Ranking every episode from Doctor Who season one (2024)

6. The Legend of Ruby Sunday

“The Legend of Ruby Sunday” was set up to be the episode that answered all the season’s questions, from who Ruby’s mother was to what was going on with Susan Twist. Instead, Ruby’s quest for answers ended up with a UNIT officer dead, and the Doctor’s choice to meet Susan Triad turned into a horror show when she was revealed to be an avatar for the god of death.

On first watching, it’s a really interesting episode, creating tension and pulling together elements from all three versions of Doctor Who. The fandom was abuzz online with theories, before and after this episode, and many were thrilled by the reintroduction of Sutekh. From character to music to visuals, this episode really was firing on all cylinders.

So why is it ranked so low on my list? It’s probably not fair, given how well-done the episode itself was, but the whole story was just set up for “Empire of Death,” which ended up being a massive let-down. This episode was the ultimate fandom bait-and-switch, and it’s left a bad taste in my mouth. With many of Davies’s comments since, it seemed like he wanted to tease audiences with everything they could hope for, just to leave them wanting, and that feels like a betrayal to a community that has remained committed to the show for decades.