Doctor Who has had many Doctors in the title role across its 60-year lifetime, but none quite as revered as the Tenth Doctor played by David Tennant. Voted the best Doctor in multiple high-profile fan surveys over the years, this Doctor was loved by many in the fandom and despite leaving over a decade ago continues to re-appear in projects, episodes of the series proper, and conventions. In fact, Tennant will be re-appearing in the show's 60th Anniversary episode.
There are many great episodes in David Tennant's run of Doctor Who, with this era being hugely responsible for the show's eventual peak in global popularity during the early 2010s. The Tenth Doctor spanned three series with many companions and story arcs during that time.
10 The Waters Of Mars
The second of the 2009 specials, this feature-length episode had a creepy villain in the form of the Flood, which is a rare occurrence of the show having something in common with Halo and its villains. During this near-future episode, the Doctor witnesses the death of the Bowie Base One crew due to the Martian villains.
The Tenth Doctor is still reeling from the prophecy in the previous episode of his impending death, making him defiant and dark in this episode. Indeed, the Doctor even declares himself the 'Time Lord Victorious' towards the end of the episode, saving the lives of the crew and changing history. This would later spawn a whole multimedia Doctor Who project with the Tenth Doctor and proved to be one of his most important episodes ever.
9 The End Of Time
This two-special story is the longest the Tenth Doctor ever had, capped at 2 hours and 15 minutes when both parts are viewed in their entirety. While silly plot aspects such as the Master's sudden superpowers and ability to turn everyone on Earth into a clone of himself do threaten to ruin the credibility of this story, it has lots to love in it and features the Tenth Doctor at his best.
The Doctor's swansong, viewers are treated to many great Doctor moments and the specials truly feel like a fitting end to this beloved incarnation. A memory lane trip at the end of the story through all of the Tenth Doctor's companions as he says goodbye chokes the throat of anyone, and this remains one of the best Doctor's final episodes the show has ever had, despite its flaws.
8 The Stolen Earth/Journey's End
In the finale of Series 4, this two-parter sees the return of not only the Daleks and their creator Davros but also features appearances from the cast of both spin-offs Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures. A truly Marvel-esque story, these episodes have many great moments from all characters and prove to be defining for both the Tenth Doctor and his companion at the time, Donna.
It is packed with moments of victory, despair, confusion, and tragedy. Feeling like the culmination of all of Russell T Davies' initial run of the show, these are episodes that cannot be ignored when considering the Tenth Doctor's best.
7 Silence In The Library/Forest Of The Dead
"Silence in the Library" and "Forest of the Dead" are not only important episodes to the Tenth Doctor but would prove to be important for a lot of Steven Moffat's run, as it is the first appearance of the Doctor's wife River Song, who would go on to become a recurring character throughout Series 5 and 6 with guest appearances in Series 7 and 9.
The episodes have a brilliant one-off villain that should return, the Vashta Nerada, which possesses people by swarming up and eating their skin before taking control of them. A brilliant and harrowing two-parter that surprisingly for Moffat's writing, ends with everybody living.
6 Human Nature/The Family Of Blood
This Series 3 two-parter is unique in that it barely features the Doctor himself at all, despite having David Tennant prevalent throughout. Hiding from a group of hunters, the Doctor uses a Chameleon Arch to change his DNA to human, disguised even to himself as a professor named John Smith while his Time Lord consciousness lies hidden in a fob watch.
When the Doctor finally shows up at the end, he's a welcome sight and deals with the Family in minutes in a devastating fashion. While a great Tenth Doctor story, it is crucial for companion Martha Jones' development and has a great cast and script that is just as compelling on a rewatch.
5 The Day Of The Doctor
The 50th Anniversary special is a brilliant story that brings the Tenth, Eleventh, and War Doctors together to defeat the Zygons and right the wrong of the Doctor's path in order to save Gallifrey.
Not only is this episode one of the most significant of the entire run, but it is a great episode for Tenth Doctor fans, specifically due to the character's return after a few years of being away from the show.
4 Doomsday
This Series 2 finale pits the Doctor, Rose, Jackie, Mickey, and Torchwood against the forces of both the Cybermen and the Daleks, who are fighting amongst each other.
This episode is a great Tenth Doctor episode with many moments that define him as the best incarnation, but the episode also contains a lot of pain with the departure of companion Rose Tyler due to being trapped in a parallel universe.
3 Blink
A Doctor-lite episode, this barely features the Doctor at all, and when it does it's simply on a home-recording 'Easter Egg' video with Martha giving instructions to Sally Sparrow. It also features the first appearance of the Weeping Angels, who are regularly voted as one of the scariest Doctor Who villains.
This episode has many great scary moments that pretty much ruin any chances of being able to look at statues the same way again. A truly great episode by Steven Moffat.
2 Midnight
"Midnight" is a unique Doctor Who episode in being almost entirely one scene that plays out over the runtime. In an isolated bus in the far-future on an alien planet with a toxic environment, the Doctor and co-riders are attacked by a malevolent entity that possesses the characters throughout, namely Sky and the Doctor.
This episode is a great psychological piece by Russell T. Davies that explores herd mentality amongst people and panic reactions that lead to turning on each other. It gives David Tennant much great material to work with and is commonly considered one of Doctor Who's best episodes.
1 The Girl In The Fireplace
A great way to describe "The Girl in the Fireplace" is 'defining'. An early episode in the Tenth Doctor's run, it defines him as the Doctor while also creating a brilliant story with a cast and crew that completely pull it off. While companions Rose and Mickey are sidelined a little, the episode has enough going on that it doesn't feel like a bad thing. "The Girl in the Fireplace" is one of the best episodes about real-life historical figures.
The Clockwork Droids were iconic for a time and even reappeared in a later Steven Moffat episode, "Deep Breath." There are some great moments in this celebrity historical piece with a great performance in particular from both David Tennant and Sophia Myles.