10 Most Hated Doctor Who Episodes
Those controversial episodes that had fans declaring "Doctor Who is dead!" (again).
The format of Doctor Who is both a blessing and a curse. Open-ended, anthological, and with a rotating team of writers: the show has the freedom to explore a tremendously large variety of topics, settings, and genres, in a way that is practically unmatched by any other show.
But while this ability to regenerate week after week is a draw for fans (and a crucial factor in the show’s longevity), it can result in wildly inconsistent episode quality.
As various writers and showrunners attempt to leave their stamp on the history of Doctor Who, some of their visions and ideas are, let us say, less-than popular with fans, and some episodes are just unbearably awful.
For this list, we aren’t looking at episodes that are boring, or objectively "the worst" (although some are certainly considered as such) but rather those which stirred a visceral, outraged reaction from a significant number of fans.
So, join us for this collection of canon-altering bombshells, controversial stories, and, of course, “BENNIIIII”.
10. Arachnids In The UK
Arachnids in the UK is not as bad as some make it out to be. We'll get to the controversial points in just a moment, but beneath those, the episode is semi-competent, and had the potential to be among the best in Series 11.
That is, until it trips face-first onto concrete in the final 20 minutes.
First, let's tackle TrumpLite™. Robertson is a lazy and under-developed political allegory about as subtle as a grizzly bear at a birthday party, which allows the protagonists to take weak, kudos-winning shots at him throughout the episode. Trump is the easiest target for criticism currently walking the Earth, and yet this episode feels too scared to rock the boat, and somehow misses its planet-sized target.
This episode also features the most oft-referenced example of Thirteen's inconsistent and poorly thought-out moral code. At the end of the episode, Robertson mercy kills a spider with a bullet - granted, he doesn't do this with an ounce of compassion, but the Doctor's response of "Guns are bad, let’s lure them into a suffocation chamber instead" is a big oof, as is Ryan busting moves to "Sheffield's sickest grime station" as he uses Stormzy to pied-piper the spiders to their agonizing deaths.
Congratulations, you pitted the Doctor against Trump, and she somehow came off looking worse.