170B. (1.13) The Parting of the Ways

The end has been prepared for...

After a fantastic season that kicked opened the door to bring Doctor Who back, we come to the end and we say good bye to the 9th Doctor. He's battled the Nestenes and Autons, Lady Cassandra, gas mask zombies, Slitheen, Reapers, and Editors. But it all comes down to this- the Doctor vs the Daleks. And not just one Dalek, it's an army of Daleks! 

To save Rose, the Doctor sends her home in one of the most heart wrenching scene ever (or at least until this moment). Rose cleverly retrurns with the power of the vortex in her to save the day. But to save Rose, the Doctor absorbs the vortex at the cost of his own life. 

For the first regeneration in almost 20 years, the Doctor literally explodes with energy as we see his last  moments before turning into David Tennant. But before the end, we realized how much we loved the 9th Doctor and just how fantastic he was. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Parting_of_the_Ways

170A. (1.12) Bad Wolf

Who's afraid of the big Bad Wolf?

The penultimate chatper of season 1 brings together all the references to Bad Wolf they've been dolling out. We return to the space station from the Long Game to see everything has gone wrong. The Doctor, Rose and Jack are transported into killer game shows, gving us a glimpse of Jack's butt. It appears Rose dies, the Doctor gets pissed off, and we find out that the Daleks are behind this whole sceme. The episode ends on a cliff hanger with Rose held prisoner and the Doctor vows to come get her. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Wolf

169. (1.11) Boom Town

Hail Hail the Gang's All Here!

This was supposed to be an odd ball episode. A filler between the last two part story and the season ending two parter. But the seeds sown in this episode resonate for years to come. Captain Jack on the Rift in Cardiff. More to come in Torchwood.

Mickey guest stars in this story and essentially owns the episode. The emotional played out between him and Rose is heart wrenching. His character development through this first season is tremendous. 

The other highlight is the rapport between the Doctor and Margaret Slitheen. The dinner scene in the restaurant is classic and so well staged. Annette Badland is a wonderful villainess and a welcomed return to the series. 

While this quartet only had one outing, it would have been wonderful to see a few episodes of them traveling around in the TARDIS together.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boom_Town_(Doctor_Who)

168B. (1.10) The Doctor Dances

Go to your room!

The Doctor escapes the cliffhanger by telling the Empty Child to go to his room. Brilliant! The Doctor figures out Jack's scheme, finds the alien technology and repairs, we find out who is the Empty Child's mummy is, and for once in Doctor Who history, nobody dies and everyone lives. I truly adore this story for that reason alone. The joy and happiness on the Doctor's face when he figures out how to make everyone live. It's a beautiful moment. And Jack also gets his moment to save the day and noblely sacrifice himself. But thanks to the TARDIS, the Doctor saves Jack in the nick of time. Welcome aboard Captain Jack!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Doctor_Dances

168A. (1.9) The Empty Child

Captain Jack- crazy! sexy! cool!

Steven Moffat joins the fray with his first story for the new series and it's a two parter! And he introduces the amazing John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness, the best new character since Rose. 1941 World War II, London during the blitz, creepy people in gas masks, and a child that only says "Are you my mummy?". This is a brilliant episode that sets up the second part brilliantly and a classic cliffhanger. The Doctor, Rose and Jack are cornered in a room with a bunch of gas mask zombies coming at them....

TO BE CONTINUED!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Empty_Child

167. (1.8) Father's Day

Papa can you hear me? Papa can you see me?

This is the episode that breaks your heart. Hands down. Blubbering idiot. Over the course of the series, we've learned that Rose's father died when she was young. So as a favor, the Doctor takes Rose to the moment he dies, by getting hit by a car. A bit morbid I think. Of course Rose can't help herself and saves her dad from getting killed and changes time. We also see a younger Jackie, a baby Rose and a little Mickey. Changing the timeline causes big problems and the reapers start killing everyone off. Rose's dad, Pete Tyler, finally figures it out and sacrifices himself to correct the timeline. It's truly hearth wrenching and if you don't shed a tear, you're heartless. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father%27s_Day_(Doctor_Who)

166. (1.7) The Long Game

I call him MAX!

This story is a cautionary tale for what type of companion not to bring on the TARDIS. At the end of last story, Adam walks into the TARDIS and joins the crew. This story sees Adam get into a hellavuah lotta trouble! He's brilliant throughout the story and only wants to share some future knowledge with the past. I think if he was with any other Doctor, they would forgive him and let him stay. But not the 9th Doctor. At episodes end, Adam is booted back to the 21st century with a big, gaping hole in his head. 

The other star turn in this story is Simon Pegg's Editor. Pure Simon Pegg doing what he does best. Kind of a slimy business man like Sil, but not so literally slimy. He's brilliant and should have been recurring character. But it's still a joy to have such a big movie star do an episode of Doctor Who.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Long_Game