The Big Picture

• Season 4 of Doctor Who is widely regarded as the best season, thanks in large part to the chemistry between David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor and Catherine Tate’s Donna Noble.
• The season features some of the show’s all-time best episodes, including thrilling standalones, gripping two-parters, and a well-executed story arc.
• The character development of both the Doctor and Donna throughout the season builds up to a powerful and bittersweet finale, showcasing the strengths and flaws of these beloved characters.

It’s been fifteen years since Season 4 of Doctor Who hit our screens, and it’s still yet to be topped. David Tennant‘s final season is not only his best outing but the greatest installment of the rebooted series, which launched in 2005. Of course, the Tenth Doctor is a huge reason for this; Season 4 is his third and final season, and by this point, Tennant has long-established himself as a hugely likable and popular iteration of the iconic character. But it’s his chemistry with Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) that makes Season 4 such a standout and superior to his excellent previous seasons. Though she appears in the Season 3 Christmas special “The Runaway Bride” following a brief cameo in the Season 2 finale, Donna is only a full-time companion in Season 4 — but that was enough time to firmly solidify herself as one of the best Doctor Who companions, and we’d argue she takes the number one spot.

It’s no surprise that when you pair up arguably the show’s best-ever Doctor and companion, magic happens. But Season 4 also had a slew of stellar stories, with the final six episodes making up the best stretch in the show’s history. From “Midnight” to “Journey’s End,” the season has everything from exhilarating standalone adventures to gripping two-parters and an overall story arc that is driven by the character development of the Doctor and Donna and the foreshadowing of the dark events to come. When the news dropped last year that David Tennant and Catherine Tate would be returning for three specials celebrating Doctor Who‘s sixtieth anniversary, fans were understandably delighted at the prospect of seeing this match made in heaven back on our screens.

Why Donna Noble Is the Best Companion

It’s a testament to what a fantastic character Donna is that she’s just as memorable and beloved — if not more so — than the show’s longer-serving companions, such as Rose (Billie Piper), Amy (Karen Gillan), and Clara (Jenna Coleman). Though these three companions have buckets of depth and intricate relationships with the Doctor, Donna blends emotion and humor better than anyone else. Though Donna is initially defined by her sass and fire, her huge heart and immense courage become more evident as the season progresses. Her dynamic with the Doctor is full of wit and banter; she bounces off of him with ease and challenges him on morally complex issues, often acting as his conscience. Donna’s lack of romantic interest in the Doctor is also refreshing considering his previous romance with Rose and situationship of sorts with Martha (Freema Agyeman), who had unrequited feelings for him. Donna brings some much-needed levity to the show in Season 4 but is equally able to conjure vulnerability and complexity when the moment calls for it.

Though Donna and the Doctor make a flawless Tardis team, Donna’s character works wonderfully on her own too, best demonstrated by the episode “Turn Left,” which centers around an alternative version of Donna’s life in a timeline where she never meets the Doctor. Donna is easily the most relatable companion the show has had, and acts as a stand-in to the audience; her backstory, consisting of a mundane career and slightly dysfunctional family life, feels incredibly real. Her grandfather, Wilf (Bernard Cribbins), is a particular highlight and even goes on to star in Tennant’s regeneration story. But it’s Donna’s development from a woman feeling lost and unsuccessful in life to a brave, caring person capable of saving the world that contributes to making the season the triumph it is. The lightness in the Doctor-Donna relationship just makes it all the more satisfying when they come to genuinely care for each other, and the contrast allows the devastating ending of their time together to feel even more resonant.

Some of the Best ‘Doctor Who’ Episodes Are in Season 4

Season 4 has some of the best episodes of the whole show, with stories that nail everything from humor to horror. It gets off to a strong start with “Partners in Crime” — a largely silly and comedic storyline about little monsters made up of body fat called adipose that also shatters any preexisting fears about Donna’s viability as a permanent companion after her prior stint as a guest star. “Silence in the Library” and “Forest of the Dead,” falling towards the end of the season, make up one of the superior two-parters in Doctor Who as well as one of the scariest tales. The story is notable for the introduction of River Song (Alex Kingston), but also serves as her final chronological appearance and her only encounter with Tennant’s Doctor. This makes the story particularly rewarding to rewatch in retrospect, knowing that the rest of River Song’s character arc is leading up to this point.

“Midnight” is another top-tier episode and plays into fears of the unknown with a monster that is never seen by its audience. Just as “Turn Left” is a Donna showcase, “Midnight” is a Doctor-heavy outing and a bottle episode, with the majority of the action taking place in the inside of a small vehicle that breaks down unexpectedly on an unfamiliar planet; the Doctor’s attempts to convince the other passengers of the looming hidden dangers make for a tense and thrilling episode. “Turn Left” is an unusual episode, exploring a bleak, dystopian world in which the Doctor is dead, having never met Donna, who therefore never intervened in the events of “The Runaway Bride.” The big reveal of the story is Rose’s return, but it’s also an excellent ode to Donna’s importance in the story and a foreshadowing of her significance in the two-part finale.

Season 4’s Arc Was the Perfect Build-Up to Tennant’s Departure

There’s not a major overarching story in Season 4, but there are small hints scattered throughout, leading up to the season’s brilliant two-part finale — “The Stolen Earth” and “Journey’s End,” as well as the Doctor’s final adventure, “The End of Time.” There’s the ongoing threads of disappearing bees and lost worlds that culminate in the apocalyptic finale events, as well as allusions to the “Doctor Donna” from the Ood — something which seemingly refers to the partnership between the Doctor and his companion, but later turns out to mean Donna saving the universe with her new Time Lord knowledge. There’s an unshakable sense of foreboding, as it becomes obvious that the Tenth Doctor’s time is coming to an end; ambiguous words from River Song and Agatha Christie (Fenella Woolgar) also suggest that Donna’s adventures will soon be over.

Though there’s no singular plot that ties Season 4 episodes together, the Doctor and Donna both have character arcs that make watching it in order much more enriching. Donna thrives in the role of companion, whereas the Doctor is in a much darker place than he was at the beginning of Tennant’s run. He’s still getting over Rose and dealing with the fallout from Martha, with the intensity and lack of boundaries in both relationships having a long-term impact on him. While many Doctors “live” for hundreds of years, it becomes apparent that the Tenth Doctor’s regeneration is coming earlier than he anticipated, and he struggles to accept this as the season concludes. He is able to put off his regeneration once in “Journey’s End,” but not for long, as he sacrifices his current form for Wilf’s life in “The End of Time.” His hesitancy to transform in Season 4 foreshadows his ultimate rejection of the inevitability, with the Tenth Doctor’s last words being “I don’t want to go.” This gives a bittersweet tone to Season 4 in hindsight, as there’s a feeling that all good things must come to an end — and that sometimes, the endings aren’t as happy as we’d like.

Though there are several amazing seasons of Doctor Who, none of them tick off every box quite like Season 4 does. It’s a masterclass in character development, casting, and storytelling, with the latter half being especially effective. Perhaps the only stain on the season is Donna’s ending, in which she becomes overwhelmed by her new Time Lord knowledge and has her memories stripped by the Doctor in order to save her life — something which she protests vehemently, thus robbing her of her agency. The scenes are gut-wrenching and expertly represent the ethical dilemmas that the Doctor is haunted by, but also show his self-righteousness and selfish, even destructive nature, which can surface when something he loves is at risk. The choice makes sense, but it feels unfair to Donna, whose travels with the Doctor gave her life meaning; after her memories are erased, it feels like she’s back to where she started.

Hopefully, knowing that Donna has returned to Doctor Who, showrunner Russell T Davies will right these wrongs and bestow Donna with a more worthy ending where her memories are restored, and she gets to live. It’s truly no wonder that Davies decided to get both Tennant and Tate back for the anniversary specials — they’re fan favorites, both together and individually, and the season they spent with each other encapsulates the show at its peak. Now that the first anniversary special has aired, we can’t wait to see what else Davies has cooked up for us with the remaining two episodes, and until then, we’ll happily have Doctor Who Season 4 on an endless loop.

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