Features
Looking for the ideal episode to ring in the New Year? Need something TARDIS-centric to mark a special day? Or maybe you’re looking for a birthday treat that comes in a big, blue, time travelling box?
Don’t worry - whatever the occasion, Doctor Who has you covered. Here are our recommendations for what Doctor Who episodes are the perfect fit for different types of celebrations.
The Thirteenth Doctor’s era brought us a hootenanny of delightful New Year’s Specials, but Eve of the Daleks gets a strong recommendation this time, due to the way it uses the countdown to New Year as a central, time-bending conceit.
Trapped in a Time Loop with a Dalek Assassination Squad, the Doctor and friends have to outwit them or face extermination over and over again. In every loop they learn the Daleks’ strategy, the Daleks learn their moves as well, leading to a deadly game of cat and mouse. Or Dalek and Doctor!
Planet of the Dead is a rarity among Doctor Who, being a special set at Easter time. Complete an easter egg hunt, settle down with mountains of chocolate and watch the Doctor help a group of strangers on a red double decker bus survive a desert world.
Chuck in the delightful Lee Evans as UNIT’s new scientific advisor Malcolm, and the glorious Michelle Ryan as the level-headed thief Lady Christina de Souza, it’s the perfect episode to chill out to while eating all the chocolate you can handle.
There have been many spooky and terrifying episodes of Doctor Who, but none of them is quite as big a celebration of Halloween as The Halloween Apocalypse.
Kickstarting the Flux storyline in series 13, The Halloween Apocalypse has all the hallmarks of Halloween - Namely, trick-or-treaters and bone-chilling monsters. Plus, there are plots on top of plots, huge stunts and the introduction of Dan Lewis, played by John Bishop.
There are plenty of Doctor Who Christmas episodes if you’re looking for something to gather around the telly with the family. This year, A Christmas Carol gets bonus Christmas Points for being a play on the traditional Dickens novel.
A timey-wimey twist on the classic Christmas tale, this ultimately heartwarming tale has something for all the family.
That, and a flying shark.
As reliable a way to cry as you would chopping onions, the clue for why this episode is the one for Father’s Day is in the title. Time can’t be altered, and Rose learns this the hard way when she tries to save her dad Pete. Even though we’d never met Pete before, we all fell in love with him by the end of the episode.
Doctor Who has spotlighted some amazing mothers over the years, including the irreplaceable Jackie Tyler. With the Doctor and Rose not featuring as heavily in this adventure, Jackie has her time to shine in Love and Monsters.
Despite things not going exactly how Jackie would have wanted, the loyalty and love she shows for Rose in overwhelming. Plus, the evil Absorbaloff played by Peter Kay brings plenty of laughs for your Mum to enjoy.
A wedding day is considered one of the happiest, and most important, days of someone’s life. That’s especially true when it came to the Doctor and River Song, as their wedding literally saved the universe! If you’re looking for a celebration of the power of love in true Doctor Who fashion, you can do no better than The Wedding of River Song.
However, if you’re being taken to a wedding that you’d rather not go to, Doctor Who still has you covered. A former friend’s wedding you’re going to out of obligation? Friends with the bride, but don’t like the groom? Just can’t stand weddings in general? Whatever the reason, be sure to give The Runaway Bride a watch before you go.
Not only will it confirm whatever bias you have against weddings, but it’s also the debut of the legendary Donna Noble.
What’s a better way to celebrate your birthday than reliving this bumper anniversary adventure? There is no way. It doesn’t exist in all of time and space.
Marking 50 years of Doctor Who, The Day of the Doctor teams the Eleventh and Tenth Doctors up with the previously unknown War Doctor. Their mission? Halt a Zygon invasion and prevent Gallifrey from being destroyed at the end of the Time War. Like any good birthday celebration, this episode brings together lots of friends to help make the day special.
The friends in question? Well, UNIT… Queen Elizabeth the First… Oh, and all the Doctors!
Moving into a new place can be a stressful time, but Knock Knock proves that it could be worse! When Bill and her friends move into an old house, it turns out to not be the best to live. People keep disappearing, plus the Landlord is very disconcerting. And there is a woman made of wood living in the attic! Suddenly, the moving lorry being a few minutes late doesn’t seem so bad after all…
Nothing in all of Doctor Who quite highlights the work it takes to be a parent like Closing Time. Poor Craig is left alone to look after baby Alfie, but if that wasn’t enough work, the Doctor crashes back into his life. Add into all of this is a sinister scheme by the Cybermen, and that’s a very stressful weekend! Not only does Craig manage to do it all, with a little help from the Doctor, but his love for baby Alfie proved to be vital in defeating the Cybermen.
Whether you’re heading to school yourself, or if your child is off to school, then there’s only one episode to stick on before you go. School Reunion is a classic, reuniting the Doctor with former travelling companion Sarah Jane Smith. Set in Deffry Vale High School, with some sinister faculty members, School Reunion shows how far some schools will go for those sought-after good grades.
Do try the chips…