The Tenth and Eleventh Doctors in the same episode? Doctor Who doesn't get much better than that.
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00:00From the long-awaited return of a fan-favorite character to inside baseball references that
00:05have us all pointing at the TV like that Leonardo DiCaprio meme, Who fanatics might butt heads on
00:10a lot of things, but we can all agree that the following moments are Doctor Who fan service
00:15at its finest. And so, with that in mind then, I'm Ellie with WhoCulture, here with 10 times
00:20Doctor Who gave fans exactly what they wanted.
00:24Number 10. Fully exploring the depths of the TARDIS
00:28Though the TARDIS has been around since the opening moments of the show, it wasn't until 2013 that we
00:35finally got to explore its labyrinthine innards in great detail. The idea for Journey to the Center
00:40of the TARDIS stemmed from Steven Moffat's frustration with the 1978 serial The Invasion
00:46of Time, which he deemed disappointing due to its depiction of the TARDIS interior. Production
00:52issues forced these scenes to be filmed in a not-so-visually-impressive disused hospital.
00:56As a result, Moffat wanted Journey to the Center of the TARDIS to atone for what he
01:01thought was a lackluster portrayal of the Doctor's iconic machine. And though you could argue that the
01:06episode doesn't go far enough in showcasing all the weird and wonderful sights lurking within,
01:11it nonetheless provided our most in-depth TARDIS experience to date, something fans have been
01:16hankering to see for quite some time. The intriguing architectural reconfiguration room, the huge TARDIS
01:22library, a blistering sequence set inside the Eye of Harmony, swimming pools, storage rooms,
01:28and more. It made the TARDIS feel as expansive as we often are told it was. The episode's main plot
01:34certainly could have been better, but the TARDIS element was a well-executed tribute to the Doctor's
01:40most loyal companion. Number 9. Christopher Eccleston's Comeback
01:45The fact that we only spent one series with Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor left
01:50many a frustrated fan wanting more. A lot more. As with Paul McGann, Eccleston's time on screen was
01:57far more brief than your average Doctor's. And though Big Finish came to McGann's rescue towards
02:01the end of the Wilderness years, a comeback for 9 just didn't seem on the cards. And that's because
02:07in the years after his 2005 exit, Eccleston made it clear that he wasn't on great terms with Doctor
02:13Who, even stating that he didn't enjoy working on the show. And that's exactly why the announcement
02:19of his audio-exclusive return was such a great moment of fanservice. Absolutely nobody expected it
02:26to happen. So far, 9 has battled Cybermen, Ravagers, ancient psychic aliens, and more. And his Big
02:32Finish run has been very well received. Eccleston himself is also enjoying it, even enthusiastically
02:38teasing a 60th anniversary story with the late David Warner. After all the behind-the-scenes drama
02:43we've heard about over the years, to see him embrace the Hooniverse once again, albeit just in audio
02:49form, was a fantastic surprise. And it's something that fans have been eager to see, but never thought
02:54they would, since 9 regenerated in the Series 1 finale. Number 8. Classic Doctors Unite.
03:01Any TV show episode in which heroes past and present combine forces is going to be a fan favourite,
03:08and Doctor Who has been doing this for longer than most. The internet may not have been around during
03:13the classic years, but that doesn't mean there weren't hordes of fans excitedly discussing the
03:18possibility of seeing multiple Doctors in the same story. It's been apparent since day one that the
03:23show's timey-wimey premise would allow for this, and indeed, a multi-Doctor adventure was an idea
03:29that was often mentioned behind the scenes, well before it actually happened. Producer Barry Letts
03:34finally delivered the goods in 1972-1973 with The Three Doctors, a serial that received a rapturous
03:42response from Whovians at the time, with Part 4 racking up 11.9 million viewers, the highest-rated
03:49single episode for both John Pertwee and Patrick Troughton. The Five Doctors and The Two Doctors
03:54would follow in 1983 and 1985, respectively, and though none of these classic Doctor team-ups had
04:00particularly great stories, The Five Doctors fares the best despite having the largest cast, multi-Doctor
04:06adventures are fan service at its finest, and it's undeniably delightful to watch the likes of Pertwee's
04:12suave gentleman butt heads with Troughton's nutty professor. Number 7. Captain Jack Harkness Returns
04:20Throughout the 2010s, ask any Doctor Who fan to pick a character they wanted to see return,
04:25and there was a good chance that Captain Jack Harkness would be at the top of the list.
04:29Despite having a consistent presence in the Who-niverse during the first few years of the 2005
04:34revival, the cheeky time agent mysteriously vanished from our screens after the conclusion of Torchwood's
04:40fourth series in 2011, and despite fans clamoring for his return, the character remained MIA as the
04:47years ticked by. This wasn't just something that everybody wanted to see, either. It was also
04:52something that seemed like a natural fit for the show. Jack was still involved with Torchwood,
04:56so there was every chance he'd bump into the Doctor while investigating an alien threat. He was also known
05:01to use a vortex manipulator, meaning that he could jump around the universe and into the Doctor's life
05:07at will. Presumably noticing the fan outcry, Chris Chibnall ultimately brought back Jack
05:12in the Series 12 episode Fugitive of the Jadoon. His role here had little relevance to the plot,
05:17but nobody actually cared. This was nothing more than fan service, and Whovians lapped it up like a
05:23steaming hot bowl of fish fingers and custard. Number 6. Would you like a jelly baby?
05:29Possibly more than any other show on television, Doctor Who has a habit of reusing catchphrases,
05:34quips, and other iconic lines. Every single time this happens, you just know the writer was sat
05:40there with a proud smirk on their face, thinking, oh yeah, the fans will love this! Because,
05:44let's be honest, we're quite easy to please as a fanbase. Just mention jelly babies or fezzes,
05:49and we'll immediately start whooping and cheering. Some of our favourite examples of repeat quips
05:53include the 4th Doctor offering Davros a jelly baby, the 12th Doctor poking fun at the 3rd Doctor's
05:58reverse the polarity quip in The Girl Who Died, Ganger11 spouting out several iconic catchphrases
06:04in The Almost People, bonus points for the jelly baby line in this scene which is actually Tom
06:09Baker's voice dubbed over Smith's, the cyber planner exclaiming Alon-Z in Nightmare in Silver,
06:15and the 13th Doctor's Geronimo upon rope swinging between ships in Legend of the Sea Devils.
06:20Is this shamelessly pandering to the fans? Yes. Are we totally okay with it? Also, yes.
06:27Number 5. The Doctor and River on Deryllium
06:30River Song's debut in Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead brought with it more questions
06:36than answers. Who exactly was she, how did she know the Doctor so well, and would we ever see
06:41the character again? Back then, there were no guarantees that River would return. Even Alex
06:46Kingston thought it was a one and done, which would have been a massive shame considering all
06:50the backstory hints that were just begging to be expanded upon, not to mention how well she clicked
06:55with the Doctor. One of those backstory hints was so important that River used her last living
07:00moments to tell the Doctor about it, describing a previous encounter where the Doctor, who knew her
07:06death was imminent, took her to see the Singing Towers of Deryllium, where they spent their final night
07:11together.
07:11All the time we've been together, you knew I was coming here. The last time I saw you,
07:16the real you, the future you, I mean. You turned up on my doorstep with a new haircut and a suit.
07:21You took me to Deryllium to see the Singing Towers. What a night that was. The Towers sang,
07:26and you cried. This instantly became an off-screen adventure that fans were desperate to see.
07:32And in 2015, Stephen Moffat, the king of the long-term payoff, delivered the goods. Christmas
07:38special, the husbands of River Song depicted their Deryllium getaway in stunning detail,
07:43rewarding those fans who'd spent the last seven years wondering if they'd ever get to see it
07:48brought to life. And, you know, we all know that I maybe love River Song a little bit, so if they
07:53wanted to do a little bit more fan service, they could, you know, bring her back again soon, please.
08:00Number 4. The coming together of the RTD-verse
08:04Russell T. Davies was ahead of the curve when it came to the cinematic universe craze in the 2010s.
08:11With Doctor Who, Torchwood, and The Sarah Jane Adventures, he was running an interconnected
08:15franchise years before Marvel Studios made it cool, something he lamented in a 2021 interview, saying,
08:21"'I was in the middle of running an empire, and my god, I did that 10 years too soon, didn't I?'
08:26Back when this small-screen universe first kicked off, fans obviously knew that these shows existed in
08:31the same world." And though it was fun when they referenced each other, what we really wanted to
08:36see was a huge crossover episode. Knowing that such an episode would be a ratings juggernaut,
08:41RTD made good on that potential with 2008's The Stolen Earth and Journey's End. Episodes with such
08:48large casts that the opening credits hilariously struggled to keep up with their names. Watching
08:52Sarah Jane rub shoulders with Martha and having Donna fire quips at Captain Jack was glorious. And the fact
08:58that RTD managed to stuff all of these characters into a story that actually worked was almost
09:04unbelievable. This was Doctor Who's Avengers Endgame, and it was a dream come true for fans at the time.
09:10Not just that it happened, but also the fact that it was really damn good.
09:14Number 3. Tom Baker's Curator Cameo
09:18Commenting on why he chose Tom Baker as the only classic Doctor to return for The Day of the Doctor in
09:242013, Steven Moffat said that the idea was simply irresistible. He said,
09:28"...to have the longest standing and the oldest Doctor from longest to go make an appearance and
09:33be the one who briefs the new Doctor on where to go, well, it's irresistible, isn't it? You get to
09:38hear that voice again. It was just wonderful." In other words, he knew that this particular baker,
09:43as the most popular classic Doctor by a mile, would be the one that fans would want to see the most.
09:48With The Day of the Doctor being a celebration of the first 50 years of Who, it also made perfect
09:53sense to bring back the man who'd represented the show for the longest period of time. And the great
09:58thing about the cameo was that it wasn't just there for the sake of it. Baker, as the mysterious
10:02curator, was there to round out the episode's story and New Hugh's ongoing Time War arc by confirming
10:08to the 11th Doctor that his attempt to save Gallifrey was successful. Gallifrey falls no more.
10:14It was the very definition of a crowd-pleasing moment, and there were undoubtedly a lot of
10:19tears in the audience when Baker's booming voice rang out across the gallery.
10:24Number 2. Everything about the 60th anniversary.
10:28If you told someone a year ago that Doctor Who's 60th anniversary celebrations would be written by
10:33Russell T Davies and star David Tennant and Catherine Tate, they would have probably laughed in your face.
10:38The 50th anniversary was so wonderful that it almost felt like it would be impossible to top,
10:43but the 60th not only looks set to match its predecessor in the fan-pleasing department,
10:48there's a strong chance it's going to blow it out of the water.
10:51Not only do we have the returns of RTD, Tennant, and Tate, but director Rachel Talalay,
10:56who helmed several terrific episodes during the Peter Capaldi era, and there's lots more too.
11:01We're getting the late Bernard Crippen's final Doctor Who performance, the rumored,
11:05much-requested return of the Doctor Who Christmas special, a spiritual successor to fan-favorite
11:10Doctor Who confidential, and presumably an appearance from our newest Doctor, Shuti Gatwa.
11:16There are also constant whispers that the likes of Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi,
11:19Karen Gillan, and Paul McGann will be involved, speculation that David Tennant recently fuelled
11:24by saying that he'd filmed with other people behind closed doors. It's basically RTD going,
11:29oh Steven, the 50th was cute, now watch this. And honorable mention does need to go to Chris
11:35Chibnall here too, who also knows what Whovians want, and is about to give it to them in a matter
11:40of weeks. Classic fan-favorite Ace and Tegan are set to return for Jodie Whittaker's final episode
11:46later this year, which should be a nice warm-up before the full-on craziness of the 60th in 2023.
11:53Now, yes, we know we just said that the 60th anniversary could blow the 50th anniversary out
12:03of the water, and it very well might. But we couldn't give the top spot to something that
12:07hasn't happened yet, could we? Just as he knew that Tom Baker's Curator would be an instant win
12:12for fans, Steven Moffat knew that bringing back David Tennant and linking him up with Matt Smith
12:17was the safest bet he could possibly make when crafting a multi-Doctor story to celebrate the
12:22show's half-century milestone. So that's exactly what he did! With Tennant regularly topping Best
12:28Doctor polls and the Smith era taking the show to international stardom, the 10th and 11th Doctors
12:34had made the mighty Whovian army bigger than ever, so it's no surprise that they would top a fan wish
12:39list when the 50th was looming, making it something of a no-brainer for Moffat to pick up the phone and
12:44ask Tennant to return. Though it was a tad disappointing that Christopher Eccleston couldn't complete the
12:50trifecta of New Who Doctors, watching Tennant and Smith poke fun at each other's outfits,
12:55Sonics, and Zygon-infused love lives was such a treat that any potential disappointment quickly
13:00faded away. And with 12.8 million viewers making it one of the most popular modern episodes and
13:06positive reviews all around, The Day of the Doctor was a huge success in every possible way.
13:12And that concludes our list. If you think we missed any, then do let us know in the comments
13:16below. And while you're there, don't forget to like and subscribe and tap that notification bell
13:20so you never miss a WhoCulture video. Also, head over to Twitter and follow us there,
13:25at WhoCulture, and I can be found across various social medias just by searching
13:29Ellie Littlechild. I've been Ellie with WhoCulture, and in the words of Riversong herself, goodbye, sweeties.