Once upon a time, I was a big fan of Doctor Who after binge-watching every episode that was available when I first discovered the 2005 revival. I've watched and rewatched some of David Tennant's top episodes as Ten, I warmed up to Matt Smith as Eleven, and yes, I do judge people who just skip over Christopher Eccleston's brief but excellent run as Nine. Somewhere along the way, though, I fell out of love with the iconic show and never recommitted to checking out the various Doctors that I missed.
Then, I happened to be scrolling on X (formerly known as Twitter) after the latest episode of Ncuti Gatwa as Fifteen in the 2025 TV schedule, and I saw by happenstance that it called back to one of my favorite episodes from the Tennant era. That was enough for me to sign into my Disney+ subscription and check out my very first episode of Doctor Who in several years.
When I Fell Out Of Love With Doctor Who
First things first, though! I first started Doctor Who as a completely blank slate when only the first six seasons were available streaming, to the point that I didn't even know about regeneration until I saw Christopher Eccleston transform into David Tennant. I laughed, I cried, I grew overly attached to companions and then cried some more... in the four seasons and specials produced under showrunner Russell T. Davies, a.k.a. the Eccleston and Tennant eras, before Sherlock's Steven Moffat took over.
Considering that the only Doctor-heavy episodes penned by Steven Moffat that I ever really loved were in the first season and I have a longstanding grudge against "The Girl in the Fireplace," I wasn't surprised that the new direction for Matt Smith as Eleven with Moffat as showrunner just wasn't working for me. To each their own, of course, and the earlier storytelling style just hooked me more than all the twists, turns, and grand timey-wimey explanations that could fit through a crack in the wall. I still think Moffat's own Weeping Angels were scarier in the RTD era.
That's not to say that I didn't laugh and cry at the right places during Eleven's run once I started watching live, and I dutifully tuned in to the 50th anniversary special despite waning interest. But I didn't come back for Peter Capaldi as Twelve or Jodie Whittaker as Thirteen, and even David Tennant's confusing return didn't get me back on the Doctor Who train. It wasn't until I saw a clip on X featuring old footage of Tennant in a new Ncuti Gatwa episode that I had to check it out, and that was because the old footage was from none other than "Midnight."
Why "Midnight" Was A Great Episode
If you've missed out on "Midnight" or just need a refresher, here's a crash course on Episode 10 of Doctor Who's fourth season. Airing back in 2008 and written by Russell T. Davies, "Midnight" was about as light on special effects as any episode I can recall and very light on Donna (Catherine Tate), both of which actually worked quite well for the plot.
What was supposed to be a sightseeing tour on the uninhabitable but beautiful planet Midnight went sideways when the passengers – including the Tenth Doctor – learned that something apparently could survive lethal radiation outside of the vehicle. The creature was never seen or named, but first manifested by knocking on the sides of the shuttle and then took over the mind and body of another passenger, Sky Silvestry.
And from that point on, the most dangerous threat of "Midnight" wasn't the mysterious creature, but from the humans who were giving into their worst Lord of the Flies-esque impulses on the shuttle, egged on by each other's fear. Without Donna there to humanize him, the Doctor's ego backfired by alienating the human passengers, and he couldn't even speak for himself when the entity took his voice as well.
The storyline was largely sold by the performances, particularly from David Tennant and Lesley Sharp as Sky. It shouldn't have been all that scary, but the threats within and without were pretty great, and it's chilling to think back and remember that the Doctor would have been thrown out to his death if not for the sheer luck of Sky/the creature quoting "Allons-y" at just the right moment to clue somebody else in about who really needed to be destroyed.
I still go back to rewatch "Midnight" every once in a while, so how could I not check out the sequel episode all these years later with Ncuti Gatwa? Ten was scared enough back in "Midnight" that I had no trouble believing how Fifteen would describe his fear hundreds of thousands of years in the future, so let's get into that new story now!
How Disney+'s Doctor Who Called Back To The Tenth Doctor
Episode 3 of Doctor Who's second Disney+ season was called "The Well," co-written by Russell T. Davis and Sharma Angel-Walfall. I went into it hoping that I'd be able to make sense of the story without knowing the recent lore. I knew thanks to Twitter that it would tie back to "Midnight," but this was my introduction to Ncuti Gatwa as Fifteen and Varada Sethu as Belinda.
I felt right at home from the start, thanks to Fifteen telling Belinda about the TARDIS' language translation, the use of psychic paper, and Britney Spears' "Toxic" to take me back to "The End of the World," the second-ever episode of Doctor Who's 2005 revival that also was written by Russell T. Davis. (That episode is streaming now with a Max subscription.)
The story quickly became creepy, with a base full of corpses and just one survivor, Aliss, who was only still alive and sane because she couldn't hear the mysterious villain whispering to her. The Doctor and Belinda were split up as he went to try and solve the mystery while she tried to help Aliss, and the result was some serious suspense as Fifteen connected the dots back to the planet Midnight while Belinda was increasingly spooked by what she thought she was seeing.
The death toll of "The Well" was a whole lot higher than "Midnight," and I was actually reminded more of the Tenth Doctor Season 2 two-parter of "The Impossible Planet" and "The Satan Pit" for much of the hour, but there was no mistaking the monster. The scale and effects of "The Well" also made it feel less creepy to me than "Midnight" did well over a decade ago, and the guests on Ten's unfortunate shuttle feel more memorable to me than those in Belinda's traumatizing excursion with Fifteen.
Should I Get Back Into Doctor Who?
Despite my nostalgic love for "Midnight" ranking it above "The Well," it felt good to be back in some Doctor Who shenanigans again. Plus, I didn't feel as lost as I expected without knowing the lore behind the mysterious woman at the end or why nobody had heard of Earth and the human race. So, is it time for me to jump back into the Doctor Who deep end and watch regularly again?
Honestly, that at least somewhat depends on whether I can just start watching Ncuti Gatwa's episodes rather than go back a few Doctors to catch up. I have nothing against Peter Capaldi or Jodie Whittaker, but that's a lot to catch up on when Gatwa, Disney+, and the return of Russell T. Davies make for a new era of the show. I may need to consult some Doctor Who fans who kept up with the series to figure out my approach!
On the whole, I'm glad that I found out about the "Midnight" connection to motivate me to check out "The Well." Whether or not I'm ready to fall back in love with Doctor Who, I had fun watching it, and Ncuti Gatwa seems like a fun star for the series that really sold me on Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, and Matt Smith back in the day.
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