September means time to think Ninth Doctor. And yes, it’s been over fourteen years (!!) since the Doctor and Rose burst onto our screens. The collected Radio Times reviews are here, and I largely agree with the ratings if not the details therein. All are worth a read.

The Ninth Doctor

The average rating (according to my arithmetic) across all 13 episodes is more than 4*. Pretty exceptional, and no I’m not going to check all the other series until I get stuck indoors on a long, rainy day! Let’s break that down.

5* Stories

The Radio Times goes with The End of the World, Unquiet Dead, Father’s Day, The Empty Child / Doctor Dances, Bad Wolf / Parting of the Ways.

I would have them high on any list of my own, perhaps Father’s Day nearer the bottom and most of them 4.5* as opposed to 5*. And I’d forgotten it was Paul Cornell’s first story for the show on TV. Tut, tut!

4* Stories

Here we have Rose, and Dalek. Two of the most important episodes, yet only 4* ratings! Hmmm… time for some rewatching, methinks!

3* Stories

So, Aliens of London / World War III and Boom Town. All the Slitheen stories! That tells you something.

2* Story

And it’s the immediate goodbye for poor old Adam as a companion in The Long Game. I think I’d put it at the bottom of my list as well.

The reviews are all worth a read, have some insight into wider events concerning the show but do lack some of the extras of older series. Still recommended though!