If you ask most contemporary Doctor Who fans who their favorite Doctor is, the answers will be mixed. But, if you ask any fan to objectively say which modern Doctor was the most pivotal for turning the series into a mainstream worldwide phenomenon, the answer would have to be David Tennant. While it's arguable that Matt Smith’s era from 2010 to 2013 represented the peak of Who’s viewership, it was David Tennant’s three-season run from 2006 to 2010 that energized and largely created that fanbase. And like the non-linear nature of the Doctor’s various adventures, it’s sometimes hard to pinpoint when the 10th Doctor actually began. Yes, he appeared at the end of the Season 1 finale “The Parting of the Ways” in 2005, and then had his first proper appearance as the Doctor in the 2005 special “The Christmas Invasion.” But, the first real-deal 10th Doctor adventure, complete with the skinny suit, the coat, and all the catchphrases, was Tennant’s third outing in the role, the Season 2 debut “New Earth.”
On April 15, 2006, “New Earth” began, in earnest, what was to become one of the most iconic runs of Doctor Who ever, and set a standard by which much of the subsequent seasons were measured. But, does “New Earth” really hold up? And, by extension, does this classic season of Doctor Who really contain the best of what the series has to offer?
