Ranking Toby Whithouse’s Whoniverse Stories
Connor Johnston counts down his list, then cast your own vote.
It was all the way back in the middle of January this year that the first little drops of information began to appear, attempting to quench our thirsts as we waited in diligence for the new series of Doctor Who to grace our screens in 9 months’ time. The news itself enthusiastically announced that Toby Whithouse was the first confirmed writer joining Steven Moffat for the new series, penning a 2 part story billed as a “creepy ghost story”. Now, after what has felt like a lifetime since, that same “creepy ghost story” has just aired. However the questions remains: did it meet the expectation and standard set by Whithouse’s previous works? Join me today in ranking Whithouse’s best.
6. Greeks Bearing Gifts (Torchwood – 2006)
Starting off our countdown today is Whithouse’s only Torchwood writing credit, which appeared during the first series of the Doctor Who spin-off in 2006. With the episode, Whithouse proved his capabilities in dealing with darker and mature themes. The narrative itself focused on the torture and torment that the realisation of true honesty regarding people’s innermost desires, regrets and darkest thoughts entails. This occurs when Toshiko is given a pendant that allows her to hear the thoughts of everyone around her and consequentially forces her to question her commitment to the Torchwood team. Also present in the story is the first appearance of the Arcateenians, who later went on to make appearances in “The Sarah Jane Adventures” and a fleeting mention in last week’s “Before the Flood”. There’s no doubt in my mind that “Greeks Bearing Gifts” remains Whithouse’s weakest contribution to the Whoniverse, but saying that, it’s certainly telling that even his feeblest script is still an incredibly strong episode – full of enough merit to add to Whithouse’s value as a writer.
5. The God Complex (Series 6 – 2011)
“What is this travesty!?,” I hear you scream! “Off with his head!,” yell the more revolutionary members of the crowd. Well ladies and gentlemen, don’t lose your sanity just yet! Admittedly, “The God Complex” is not one of my personal favourite episodes of Doctor Who. While I don’t doubt its stunning quality, for some reason I simply struggle to enjoy it. But even for its failures in seizing my affections, “The God Complex” remains with a vast array of saving graces. The premise of the episode itself is ingeniously haunting – and the execution of said premise is near pristine. A hotel filled with all of your worst nightmares, with a room specifically catered to attack each individual’s vulnerabilities – It’s a plot that no doubt captured the fear and dread of many viewers. Furthermore, it was with “The God Complex” that Whithouse first proved his worth in writing strong and believable characters with whom he manages to capture the audience’s affections in such a short amount of screen time. For this episode the character in question was that of Rita, a confident and intelligent young medical student who even challenged the Doctor’s own levels of conviction and integrity. Finally, perhaps the biggest success of the episode was its eventual focus on the Doctor accepting that he can’t promise the Ponds their safety and that the trust that they, particularly Amy, has in him is in his mind undeserved.
4. The Vampires Of Venice (Series 5 – 2010)
This episode remains one of my most prominent arguments when discussing the benefits of a rewatch. An episode that in my memory seemed so empty, generic and otherwise completely forgettable becomes so memorable thanks to a refocus on the relationship between Amy and Rory – specifically in the way it works to enhance the sincerity of the pairs relationship.
“Vampires in Venice” included yet another classic example of the ‘Whoification’ of a classic monster when integrating the legend of the vampire into an episode with the invention of the Saturnyns – a species I feel are one of the most underrated Doctor Who monsters to date. The Saturnyns remain one of the most menacing creations of the show’s revival, headed by the cunning Rosanna Calvierri whose threatening presence was substantiated by her motivations to completely destroy an entire city to ensure the survival and breeding of her own species. Finally, the episode remains (in my humble opinion) one of Arthur Darvill’s best performances and more relevantly one of Rory’s character’s best scripts. It’s an episode for Rory proved that, regardless of initial judgements by the audience, he was not going to a character that the Doctor could easily trample over and a character that wasn’t afraid to stand up and call the Doctor out on his actions. Funnily enough, a dimension of storytelling that has remained welcomely present in most of Whithouse’s scripts since.
“You know what’s dangerous about you? It’s not that you make people take risks, it’s that you make them want to impress you. You make it so they don’t want to let you down. You have no idea how dangerous you make people to themselves when you’re around.”
3. School Reunion (Series 2 – 2006)
How privileged must Whithouse have felt, a young television writer at the offset of his career, catching his first opportunity to contribute to Doctor Who’s vast history and being granted the honour of writing the re-introduction of one of the most prolific characters of all time. With Sarah Jane’s return, Whithouse penned a story that cast prominent impressions of Sarah Jane’s earlier presence in Doctor Who, with a narrative that awarded not only the character, but the actress herself, immense justice. However, even in the absence of Sarah Jane’s return, it’s my belief that the premise and events of the plot could still keep the episode’s quality afloat in the fan base’s affections. Since that first contribution, each of Whithouse’s episodes have come attached with the invention and execution of brand new; extraordinarily sinister, genuinely evil and unnervingly memorable threats that have each respectfully embedded themselves into the darkest categories of Whoniverse villains imaginable. But in my mind, it’s “School Reunion” that has retained Whithouse’s best villains: the Krillitanes. These were creatures who had the engrossing ability to manipulate their own evolution. Headed by the sinister Mr Finch, they’re an alien race whose premise has not only been constantly been labelled a stroke of genius by fans, but also who validate further the quality of their episode.
2. Under The Lake / Before The Flood (Series 9 – 2015)
Rounding out our top 2 today is Whithouse’s most recent addition to the Whoniverse, “Under the Lake / Before the Flood” which is funnily enough Whithouse’s first multi-part story in almost a decade of writing for Doctor Who. If I’m being completely honest, the top 2 choices are essentially swappable – and in fact in drafting this article they did swap a total of 3, 4, 5 times – with the only reason Whithouse’s latest episodes narrowly missing out on the top spot due to the lack of time there’s been to test the durability of the story. Straying back to the conversation in question, “Under the Lake / Before the Flood” were 2 episodes that when viewed in its entirety remarkably managed to be both familiar and innovative, streaked with a dash of horror and a dollop of sci-fi, and whose overall quality continues to reflect the extraordinary high standard Series 9 continues to endorse. From the strength of the episode’s native characters, the encompassing nature of the narrative’s atmosphere, the ambition of the timey-wimey resolution and even the originality of the villains, it’s clear that the two-parter seemingly ticks a vast majority of the boxes Doctor Who fans look for in an episode. You can read more of my opinion on Whithouse’s Series 9 contribution in this week’s 2nd Opinion Review.
1. A Town Called Mercy (Series 7 – 2012)
And so we reach the conclusion of our countdown today, with an episode that admittedly took its time making its full impression on me. “A Town Called Mercy” is the perfect example of how Whithouse’s depth in writing and creation of various layers to his plots effect the weight of his episodes for the better. Throughout the length of the story there are various layers of storytelling: Most primarily the themes of Kahler Jex’s guilt as well as the Pond’s relationship with the Doctor which complemented seamlessly the Gunslinger’s true motivations and his hunt for Kahler Jex. This produces an episode so rich in moral ambiguity, character development and plot twists that really does ensure its place as a modern day classic. “A Town Called Mercy” was also instrumental in exploring the darker corners of the Doctor’s thoughts. How detrimental is the Doctor’s ability to show mercy in the long run? How much pain and suffering has the Doctor’s mercy allowed to happen? “A Town Called Mercy” showcases that commentating on the Doctor’s conscience is one of his greatest strengths as a writer, and definitely is a characteristic that makes him such a substantial contender to take over for Steven Moffat one day in the future.
Have Your Say…
You’ve heard Connor’s thoughts but what do you think? Vote in the poll below
Note: This poll requires you to rank the episodes, from your favourite at the top, to least favourite at the bottom. Drag each of them to create your desired order of preference. Mobile and tablet users can directly number them or try this link.
