Water way to build up to the end

I've often wondered how many groups of three stories in a row are as consistently excellent as episodes 2,3 and 4 of David Tennant's 1st series. Tooth and Claw, School Reunion and Girl in the Fireplace are all brilliant tales but, perhaps because I'm so used to them together, I'd find it hard to split any one of them off and single them out.

Here you've got Rose and the newish Doctor at their peak - before they got a little too cosy and cheesy - the right blend of fun and action plus Queen Victoria, Sarah Jane Smith and Madame du Pompadour. The return of Sarah Jane in particular was wonderfully handled, the Girl in the Fireplace was a clever little one off from that man Moffat but if pushed I'd possibly favour the underrated Tooth and Claw. the setting, action and wolf make it classic Who fare from start to finish.

As a consistent run it's pretty hard to beat - maybe the best since series 5 under Troughton? As a Pat fan you'd struggle to top Tomb of the Cybermen, Abominable Snowmen, Ice Warriors, Enemy of the World, Web of Fear, Fury from the Deep and Wheel in Space all in a row and all after the previous series ended with the Evil of the Daleks.

Anyway, back to Tennant and the finale of that series is also worthy of mention - with the nice twist at the return of the Daleks, Daleks v Cybermen and then THAT ending set to one of Murray Gold's finest pieces.

With all that said then my favourite 10th Doctor story has got to be in the Rose series then right? Well, no. While that series was consistently strong (after my favourite trio comes a Cyberman shaped lull but then Idiots Lantern and the Ood two parter are right back on form) I'd fast forward to the very end of Tennant's tenure and pick the companionless special The Waters of Mars.

The greatest strength here, for me, is Tennant's superb performance. He handles the Doctor's transformation from happy-go-lucky arrival on the planet to the painful realisation of what's going to happen to the crew right through to his raging-against-the-inevitable 'Time Lord Victorious' ending. It's a stunning acting display, quite possibly the best from a leading man in the series' 50 year history.

The fact that it comes right at the end of his and Russell T Davies' tenure is all the more remarkable. 

The story is also pretty good. We never quite discover the menace that takes over the crew other than 'it's in the water'. Another classic Who idea backed up by the chilling yet simple design of the infected crew. 

The crew themselves are a pretty decent set of characters - some less so than others but we do at least care when they make their desperate attempts to fight what we, thanks to the Doctor, know to be their inevitable fate. There is even an acknowledgment in the script of the annoyance of the gadget thing - a cheeky bit of parody.

Adelaide Brooke's character also shines as she tries to squeeze more information out of the Doctor and then realises that he's gone too far. It's a cracking performance from Lindsay Duncan.

The ending is pretty chilling - and dark - too. I suppose you couldn't do this every week but it does show the viewer the answer to the age old 'why can't he just...' type questions.

Waters also came as something of a nice surprise too. All the hype around the specials was leading to the end of the line for Tennant but here was a tale, just before the finale, that did something fresh and interesting with the character.