The BEST episodes of Doctor Who season 1

Every episode of Doctor Who season 1, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Doctor Who season 1!

The Doctor, a mysterious traveller in space and time, travels in his ship, the TARDIS. The TARDIS can take him and his companions anywhere in time and space. Inevitably he finds evil at work wherever he goes...

Last Updated: 5/4/2024Network: BBC OneStatus: Ended
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An Unearthly Child: An Unearthly Child (1)
star
7.67
1249 votes

#1 - An Unearthly Child: An Unearthly Child (1)

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 11/23/1963

London, 1963. Schoolteachers Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright are perplexed by the behaviour of one of their pupils, Susan Foreman. Her knowledge of science and history exceeds theirs, yet she seems totally ignorant of many common aspects of everyday life. They follow her to her home address, a junkyard with a police telephone box standing in it, and encounter her grandfather, the enigmatic Doctor. When they force their way past him into the police box, Susan's secret is revealed: she and the Doctor are aliens, and the police box is a time machine, the TARDIS, capable of visiting any point in the universe at any moment in time…

Directors: Waris Hussein
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The Reign of Terror: A Land of Fear (1)
star
7.62
237 votes

#2 - The Reign of Terror: A Land of Fear (1)

Season 1 - Episode 37 - Aired 8/8/1964

When the Doctor attempts to return Ian and Barbara to their own time, the TARDIS actually lands in 18th-century France during the French Revolution.

Directors: Henric Hirsch
The Daleks: The Survivors (2)
star
7.49
660 votes

#3 - The Daleks: The Survivors (2)

Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 12/28/1963

The dead planet is not uninhabited after all. The Doctor is about to meet what will become his greatest enemies. And he and his crew are dying of radiation sickness.

Writer: Terry Nation
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The Daleks: The Ambush (4)
star
7.34
580 votes

#4 - The Daleks: The Ambush (4)

Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 1/11/1964

The time travellers work desperately to both escape the Dalek city and prevent a bloody massacre.

Writer: Terry Nation
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The Aztecs: The Day of Darkness (4)
star
7.28
267 votes

#5 - The Aztecs: The Day of Darkness (4)

Season 1 - Episode 30 - Aired 6/13/1964

Tlotoxl is preparing to make his move and have Barbara, the Doctor, Ian and Susan killed. Ian prepares for a fight to the death with the warrior, Ixta.

Directors: John Crockett
The Aztecs: The Bride of Sacrifice (3)
star
7.25
263 votes

#6 - The Aztecs: The Bride of Sacrifice (3)

Season 1 - Episode 29 - Aired 6/6/1964

The Doctor and Ian attempt to find a way back to the TARDIS. Barbara attempts to distract Tlotoxl but the High Priest of Sacrifice already has plans for Susan.

Directors: John Crockett
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The Aztecs: The Temple of Evil (1)
star
7.24
270 votes

#7 - The Aztecs: The Temple of Evil (1)

Season 1 - Episode 27 - Aired 5/23/1964

The TARDIS lands inside an Aztec temple in 15th Century Mexico and become cut off from the ship when they leave the temple to explore.

Directors: John Crockett
The Daleks: The Dead Planet (1)
star
7.24
794 votes

#8 - The Daleks: The Dead Planet (1)

Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 12/21/1963

Time Unknown, Planet Unknown. The TARDIS lands in an eerie petrified forest overlooking a magnificent steel city. The Doctor wants to explore the city – but what is waiting there?

Writer: Terry Nation
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The Daleks: The Rescue (7)
star
7.14
498 votes

#9 - The Daleks: The Rescue (7)

Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 2/1/1964

Time is running out as the Doctor and his companions try to defeat the Daleks before they wipe out all life on Skaro.

Directors: Richard Martin
Writer: Terry Nation
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The Aztecs: The Warriors of Death (2)
star
7.13
264 votes

#10 - The Aztecs: The Warriors of Death (2)

Season 1 - Episode 28 - Aired 5/30/1964

The High Priest of Sacrifice, Tlotoxl begins to doubt Barbara's claim to be the reincarnation of Yetaxa and plots to undermine her position and eliminate her friends.

Directors: John Crockett
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The Reign of Terror: Prisoners of Conciergerie (6)
star
7.08
207 votes

#11 - The Reign of Terror: Prisoners of Conciergerie (6)

Season 1 - Episode 42 - Aired 9/12/1964

The Doctor leads Lemaitre to the royalist house where Lemaitre reveals that he is in fact the English spy, James Sterling.

The Daleks: The Escape (3)
star
7.06
680 votes

#12 - The Daleks: The Escape (3)

Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 1/4/1964

Imprisoned on Skaro by the scheming Daleks, the Doctor and his companions work to escape their clutches.

Directors: Richard Martin
Writer: Terry Nation
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The Edge of Destruction: The Brink of Disaster (2)
star
7.06
495 votes

#13 - The Edge of Destruction: The Brink of Disaster (2)

Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/15/1964

The TARDIS is adrift, the crew turning on each other. Only by working together can they find their way out before they are destroyed.

Directors: Frank Cox
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The Edge of Destruction: The Edge of Destruction (1)
star
7.05
490 votes

#14 - The Edge of Destruction: The Edge of Destruction (1)

Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 2/8/1964

A mysterious explosion has knocked the TARDIS into void. And in their confusion, the crew are turning on one another.

Directors: Richard Martin
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The Reign of Terror: A Change of Identity (3)
star
7.03
199 votes

#15 - The Reign of Terror: A Change of Identity (3)

Season 1 - Episode 39 - Aired 8/22/1964

Barbara and Susan are saved from the guillotine by two royalists, Jules and Jean, but Susan has fallen ill. At the prison, a stroke of luck provides Ian with a chance to escape.

Directors: John Gorrie
The Keys of Marinus: The Velvet Web (2)
star
7.02
297 votes

#16 - The Keys of Marinus: The Velvet Web (2)

Season 1 - Episode 22 - Aired 4/18/1964

In the city of Morphoton, the Doctor, Barbara, Ian and Susan are welcomed as honoured guests and given anything they want. But Barbara soon discovers that paradise is an illusion.

Directors: John Gorrie
Writer: Terry Nation
The Daleks: The Ordeal (6)
star
7.02
554 votes

#17 - The Daleks: The Ordeal (6)

Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 1/25/1964

Ian, Barbara and the Thals struggle through the caves to reach the Dalek city. Will they get there in time? Is there even a way through the treacherous caves? And what are the Daleks planning?

Directors: Richard Martin
Writer: Terry Nation
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The Reign of Terror: Guests of Madame Guillotine (2)
star
7.02
203 votes

#18 - The Reign of Terror: Guests of Madame Guillotine (2)

Season 1 - Episode 38 - Aired 8/15/1964

In Paris, Ian, Barbara and Susan are sentenced to death under the blade of the guillotine. Having escaped the burning farmhouse, the Doctor is on his way to rescue his friends.

Directors: Henric Hirsch
The Sensorites: Strangers in Space (1)
star
6.99
250 votes

#19 - The Sensorites: Strangers in Space (1)

Season 1 - Episode 31 - Aired 6/20/1964

The 28th century. The TARDIS materialises on a spaceship orbiting a planet known as the Sense-Sphere, whose natives, the Sensorites, have trapped the ship's human crew in a state of paralysis.

Directors: Mervyn Pinfield
Marco Polo: The Wall of Lies (4)
star
6.97
226 votes

#20 - Marco Polo: The Wall of Lies (4)

Season 1 - Episode 17 - Aired 3/14/1964

Directors: John Crockett
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The Keys of Marinus: The Sea of Death (1)
star
6.96
304 votes

#21 - The Keys of Marinus: The Sea of Death (1)

Season 1 - Episode 21 - Aired 4/11/1964

The TARDIS lands on a remote island, surrounded by a sea of acid. They meet Arbitan, keeper of the Conscience of Marinus who forces the travellers to go in search of five keys.

Directors: John Gorrie
Writer: Terry Nation
The Keys of Marinus: The Keys of Marinus (6)
star
6.93
259 votes

#22 - The Keys of Marinus: The Keys of Marinus (6)

Season 1 - Episode 26 - Aired 5/16/1964

The Doctor solves the murder mystery and finds the final missing key. With Ian now free, the travellers return to the island only to discover that Arbitan has been murdered.

Directors: John Gorrie
Writer: Terry Nation
The Keys of Marinus: Sentence of Death (5)
star
6.92
262 votes

#23 - The Keys of Marinus: Sentence of Death (5)

Season 1 - Episode 25 - Aired 5/9/1964

Arriving in the city of Millennius, Ian is put on trial for murder. The Doctor takes on the role of defence counsel and must prove Ian's innocence or he will be executed.

Directors: John Gorrie
Writer: Terry Nation
The Reign of Terror: A Bargain of Necessity (5)
star
6.92
197 votes

#24 - The Reign of Terror: A Bargain of Necessity (5)

Season 1 - Episode 41 - Aired 9/5/1964

The Doctor is reunited with Barbara at the prison and arranges for her to escape, but Susan remains behind bars. Jules rescues Ian, killing Leon in the process.

Directors: Henric Hirsch
The Sensorites: A Race Against Death (4)
star
6.91
245 votes

#25 - The Sensorites: A Race Against Death (4)

Season 1 - Episode 34 - Aired 7/18/1964

Trapped on the Sense-Sphere, Ian is dying from the illness that has been killing the Sensorites and the Doctor tries to find a cure.

Directors: Mervyn Pinfield