Ranking the Davies-era Moffat episodes?

Basically, this thread is for how we would rank the stories that Steven Moffat wrote for the show when he wasn't the showrunner, and they were just one-offs once per season. (I won't count "Time Crash", wonderful as it is, because it's only 8 minutes long.)

My ranking would be thus, from least to greatest:

4. Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead
-Lot of fun ideas in this story, as well as the introduction of River Song, but by Series 4 you've gotten a little used to Steven Moffat's signature style.

3. The Girl in the Fireplace
-The central idea of this episode is really interesting. The cast, with Mickey and Rose on one side and Madame de Pompadour on the other, with the Doctor going between the two, is great. I do wish that there could have been more time to spend on Pompadour's character as an adult. The clockwork robot men are good and creepy, just not as fantastic as the Empty Child or the Weeping Angels.


2. The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances
-What can I say? Great cast. Great dialogue. Great set pieces. Great monster. Great twist. Great heart. The empty child isn't quite as scary on repeat viewings, as you know what he's all about and what caused him, but the subplot with him and Nancy still packs the emotional punch.

1. Blink
-Yes, yes, I'm sure you all saw this coming, but at the risk of seeming basic, I have to put Blink as my favorite Davies-era Moffat episode. It almost feels like a movie, only episode-length. It manages to have its cake and eat it too: it carves new territory by focusing on a new cast of characters, but it still feels like a Doctor Who episode because of  all the videos and messages from the Doctor that show up throughout, plus the great scenes that he and Martha do show up in. The Weeping Angels are an incredibly creepy monster, and unlike the Empty Child they don't lose their edge even after a few viewings of this episode. They are, frankly, genius. Sally and her supporting cast are both really relatable and really fun, and despite their mundanity they fit into the world of Doctor Who perfectly. I'm far from the first one to sing the praises of this episode, but in my opinion it's all well-deserved.

So, y'all, now that I've blathered on about it enough, how would you rank these episodes?

That is a nice ranking. I'm not hugely into ranking episodes as many of them can be equally good in their own way. Sometimes I want fun and silly, but other times I'm looking for something more scary. Running around Earth or some huge space opera? Just like the Doctors, I don't think there are any that I refuse to watch. But I think I'd re-watch any of those 4 stories above.

Classic series for me is 100% watchable. The new series has a few clunkers in there that I let play while I'm vacuuming or washing dishes. Sadly I've not even bothered re-watching the past 4 seasons after initial transmission. Nothing has prompted me to break open those particular Blu-ray sets yet.

squishy wrote:

That is a nice ranking.  I'm not hugely into ranking episodes as many of them can be equally good in their own way.  Sometimes I want fun and silly, but other times I'm looking for something more scary.  Running around Earth or some huge space opera?  Just like the Doctors, I don't think there are any that I refuse to watch.  But I think I'd re-watch any of those 4 stories above.

Classic series for me is 100% watchable.  The new series has a few clunkers in there that I let play while I'm vacuuming or washing dishes.  Sadly I've not even bothered re-watching the past 4 seasons after initial transmission.  Nothing has prompted me to break open those particular Blu-ray sets yet.

I agree with you about different episodes being good in different ways, in Doctor Who perhaps more than any other show. I just find the Moffat ones easiest to rank because they all had his trademark style to them that made them more comparable (at least to me). And even then, I had to do a bit of thinking before I could put them in an order.

That's how I'd rank them too, I suppose.

I concur with Sea Devil as to the ranking order