calculated, the figure rose to 7.11 million viewers. The episode received an Audience Appreciation Index score of 84. SFX stated that the two-part story had "everything", particularly praising Moffat's script. In 2012, Dave Golder of the magazine labelled "The Empty Child" as a good example of the science fiction "Creepy Kid Episode". Dek Hogan of Digital Spy disliked Barrowman as Captain Jack, but called it a "particularly creepy episode of the series" despite Jack and "the brevity of Richard Wilson's neat and spooky little cameo". He later called "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances" the best episodes of the series. Now Playing magazine reviewer Arnold T. Blumburg gave the episode a grade of a B, describing it as "solid" with elements of the original series, though he noted a lot was thrown at the audience and he was not impressed with Barrowman's Jack yet. In a poll conducted by Doctor Who Magazine in 2009, the two-part story was ranked the fifth best episode of Doctor Who. In a similar poll conducted in 2014, readers ranked the two-part story the seventh best Doctor Who story of all time. The Daily Telegraph named the story the fourth best of the show in 2008. In 2011 before the second half of the sixth series, The Huffington Post labelled "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances" as one of five essential episodes for new viewers to watch. In 2013 Doctor Who TV rated The Empty Child as the twentieth scariest villain. "The Empty Child", along with its conclusion "The Doctor Dances", won the 2006 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form). References External links Doctor Who Confidential — Episode 9: Special Effects "Are you my mummy?" — Episode trailer for "The Empty Child" Doctor Who pseudohistorical serials Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form-winning works Ninth Doctor episodes 2005 British television episodes Television episodes written by Steven Moffat Television episodes about World War II Fiction set in 1941 Television episodes set in London