Doctor Who Seasons – Overrated & Underrated

Having been a Doctor Who fan for most of my waking life, I’m bound to have formed a spicy opinion or two!

I’ll be judging each of the show’s seasons, deciding whether they are overrated, underrated or properly rated by the general public and fandom. Let the feather-ruffling commence!

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

Season One

Verdict: UNDERRATED

• Overrated Episode: The End of the World
• Underrated Episode: Boom Town

Don’t skip nine!

I think people look back at Season One with the feeling that it was a necessary stepping stone to the good stuff, but they forget just how solid the overall package is.

Christopher Eccleston is a great doctor for the modern era, and even some of the lacking episodes have their own charm.

Season Two

Verdict: OVERRATED

• Overrated Episode: The Christmas Invasion
• Underrated Episode: Rise of the Cybermen / The Age of Steel

The David Tennant era is the most highly-rated era of the show by a country mile, but I think people look back on his first season with rose-tinted glasses.

All in all it’s a step down from the first season’s consistency. A lot of the episodes are kinda mixed, and the season arc only gets truly interesting in the final two episodes.

Season Three

Verdict: PROPERLY RATED

• Overrated Episode: Last of the Time Lords
• Underrated Episode: The Sound of Drums

I was tempted to say that Season Three is overrated, mainly for how the Tennant era is idolised in the fanbase, but I can’t help but love this season.

Most of Season Two’s inconsistency problems are gone, and some of the individual episodes are all-timers. My only complaint, if any, is that the final episode “Last of the Time Lords” is a bit cheap and underwhelming.

Season Four

Verdict: PROPERLY RATED

• Overrated Episode: Turn Left
• Underrated Episode: The Unicorn and the Wasp

Many fans have this as the best season, and I’d have to agree.

Tennant and Tate are on top form, and their interactions make even the dullest episodes a breath of fresh air. It has an unbelievably consistent run of amazing stories, so it’s no wonder Season Four is everyone’s favourite.

2009 Specials

Verdict: OVERRATED

• Overrated Episode: The End of Time
• Underrated Episode: The Next Doctor

There are five episodes that come under the “2009 Specials” category, and only one of them is properly good. Not a great showing.

“The Waters of Mars” carries the Specials on its back, as otherwise the rest of the stories are either underwhelming or lacking an edge.

Season Five

Verdict: UNDERRATED

• Overrated Episode: Flesh and Stone
• Underrated Episode: Amy’s Choice

People had reservations about Matt Smith when he first took on the mantle of the famous Timelord, and I’ve definitely seen some discourse in the fanbase as to whether his era was good at all, so it’s a massive shame that his first season is overlooked – it’s my second-favourite season of the whole show!

Steven Moffat really nailed the whimsical fantasy in episodes like “The Eleventh Hour” and “The Pandorica Opens”, and “Amy’s Choice” is one of my favourite self-contained Who episodes of all time.

Season Six

Verdict: UNDERRATED

• Overrated Episode: The Doctor’s Wife
• Underrated Episode: The Girl Who Waited

Season Six is waaaay too over-hated by the fandom. Sure, there are some stinkers here and there, but every Doctor Who season has its low points.

“The Wedding of River Song” is no doubt one of the weakest conclusions to a season arc I’ve ever seen, and it tarnishes the season as a whole, but the individual episodes are great – “The Girl Who Waited”, “A Good Man Goes To War” and “The God Complex” are fantastic, to name a few.

Season Seven

Verdict: PROPERLY RATED

• Overrated Episode: Asylum of the Daleks
• Underrated Episode: A Town Called Mercy

Season Seven, on the other hand, deserves all of the hate it gets. The first half isn’t too bad, but the second batch has some of the worst episodes in Who history.

“Hide”, “Dinosaurs On A Spaceship”, “The Crimson Horror”, “The Rings of Akhaten” … these are some of my least favourite Who episodes ever. On the plus side, “A Town Called Mercy” is one of my favourite Eleventh Doctor outings, and it’s the best episode of the season by a country mile.

Season Eight

Verdict: OVERRATED

• Overrated Episode: Dark Water / Death in Heaven
• Underrated Episode: Time Heist

And then along came the Twelfth Doctor, and at the time the fanbase was divided. A lot of fans have come around to Capaldi’s inaugural season, but I’m still a bit disappointed by it.

It’s definitely more solid than the previous two seasons, but episodes like “The Caretaker” and “In The Forest of the Night” leave a stale taste in my mouth. When it embraces the fun however, like in “Mummy on the Orient Express” and “Time Heist”, it truly shines.

Season Nine

Verdict: OVERRATED

• Overrated Episode: Hell Bent
• Underrated Episode: Face the Raven

Like with Season Eight, I just don’t find this season to be particularly noteworthy. In fairness to Season Nine, however, it has some of the best Who episodes of all time.

“Heaven Sent”, “Face the Raven” and “The Zygon Inversion” are phenomenal episodes, but the season as a whole is let down by duds like “Sleep No More” and “Hell Bent”. Not a bad season, but it could have been so much more.

Season Ten

Verdict: UNDERRATED

• Overrated Episode: Extremis
• Underrated Episode: Thin Ice

I have the exact opposite opinions of this era to most in the fanbase – while Seasons Eight and Nine felt underwhelming, Season Ten was exactly what I was looking for.

Capaldi is on top form throughout episodes like “Thin Ice” and “World Enough and Time”, and I’m even willing to look past duds like the monk trilogy and “The Eaters of Light” when the rest is so solid.

Season Eleven

Verdict: PROPERLY RATED

• Overrated Episode: Rosa
• Underrated Episode: Demons of the Punjab

I think even the most die-hard Thirteenth Doctor fans are starting to admit that her first season left a lot to be desired.

Even the supposedly “good” episodes like “Rosa” are far from great, and the only episode that I remotely enjoyed watching was “Demons of the Punjab” – but that’s a generous stretch.

Season Twelve

Verdict: OVERRATED

• Overrated Episode: Spyfall
• Underrated Episode: Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror

Season Twelve was a noticeable improvement from its predecessor, but I still hated nearly every episode. What baffles me is that some fans think this season is remotely good.

“Praxeus”, “Can You Hear Me?” and “The Timeless Children” made me want to rip my eyes out, and the better episodes like “Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror” and “The Haunting of Villa Diodati” don’t do enough to salvage this mediocre season.

Season Thirteen / “Flux”

Verdict: PROPERLY RATED

• Overrated Episode: War of the Sontarans
• Underrated Episode: n/a

Chris Chibnall decided to shake things up for Season Thirteen, or “Flux”, and I appreciated the focus on a season arc. Sadly, the season arc in question was pants.

His writing once again let everyone down in the final few episodes, and even higher-rated episodes like “War of the Sontarans” don’t hold a candle to the show’s best work.

Aaand that’s my list! You can check out some of my latest blog posts below: