"Time Crash"

2007’s Children in Need featured this fun mini episode which, for the first time in the 21st Century, had the Doctor meet one of his past selves. Like "Born Again" it is basically a scene with two actors and no elaborate special effects. The plot makes sense, but it is the opportunity to see Tennant and Davison together that really makes this work. Davison is instantly the Doctor again, although his age (simply, but very effectively accounted for in the plot) does make it feel different- Davison was younger at his departure than Tennant was at his debut, but Davison was older than Hartnell was in "An Unearthly Child" when "Time Crash" was shot. There are references to the past and a load of technobabble- yet such is Steven Moffat’s skill that it feels necessary and, of course, there is Moffat’s usual high-quality dialogue- the Tenth Doctor’s appraisal of the Fifth and the Fifth’s reaction to it is priceless.

Tenant works well with Davison and, unsurprisingly, both put in stellar performances, the characters establishing a rapport that grows with every second, only for it to collapse when Ten tries to high-five Five. It is an affectionate tribute to one of the best Doctors ever that never seems self-indulgent. It doesn’t matter if you aren’t familiar with the Davison era- this will leave you with a warm feeling inside and images of leopard-skin TARDIS interiors and Belgium sized holes in the space-time continuum.

NEXT: "Voyage of the Damned"