History VisualEffectsOfAwesome / DoctorWho

* The Ninth Doctor's (and by extension, the Tenth Doctor, Creator/DerekJacobi's Master's, the Eleventh Doctor's, the War Doctor's, and both of River Song's) regeneration sequences. The Twelfth Doctor's regenerations sequence takes this up a notch by looking like ''lightning''. And to top all of these, the Thirteenth Doctor's regeneration adds ''multi-colored regeneration energy'', with a ''very'' convincing CGI cliffside, sea and sunset!

* The Ninth Doctor's (and by extension, the Tenth Doctor, Creator/DerekJacobi's Master's, the Eleventh Doctor's, the War Doctor's, and both of River Song's) regeneration sequences. The Twelfth Doctor's regenerations sequence takes this up a notch by looking like ''lightning''. And to top all of these, the Thirteenth Doctor's regeneration adds ''multi-colored regeneration energy'', with a ''very'' convincing CGI cliffside and sunset!

* The Ninth Doctor's (and by extension, the Tenth Doctor, Creator/DerekJacobi's Master's, the Eleventh Doctor's, the War Doctor's, and both of River Song's) regeneration sequences. The Twelfth Doctor's regenerations sequence takes this up a notch by looking like ''lightning''.

* The start of [[Recap/DoctorWho2022NYSEveOfTheDaleks "Eve of the Daleks"]] has a ''beautiful'' scene of the TARDIS self-resetting, with the walls slowly rotating like cogs while the central pillars and the console fall apart in a manner very similar to [[VideoGame/HalfLife2 being hit with an Energy Ball]]

* [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E10VincentAndTheDoctor "Vincent and the Doctor"]], the stargazing scene. The Doctor, Amy, and Vincent van Gogh look up at the night sky, and it transforms into ''The Starry Night''. Absolutely beautiful.

* [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E4TheDoctorsWife "The Doctor's Wife"]]: The shell-less makeshift TARDIS chasing after the possessed TARDIS through a dimensional rift. ''[[CrazyAwesome Wow.]]''

* For all the mocking the classic series receives for its [[SpecialEffectsFailure shoddy effects]], nobody can deny just how awesome that opening shot of the space station in "The Trial of a Time Lord" was. Unfortunately, later spaceship shots in the same serial don't even come close that quality — the BBC just couldn't afford it.

* The final struggle between the Doctor and Salamander in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E4TheEnemyoftheWorld "The Enemy of the World"]], both of whom were played by Patrick Troughton, was achieved through body doubles and some clever editing, resulting in a sequence that still looks convincing over fifty years later.

* [[Recap/DoctorWhoS37E4ArachnidsInTheUK "Arachnids in the UK"]] gives us a version of the Time Vortex that shows its raw power and majesty more than the entirety of the Moffat Era ever accomplished.

** The Boneless from the same episode are MindScrew incarnate. They took the series' infamous dodgy CGI and ''[[UncannyValley weaponised it]]''. The effects team managed to pull off the impossible task of making them both [[AlienGeometries totally incomprehensible]] and ''terrifying''.[[https://wegeekgirls.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/doctor-who_series-8_episode-9_looking-back-on-flatline-4.jpg Case]] [[https://wegeekgirls.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/doctor-who_series-8_episode-9_looking-back-on-flatline-2.jpg in]] [[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DSirRiV-ed8/VELyHXQCHuI/AAAAAAAAAsw/P3hG0h-mofU/s1600/FavorableAffectionateAmericanwirehair.gif point]].

* In the original "Spearhead from Space", the Autons are magnificent examples of UncannyValley that traumatised the nation in a way that most other monsters in ''Who'' never did save the Daleks. However, the BBC did not have the budget to show the glass on the windows breaking, so they [[ObscuredSpecialEffects cut away from it]]. This is why it's awesome in the very first revival series episode, "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E1Rose Rose]]", when they ''do'' have the budget to show the Autons breaking the glass. The almost pornographic attention paid to the effect is joyous, and a total celebration of what they can do now.
* Almost any shot of a satellite or spaceship from the new series as early as "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E2TheEndOfTheWorld The End of the World]]"'s Platform One. To this day it remains one of the most effects-heavy episodes of the series, and it holds up pretty well. The shot of [[ApocalypseWow the Earth being destroyed by the expanding sun]] stands out in particular.
* "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E2TheEndOfTheWorld The End of the World]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E742 42]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E7AmysChoice Amy's Choice]]", and "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E13TheBigBang The Big Bang]]" successfully render ''suns'' breathtakingly well.
* A man's face transforming into a gas mask in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E9TheEmptyChild The Empty Child]]". The fact that they actually managed to make something that sounds that absurd look so convincing and horrifying is incredible.
* Rose with her eyes alight with vortex energy, dissolving the Daleks in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E13ThePartingOfTheWays The Parting of the Ways]]".

* "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E2ToothAndClaw Tooth and Claw]]"'s werewolf, which still held up stunningly against that of Series 4 and 5.
* The airborne shots of New New York in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E3Gridlock Gridlock]]".
* Good god, the Toclafane in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E12TheSoundOfDrums The Sound of Drums]]". One of them's just a floating metal ball, but when you see an entire army of them in Earth orbit... Brrr...

* The [[SceneryGorn destruction of Pompeii]] in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E2TheFiresOfPompeii The Fires of Pompeii]]" is absolutely breathtaking.
* The climax of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E5ThePoisonSky The Poison Sky]]". ''They set the sky on fire.''
* The shot of Mars at the end of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E16TheWatersOfMars The Waters of Mars]]".

* "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E10VincentAndTheDoctor Vincent and the Doctor]]", the stargazing scene. The Doctor, Amy, and Vincent van Gogh look up at the night sky, and it transforms into ''The Starry Night''. Absolutely beautiful.
* "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E4TheDoctorsWife The Doctor's Wife]]": The shell-less makeshift TARDIS chasing after the possessed TARDIS through a dimensional rift. ''[[CrazyAwesome Wow.]]''

* In the original "Spearhead from Space", the Autons are magnificent examples of UncannyValley that traumatised the nation in a way that most other monsters in ''Who'' never did save the Daleks. However, the BBC did not have the budget to show the glass on the windows breaking, so they [[ObscuredSpecialEffects cut away from it]]. This is why it's awesome in the very first revival series episode, [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E1Rose "Rose"]], when they ''do'' have the budget to show the Autons breaking the glass. The almost pornographic attention paid to the effect is joyous, and a total celebration of what they can do now.
* Almost any shot of a satellite or spaceship from the new series as early as [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E2TheEndOfTheWorld "The End of the World"]]'s Platform One. To this day it remains one of the most effects-heavy episodes of the series, and it holds up pretty well. The shot of [[ApocalypseWow the Earth being destroyed by the expanding sun]] stands out in particular.
* [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E2TheEndOfTheWorld "The End of the World"]], [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E742 "42"]], [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E7AmysChoice "Amy's Choice"]] and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E13TheBigBang "The Big Bang"]] successfully render ''suns'' breathtakingly well.
* A man's face transforming into a gas mask in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E9TheEmptyChild "The Empty Child"]]. The fact that they actually managed to make something that sounds that absurd look so convincing and horrifying is incredible.
* Rose with her eyes alight with vortex energy, dissolving the Daleks in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E13ThePartingOfTheWays "The Parting of the Ways"]].
* The Ninth Doctor's (and by extension, the Tenth Doctor, Creator/DerekJacobi's Master's, the Eleventh Doctor's, the War Doctor's, and both of River Song's) regeneration sequences.
** The Twelfth Doctor's regenerations sequence takes this up a notch by looking like ''lightning''.
* [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E2ToothAndClaw "Tooth and Claw"]]'s werewolf, which still held up stunningly against that of Series 4 and 5.
* The airborne shots of New New York in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E3Gridlock "Gridlock"]].
* Good god, the Toclafane in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E12TheSoundOfDrums "The Sound of Drums"]]. One of them's just a floating metal ball, but when you see an entire army of them in Earth orbit... brrr...
* Every single shot of Gallifrey we've gotten in the New Series has been absolutely ''stunning''. In particular, anytime we see Gallifrey's domed capital city in the revival.
* The [[SceneryGorn destruction of Pompeii]] in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E2TheFiresOfPompeii "The Fires of Pompeii"]] is absolutely breathtaking.
* The climax of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E5ThePoisonSky The Poison Sky"]]. ''They set the sky on fire.''
* The shot of Mars at the end of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E16TheWatersOfMars "The Waters of Mars"]].

* [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E10VincentAndTheDoctor "Vincent and the Doctor"]], the stargazing scene. The Doctor, Amy, and Vincent van Gogh look up at the night sky, and it transforms into ''The Starry Night''. Absolutely beautiful.
* [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E4TheDoctorsWife "The Doctor's Wife"]]: The shell-less makeshift TARDIS chasing after the possessed TARDIS through a dimensional rift. ''[[CrazyAwesome Wow.]]''

* In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E7TheSensorites The Sensorites]]", there's the major technical triumph of showing the TARDIS crew going through the TARDIS control room, leaving the doors and stepping out onto the spaceship they've landed on in one continuous, seamless movement. There is a cut to facilitate this, but it's very subtle and the mind refuses to register it. Nowadays, an effect like this would be trivial, but the series spent decades trying deliberately ''not'' to show this movement under the grounds that it would be unconvincing, despite it being executed seamlessly almost right at the very beginning.
* The effects in the first episode of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E7TheSpaceMuseum The Space Museum]]" are amazing for the time and would have been incredibly difficult to do. Vicki's reverse-playback dropped glass is the obvious one, but the way the TARDIS crew seamlessly walks through objects still looks good today.
* The first ever shots of the TARDIS travelling through the vortex in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E8TheChase The Chase]]". It's suitably dreamlike and gorgeous and all done with practical, 1960s effects, and the kaleidoscope look of the Vortex was actually brought back for the title sequence of Season 7B. And then there's the Daleks fighting the Mechanoids. With the Mechanoids' flamethrowers.
* The Daleks marching through the jungle with flamethrower torches in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS3E4TheDaleksMasterPlan The Daleks' Master Plan]]" are utterly beautiful.
* "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E2TheTenthPlanet The Tenth Planet]]":

* The London Underground sets in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E5TheWebOfFear The Web of Fear]]", which were so convincing that London Transport thought the BBC had filmed on their property without permission.
* There are several nice moments in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E2TheMindRobber The Mind Robber]]"; one particular high point comes with the use of stop-motion animation to depict Medusa's snakes.
* "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS7E1SpearheadFromSpace Spearhead from Space]]":

* "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS8E5TheDaemons The Dæmons]]": Though it was filmed in the days when both technology and budget were pathetic, the producers worked wonders with just a few clever camera tricks (filters, angles, and some judicious shaking). The gargoyle costume was astonishingly realistic, and for once the revealed monster (Azal) ''exceeded'' expectations. The model church which was blown up at the end was so realistic that a number of people complained to the BBC, thinking they had blown up an actual building.
* The Draconians in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E3FrontierInSpace Frontier in Space]]", with striking, elaborate, individualised, and expressive faces, are the best-looking aliens the show would manage for decades. They were Creator/JonPertwee's favourite monster, as he recalls an event where he'd been talking to an actor and found himself forgetting he had a mask on.
* The giant maggots in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E5TheGreenDeath The Green Death]]" were made on the cheap, out of condoms, and are terrifyingly realistic thanks to some excellent puppetry, camerawork, set design, and construction. They don't just look good for low-budget monsters, they look fantastic by any standards. The ingenuity involved is immense.
* Linx, the Sontaran in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E1TheTimeWarrior The Time Warrior]]". It's a (very good, well-designed) mask... that fits under another, very good, well-designed helmet.
* The Wirrn larva taking over people in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E2TheArkInSpace The Ark in Space]]". At the time, it was this bizarre quasiorganic substance that nobody had seen before, and it very much looked like it really was growing over them. Even today, when we recognise bubble wrap painted green more readily than the 1975 audience, it still works because the actors sell it so well. (This is why El Sandifer calls actors managing to convince us that the most absurd ''Doctor Who'' monsters are real and visceral and dangerous "believing in your bubblewrap".)
* "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E3PyramidsOfMars Pyramids of Mars]]" had smoking footsteps and strangulations, and Scarman's reverse-playback bullet-wound healing — there was no reverse-playback on videotape in those days, so the producers had to borrow a video disc machine from the BBC's ''sports'' department, and Bernard Archard filmed the entire scene in reverse.
* The face falling off the [[RobotMe android Sarah Jane]] in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E4TheAndroidInvasion The Android Invasion]]". Not only is the effect one of the all-time [[NightmareFuel behind the sofa moments]], some very clever construction is used to make the servos look like they go right to the back of the head, and the eyeballs are mounted on stiff springs that twitch in a way frighteningly like natural eyeball flicker movement, making it seem like the android is still thinking and studying the Doctor as it turns its head towards him.
* The early CGI used for the eyes of the robots in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E5TheRobotsOfDeath The Robots of Death]]", not to mention the beautiful death-mask-like masks they wear, and the generally really high production values of that serial. It almost looks like a 00s revival series episode.
* Say what you will about the plot, but the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-G8N7vkkd2k laser beams]] in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E1DestinyOfTheDaleks Destiny of the Daleks]]" are well ahead of 1979 for being accurate as to where the gun is pointing.
* "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E5WarriorsGate Warriors' Gate]]" is one of the most visually stunning classic serials, from the modelwork, to the set design, to the optical effects...
* The transition from Creator/TomBaker to Creator/PeterDavison in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E7Logopolis Logopolis]]" has to be the best regeneration effect in the Classic Series. The cocoon effect still looks gorgeous.
* The sailing ships in space in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS20E5Enlightenment Enlightenment]]".
* The {{Gorn}}-tastic makeup on the [[BodyHorror human being transformed into a Dalek while begging for death]] in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E6RevelationOfTheDaleks Revelation of the Daleks]]" is an interesting case — it's quite obviously done on the cheap (its cybernetic parts are represented by sequin-mesh), but its cheapness makes it a lot more organic and viscerally revolting to look at than the properly-made latex prosthetics used on later human Daleks were. It was almost certainly made at least partially out of real meat, and a small part of it throbbed pathetically to a heartbeat — again, had it been the whole mask throbbing, it would have come across as less sickly and fundamentally wrong. As it is, the scene is pure, [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids childhood-destroying]] {{Squick}}.

* The special effects are pretty much the only good thing about "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS24E1TimeAndTheRani Time and the Rani]]". The planet and the bubble traps in particular look incredible for their time.
* Kane's face melting in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS24E4Dragonfire Dragonfire]]".
* The Special Weapons Dalek's lasers from "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E1RemembranceOfTheDaleks Remembrance of the Daleks]]".
* The gorgeously-realized alien planet in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS26E4Survival Survival]]" is a definite contender as well.
* March 26, 2005, teatime. "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E1Rose Rose]]", the first new episode in just under a decade has begun to air, and after just a minute or so, there are ''two'' of these: the beautifully-rendered title sequence of the TARDIS traveling through the fiery Time Vortex, and then the shot of Earth in orbit, which picks up speed as it moves toward London.
* In the original "Spearhead from Space", the Autons are magnificent examples of UncannyValley that traumatised the nation in a way that most other monsters in ''Who'' never did save the Daleks. However, the BBC did not have the budget to show the glass on the windows breaking, so they [[ObscuredSpecialEffects cut away from it]]. This is why it's awesome in the very first revival series episode, "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E1Rose Rose]]", when they ''do'' have the budget to show the Autons breaking the glass. The almost pornographic attention paid to the effect is joyous, and a total celebration of what they can do now.
* Almost any shot of a satellite or spaceship from the new series as early as "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E2TheEndOfTheWorld The End of the World]]"'s Platform One. To this day it remains one of the most effects-heavy episodes of the series, and it holds up pretty well. The shot of [[ApocalypseWow the Earth being destroyed by the expanding sun]] stands out in particular.
* "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E2TheEndOfTheWorld The End of the World]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E742 42]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E7AmysChoice Amy's Choice]]" and "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E13TheBigBang The Big Bang]]" successfully render ''suns'' breathtakingly well.
* A man's face transforming into a gas mask in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E9TheEmptyChild The Empty Child]]". The fact that they actually managed to make something that sounds that absurd look so convincing and horrifying is incredible.
* Rose with her eyes alight with vortex energy, dissolving the Daleks in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E13ThePartingOfTheWays The Parting of the Ways]]".
* The Ninth Doctor's (and by extension, the Tenth Doctor, Creator/DerekJacobi's Master's, [[spoiler:the Eleventh Doctor's, the War Doctor's, and both of River Song's]]) regeneration sequences.
* "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E2ToothAndClaw Tooth and Claw]]"'s werewolf, which still held up stunningly against that of Series 4 and 5.
* The airborne shots of New New York in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E3Gridlock Gridlock]]".
* Good god, the Toclafane in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E12TheSoundOfDrums The Sound of Drums]]". One of them's just a floating metal ball, but when you see an entire army of them in Earth orbit... brrr...

* The [[SceneryGorn destruction of Pompeii]] in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E2TheFiresOfPompeii The Fires of Pompeii]]" is absolutely breathtaking.
* The climax of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E5ThePoisonSky The Poison Sky]]". ''They set the sky on fire.''
* The shot of Mars at the end of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E16TheWatersOfMars The Waters of Mars]]".

* "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E10VincentAndTheDoctor Vincent and the Doctor]]", the stargazing scene. The Doctor, Amy, and Vincent van Gogh look up at the night sky, and it transforms into ''The Starry Night''. Absolutely beautiful.
* The shell-less TARDIS travelling through the Vortex in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E4TheDoctorsWife The Doctor's Wife]]". ''[[CrazyAwesome Wow.]]''
* "[[Recap/DoctorWho2012CSTheSnowmen The Snowmen]]" manages to finally give us what the companions see when they first walk into the TARDIS and smoothly transitions from Eleven and Clara outside to the inside of the TARDIS without a jumpcut as in the past. It's as impressive looking as it should be.
* "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E7TheRingsOfAkhaten The Rings of Akhaten]]" has the living planet Akhaten, which looks excellent.
* "[[Recap/DoctorWho50thASTheDayOfTheDoctor The Day of the Doctor]]":

* The Teller in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E5TimeHeist Time Heist]]" is primarily [[PracticalEffects a suit]] instead of CGI and benefits greatly for it, especially when it curls its eyestalks towards each other, which had to be tricky for the BBC effects people to figure out.
* "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E9Flatline Flatline]]":
** As mentioned on [[http://www.cultbox.co.uk/features/lists/funniest-doctor-who-sight-gags-in-flatline this page]], displays the dimension play featured in some convincing ways.

* "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS36E11WorldEnoughAndTime World Enough and Time]]"'s black hole (pictured). Absolutely gorgeous.

* "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS37E4ArachnidsInTheUK Arachnids in the UK]]" gives us a version of the Time Vortex that shows its raw power and majesty more than the entirety of the Moffat Era ever accomplished.