Doctor Who
Shares rank 8 of 19 science fiction TV series by recommenders
Long-running British sci-fi show with standout doctors and strong episodes, especially David Tennant's. Critics say quality slipped in later years.
Long-running British sci-fi show with standout doctors and strong episodes, especially David Tennant's. Critics say quality slipped in later years.
27 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 17
- criticize it
- 10
- approval share
- 63%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 17 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.7 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Standout doctors, especially David Tennant
“The Chibnall episodes sucked”
Comment from 16 Sep 2026 in “Douglas Adams and the exterminated Doctor Who adventure” “He's the doctor that set the standard that all future doctors followed”
Comment from 13 Mar 2026 in “Two long-lost episodes of 'Doctor Who' have been found” Strong episodes and scenes
“Capaldi had strong episodes throughout his run, but yes, I personally did dislike some of the storylines.”
Comment from 16 Sep 2026 in “Douglas Adams and the exterminated Doctor Who adventure” “I thought this scene was excellent.”
Comment from 19 Dec 2025 in “History LLMs: Models trained exclusively on pre-1913 texts” “It's definitely still a good show”
Comment from 13 Mar 2026 in “Lost Doctor Who Episodes Found”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Quality declined in later years
“I couldn't keep suspending disbelief after that. It wasn't just one bad episode the whole thing felt tired.”
Comment from 16 Sep 2026 in “Douglas Adams and the exterminated Doctor Who adventure” “It fell apart in the Capaldi era. The "kill the moon" was the "jump the shark" of neu-Who”
Comment from 16 Sep 2026 in “Douglas Adams and the exterminated Doctor Who adventure” “the quality has fallen off significantly recently”
Comment from 16 Sep 2026 in “Douglas Adams and the exterminated Doctor Who adventure” - Comment from 7 Sep 2026 in “Every novel is boring until it isn't”
Capaldi-era storylines and tone
“Capaldi had strong episodes throughout his run, but yes, I personally did dislike some of the storylines.”
Comment from 16 Sep 2026 in “Douglas Adams and the exterminated Doctor Who adventure” “I think his episodes were a bit too "mature" for me, when I preferred funny scifi show.”
Comment from 16 Sep 2026 in “Douglas Adams and the exterminated Doctor Who adventure”
Other science fiction TV series people recommend
The four most recommended other science fiction TV series, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Star Trek: The Next Generation | 88 | 19 | 82% | 13 | — | Approved |
| Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | 59 | 9 | 87% | 11 | — | Approved |
| The Expanse | 51 | 12 | 81% | 13 | — | Approved |
| The Culture seriesby Iain M. Banks | 38 | 5 | 88% | 11 | — | Approved |
| Doctor WhoThis page | 17 | 10 | 63% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
All 32 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I just found the Chibnall episodes boring.”
“Bringing the RTD and Tennant gang back was the single most important and devastating mistake ever made on this show.”
“The viewing figures are tumbling off a cliff at a time when the BBC in general needs them more than ever.”
“I liked the Doctor better when they were just an outlaw Time Lord in a stolen car”
“Moffat hyped up future episodes but could rarely deliver”
“If you haven't seen the first three episodes he did, with David Tennant returning as the Doctor, you're missing out!”
“The Chibnall episodes sucked”
“collapsed under the weight of its own canon”
“the show should have been cancelled already but it was making too much money”
“I think his episodes were a bit too "mature" for me, when I preferred funny scifi show.”
“I couldn't keep suspending disbelief after that. It wasn't just one bad episode the whole thing felt tired.”
“Capaldi had strong episodes throughout his run, but yes, I personally did dislike some of the storylines.”
“It fell apart in the Capaldi era. The "kill the moon" was the "jump the shark" of neu-Who”
“the quality has fallen off significantly recently”
“it's been unwatchable for quite a while”
“the duct taped seams show--sometimes glaringly so”
“A lot of them are written directly for children, which they mostly work for, but only later bits have stuff mostly for adults”
“Doctor Who has never been overly concerned with presentation”
“it only seemed to diminish the later scene when the Doctor finally gets into the action properly”
“the quality was so much better”
“My own personal circle of hell.”
“Dr Who is at its strongest when it isn't just the Doctor + one young girl.”
“Didn't like the 6th and maybe watched only a few episodes of the 7th doctor”
“I view Doctor Who as part of a great tradition of sci-fi that pushes boundaries.”
“It's definitely still a good show”
“He's the doctor that set the standard that all future doctors followed”
“Great news that they will be on iPlayer soon, along with every other (available) episode of Dr Who”
“Lately the show has been wokified to the extent where it would be upsetting to watch”
“the first series was disappointing”
“packed with automatic weapons fire and explosions”
“I thought this scene was excellent.”
“doctor who was just terrible”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.