Doctor Who: Top 10 Moments That Made Me Believe

Season 5 of Doctor Who certainly delivers many great moments. Many great moments. We are introduced to new companions, old companions (depending how you look at River) and more importantly Matt Smith as the 11^th Doctor. Filling the shoes of the 10^th Doctor, David Tennant, Matt had an uphill battle when it came to convincing Doctor Who fans that he was indeed the Doctor.

Of course we know that with each regeneration comes a new Doctor and with each new Doctor comes a new personality. Within Season 5 we are given some truly stunning looks at who Matt Smith is as the Doctor and the kind of Doctor that he will portray. But where are those connecting moments that link the 11^th Doctor with his previous regenerations. There are so many moments that scream “Doctor” but I’ve tried to narrow down the few that really stood out to me. I had a lot of personal favorite moments that I had to cut from the list but I like the outcome. Let’s take a look at the top 10 moments that made me believe that Matt Smith was undoubtedly the Doctor.

Top 10 Moments That Made Me Believe: 

10. Comfy chairs. (Flash and Stone) A small moment where the Doctor gets excited at the fact that he made Angel Bob say ‘comfy chairs’. Leave it to the Doctor to turn a serious conversation with the enemy into a happy, laughing matter. 

9.  You are decent, brilliant people. (The Hungry Earth) The Doctor’s speech before he goes underground finally showed us that he was not talking to the group as one of them. When you look at the situation and listen to him you really see that he is talking to four Humans as a Timelord. He has fully separated himself as the third party. 

8.  Companions. (Various Episodes) There are various points in the season where the Doctor exhibits his need for his companions. We see him turn to Rory in The Hungry Earth, or Amy in the Beast Below or even to Jeff in The Eleventh Hour. He turns to those around him for help and support and at some point the Doctor always needs these people beside him.

7. The Dark Side. (The Beast Below)  Every Doctor has their dark side and we get to see it early on with Matt Smith. After Amy realizes what she has voted for on Starship UK the Doctor turns to her and tells her that she is going home and that she never has the right to decide what he needs to know. Later in the scene he starts to yell and we can see the anger boiling up inside. This may seem like an odd choice but to me the Doctor is the full package, not just the happy side.

6. Enter the Daleks. (Victory of the Daleks) The first few seconds of realization for the Doctor where we see the look or worry and almost fear on his face that the race that he just destroyed (again) have returned says “Doctor” to me. Encountering the Daleks is a rite of passage for a new Doctor and Matt Smith was perfect in this initial scene and indeed the whole episode. “I am the Doctor and you are the Daleks!”

5. Put in a trap. (The Time of Angels) As Angel Bob tells the Doctor that he is trapped you see the determination and emotion swell up inside of him as he starts to get angry. These emotions mixed together with the speech that Matt delivers made the scene say to me, ‘This is the kind of Doctor I am.’

4. Calm & Composed (Vampires of Venice) The Doctor sits comfortably and has a calm and composed conversation with Rosanna Calvierri about her plans and why she is in Venice. The give and take between the two is perfect here. I’ve always looked at the Doctor as the person who will calmly walk up to his enemy and talk things out and that’s exactly what he tries here. He then later even tries to save Rosanna Calvierri exhibiting a trait that I've always seen in the Doctor; the need to save everyone when he can. (I may have snuck two moments in here but they are somewhat connected. Shhhh.)

3. Believe me for 20 minutes. (The Eleventh Hour) After Amy locks the Doctor’s tie in a car door he must gain Amy’s trust and get her on his side.  Amy’s theme plays as she stares at her happy face apple and he tells her how he is a time traveler and everything he told her twelve years ago is true. “Believe me for 20 minutes.” The scene was written perfectly to have Matt speaking to both Amy and the audience saying I know I’m new but believe for 20 minutes and I can prove I am the Doctor. 

2. The Eleven Doctors. (The Eleventh Hour) The Atraxi view the past regenerations of the Doctor as Matt Smith changes into his new outfit and then when the Tenth Doctor appears he steps through the hologram fully dressed and says, “Hello. I’m the Doctor. Basically…run.” This combined with the old and new music playing made for a perfect scene that certainly made me believe.

1. Trust me. (The Eleventh Hour) The Doctor kneels before Amalia Pond and says, “Trust me. I’m the Doctor.”  From the seriousness in his face to the tone in his voice, it made me believe. This may be a cliched moment to use as #1 but I don't know anyone that didn't get chills at this moment.

I went back and forth with #2 and #1 for quite some time. In the end it came down to #1 being the first actual moment where I believed and could picture all Doctors saying that line and making it work. With #2 I thought only a handful could deliver it in the same manner in which Smith did and have it have the same impact. Separating my favorite moments and the moments that made me believe was difficult but I'm happy with the results. Have any particular moments that made you believe but aren't on this list? Comment and let me know what they are.