It’s Doctor Who‘s sixtieth anniversary year, and there have been lots and lots of amazing celebrations. We’ve had three new specials starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate; the debut of new Doctor Ncuti Gatwa and companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) in The Church on Ruby Road; the return of classic companions and Doctors in Tales of the TARDIS; a colourised version of the first ever Dalek story; a sequel series to The Sarah Jane Adventures and the seventh series of Torchwood from Big Finish and much, much more.
As this year comes to a close, let’s take a look back over the last twelve months to see which parts of the Whoniverse in 2023 were the best of the best.
Best TV Episode
The final of Doctor Who‘s three sixtieth anniversary specials, The Giggle, celebrates the show’s past, bringing back much-loved characters like Kate Stewart, Mel Bush and the Toymaker, and heralds its future, giving us a new Doctor and, in a shock twist, keeping on the old one in the first ever bi-generation. David Tennant gives a fierce yet vulnerable performance as the Fourteenth Doctor while Ncuti Gatwa makes an astonishing debut as the Fifteenth, commanding the role from his very first scene. Add to that one of the best guest star turns in Who history from Neil Patrick Harris and an touching conclusion to the Doctor and Donna’s story and you get one belter of an episode. Epic, emotional and forward-looking, The Giggle sets us up for what promises to be Doctor Who‘s biggest era yet.
Best Big Finish Story (Doctor Who)
The best Doctor Who story released by Big Finish this year is, without a doubt, Pursuit of the Nightjar by Tim Foley. This four-part tale sees he TARDIS land on a spaceship on a vital mercy mission, where the Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa find themselves caught up in a series of pivotal historical events. This is a very simple story- much of the runtime is just the Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa fighting for their lives aboard the Nightjar- but this allows Foley to really hone in on what the characters are thinking and feeling at every moment. There’s also some interesting discussions about legacy and heroism, and a brilliant guest performance from Fenella Woolgar. Intimate and epic all at once, Pursuit of the Nightjar is an absolute triumph.
Best Big Finish Story (Torchwood)
Bringing the much-loved Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) back after a three-year absence, Tim Foley‘s Misty Eyes is the best Torchwood story of 2023. Not only does it give us the much-needed confrontation between Gwen and Alexandria Riley‘s Ng, in which both actors will set your earphones alight with their performance of Foley’s script, but it serves as an excellent coda to Gwen’s time in Torchwood, showing us how far she’s come and setting her up for more adventures. If this really is the last we hear of Gwen, what a story to end on!
Best Big Finish Story (Spin-Off)
An epic four hour tale which sees River Song become entangled with the Mortimer family across four different time periods, Friend of the Family is one of the most meticulously plotted, well performed boxsets ever released by Big Finish. From the writing and acting to the post-production, there is not a single weak link here. Beautiful, enchanting stuff.
Best Big Finish Writer
As you might have guessed from the previous three categories, Tim Foley takes the top writer spot this year, with five out of our top ten stories being written by him. We’ve already gushed about Friend of the Family, Misty Eyes and Pursuit of the Nightjar, but this year Foley also gave us At Her Majesty’s Pleasure, a gripping jailbreak story for Yvonne Hartman, and How I Conquered the World (co-written with Ash Darby and James Goss) an experimental story almost completely narrated by a sentient social network. The way Foley always places character at the fore, while never neglecting big, creative ideas, makes his every script a joy to listen to, and I cannot wait for more next year.
Best New Big Finish Series
Set twelve years after The Sarah Jane Adventures ended, Rani Takes on the World continues the stories of Clyde Langer, Luke Smith and, of course, Rani Chandra as they juggle the perils of adulthood with fighting aliens. This series captures the vibe of The Sarah Jane Adventures perfectly- in no small part due to returning composer Sam Watts, who scores scenes with familiar motifs from the show- while pushing the characters in interesting new directions as we catch up with them after so many years. Many thanks to producer Emily Cook, director Helen Goldwyn and all of the actors and writers involved for bringing this to our ears! Here’s to more Rani in 2024!
Best Returning Big Finish Series
In a move that surprised pretty much everyone, the Eleventh Doctor Chronicles series has become not only one of the strongest Big Finish ranges of the year, but one of their strongest ranges ever. Producer Alfie Shaw, his team of writers and the wonderful Jacob Dudman and Safiyya Ingar have created a whole new series of adventures full of some of the most experimental, emotional and action-packed storytelling ever seen (or heard!) in the Whoniverse, and I cannot wait to hear how things conclude in February’s Victory of the Doctor.
Best Cover Art
Sean Longmore wins Best Cover Art the second year running with his work on The Wizard of Time. A beautiful composition in yellow and blue, this piece perfectly captures the fairytale vibe of the story it illustrates, the smoke, overlaid roundels and cracked walls suggesting the merging of fantasy and reality. The Dirk Forever book is a lovely touch too! Simply stunning work.
Best Companion
With their role as Valarie Lockwood, Safiyya Ingar takes the title of 2023’s best companion! Quite possibly the best Big Finish original companion ever, Valarie is complex, well-written and astonishingly acted, brought to life by Ingar’s constantly barnstorming performance. It’s a mighty shame that February’s Victory of the Doctor will apparently be the last we hear of Valerie, but, as a wise woman once said, goodbyes only hurt because what came before was so special. And Valarie Lockwood has been a very special companion indeed!
Best Doctor
Who else could it be? From his very first scene, Ncuti Gatwa has owned the role of the Doctor in a way we’ve never seen before. No longer burdened by the trauma of his past, this Doctor is a ball of energy, compassion and adventure, quite literally dragging the audience along with him. And with a performance as good as this, who could complain? As stylish as Pertwee, as enthusiastic as Whittaker, as commanding as Eccleston, Ncuti Gatwa just is the Doctor. I cannot wait to see more of him when the new series drops in 2024.
Check back on New Year’s Eve for our annual countdown of the top 10 Big Finish releases of the year!
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