David Tennant's Best Episodes of 'Doctor Who'

It turns out you can go home again, after all. At least in the Whoniverse, anyway.

David Tennant originally took over as the Doctor beginning with the 2005 Doctor Who Christmas special, "The Christmas Invasion." He remained in the role for the next four years, helping the series rocket to new heights of global popularity and becoming the most beloved modern-era Doctor in the process. His fast-talking, tight suit wearing Ten became synonymous with the very idea of what kind of character the infamous Time Lord was supposed to be, and while his departure was expected—change is built into the very DNA of the franchise, after all—it was still heartbreaking when it finally occurred. (And, in truth, felt like as much a goodbye to Tennant himself as it was to Ten, though the actor wasn't regenerating so much as checking out other employment opportunities.)

Unlike many former Doctors, Tennant never seems to stay away from the TARDIS for very long. Having reprised his role as Ten for the series' 50th anniversary special in 2013, he broke new ground with his 2023 return by becoming the first former Doctor to play a different incarnation of the character. His Fourteen boasts subtle emotional differences from Ten and his manic glee is tempered by sharper edges than it had before. But it's nothing so much as a testament to Tennant's love of the character and his underrated abilities as an actor.