Back in 2020, Doctor Who was my quarantine show. I watched every single episode of Doctor Who, classic and modern. As more series came out, I kept out with those too. Now, do I recommend consuming this much Doctor Who in such a short space of time? Honestly, not really. But I did, and therefore I have various thoughts about the show. I’ve already published many of them in the Hoot, but this week, I’m going to try and rank all 40 seasons of Doctor Who from worst to best. In keeping with Doctor Who fan convention, “season” will refer to Classic Who and “series” will refer to New Who. And if you disagree with this ranking, you can write your own.

 

And we’re off!

 

#40: Season 24 — Fans of Doctor Who can’t agree on much, but one thing most can agree on is that Season 24 is not good. The Seventh Doctor’s personality is more goofy than anything, rather than the Machiavellian persona he would later develop. Mel, our companion, does little more than scream. And while the season finale, “Dragonfire,” is quite serviceable, and I think “Time and the Rani” is sort of fun, the overall season is quite poor.

 

#39: Series 2 — This series has its highs—”The Girl in the Fireplace” and “School Reunion” chief among them—but the lows are nearly unwatchable. The romance between Rose and the Doctor might have felt like a good idea in 2006, but looking back on it, the whole thing is rather uncomfortable. The series arc is weak, and if you don’t care much for Rose, the whole series is difficult to be invested in.

 

#38: Series 7 — While Series 7A (with the Ponds) is actually pretty good for the most part, Series 7B (with Clara) is all kinds of awful. The Eleventh Doctor becomes angsty and also sort of a sexual predator, which is just weird. Turning the companion into a mystery box sabotages Clara’s character development before it can even begin. And if that wasn’t enough, the episode quality is just plain bad. 

 

#37: Season 23 — The show’s second attempt at a season-long arc puts the Sixth Doctor on trial. I like the attempt at non-linear storytelling, but the story quality is all kinds of awful, and the way Peri leaves the show is incredibly icky. Robert Holmes died halfway through writing the finale, and I think that just about sums up the overall vibe of the season.

 

#36: Series 14 — The most recent series of Doctor Who just gave a whole lot of nothing. Hampered by too much filler in an already shortened series, Ncuti Gatwa’s debut series was just too forgettable. Fourteen isn’t given the opportunity to develop much depth or personality, and the conclusion to the series arc is deeply unsatisfying. And I still can’t forgive this story for wasting Jinkx Monsoon in an utterly abysmal episode.

 

#35: Season 3 — Season three suffers from most of its episodes being missing, including the majority of the 12-part “The Daleks’ Master Plan.” The new companions can’t make up for the loss of the brilliant Ian and Barbara. There’s also a bizarre streak of conservative politics throughout the season that I just can’t forgive, even if there are some interesting stories sprinkled in.

 

#34: Season 14 — Is it controversial ranking this one so low? Probably. I just don’t really love any of the stories in this season. Some are decent, but most are forgettable, and “The Talons of Weng Chiang” manages to commit the double sin of being both tedious and racist. Leela, however, is excellent, and Louise Jameson is a contender for the best actor to have ever played a companion.

 

#33: Series 1 — This was the very first series of Doctor Who that I ever watched. While many fans love it, I think the show was quite simply still finding its feet at this point. Like Series Two, there are some high highs (the classic Empty Child two-parter, and the return of the Daleks to the new series) but they don’t make up for the lows or the uncomfortable romance arc between an immortal Time Lord and a 19-year-old girl.

 

#32: Season 22 — I mean, I don’t hate it. The Sixth Doctor is my least favorite Doctor and Peri is an irritating companion, but the stories are for the most part solid and play with lots of interesting sci-fi ideas. With a better TARDIS team, this season might actually be pretty good. Unfortunately, as it stands, it’s only so-so.

 

#31: Series 3 — Yeah, so 2000s Doctor Who just isn’t my thing. Most episodes in this series are average, with two brilliant stories near the end and a nearly unwatchable Dalek two-parter in the middle. The finale, with House Elf Doctor turning into Jesus Doctor, is kind of painful to watch. And Martha’s whole unrequited love thing just doesn’t work for me. However, I do think this is the series where the revived show started to hit its stride.

 

#30: Season 17 — This season would rank much closer to the bottom without the absolutely phenomenal “City of Death.” The rest of the season … yeah, it’s not so good. And Romana II is no Romana I. 

 

#29: Season 21 — There’s some good here—”The Caves of Androzani” rightly deserves the acclaim it gets, and “Resurrection of the Daleks” is unflinching in its brutality. But man, this season is dour. So dour. Miserable, even. And of course, it concludes with “The Twin Dilemma”—the very worst story Doctor Who has ever made. 

 

#28: Season 8 — There’s a big positive here: the introduction of companion Jo Grant, who complements the Third Doctor perfectly and completes the “UNIT family.” And, of course, we get Roger Delgado’s Master, still the definitive Master all these years later. Unfortunately, this season doesn’t deliver the story quality to match its cast. 

 

#27: Season 18 — With infamous producer John Nathan-Turner taking the reins of the show, this season drags Doctor Who kicking and screaming into the eighties. The episodes are mostly solid, but the whole season is just rather forgettable. And Adric is annoying.

 

#26: Season 11 — This season will always be remembered as the one that introduced iconic companion Sarah Jane Smith. Unfortunately, she’s paired with the Third Doctor throughout the season, and she can’t quite fill the shoes left by Jo. There are also some poor serials and an episode-long car chase in the finale, which hold this series back. Nothing is unforgivably bad, but nothing is brilliant either.

 

#25: Series 11 — Series 11 had the unfortunate luck of having to directly follow the much-beloved Steven Moffat era of Doctor Who. It split from the previous format of New Who in dramatic fashion, with three companions and no series arc. On the positive side, the historical episodes shine, and Jodie Whittaker is lots of fun in her first series. On the negative side, the TARDIS does feel really overcrowded, and I can’t think of any justification for the Pting.

 

#24: Season 19 — It’s difficult to rank Season 19, because it’s a mix of some of the best and worst stories Doctor Who has ever produced. I’ve settled on somewhere in the middle because I don’t really know. Peter Davison is doing his best, but it’s hard to follow seven seasons of Tom Baker. And like Series 11, the TARDIS is seriously overcrowded.

 

#23: Season 15 — There are a couple of good serials here, but quite a lot of this season is pretty poor on the story quality front. There’s an unfortunate bit where the Doctor has to confront a giant prawn. But the whole season is lifted by Leela, and her fantastic rapport with the Fourth Doctor. Plus, this is the season where everyone’s favorite robot dog, K9, is introduced.

 

#22: Season 20 — This is a weird season. We’ve got the introduction of the utterly abysmal companion Turlough. There’s a female pirate captain in space, which is excellent. The Brigadier comes back for an episode! There’s enough good to make the season watchable, but not enough to elevate the season into the top half of this ranking.

 

#21: Series 10 — Twelve and Bill are a fun duo, but they can’t live up to the brilliance that is Twelve and Clara. Moffat tends to work best over multiple-series arcs, so with only one series for this duo, everything feels a tad limited. Still, we get some great stories, New Who at its most political and every moment with Missy is great.

 

#20: Season 4 — There’s a special place in my heart for this season, because it’s the debut season of Patrick Troughton’s Second Doctor, a.k.a. the greatest Doctor in the history of the show. But like season three, this season suffers from too many missing episodes. Add in an overcrowded TARDIS team and I can’t rate this one quite as highly as Troughton’s other seasons, despite some fantastic serials.

 

#19: Series 12 — The whole feels slightly less than the sum of its parts here. The James Bond-themed series opener is thrilling and the Frankenstein-inspired horror episode is fantastic. Sacha Dhawan’s Master does the impossible and manages to succeed Missy without feeling like a disappointment. I think the main issues here are Ryan feeling absolutely useless and a series arc that rewrites the lore of the show for little to no reason.

 

#18: Series 13 — Also known as “Doctor Who: Flux” this six-episode series can start to come apart if you think about it too hard. The solution? Don’t think about it too hard! Just sit back and enjoy the breakneck pace of a series that had too much ambition for its own good but did its absolute best. There’s one jaw-droppingly good Weeping Angels episode and one of the weirdest episodes Doctor Who has ever produced. But yeah, there was no way to fit this much story into just three episodes.

 

#17: Season 7 — Oh, it’s good. I know it’s good. I just never want to watch anything in this season other than “Inferno.” As a completely Earthbound season, the show feels limited in what it can do. It pulls off four strong serials, but Three without Jo just isn’t very fun. And I was still mourning the loss of Two when I first watched this season, which probably impacts my rating.

 

#16: Season 1 — You have to respect the season that started it all. It’s slow going at times, due to television conventions of the time. The potential of Susan’s character is squandered in a big way (mostly by Terry Nation). But Ian and Barbara, some of the greatest companions Doctor Who has ever had, carry the series, and there’s something wonderful about watching Doctor Who discover the show it would become.

 

#15: Season 13 — This season is relentless with its gothic horror style. Sometimes it works, like in the season finale “The Seeds of Doom.” Other times, it devolves into answering simple riddles and mummies chest bumping each other, like in “Pyramids of Mars.” Four and Sarah inject life into the season when it’s on the verge of getting too grim. 

 

#14: Season 25 — Thank goodness for Ace, the companion that brought life back into Doctor Who. Ace and Seven are a marvellous duo, and this season kicks off in style with the excellent “Remembrance of the Daleks.” The rest of the season can’t quite hit those same highs, but there’s a Margaret Thatcher parody and some scary clowns, which are excellent.

 

#13: Series 8 — After the lows of Series 7, Doctor Who bounced back in a big way with this series. The relationship between Clara and the Doctor is completely revamped, and I quickly fell in love with Capaldi and Coleman as a double act. The episode quality is good (if rarely great) and the series makes a valiant attempt at exploring some deeper themes. Oh, and Missy is there. Which is excellent.

 

#12: Season 9 — Is this too high a placement? Maybe, but I don’t care, because Three and Jo shine throughout the season, and we get the right balance of UNIT-led earthbound stories and wacky space adventures. I also happen to like the unpopular serial “The Time Monster,” which gives me a more positive view on this season than most fans have.

 

#11: Series 4 — This series is often held up as the best series of all time. I don’t quite share that view, but I can’t deny that it’s very good, easily the best of 2000s Doctor Who. Ten and Donna are a fabulous TARDIS team. River Song is introduced in one of the best Doctor Who stories of all-time. The only thing holding this series back is a slower start and a final episode that just can’t quite live up to its potential.

 

#10: Season 12 — Everyone say hello to the Fourth Doctor! He’s going to be around for a while. This season also marks the beginning of the Phillip Hinchcliffe gothic horror phase of the show. Sarah comes into her own as a companion, and new companion Harry spends quite a lot of time falling down. The highlight of the season is easily “Genesis of the Daleks,” a grim dystopian six-parter that also introduces Davros.

 

#9: Season 2 — Yes, yes, the Web Planet is awful. Moving on! This season is great because of its TARDIS team, with Ian and Barbara at their best, a more lighthearted First Doctor and the more adventurous Vicki replacing Susan. This is the season when Doctor Who figured itself out as a show. Add in some absolute classic stories (notably “The Dalek Invasion of Earth” and “The Time Meddler”), and you’ve got an excellent season.

 

#8: Season 16 — Romana I might be my favorite Fourth Doctor companion, and she has the distinction of being the first Time Lord companion. This season is also the first to experiment with a long-running story arc. The first four serials are some of the best of the classic series, and then the whole thing takes a nosedive at the very end. But the good outweighs the bad by a sizable margin.

 

#7: Season 26 — You’d think the last season of Classic Doctor Who would be one of the show’s weakest seasons, but no. This is a fantastic season. Seven and Ace are at their very best throughout, and their confrontation in “The Curse of Fenric” is some of the best character work on the show. There’s a riff on the Arthurian legend, some cheetah people and some meditations on evolution. Classic Who went out on a high note.

 

#6: Season 10 — This is such a well-rounded season and a fitting farewell to the Three and Jo TARDIS team, and the UNIT family as a whole. The story quality is good, the character arcs are well done, and the final episode of “The Green Death” always brings a tear to my eye. This is also one of the most political seasons in the show’s history.

 

#5: Season 5 — Ok, so there might be too many stories using the base-under-siege formula. But I don’t care, because they’re all so good. Two, Jamie and Victoria are an excellent TARDIS team, and this season shines with its creativity when it comes to villains, eras and guest stars (including the first appearance of the Brigadier), if not with its story format. This season also gave us one of the greatest stories Doctor Who has ever produced with the epic spy thriller “The Enemy of the World.”

 

#4: Season 6 — If not for “The Space Pirates,” this season might take the top spot. As it is, I still adore it thanks to quite possibly the greatest TARDIS team the show has ever had in Two, Jamie and Zoe. And of course, there is “The War Games.” Oh, “The War Games.” My favorite ever Doctor Who story. It’s 10 parts of non-stop action and drama, with an ending that will break your heart.

 

#3: Series 6 — I have a soft spot for Series 6. It might not be the best on an objective episode quality level, but this is my list, and I don’t care. The family vibe in the TARDIS with Eleven, the Ponds and River is at its best. There are lots of twists and turns, and the series takes advantage of the concept of Doctor Who to play around with time to great effect. I also think this is the one time Doctor Who managed to pull off a romance story. 

 

#2: Series 9 — Doctor Who at its most grown-up, Series 9 also features some of the show’s best-ever lead performances from Capaldi and Coleman. With the exception of the rather dull “Sleep No More,” the series is told in a series of two and three-part stories, culminating in one of the most intense character studies Doctor Who has ever done. 

 

#1: Series 5 — The Eleventh Doctor’s first series is just so much fun. Every single episode has something to recommend it, and the strongest episodes of the series are some of the best in the show. The crack in time arc is well conceptualized and well executed, and this series feels like the revitalizing force Doctor Who needed as it careened into a new era. It’s the series I’m most likely to rewatch on a whim, and in my opinion, the series with the most entertainment value.

 

And … we’re done! That was a lot of Doctor Who. I think this is one of my longest ever articles. I, like the Tenth Doctor after regenerating, need a nap.