this post was submitted on 14 Jun 2024
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Doctor Who
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How do you start watching Doctor Who? Should I watch original series first?
Browse the wikis a bit and find a doctor you like. Watch some episodes from that Doctor until you're bored. Repeat. You can watch them in any order you like.
Starting with the 2005 reboot is probably easiest and most accessible. Watch for callbacks to previous adventures. If those stories sound interesting dive into the back story.
Everybody has their favorite Doctor. Some like the leather clad skinhead. Some like the guy with the scarf and the Jelly Babies. Some weirdos like the guy with the celery stalk in his pocket. My favorite is the first Doctor. He's in black and white, he's witty, he's grumpy and sometimes mean, and he lies. If you want to know about the origins of the Daleks you'll need to find his episodes. The library is probably the best place to find these. I think there is always Doctor Who streaming or being broadcast somewhere at practically all times. I'm pretty sure I can search for Doctor Who on Plex and find some random episode streaming at any time.
As others have mentioned, several large chunks of the original series are missing, so be prepared for that disappointment.
The revival-era show soft-reboots every time there's a new Doctor, to intentionally make it a good spot for new viewers to jump on; the basics are all subtly reintroduced as the story progresses. If you find yourself intrigued by one Doctor or another, you can just start with that Doctor's first episode. (Not the one in which the regeneration happens and the new Doctor is introduced at the end, but the one following that in which they're the Doctor as it starts.)
No in fact a good chunk of the early episodes are missing. The show changes a lot based on who is playing the Doctor and who the showrunner and head writer are.
Best bet is pick a Doctor and watch the first episode or two. If you don't like it try another.
Old run Tom Baker and John Pertwee are good choices. Baker had Douglas Adams as head writer for the early seasons and Pertwee has two of the best companions.
Latter original run had a show runner who did not want the job and it shows.
New Who I would recommend trying Christopher Eccleston or Peter Capald. Lots of people love David Tenant but I find him annoyingly hyperactive.
Gotta come to bat for my boy Matt Smith, imo his first episode is the best of any in the modern era
I like Matt Smith a lot as well. I was trying to keep it to two Doctors per era.
Understandable, Capaldi was outstanding as the Doctor, and Smith definitely has some weaker episodes. Purely on first episode alone though I do think nothing compares to Eleventh Hour
You can pick anywhere and honestly it's fine. Lots of people started with modern Who, so that lines up with the average experience, and there are long-running plot arcs you might stumble over if you don't, but most episodes are fairly self-contained.
Old Who is a different show. Somewhat akin to the original Star Trek, it requires a certain ability to ignore the experience and budget constraints and pick out the charm. But some of the old Doctors remain fan favorites like Tom Baker, the 4th and longest-running generation.
I would suggest watching starting with the 2005 rebirth of the series. They made it expecting you to not have watched the original series.
From then on there is a lot of overlap and continuation, some more subtle than others, so you could just watch one of the doctors, but part of what makes it special is the wealth of possible collisions so you may not need to have seen the reason why such-and-such character perks up when they hear the Doctor coming, but it's what made me appreciate the show.
Look up a list of the top 10 best episodes. Watch those. Take note of which ones you like more, and which actor is playing the doctor in that episode. Use that to pick your favourite doctor. Then watch all the episodes starring your favourite doctor in order.
If you don't know anything about the show this sounds like a batshit way to figure out not only if you like a show, but which parts of the show you like.
It very much depends on you. I personally think most people should start with New Who, because it’s much faster paced and The Doctor starts out a lot more likable. I personally started with New Who, then started mixing in Old Who during Capaldi’s first season. Which turned out rather nicely, because early Capaldi actually resembles the First Doctor in many ways, and it was interesting to see how elements of the show unfolded.
For reference, Old Who starts with An Unearthly Child (1963.) New Who starts with Rose (2005.)
Here's my personal 'recommendation' list. The list comprises stories which are good while not being part of any major developments in the show's timeline. So, if someone wanted to watch Doctor Who with me, I'd pick one of these. Feel free to criticize or add to this list.
S Tier:
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It starts and ends with Tom Baker.
Weird way to spell David Tennant
I appreciate people may have differing opinions regardless of how wrong they may be. Lol
Jokes aside, Tenant is so good. I just grew up with Tom Baker so that's where my heart is.
So good he regenerated twice
No more