Plenty of casual viewers of Doctor Who have been hooked into becoming fans because of the cold opens. Well, we don’t have stats or anything, but that feels true — because there are just so damn many great ones in the show that have gotten viewers to cancel plans, skip trips to the bathroom, or leave something burning on the stove because you just have to watch. A good cold open doesn’t necessarily mean a good episode will result, but it doesn’t hurt.

So what makes a good cold open? It should be short, for starters. Brevity counts for a lot. Like any good scene, it should tell a little story, introducing interesting characters in unusual situations. Then, something unexpected should happen, which of course leads to the key ingredient: the hook. The thing that wraps your attention around the episode like a string around a finger.

Although cold opens didn’t originate with the new series, they’ve become a staple of it, and it’s fair to say NuWho has perfected the format. There have been so many memorable ones, but there is one Doctor who has a disproportionate number of the best. Join us on our countdown of the 10 best cold opens in Doctor Who — with a few honorable mentions — to find out… Doctor Who?

The Top 10 list begins at 38:19.

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Pull To Open: The 10 Best Cold Opens in Doctor Who

Hosts: ⁠⁠Pete Pachal⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Chris Taylor⁠⁠

Music: Martin West/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Thinking Fish⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠