse than that, as they are transported to a new fleet of Daleks, led by the Emperor Dalek, to form a new army.

Rose ends up being one of those supposedly killed, and a desperate Doctor takes desperate measures to save his companion. This leads to one of the most heroic moments in the history of Doctor Who, where the Doctor, defiant against the Daleks, states his intentions to rescue Rose and “wipe every last stinking Dalek out of the sky.” This leads to an all out battle where the stakes have never been higher. Rose ends up absorbing the “Heart of the TARDIS” – giving her the ability to remove every Dalek from existence. Of course, this is something no human should ever do, and so the Doctor saves Rose, sacrificing his life in the process. This leads to the first regeneration of the revived series, and a beautifully written farewell to Christopher Eccleston’s brief tenure as the Ninth Doctor.

Often imitated, never quite reached – the finale to the first season of revived Doctor Who remains one of the best in the show’s history. With the Ninth Doctor regenerated into the Tenth, it’s time to see how an actor named David Tennant fares in the role…

Classic episodes of Doctor Who from 1963-1989 are available to stream on BritBox, while the modern series is on HBO Max. Beginning later this year, all new episodes of Doctor Who will be available on Disney+.