Here are some of the Eleventh Doctor’s most underrated stories…
‘The Time of the Doctor’
This one received a plenty of noisy hate from some quarters when it aired, and it’s easy to see why. Again, the expectation level was sky-high; not only was it arriving hot on the heels of the hugely successful ‘The Day of the Doctor’, but it was Matt Smith’s grand swansong.
Moffat being Moffat, he didn’t write a straight-forward regeneration ep, but something a little more left-field, giving us something a bit unexpected. Even I wasn’t entirely sure on first watch and came away a little dissatisfied, but on subsequent re-watches I discovered something wonderful: IT’S AMAZING.
Yes, it needed to be longer to have more time to breathe – Moffat really did try to cram as much in as possible, with a three-season arc to wrap up – but for large stretches ‘The Time of the Doctor’ is a simply magical journey and a beautiful send-off for one of my favourite Doctors; and since when does an episode have to be perfect to be awesome? Watch it again, maybe you’ll see it too.
‘The Curse of the Black Spot’
Give it another go, it’s absolutely, without a word of a lie, one of the most underrated and misunderstood episodes in the history of Doctor Who. Honestly! Just give it another try…
…nah, I’m just pulling your leg, even Downton Abbey‘s Earl of Grantham as a pirate can’t stop this one being straight up terrible. Sorry, Matt!
Are there any episodes from Matt Smith’s era that you think should be on here? Let us know below…