SD.Net Doctor Who Season 30 (4) comparative ratings

[Straha]

So I decided on a whim to go back and compile the average ratings we gave the fourth season of the reboot of Doctor Who. I'll put the percentage tally and the average rating below for each episode except the final one. I'll hold out for a few days on that latest RTD excre- episode until there's been enough time to get more votes:

Episode 1 “Partners in Crime”:
Ratings:
5- 7%
4- 51%
3- 25%
2- 3%
1- 11%

Average rating: 3.407

Episode 2 “Fires of Pompeii”:
Ratings:
5- 31%
4- 54%
3- 2%
2- 2%
1- 8%

Average rating: 3.971

Episode 3 “Planet of the Ood”:
Ratings:
5- 13%
4- 27%
3- 40%
2- 10%
1- 8%

Average Rating: 3.270

Episode 4 “The Sontaran Stratagem”:
Ratings:
5- 40%
4- 40%
3- 9%
2- 6%
1- 3%

Average Rating: 4.093

Comment: The first part of a two part episode. Ended on a semi-decent cliffhanger with a reasonable amount of tension. Probable reason why this episode rates so well comparative to the rest of the season.

Episode 5 “The Poison Sky”:
Ratings:
5- 21%
4- 40%
3- 25%
2- 3%
1- 9%

Average rating: 3.625

Episode 6 “The Doctor's Daughter”:
Ratings:
5- 17%
4- 23%
3- 15%
2- 23%
1- 19%

Average Rating: 2.961

Comment: In an odd quirk of polling the data is symmetrical but for one vote. The first true bomb of the season.

Episode 7 “Unicorn and the Wasp”:
Ratings
5- 12%
4- 16%
3- 29%
2- 29%
1- 12%

Average Rating: 2.871

Episode 8 “Silence in the Library”:
Ratings:
5- 66%
4- 23%
3- 0%
2- 3%
1- 5%
(The error in the percentages is from the board software.)

Average Rating: 4.412

Episode 9 “Forest of the Dead”:
Ratings:
5- 67%
4- 19%
3- 6%
2- 0%
1- 6%

Average Rating: 4.413

Episode 10 “Midnight”:
Ratings:
5- 25%
4- 51%
3- 11%
2- 9%
1- 2%

Average rating: 3.884

Episode 11 “Turn Left”:
Ratings:
5- 37%
4- 28%
3- 11%
2- 11%
1- 11%

Average Rating: 3.686

Episode 12 “The Stolen Earth”:
Ratings:
5- 25%
4- 24%
3- 20%
2- 12%
1- 6%
0- 10%

Average Rating: 3.19

So a list of the episodes ordered from the best rated to the worst:

1.Forest of the Dead- 4.413
2.Silence in the Library- 4.412
3.Sontaran Stratagem- 4.093
4.Fires of Pompeii- 3.971
5.Midnight- 3.884
6.Turn Left- 3.686
7.Poison Sky- 3.625
8.Partners in Crime- 3.407
9.Planet of the Ood- 3.27
10.Stolen Earth- 3.19
11.Doctor's Daughter- 2.961
12.Unicorn and the Wasp- 2.871

Average rating for the season: 3.649.

Useless statistic of the season: Exactly half of the episodes were rated above the average, and exactly half the episodes were rated below the average.

I've got to say, personally, I'm shocked that the Sontaran Stratagem rated so high in the rankings. And I think Midnight deserved better than what it got.

Any thoughts?

[Lord Woodlouse]

Any idea of the amount of total votes for each episode?

[Straha]

Any idea of the amount of total votes for each episode?

Yeah, in retrospect I should have included those in the data. I'm going to the store but when I get back I'll compile them and post them as well.

[Straha]

A list of the number of voters for the different episodes:

Partners in Crime- 27
Fires of Pompeii- 35
Planet of the Ood- 37
Sontaran Strategem- 32
Poison Sky- 32
Doctor's Daughter- 51
Unicorn and the Wasp- 31
Silence in the Library- 51
Forest of the Dead- 46
Midnight- 43
Turn Left- 35
Stolen Earth- 58

A note on my methodology, I didn't use the percentages to get average rating. Instead I added up the different ratings and divided because of the problems with the board software and getting accurate percentages.

[Stark]

Amusingly, it shows that people on SDN disproportionaly respond to CGI and explosions. I'd say Midnight, Pompeii and Forest are the best episodes of the season, but they don't have enough TEH SPLOSIONZ.

It amuses me a great deal that the worst episode has an average barely below 2.5. Even the worst episode has about half a dozen people giving it 5/5 automatically.

[Straha]

Amusingly, it shows that people on SDN disproportionaly respond to CGI and explosions. I'd say Midnight, Pompeii and Forest are the best episodes of the season, but they don't have enough TEH SPLOSIONZ.

I wouldn't say that. Except for the bewildering placement of the Sontaran Stratagem at number 3 the top five episodes are all top quality episodes. (The very ones you cite, even.) I really can't understand how the hell Sontaran Stratagem got up there though.

It amuses me a great deal that the worst episode has an average barely below 2.5. Even the worst episode has about half a dozen people giving it 5/5 automatically.

Ahem. Stark, don't let your rage get in the way of math. 2.871 (the rating of Unicorn and the Wasp) > 2.5.

I think it's absolutely astounding that a piece of shit episode like Doctor's Daughter was one bloody vote away from being a 3. The very idea that episode could be considered watchable, much less average, makes me want to sit down and curl up into a fetal position.

[Stark]

Oh yeah, I noticed that but couldn't edit it. Some part of my brain was convinced that 2.8 = 2.3, lol. While the good eps are up there, they're up there with complete poo. Your other thread, with the S3 ratings, makes a great comparison; it'd be interesting to plot comparison graphs.

[Straha]

Oh yeah, I noticed that but couldn't edit it. Some part of my brain was convinced that 2.8 = 2.3, lol. While the good eps are up there, they're up there with complete poo. Your other thread, with the S3 ratings, makes a great comparison; it'd be interesting to plot comparison graphs.

I think I might just for the heck of it. But first I'll go back and get the S2 and S1 data as well. It'll take a little time but I think the results will definitely be interesting.

[Stark]

It'd be an intersting tool for a retrospective. I wouldn't be surprised if people would change their rating of early season episodes to be more in line with the later 'utter rubbish, 5/5' style ratings. In particular, I'd be interested to see what good episodes were rated lower than rubbish like the Sontaran Haka and Turn Left, simply because our standards were higher back then.

[Atavarius]

Wow this is kind of shocking. I guess it just goes to show that some fanbois would give the Doctor sitting on the shitter for an hour a 5/5 as long as it had the Who theme and RTD wrote it.

[Soontir C'boath]

Wow this is kind of shocking. I guess it just goes to show that some fanbois would give the Doctor sitting on the shitter for an hour a 5/5 as long as it had the Who theme and RTD wrote it.

Not really shocking. If you ever saw what the users rate the episodes at the DoctorWhoForum, you'd see the majority vote is always 5/5. Stolen Earth had 75% out of about 4100 voters and Journey's End 47% out of about 4450 voting 5/5.

So even though we can definitely say Journey's End was a turd, 47% who voted from the forum for DW still loved it. Or are in denial.

[Straha]

So, here's the data for the season finale (I see no reason to wait past 57 votes):

Episode 13 "Journey's End"
Ratings:
5- 10% (6)
4- 14% (8)
3- 14% (8)
2- 15% (9)
1- 8% (5)
0- 36% (21)
Total votes: 57
Average rating: 1.912 (Where's the vomit smiley when you need it?)



This makes it, by far, the worst rated episode of the season. Indeed of the entire run of the new series. With the new stackup being:

1.Forest of the Dead- 4.413
2.Silence in the Library- 4.412
3.Sontaran Stratagem- 4.093
4.Fires of Pompeii- 3.971
5.Midnight- 3.884
6.Turn Left- 3.686
7.Poison Sky- 3.625
8.Partners in Crime- 3.407
9.Planet of the Ood- 3.27
10.Stolen Earth- 3.19
11.Doctor's Daughter- 2.961
12.Unicorn and the Wasp- 2.871
13. Journey's End- 1.912


As for the average rating of the series.
The old rating: 3.649
New rating: 3.515

This, in a fit of irony, saves “Poison Sky” and makes it an above average episode. Meaning that, for once in their lives, the Sontarans were actually scarier and better than the Daleks.

[Thanas]

Wouldn't it be better to simply collect all the data in one thread so that people can give their opinion of the whole RTD run?

[Straha]

Wouldn't it be better to simply collect all the data in one thread so that people can give their opinion of the whole RTD run?

My original idea was just to do season 30. I did them all because I decided we needed something to compare season 30 to, and then because it was interesting. But, yes. I'm actually ordering all of the episodes that are rated right now in open office and I'll make a post (or a thread?) with that later. But first: a shower!

[Straha]

Like I promised I would. This is a complete run down of all the rated episodes listed from highest to lowest. Season one episodes are in italics. Season three episodes are bolded. And season four are underlined. Interesting thing, the two highest rated episodes are the first halves of two parters which were considered utter dreck (and whose second halves level out at just about average.) Also interesting is that the worst six episodes all come from season four.


1. Sound of Drums - 4.6
2. Bad Wolf- 4.513
3. Human Nature- 4.5
4. Forest of the Dead- 4.413
5. Silence in the Library- 4.412
6. Dalek- 4.4
7. Empty Child- 4.391
8. Family of Blood- 4.355
9. Doctor Dances- 4.318
10. Smith and Jones - 4.212
11. Sontaran Stratagem- 4.093
12. Shakespeare Code – 4
13. Fires of Pompeii- 3.971
14. Last of the Time Lords – 3.934
15. The Parting of the Ways- 3.896
16. Daleks in Manhattan - 3.896
17. Midnight- 3.884
18. The Long Game- 3.818
19. Turn Left- 3.686
20. Evolution of the Daleks - 3.647
21. Poison Sky- 3.625
22. Boom Town- 3.538
23. 42 – 3.526
24. Lazarus Experiment - 3.412
25. Partners in Crime- 3.407
26. Planet of the Ood- 3.27
27. Stolen Earth- 3.19
28. Doctor's Daughter- 2.961
29. Unicorn and the Wasp- 2.871
30. Journey's End- 1.912 *



Average rating for all rated episodes: 3.883

*Journey's End's rating is actually significantly lower now. Last I checked it was around 1.72, but may be even lower than that.


Thoughts?
My first reaction was how low Midnight was rated (just barely above average too. If it were .002 lower it would be below average according to our collective ratings) and how stuff I thought was crap (like Shakespeare Code, Stratagem and Daleks in Manhattan) were rated well above it.

[Crazedwraith]

Did season 2 not get rated at all? Silence/Forest are rated unnaturally high. Forest was a load of drek.

[Straha]

Did season 2 not get rated at all? Silence/Forest are rated unnaturally high. Forest was a load of drek.

Nope. I couldn't find any episodes of season 2 which were rated at all.

[Thanas]

Unsurprisingly, S1 is the highest rated of the series, and the S4 finale is the worst-rated episode of the whole run. I find it quite shocking that people disapprove of RTD abandonging his own concepts and character traits. I mean, he is RTD, the god of Nuwho, right?

Nope. I couldn't find any episodes of season 2 which were rated at all.

I think it would be a good idea to do a sort of rewatch thread for every S2 episode, so that we can get some sort of rating? Maybe do one every week from now on?

[2000AD]

Also interesting is that the worst six episodes all come from season four.

That could be because a '0' rating was added to the scale to the later parts of S4, essentially it's biased the poll.

[Straha]

Also interesting is that the worst six episodes all come from season four.

That could be because a '0' rating was added to the scale to the later parts of S4, essentially it's biased the poll.

Not really. There were '0' options in only Stolen Earth and Journey's End which would both be in roughly the same places if you moved all the '0's to '1's. Also there were three episodes with '0' ratings in the rated episodes of Season 1, and one episode with it in Season 3 so having the '0' rating doesn't really give any undue bias to Season 4. I was actually thinking of reassigning the '0' ratings to be '1's when I was compiling ratings but decided against it.

I think it would be a good idea to do a sort of rewatch thread for every S2 episode, so that we can get some sort of rating? Maybe do one every week from now on?

I'd be all for that. And maybe we could pick up the missed episodes of 1 and 3 at the same time? Would the Mods approve of this?

[Stark]

We'd need to organise something, and that inherently biases the result - unlike originally, only a select group of people would bother to rewatch as part of a research experiment.

[Thanas]

Well, I don't really think how that is going to lead to some sort of skewed result. If one has one review thread per week and especially stipulates that the episode should be judged on its own merits....

Besides, I am sure everyone already has some sort of opinion about those episodes. I mean, Doomsday is bound to be excellent no matter when you watch it, whereas Love & Monsters will still continue to be crap. The only skewing I can see happening might be some people giving more positive reviews because of the crapfest of S4, but I still think it would be worthwhile, if only to have any sort of direct comparison of S1/2.

[Stark]

Well, I don't really think how that is going to lead to some sort of skewed result. If one has one review thread per week and especially stipulates that the episode should be judged on its own merits....

Besides, I am sure everyone already has some sort of opinion about those episodes. I mean, Doomsday is bound to be excellent no matter when you watch it, whereas Love & Monsters will still continue to be crap. The only skewing I can see happening might be some people giving more positive reviews because of the crapfest of S4, but I still think it would be worthwhile, if only to have any sort of direct comparison of S1/2.

Because you're using a specific subset of DW viewers who care, instead of when it was shown and most SDN people who watched it casually would vote or comment. Shifting population = innaccurate result. It might be fine from an internal, where are we now perspective, but it'd be totally invalid for comparison to original, first-viewing, whole-population votes.

You'd need to ensure the entire voting population isn't like 8 people, and get people like Woodlouse and Orange involved.

And Love and Monsters is excellent. It's S2 in microcosm, and it has Danny Blue! What could go wrong?

[Thanas]

I'd still would like to get some sort of rewatch thread nonetheless. Why don't we just try and see? I mean, we (or in this case, Straha) can always decide wether to discard the results later.

[Straha]

I'd still would like to get some sort of rewatch thread nonetheless. Why don't we just try and see? I mean, we (or in this case, Straha) can always decide wether to discard the results later.

I'd be all for it. The only thing I'd think necessary is to add a youtube link to the episode so it's not just those of us who can get access to the season 2 DVDs adding ratings.